Passing an array from Controller to View

Question

I am trying to do what seems like the simplest thing in the world, but it has me absolutely banging my head against the wall in frustration. I just need to pass a simple string array from a C# method in my Controller class to javascript code in my index view. That's it. Just pass a simple array. But damned if I can figure out how, or make any sense of any of the convoluted answers I've seen on the internet.

Here are the details (simplified):

My controller:

public class BobsController : Controller
{
    // GET: Bobs
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return View();
    }

    public ActionResult ReturnBobsStuff()
    {
    List<string> myList = new List<string> { "element1", "element2", 
                                             "element3", "element4", 
                                             "element5", 
                                           };
    string[] myArray = myList.ToArray();
    return View(myArray);
    }
 }

My view:

<script>
    $(function () {
            var JavascriptArray = ??;
          });
</script>

The ?? is the problem, obviously.

Answer 1

Try this in your controller:

 public ActionResult ReturnBobsStuff()
{
List<string> myList = new List<string> { "element1", "element2", 
                                         "element3", "element4", 
                                         "element5", 
                                       };
ViewBag.MyVariable = myList.ToArray();
return View();
}

Then in your view:

 <script> var myJsVariable = 'ViewBag.MyVariable' </script>

But I suggest for you to try other efficient method, like using an AJAX call.