Binding UI directly to API model

Question

Binding works without INotifyPropertyChanged, why?

Is it a bad practice to bind my UI to HTTP API model directly without creating a separate view model?

The only disadvantage is it won't implement INotifyPropertyChanged so UI won't update when you change the property from your code - but what if you don't need to update your property from your code?

This is my API response model:

public class EventResponseModel { public int Id { get; set; } public string Subject { get; set; } public string Description { get; set; } public DateTime StartTime { get; set; } public DateTime EndTime { get; set; } public string ArgbColor { get; set; } // should bind to Brush public Location Location { get; set; } public IEnumerable<Person> Attendees { get; set; } }

In the model above I have ArgbColor that need to be bound to Brush in XAML. I could probably create StringToBrushConverter : IValueConverter to make it work instead of creating a separate view model.

Is this always preferred to create a separate view model, map to it and then bind to it?

For editing, I would still have a separate VM and use a composition like:

public class EventVM { public EventResponseModel EditedEvent { get; set; } // available locations etc., commands for saving }

"Is it a bad practice?" - no, not in my opinion. I would however recommend public Color ArgbColor { get; set; } and bind a SolidColorBrush's Color property. — Clemens
– Clemens, Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 9:14
Color needs a reference to System.Media or PresentationCore. This model is used on the server so string is the best type. — Konrad
– Konrad, Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 9:21
Does ArgbColor Value contains html clr codes ? like this( #1A85CD )? — Avinash Reddy
– Avinash Reddy, Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 10:46
@AvinashReddy yes, #AARRGGBB. It's not a problem to convert it using BrushConverter — Konrad
– Konrad, Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 10:53
Then why cant u just bind the string to color i mean Background="{Binding ArgbColor }" Like this. — Avinash Reddy
– Avinash Reddy, Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 10:57

mm8 · Accepted Answer · 2019-06-14 12:57:01Z

Is it a bad practice to bind my UI to HTTP API model directly without creating a separate view model?

Not if you are and will be able to use the model class exactly as-is in your GUI application. Then there is no reason to create a view model wrapper just for the sake of it, since you basically have a dependency upon the API anyway.

Is this always preferred to create a separate view model, map to it and then bind to it?

No, not always. If you for example were to display a couple of hundreds or thousands of event responses in a grid of some kind, you don't want to invoke a converter for each item. In this case it would be better to wrap the model and bind directly to a UI friendly Brush property or similar. So it all depends on your requirements. But binding directly to domain objects isn't always a bad idea.

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