Two words. Code re-use.

Think of a specific, probably basic bit of code that you find yourself writing a lot, e.g. validating a string to ensure it is either null or not empty. Generally you’d have to write:

if (value == null) 
    return null; 

value = value.Trim(); 
return (value.Length == 0) ? null : value;

Using extension methods, you can wrap this in a tidy method:

public static string TrimToDefault(this string value) 
{ 
    if (value == null) 
        return null; 

    value = value.Trim(); 

    return (value.Length == 0) ? null : value; 
}

I also overload this so that I can specify a default value:

public static string TrimToDefault(this string value) 
{ 
    return TrimToDefault(value, null); 
} 

public static string TrimToDefault(this string value, string defaultValue) 
{ 
    if (value == null) 
        return defaultValue; 

    value = value.Trim(); 

    return (value.Length == 0) ? defaultValue : value; 
}

I can then implement the methods like so:

string stringToSave = txtTitle.Text.TrimToDefault();

or

string stringToSave = txtTitle.Text.TrimToDefault("Not specified");

Alternatively, you can overload existing methods. So you could simply overload String.IsNullOrEmpty().

You might say, that this isn’t really a time saver but the value is that if you have a library of such methods you can maintain consistency across different projects but also enforce a little consistency in the way fellow developers on your team code too. This will save you time.

Lovely.

Why have I only just found this? Ok, I must admit that when I started researching ASP.Net MVC I was probably overcome with the amount of information I had to digest. So its entirely possible that I missed it or ignored it.

Having briefly read through the documentation MvcContrib provides a massive library of alternatives and additions to the core ASP.Net MVC library. With thousands of downloads, this it usefulness speaks for itself.

So far my personal fave has to be the Grid. I love things that make life easier and this is a gem. There is also a fantastic introduction on the grid this here.

A borrowed example of how easy the Grid is to implement is shown below:

<%= Html.Grid(Model.People).Columns(column => {
         column.For(x => x.Id).Named("Person ID");
         column.For(x => x.Name);
         column.For(x => x.DateOfBirth).Format("{0:d}");
     })
     .Attributes(style => "width:100%")
     .Empty("There are no people.")
     .RowStart(row => "<tr foo='bar'>") %>

Sweeeet.