In MVC, when do you use <%= %> and <% %>?

Question

Hi,

In asp.net mvc, when do we use:

<%= %>

and

<% %>

Do we ever need to put a ; (colon) ?

Answer 1

<%= %> renders the output (string) of the contained command to the response. <% %> wraps executable statements (logic) in the view to control what gets executed. You don't use semicolons in the <%= %> blocks, but may in the <% %> depending on what statements are included.

String rendering:

<%= Html.Encode( Model. Property ) %>

Code block:

<% Html.RenderPartial( "ViewName" ); %>

EDIT: Here's a link to the reference.

Answer 2

<%="something" %> is just a shortcut for Response.Write("something")

Answer 3

<%= %> is used when you are calling some HtmlHelper method which returns a string e.g.:

<%= Html.ActionLink("Home", "Index", "Home") %>

<% %> is used when you are calling some HtmlHelper method which is void:

<% Html.RenderPartial("Login"); %>