MVC

MVC, or the Model-View-Controller paradigm, is a software design practice that separates code for a website into three parts: the model code, the view code, and the controller code. The model code deals with the data of the website, often performing operations that interact with a database. The controller code is the logic of the website: it contains code like loops and conditions. The view code is the aesthetic part of the website: it takes information provided by the controller and displays the page that the user ultimately sees when they visit the website.

• Lecture

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  • Lecture Notes

• Short

  • MVC

• Notes

  • MVC

• Supplementary Resources

  • Wikipedia on MVC
  • Microsoft on ASP.NET MVC
  • Jeff Atwood on Understanding Model-View-Control

• Thought Questions

  • Why is MVC useful tool for developing websites?
  • What languages might be necessary in order to use MVC effectively?
  • Why might you want to break down components of a web application in this way?
  • How would you update a web application using MVC? Do all components have to be updated together?
  • Are there other architectures for web applications? How do they compare with MVC and what tradeoffs do they have?