.NET Tips and Tricks

Blog archive

Why Won't My Razor Code Compile!?!

I've said it before: The Razor code that I enter into my ASP.NET MVC Views looks like magic to me. The ability Razor gives me to mix HTML and code surpasses my understanding. But, like magic, because I don't understand why Razor works, there are times where I don't understand why Razor doesn't work.

And neither do my clients, one of whom called me up last week to ask why code like the following wasn't acceptable to Razor (in C#, equivalent code wouldn't require the second @ ... but it still wouldn't compile):

@If RowRequired Then
  @<tr>
End If

The problem is that, inside a code block (like this If…Then block), Razor requires that all open tags have a matching close tag. Razor is fine with this code, for example:

@If RowRequired Then
  @<tr></tr>
End If

This can make structuring your HTML a little more awkward but, there is a solution: use @: instead of plain old @. With @:, this code compiles:

@If RowRequired Then
  @:<tr>
End If
</tr>

That's sharp!

Posted by Peter Vogel on 10/23/2015


comments powered by Disqus

Featured

  • Claude AI Gets Yet Another Boost in VS Code 1.128

    The July 8, 2026, Visual Studio Code update expands agent workflows, chat attachments, browser-tab controls, OS-level shortcuts and enterprise telemetry management.

  • TypeScript 7 Arrives to Rock VS Code with Go-Powered Speed

    Microsoft says TypeScript 7, announced July 8, brings native Go performance to VS Code, Visual Studio and other editors.

  • Full-Stack with a Side of Copilot: Building and Deploying an App the AI-Accelerated Way

    In this Q&A, developer and VSLive! speaker Esteban Garcia explains how GitHub Copilot can accelerate the full software development lifecycle -- from architecture and code to tests, CI/CD, and Azure deployment -- and how to use it as a repeatable engineering workflow rather than just a faster autocomplete tool.

  • VS Code 1.127 Further Integrates Advanced Browser-AI Tech

    Microsoft's July 1 Visual Studio Code update continues a recent push to make the editor's integrated browser a more capable development surface -- and a more useful tool for AI agents.

Subscribe on YouTube