Is it possible to use a jQuery ajax call to perform Forms Authentication with ASP.NET MVC? I've been unable to find any such examples.
More specifically, how do I set the auth cookie on the page (without a redirect) so I can make successive authenticated ajax requests?
Yes, it's possible.
Just submit the login-form using the method described here by mike bosch and return a json datastructure with the returnUrl if any.
I have created a lightweight LoginResultDTO class that i return as json:
public class LoginResultDTO
{
public bool Success {get;set;}
public string Message {get;set;}
public string ReturnUrl {get;set;}
}
Here's a script block from my LogOn view:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function() {
var form = $($("form")[0]);
form.submit(function() {
var data = form.serialize();
$.post(form.attr("action"), data, function(result, status) {
if (result.Success && result.ReturnUrl) {
location.href = result.ReturnUrl;
} else {
alert(result.Message);
}
}, "json");
return false;
});
});
</script>
This will ajax wrap the logon form. Note that this is the simplest implementation of the javascript code possible but it's a place to start.
Then I have modified my LogOn action in the AccountController and in the relevant places put something like this:
if(Request.IsAjaxRequest())
{
return Json(new LoginResultDTO{Success=true,Message="Successfully logged in"});
}else
{
return View();
}
So this is an ultralight but rather complete version of how jquery authentication could be done in asp.net mvc.
Steve Reynolds has a good article on how to do some of this.
Link to article
Take a look at xVal. It can use any client-side validation library but uses jQuery Valiation by default.