Does it make sense to have a model with only static methods?

Question

Hey everyone,

I have an ASP.NET MVC 2 project that I'm working on and I'm wondering where I should place some of my code.

I currently have a UsersModel which consists of a bunch of static methods that operate against my data context.

These methods include such things as: UserExistsInDatabase, UserIsRegisteredForActivity, GetUserIdFromFacebookId etc etc.

Should these methods be inside a UsersModel class or would they be more suited to a user helper class outside of the models context?

Cheers for any pointers.

Answer 1

sound like a class "User" with the properties/functions:
* ExistsInDatabase,
* IsRegisteredForActivity,
* GetIdFromFacebookId

Answer 2

Don't use static methods. Abstract them in a repository:

public interface IUsersRepository
{
    bool UserExistsInDatabase(User user);
    bool UserIsRegisteredForActivity(User user);
    ...
}

then implement against some data store:

public class UsersRepository : IUsersRepository
{
    ...
}

and finally give your controller an instance of this repository so that it can work with users:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    private readonly IUsersRepository _repository;
    public HomeController(IUsersRepository repository)
    {
        // the repository is injected into the controller by the DI framework
        _repository = repository;
    }

    // ... some action methods that will use the repository
}

Answer 3

I think we should avoid static methods as it will have issue in mocking. These methods are better suited for a UserRespository/UserService class.

Answer 4

Hey,

Either of those options are OK. Alternatively, you could define them as extension methods and attach them to the user class directly.

HTH.