Paging search results with asp.net MVC

Question

I have a situation that I couldn't find a solution for through my searches on here. Here is the scenario:

I have a search form with 2 required fields and multiple optional ones. The form posts to an action method that determines which fields are selected and builds a List<> of objects that match the search criteria. I then pass that List<> to the view for display.

This issue I am running into involves how paging is typically done with asp.net mvc. For past projects I have used a custom Html helper that creates links which include the query parameters as well as a "page" parameter. It then uses a GET request and the .Take().Skip() format.

I've hit a wall on this project as I can't use a GET request for the search criteria and I can't figure out a way to keep the List<> in memory to do the usual "page" parameter trick.

I thought about storing the List<> in the session but the objects and the list could be very large.

I would think this is a popular issue with advanced search forms but I can't seem to find a good solution. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

How about cacheing the search result object and giving it a unique key. You would then have your paging links reference that unique (SearchID) and have your action look for that object, pull it from cache and Skip/Take from there.

This will not rebuild the object for every request, making page loading much faster and reducing strain on your database/application.

Here is a article about cacheing:

http://aspnet.4guysfromrolla.com/articles/100902-1.aspx

Here is a video about cacheing:

http://www.asp.net/learn/Videos/video-6206.aspx

Note: Be sure you specify expiration date on the cached object.