asp.net mvc dataannotation validating url

Question

can some one tell me how can i validate a url like http://www.abc.com

Answer 1

Let the System.Uri do the heavy lifting for you, instead of a RegEx:

public class UrlAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
    public UrlAttribute()
    {
    }

    public override bool IsValid(object value)
    {
        var text = value as string;
        Uri uri;

        return (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(text) && Uri.TryCreate(text, UriKind.Absolute, out uri ));
    }
}

Answer 2

Now (at least form ASP.NET MVC 5) you can use UrlAttribute and that includes server and client validation:

[Url]
public string WebSiteUrl { get; set; }