asp.net mvc - MVC ViewBag Best Practice

Question

For the ViewBag, I heard it was a no-no to use. I would assume have the content from the ViewBag should be incorporated into a view model?

Question:

1. Is my assumption above the best practice. (Not to use a ViewBag and second to have it in the view model)

2. Are there situations where a ViewBag is absolutely necessary?

Answer 1

1) Is my assumption above the best practice. (Not to use a ViewBag and second to have it in the view model)

You should use viewmodels instead of passing data via ViewBag as much as possible.

2) Are there situations where a ViewBag is absolutely necessary?

There is no situation where a ViewBag is absolutely necessary. However, there are some data I personally prefer using ViewBag instead of View Model. For example, when I need to populate a dropdown box for predefined values (i.e Cities), I use ViewBag for carrying SelectListItem array to view. I prefer not to pollute my ViewModels with this data.