MVC 3 AjaxHelper Ajax.ActionLink vs. Ajax.RouteLink, Ajax.BeginForm vs. AjaxBeginRouteForm

Question

From my understanding

• Ajax.ActionLink - Generates a link to a specific action in the current controller
• Ajax.RouteLink - Generate a link based on RouteData provided to the helper

However I have been using MVC 3 and note that Ajax.ActionLink has many overloads which can accept just about anything Ajax.RouteLink can including RouteData, protocol, ActionName, ControllerName etc.

The same goes for Ajax.BeginForm and Ajax.BeginRouteForm

So am am missing something or are the Route versions obsolete?

Answer 1

The .Route versions are used to generate links based on route (name) configurations.

route configuration (ex: global.asax)

routes.MapRoute(
    "faq",
    "pages/faq",
    new { controller = "Faq", action = "Index" }
);

usage in a view - with Html.ActionLink

@Ajax.ActionLink(linkText: "something", controller: "Faq", action: "Index")

usage in a view - with Html.RouteLink

@Ajax.RouteLink(linkText: "something", routeName: "faq")