Getting latest Ninject working with latest MVC 5 / Web Api 2?

Question

I know there are several questions a bit like this one, but as I'm unable to locate any documentation and none of the other questions have any answers that help me, here goes:

I create a new ASP.NET application (VS2013), MVC is selected, I add API. I run "update-package" in the Package Console to get updated to latest versions (MVC 5.1.2, Web Api 5.1.2).

Then I add the new Ninject.MVC5 and Ninject.Web.WebApi packages.

I add these lines to the web.config file (Ninject wants version 5.0, I have 5.1):

        <dependentAssembly>
            <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Http" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
            <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-5.1.0.0" newVersion="5.1.0.0" />
        </dependentAssembly>
        <dependentAssembly>
            <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Http.WebHost" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
            <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-5.1.0.0" newVersion="5.1.0.0" />
        </dependentAssembly>

In the App_start/NinjectWebCommon.cs file I add a single binding:

    private static void RegisterServices(IKernel kernel) {
        kernel.Bind<ILogger, NLogLogger>();
    }

Then I add a single ApiController, with ILogger as the single parameter in the constructor, and I add ILogger as a parameter to the constructor of the HomeController.

That should be it for testing?

Am I missing some wiring for WebApi ? Or does that happen "behind the scenes"?

Anyway, acessing the api controller gives me this error:

An error occurred when trying to create a controller of type 'TestController'. Make sure that the controller has a parameterless public constructor.

And trying the HomeController gives me this:

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

I've tried the same thing, without updating to latest packages, same problem. I've been using Ninject for years with MVC 3 (I've also tried the Ninject.MVC3 package), and am totally clueless as to why that doesn't work. With WebApi, I was kind of expecting some call to SetResolver, but..

Any help would be appriciated!

Answer 1

For using Ninject in an project with MVC and WebApi you have to install the following packages:

-Ninject
-Ninject.MVC5
-Ninject.Web
-Ninject.Web.Common
-Ninject.Web.Common.WebHost
-Ninject.Web.WebApi
-Ninject.Web.WebApi.WebHost

These packages add the following files to App_Start folder:
NinjectWeb.cs:

[assembly: WebActivatorEx.PreApplicationStartMethod(typeof(Smartiz.UI.NinjectWeb), "Start")]

namespace Smartiz.UI
{
    using Microsoft.Web.Infrastructure.DynamicModuleHelper;

    using Ninject.Web;

    public static class NinjectWeb 
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Starts the application
        /// </summary>
        public static void Start() 
        {
            DynamicModuleUtility.RegisterModule(typeof(NinjectHttpModule));
        }
    }
}

NinjectWebCommon.cs:

using System;
using System.Web;
using Microsoft.Web.Infrastructure.DynamicModuleHelper;
using Ninject;
using Ninject.Extensions.Conventions;
using Ninject.Web.Common;
using Smartiz.ClientServices;
using Smartiz.UI;
using WebActivatorEx;

[assembly: WebActivatorEx.PreApplicationStartMethod(typeof(NinjectWebCommon), "Start")]
[assembly: ApplicationShutdownMethod(typeof(NinjectWebCommon), "Stop")]

namespace Smartiz.UI
{
    public static class NinjectWebCommon 
    {
        private static readonly Bootstrapper Bootstrapper = new Bootstrapper();

        /// <summary>
        /// Starts the application
        /// </summary>
        public static void Start() 
        {
            DynamicModuleUtility.RegisterModule(typeof(OnePerRequestHttpModule));
            DynamicModuleUtility.RegisterModule(typeof(NinjectHttpModule));
            Bootstrapper.Initialize(CreateKernel);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Stops the application.
        /// </summary>
        public static void Stop()
        {
            Bootstrapper.ShutDown();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Creates the kernel that will manage your application.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>The created kernel.</returns>
        private static IKernel CreateKernel()
        {
            var kernel = new StandardKernel();
            try
            {
                kernel.Bind<Func<IKernel>>().ToMethod(ctx => () => new Bootstrapper().Kernel);
                kernel.Bind<IHttpModule>().To<HttpApplicationInitializationHttpModule>();

                RegisterServices(kernel);
                return kernel;
            }
            catch
            {
                kernel.Dispose();
                throw;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Load your modules or register your services here!
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="kernel">The kernel.</param>
        private static void RegisterServices(IKernel kernel)
        {
            //kernel.Bind(q =>
            //  q.FromAssembliesMatching("Smartiz.ClientServices*")
            //  .SelectAllClasses()
            //  .InheritedFrom(typeof(BaseService))
            //  .BindDefaultInterface()
            //  .Configure(c => c.InSingletonScope()));
        }        
    }
}

Answer 2

This is not a MVC/WebApi issue

your configuration is wrong:

kernel.Bind<ILogger, NLogLogger>();

should be

kernel.Bind<ILogger>().To<NLogLogger>();