Ninject in ASP.NET MVC4

Question

So after much screwing around I finally got Ninject wired in and compiling in my MVC4 application. The problem I was running into is the IDependencyScope interface no longer exists from what I can tell and the System.Web.Http.Dependencies namespace was done away with.

So, my problem now is I have everything wired in and upon running the application I get:

    Sequence contains no elements

    [InvalidOperationException: Sequence contains no elements]
   System.Linq.Enumerable.Single(IEnumerable`1 source) +379
   Ninject.Web.Mvc.NinjectMvcHttpApplicationPlugin.Start() in c:\Projects\Ninject\ninject.web.mvc\mvc3\src\Ninject.Web.Mvc\NinjectMvcHttpApplicationPlugin.cs:53
   Ninject.Web.Common.Bootstrapper.<Initialize>b__0(INinjectHttpApplicationPlugin c) in c:\Projects\Ninject\Ninject.Web.Common\src\Ninject.Web.Common\Bootstrapper.cs:52
   Ninject.Infrastructure.Language.ExtensionsForIEnumerableOfT.Map(IEnumerable`1 series, Action`1 action) in c:\Projects\Ninject\ninject\src\Ninject\Infrastructure\Language\ExtensionsForIEnumerableOfT.cs:31
   Ninject.Web.Common.Bootstrapper.Initialize(Func`1 createKernelCallback) in c:\Projects\Ninject\Ninject.Web.Common\src\Ninject.Web.Common\Bootstrapper.cs:53
   Ninject.Web.Common.NinjectHttpApplication.Application_Start() in c:\Projects\Ninject\Ninject.Web.Common\src\Ninject.Web.Common\NinjectHttpApplication.cs:81

Which I haven't been able to track down or even begin to fathom where it is coming from.

My standard Ninject methods inside the Global.asax.cs look as follows:

        protected override IKernel CreateKernel()
        {
            var kernel = new StandardKernel();
            kernel.Load(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());
            kernel.Bind<IRenderHelper>().To<RenderHelper>();

            GlobalConfiguration.Configuration.ServiceResolver.SetResolver(new NinjectDependencyResolver(kernel));
            return kernel;
        }

        protected override void OnApplicationStarted()
        {
            base.OnApplicationStarted();
            AreaRegistration.RegisterAllAreas();
            RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilters.Filters);
            RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);
            BundleTable.Bundles.RegisterTemplateBundles();
        }

And my custom resolver:

public class NinjectDependencyResolver : IDependencyResolver
{
    private readonly IKernel _kernel;

    public NinjectDependencyResolver(IKernel kernel)
    {
        _kernel = kernel;
    }

    public object GetService(Type serviceType)
     {
         return _kernel.TryGet(serviceType);
     }

     public IEnumerable<object> GetServices(Type serviceType)
     {
         try
         {
             return _kernel.GetAll(serviceType);
         }
         catch (Exception)
         {
             return new List<object>();
         }
     }

     public void Dispose()
     {
         // When BeginScope returns 'this', the Dispose method must be a no-op.
     }
}

Any insight here would be greatly appreciated. I've spent far too much time already trying to get any DI framework wired into the latest MVC4 RC running on .NET 4.5 and have now just reached my tolerance level for things just not working at all..

Edit #1 A little further research digging around in github the ExtensionsForIEnumerableOfT.cs doesn't help much:

https://github.com/ninject/ninject/blob/master/src/Ninject/Infrastructure/Language/ExtensionsForIEnumerableOfT.cs

And possibly if I had wrote it myself I would begin to understand this but Bootstrapper.cs doesn't help too much either.

https://github.com/ninject/Ninject.Web.Common/blob/master/src/Ninject.Web.Common/Bootstrapper.cs

Hoping these details will make it easier for any of you who might have more experience with Ninject.

Edit #2 The error encountered is specifically in NinjectMvcHttpApplicationPlugin.cs:

The offending line is:

ModelValidatorProviders.Providers.Remove(ModelValidatorProviders.Providers.OfType<DataAnnotationsModelValidatorProvider>().Single());

Which lives in the following method:

public void Start()
{
    ModelValidatorProviders.Providers.Remove(ModelValidatorProviders.Providers.OfType<DataAnnotationsModelValidatorProvider>().Single());
    DependencyResolver.SetResolver(this.CreateDependencyResolver());
    RemoveDefaultAttributeFilterProvider();
}

The ModelValidatorProviders collection contains 2 elements: {System.Web.Mvc.DataErrorInfoModelValidatorProvider} {System.Web.Mvc.ClientDataTypeModelValidatorProvider}

And it's trying to remove a single instance of:

System.Web.Mvc.DataAnnotationsModelValidatorProvider

Which apparently isn't loaded up in the ModelValidationProviders.Providers collection. Any ideas from here?

Resolution to Above Exception And Onto The Next

To resolve the issue in the ModelValidatorProviders I had to manually add an object it was expecting. So now my CreateKernel method looks like:

protected override IKernel CreateKernel()
{
    var kernel = new StandardKernel();
    kernel.Load(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());

    kernel.Bind<IRenderHelper>().To<RenderHelper>();
    kernel.Unbind<IDocumentViewerAdapter>();

    GlobalConfiguration.Configuration.ServiceResolver.SetResolver(new NinjectDependencyResolver(kernel));
    ModelValidatorProviders.Providers.Add(new DataAnnotationsModelValidatorProvider());
    FilterProviders.Providers.Add(new FilterAttributeFilterProvider());
    return kernel;
}

Now it runs and gets into the actual guts of Ninject but still has an issue, one that makes no sense yet again:

Exception Details: Ninject.ActivationException: Error activating IntPtr
No matching bindings are available, and the type is not self-bindable.
Activation path:
 3) Injection of dependency IntPtr into parameter method of constructor of type Func{IKernel}
 2) Injection of dependency Func{IKernel} into parameter lazyKernel of constructor of type HttpApplicationInitializationHttpModule
 1) Request for IHttpModule

Suggestions:
 1) Ensure that you have defined a binding for IntPtr.
 2) If the binding was defined in a module, ensure that the module has been loaded into the kernel.
 3) Ensure you have not accidentally created more than one kernel.
 4) If you are using constructor arguments, ensure that the parameter name matches the constructors parameter name.
 5) If you are using automatic module loading, ensure the search path and filters are correct.

Solution 1

Ok after beating my head against the wall for far too long I figured out what was going on. The default project type for MVC4 running on .NET 4.5 had a reference to the original RC version of System.Web.Http instead of the updated version.

Namespaces were missing, objects didn't exist, life was not good.

Steps for resolution:

1. Remove your reference to System.Web.Http in your MVC4 project
2. Add Reference -> System.Web.Http
3. Delete all work arounds you put in to get the old garbage version of System.Web.Http to work

4. Reapply standard process to wire in Ninject.

   HOWEVER, the error of:

   Exception Details: Ninject.ActivationException: Error activating IntPtr No matching bindings are available, and the type is not self-bindable. Activation path: 3) Injection of dependency IntPtr into parameter method of constructor of type Func{IKernel} 2) Injection of dependency Func{IKernel} into parameter lazyKernel of constructor of type HttpApplicationInitializationHttpModule 1) Request for IHttpModule

   Suggestions: 1) Ensure that you have defined a binding for IntPtr. 2) If the binding was defined in a module, ensure that the module has been loaded into the kernel. 3) Ensure you have not accidentally created more than one kernel. 4) If you are using constructor arguments, ensure that the parameter name matches the constructors parameter name. 5) If you are using automatic module loading, ensure the search path and filters are correct.

Update This was solved by updating MVC from MVC4 Beta to MVC4 RC.

Solution 2

Check out the Pro ASP.NET MVC 3 book. I just ported this code over from MVC3 to MVC4 last night and works correctly. Page 322 to be exact.

What I don't see is where you are mapping your Interface to your concrete items.

Bind<ISomething>().To<Something>();

Add another constructor and add the method that calls your mapping;

public NinjectDependencyResolver() {
    _kernal = new StandardKernel();
    RegisterServices(_kernel);
}

public static void RegisterServices(IKernel kernel) {
    kernel.Bind<ISomething>().To<Something>();
}

Here's what a resolver could/should look like;

   public class NinjectDependencyResolver : IDependencyResolver {
    private IKernal _kernel;

    public NinjectDependencyResolver(){
        _kernal = StandardKernal();
        AddBindings();
    }

    public NinjectDependencyResolver(IKernel kernel)
    {
        _kernel = kernel;
    }

    public object GetService(Type serviceType)
     {
         return _kernel.TryGet(serviceType);
     }

     public IEnumerable<object> GetServices(Type serviceType)
     {
        return _kernal.GetAll(serviceType);
     }

    public IBindingToSyntax<T> Bind<T>() {
      return _kernal.Bind<T>();
    }

     public static void RegisterServices(IKernel kernel){
      //Add your bindings here. 
      //This is static as you can use it for WebApi by passing it the IKernel
     }
}

Global.Asx -

Application_Start()

method

DependencyResolver.SetResolver(new NinjectDependencyResolver());

That's it.

---

UPDATED 11/14/2012

On a side note, if you're working with MVC WebAPI, you will want to use WebApiContrib.IoC.Ninject from nuget. Also, check out the "Contact Manager" in their samples asp.net.com. This helped to cleanup the implementation of Ninject

Solution 3

Just delete NinjectWebCommon.cs file from your project (it is in App_Start folder). and everything should be working.

Source: http://mlindev.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/how-to-implement-dependency-injection.html

Solution 4

When you will install latest Ninject.MVC3 from NuGet package we find following code on top of the NinjectWebCommon.cs file:

[assembly: WebActivator.PreApplicationStartMethod(typeof(MvcApplication1.App_Start.NinjectWebCommon), "Start")]

[assembly: WebActivator.ApplicationShutdownMethodAttribute(typeof(MvcApplication1.App_Start.NinjectWebCommon), "Stop")]

in this case we dont need to register ninject explicitly in global.asax

I found a good content on using Ninject with MVC 4 here

View more solutions

Comments

[VulgarBinary]

And I've seen the blog post about that book. It works under .NET 4.0 not under .NET 4.5. Did you run into IDependencyScope no longer existing or the namespace System.Web.Http.Dependencies no longer existing? If you did, we might be able to talk but giving me a link to an amazon book does me absolutely no good. Time is an issue here.

[VulgarBinary]

That's your .NET 4.0 answer, thanks for the update but still not much help. I saw a blog post off that book and believe me I tried. DependencyResolver doesn't exist anymore, the registration line now looks like: GlobalConfiguration.Configuration.ServiceResolver.SetResolve‌​r(new NinjectDependencyResolver(kernel)); I'll take off the -1 but still doesn't help me much. Upgrade your solution to target .NET 4.5 and update your System.Web.Http reference to 4.5 and then you'll be in the same boat as me.

[anAgent]

Well, my intent was not to just provide you the code, but to help troubleshoot the issue a bit. Regardless of your assumptions - everyone overlooks things now and again. Teach a man to fish... and he sticks you in the eye with the hook..? =(

[VulgarBinary]

I appreciate the help anAgent, just after spending a full day on this I'm a tad grumpy. I figured out the issue and it was with the initial RC version of the assemblies loaded in the MVC4 project. They are just flat out wrong. Updating the reference fixes the issue and now I have to delete all the work arounds I've been putting in place for the past 14 hours... I'm tired... and pissy and my Binding calls were in there... so came off a tad meaner than I should have. My apologies.

[Crob]

I had the same error after upgrading my server to .NET 4.5. Your post got me thinking that there might be some old bin files hanging out after the publish. I deleted everything in the folder and re-published and all is well.

[VulgarBinary]

Glad this post helped out!

[Igor Lizunov]

Works for me. A reference from official ninject repository issues: github.com/ninject/ninject.web.mvc/issues/…

[maracuja-juice]

@harriyott Found it on the Internet Wayback Machine: web.archive.org/web/20130722154409/http://www.dotnetfever.co‌​m/…