So, looking at the MSDN documentation and doing a literal comparison of the two classes, I noticed both classes are derived from System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.ValidationAttribute. In fact, the classes are almost exactly the same. The only notable difference is that the MVC version also implements IClientValidatable which adds the following properties:
- FormatPropertyForClientValidation – (static member) Formats the property for client validation by prepending an asterisk and a dot.
- GetClientValidationRules – Gets a list of compare-value client validation rules for the property using the specified model metadata and controller context.
As for which class you should use, if the model will be directly bound to a view, use the MVC version so that you can take advantage of the client-side validation. However, if you’re using ViewModels, you can stick with the ComponentModel class and avoid the unnecessary overhead of the additional properties. Your call!
-
System.Web.Mvc.CompareAttribute
-
System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.CompareAttribute