Autofac on Linux/Mono makes Razor not working

[marxin]

Hello.

I've got a project utilizing MVC5 & Autofac on Mono/Linux platform. It shows that after updating to mono-4.x, I've got problem that Razor engine is somehow not registered.

I've tried to reduce test-case, created just Example MVC5 project in Monodevelop:
https://github.com/marxin/test-mvc5-mono-autofac

Razor works, however if I just add Autofac MVC5 Integration package (no registration in code is done), it stops working with following message:

System.InvalidOperationException
The view found at '~/Views/Home/Index.cshtml' was not created.

Description: HTTP 500.Error processing request.

Details: Non-web exception. Exception origin (name of application or object): System.Web.Mvc.
Exception stack trace:
at System.Web.Mvc.BuildManagerCompiledView.Render (System.Web.Mvc.ViewContext viewContext, System.IO.TextWriter writer) in :line 0
at System.Web.Mvc.ViewResultBase.ExecuteResult (System.Web.Mvc.ControllerContext context) in :line 0
at System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.InvokeActionResult (System.Web.Mvc.ControllerContext controllerContext, System.Web.Mvc.ActionResult actionResult) in :line 0
at System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.InvokeActionResultFilterRecursive (IList1 filters, Int32 filterIndex, System.Web.Mvc.ResultExecutingContext preContext, System.Web.Mvc.ControllerContext controllerContext, System.Web.Mvc.ActionResult actionResult) in <filename unknown>:line 0 at System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.InvokeActionResultFilterRecursive (IList1 filters, Int32 filterIndex, System.Web.Mvc.ResultExecutingContext preContext, System.Web.Mvc.ControllerContext controllerContext, System.Web.Mvc.ActionResult actionResult) in :line 0
Version Information: 4.2.1 (Stable 4.2.1.60/804ddbc Tue Oct 27 00:22:01 UTC 2015); ASP.NET Version: 4.0.30319.17020

Thanks for help,
Martin

[tillig]

It appears to me that you asked this question a year ago on StackOverflow and found the answer in modifying your web.config. Is the same answer not still working?

Unfortunately, I don't really have a Linux/Mono environment on which I can test this - when we compile Autofac core for PCL, we trust that the framework is doing the right thing; and when we test Autofac MVC integration, it's with native Windows + .NET.

I do know that the Autofac.Mvc5 package takes advantage of the PreApplicationStartMethodAttribute to register an HttpModule into the application pipeline. I believe the Microsoft Razor assemblies do the same thing. You don't need to do anything to make that happen, though, which is why I raise it - that dynamic HttpModule addition may be part of the problem.

I see in WebActivator that they had to change the way they register app startup stuff so it works correctly in Mono..

Here's what I'd recommend - fork Autofac.Mvc and try implementing something in the PreApplicationStartCode class that looks like the ActivationManager on WebActivator - the part where it checks to see if it's running in Mono and changes the way it registers modules. See if that makes a difference.

If it does, file an issue over on the Autofac.Mvc repository and reference this one, letting us know. We try to keep the issues for each package in the respective repository. Better yet - send us a PR with the patch you made and verified as working.

Again, though, I don't have an environment on which I can replicate or troubleshoot it, so I'm probably not going to be able to be any more help than this. If the above patch works - awesome, we'll integrate it accordingly. If not... perhaps re-asking on StackOverflow with more information may yield better results - someone else out there that I'm unaware of may have encountered the same issue and know how to fix it.

[marxin]

Hello.

Sorry for a delay, I was busy with other stuff.

You've got very smart ideas how to fix the issue, however as I've just cloned Autofac repository, I've spotted couple of blockers:

1. Autofac converted *.csproj file to *.xproj - that can be fixed by checking out v3.5.2 tag
2. Opening top-level solution file works fine, however as my Linux machine does not contain PCL binaries, I can't build the solution. Is there any way how could I switch to framework v4.5. Or should I install these PCL binaries?

[marxin]

So the situation was much easier than original looked.
It was sufficient just to fix: "Access to the path “/etc/mono/registry” is denied":
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24872394/access-to-the-path-etc-mono-registry-is-denied