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Business Objects as Model in ASP.NET MVC

In ASP.NET MVC, the Model represents the application's data and business logic. Instead of placing data logic directly inside Controllers, we create separate Business Object classes that act as Models.

What are Business Objects?

Business Objects are simple C# classes that contain:

Properties (Data)
Business Rules (if required)
Validation Logic

These classes represent real-world entities like Employee, Department, Student, etc.

Why Use Business Objects as Model?

Clean and organized project structure
Separation of Concerns (MVC principle)
Easy maintenance and scalability
Reusability of business logic

How It Works in MVC

The Model (Business Object) holds the data.
The Controller interacts with the Model.
The View displays the Model data.

This approach keeps the Controller lightweight and makes the application more structured and professional.

Run the SQL Script

Below, the SQL script is provided.

Important Instructions:

Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
Connect to your SQL Server.
Click on New Query.
Copy the complete SQL code given below.
Paste it into the New Query window.
Click Execute (or press F5).

After running the script, the Database, Tables, and Sample Data will be created automatically.

That’s it — everything will be ready for use in your MVC project.

CREATE DATABASE MVC_Business_Objects;
GO

USE MVC_Business_Objects;
GO

-- Create Employee Table
CREATE TABLE Employee
(
    Id INT PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY(1,1),
    Name NVARCHAR(50),
    Gender NVARCHAR(10),
    City NVARCHAR(50),
    Salary DECIMAL(18,2),
    DateOfBirth DATETIME
);
GO

-- Insert test data into Employee table
INSERT INTO Employee (Name, Gender, City, Salary, DateOfBirth)
VALUES
('Khushbu',  'Female', 'Aurangabad', 10000, '1995-06-15'),
('Ayaan',    'Male',   'Hyderabad', 5000, '1992-04-10'),
('Sara',     'Female', 'Bangalore', 4500, '1994-01-22'),
('Zaid',     'Male',   'Delhi', 6000, '1991-08-18'),
('Fatima',   'Female', 'Pune', 5500, '1993-03-05'),
('Rehan',    'Male',   'Chennai', 4800, '1990-11-12'),
('Iqra',     'Female', 'Kolkata', 5200, '1996-09-09'),
('Arman',    'Male',   'Jaipur', 4700, '1992-07-14'),
('Hiba',     'Female', 'Lucknow', 5100, '1994-12-30');
GO

-- Stored Procedure to retrieve all employees
CREATE PROCEDURE spGetAllEmployees
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT Id, Name, Gender, City, Salary, DateOfBirth
    FROM Employee;
END;
GO

Step 1: Create New Project

Open Visual Studio
Click Create New Project
Select ASP.NET Web Application (MVC)
Click Create

Step 2: Connect Database

Right Click on Project Name
Select Add → New Item
Choose Data
Select ADO.NET Entity Data Model
Click Add
Connect to your Database
Select required Tables
Click Finish

After this, Model Classes and DbContext will be AUTO-GENERATED.

Create Business Layer Class

Now, create a class inside the Models folder.

Go to the Models folder 📁, right-click on it, and select Add → Class.

Name the class EmployeeBusinessLayer and click Add.

After creating the class, open EmployeeBusinessLayer.cs and update it with the code provided below.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;

namespace Your_Project_Name.Models
{
    public class EmployeeBusinessLayer
    {
        public List<Employee> GetAllEmployess()
        {
            string connectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["DBCS"].ConnectionString;

            List<Employee> employees = new List<Employee>();

            using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
            {
                SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("spGetAllEmployees", con);

                cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;

                con.Open();

                SqlDataReader rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader();

                while (rdr.Read())
                {
                    Employee employee = new Employee();

                    employee.Id = Convert.ToInt32(rdr["Id"]);
                    employee.Name = rdr["Name"].ToString();
                    employee.Gender = rdr["Gender"].ToString();
                    employee.City = rdr["City"].ToString();
                    employee.Salary = Convert.ToDecimal(rdr["Salary"]);
                    employee.DateOfBirth = Convert.ToDateTime(rdr["DateOfBirth"]);

                    employees.Add(employee);
                }
            }
            return employees;
        }
    }
}

Web.config

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<configuration>

  <configSections>
    <!-- Entity Framework Configuration -->
    <section 
        name="entityFramework" 
        type="System.Data.Entity.Internal.ConfigFile.EntityFrameworkSection, EntityFramework" 
        requirePermission="false" />
  </configSections>

  <appSettings>
    <add key="webpages:Version" value="3.0.0.0" />
    <add key="webpages:Enabled" value="false" />
    <add key="ClientValidationEnabled" value="true" />
    <add key="UnobtrusiveJavaScriptEnabled" value="true" />
  </appSettings>

  <system.web>
    <compilation debug="true" targetFramework="4.7.2" />
    <httpRuntime targetFramework="4.7.2" />
  </system.web>

  <connectionStrings>

    <add name="MVC_Business_ObjectsEntities"
        connectionString="metadata=...;initial catalog=MVC_Business_Objects;integrated security=True"
        providerName="System.Data.EntityClient" />

    <add name="DBCS"
        connectionString="Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=MVC_Business_Objects;Integrated Security=True"
        providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />

  </connectionStrings>

</configuration>

ConnectionStrings Copy And Paste Web.config File

<add name="DBCS"
connectionString="Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=MVC_Business_Objects;Integrated Security=True"
providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />

Create Employee Controller

Now, go to the Controllers folder 📁.

Right-click on Controllers → Select Add → Controller.

Choose MVC 5 Controller – Empty and click Add.

Name the controller EmployeeController and click Add.

After creating the controller, open EmployeeController.cs .

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using WebApplication6.Models;

namespace Your_Project_Name.Controllers
{
    public class EmployeeController : Controller
    {
        public ActionResult Index()
        {
            EmployeeBusinessLayer employeeBusinessLayer = new EmployeeBusinessLayer();

            List<Employee> employees = employeeBusinessLayer.GetAllEmployess();

            return View(employees);
        }
    }
}

Create Index View for Employee

Now open EmployeeController.

Right-click on the Index action method → Select Add View.

Choose MVC 5 View.

Configure the Add View options:

View Name: Index
Template: List
Model Class: Employee (WebApplication6)
Data Context Class: MVC_Business_ObjectsEntities (WebApplication6)

Then click the Add button.

The List View will be generated automatically.

@model IEnumerable<Your_Project_Name.Employee>

@{
    ViewBag.Title = "Index";
}

<h2>Index</h2>

<p>
    @Html.ActionLink("Create New", "Create")
</p>

<table class="table">
    <tr>
        <th>
            @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.Name)
        </th>
        <th>
            @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.Gender)
        </th>
        <th>
            @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.City)
        </th>
        <th>
            @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.Salary)
        </th>
        <th>
            @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.DateOfBirth)
        </th>
        <th></th>
    </tr>

@foreach (var item in Model)
{
    <tr>
        <td>
            @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Name)
        </td>
        <td>
            @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Gender)
        </td>
        <td>
            @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.City)
        </td>
        <td>
            @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Salary)
        </td>
        <td>
            @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.DateOfBirth)
        </td>
        <td>
            @Html.ActionLink("Edit", "Edit", new { id = item.Id }) |
            @Html.ActionLink("Details", "Details", new { id = item.Id }) |
            @Html.ActionLink("Delete", "Delete", new { id = item.Id })
        </td>
    </tr>
}

</table>

Update RouteConfig.cs

Open the RouteConfig.cs file.

By default, the route is set to:

defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }

I have changed "Home" to "Employee".

Now the updated code will be:

defaults: new { controller = "Employee", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }

Important:

When you run the project, it will directly open the Employee Controller instead of the Home Controller.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using System.Web.Routing;

namespace Your_Project_Name
{
    public class RouteConfig
    {
        public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
        {
            routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");

            routes.MapRoute(
                name: "Default",
                url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
                defaults: new 
                { 
                    controller = "Employee",action = "Index",id = UrlParameter.Optional 
                }
            );
        }
    }
}

Output

Application URL


    https://localhost:44369/Employee/Index

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