ASP.NET MVC 3.0 - Why strong-typing Model in a View, if static compilation is not happening?

Question

I'm actively developing desktop applications, local and network services, some classic ASP.NET, etc., so I'm used to static compilation and static code analysis. Now that I'm (finally) learning ASP.NET MVC 3.0 I'm seeing that many of the ASP.NET MVC experts and experienced developers are recommending using strongly-typed views in ASP.NET MVC 3.0 (where applicable).

I'm guessing that "strongly-typed" means writing @model=... at the top of a view's code. But in doing that I only get IntelliSense to work, no static code checking is taking place. I can write anything I want in the @model statement in cshtml and it would compile and run. Consequentially, Model.Anything also compiles. In fact, if I don't type @model I can dynamically use whatever model I want that has "compatible" properties and methods.

I'm used to "strongly-typed" meaning "won't compile", like LINQ to whatever just will not compile if you don't get the properties right. Is there any other purpose for @model other than IntelliSense and a run-time error, and why is it called strong-typed if it's in fact, not?

Strong typing, Meanings in computer literature

Answer 1

Views are compiled at runtime by default. You can modify your project file (csproj) to compile the views when the application builds by setting the following property:

<MvcBuildViews>true</MvcBuildViews>

Downside of this approach is that your buildtime will increase significantly. You should consider only setting this option to true for release builds.

You can edit your project file by unloading the project, right-click the project and choose Edit ProjectFile