Using F# Records with ASP.NET Web API

In the Knockout.js and Backbone.js examples that I provided over the last few weeks, the model was written as a class using the traditional syntax. Here's an example:

	type Contact() =
	let mutable firstName = ""
	let mutable lastName = ""
	let mutable phone = ""
	member x.FirstName with get() = firstName and set v = firstName <- v
	member x.LastName with get() = lastName and set v = lastName <- v
	member x.Phone with get() = phone and set v = phone <- v

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While this approach works well, it would be great if we could use F# records instead. It turns out that with a few tweaks, this is easy to accomplish. Let's see how to do this in the Knockout.js example.  

First, we'll change the model to be an F# record. The new model looks like this:

type Contact = { FirstName : string; LastName : string; Phone : string }

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We'll also need to change how the example data is initialized. This code now looks like this:

	let contacts = seq { yield { FirstName = "John"; LastName = "Doe"; Phone = "123-123-1233" }
	yield { FirstName = "Jane"; LastName = "Doe"; Phone = "123-111-9876" } }

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Lastly, a small change is needed in the ContactsViewModel. This now looks like the following: