In this article I will explain with an example, how to implement required field validator in ASP.Net Core MVC.
The validation will be performed using Model class and Data Annotation attributes.
Note: For beginners in ASP.Net Core 7, please refer my article ASP.Net Core 7: Hello World Tutorial with Sample Program example.
 
 

Model

The following Model class consists of one property Name. The property is decorated with the following Data Annotation attribute for performing validation.
1. Required Data Annotation attribute.
Note: The Data Annotations attributes can be used with the Entity Data Model (EDM), LINQ to SQL, and other data models.
 
The Required Data Annotation has been specified with a property ErrorMessage with a string value. As the name suggests, this string value will be displayed to the user when the validation fails.
Using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
 
Namespace RequiredField_Validator_Core.Models
{
    public class PersonModel
    {
        [Required(ErrorMessage = "Name is required.")]
        public string Name { get; set; }
    }
}
 
 

Controller

The Controller consists of following Action methods.

Action method for handling GET operation

Inside this Action method, simply the View is returned.
 

Action method for handling POST operation

This Action method handles the POST operation and when the form is submitted, PersonModel class is received as parameter and the View is returned.
public class HomeControllerController
{
    public IActionResult Index()
    {
        return View();
    }
 
    [HttpPost]
    public IActionResult Index(PersonModel person)
    {
        return View();
    }
}
 
 

View

Inside the View, in the very first line the PersonModel class is declared as Model for the View.
The View consists of an HTML Form which has been created using following ASP.Net TagHelpers attributes.
asp-action – Name of the Action. In this case the name is Index.
asp-controller – Name of the Controller. In this case the name is Home.
method – It specifies the Form Method i.e. GET or POST. In this case it will be set to POST.
The Form consists of a HTML INPUT TextBox, an HTML SPAN element and a Submit Button.
The TextBox has been assigned with asp-for TagHelper attribute and its value is set with the Name property. Thus, this signifies that the validation will be performed for the Name property.
The SPAN has been assigned with asp-validation-for TagHelper attribute and here also its value is set with the Name property which signifies that it is used for displaying the Validation message for the Name property.
When the Submit button is clicked, the Form gets submitted.
 

Enabling Client-Side validations

The default validation performed is server side when one uses Data Annotations along with Model class for validation purpose.
In order to enable Client-Side validations, you need to inherit the following jQuery script files.
1. jquery.js
2. jquery.validate.js
3. jquery.validate.unobtrusive.js
Once, the above files are inherited automatically the Client-Side validations using Data Annotations is enabled.
@model RequiredField_Validator_Core.Models.PersonModel
@addTagHelper*, Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.TagHelpers
@{
    Layout = null;
}
 
<!DOCTYPE html>
 
<html>
<head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width" />
    <title>Index</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form method="post" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Index">
        <table>
            <tr>
                <td><input asp-for="Name" /></td>
                <td><span asp-validation-for="Name" class="error"></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td><input type="submit" value="Submit" /></td>
                <td></td>
            </tr>
        </table>
    </form>
 
    <!--OPTIONAL: Add the following scripts for enabling Client Side validation.-->
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.6.0/jquery.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery-validate/1.19.3/jquery.validate.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery-validation-unobtrusive/3.2.12/jquery.validate.unobtrusive.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
 
 

Screenshot

Required Field Validator in ASP.Net Core
 
 

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