Using Html.DropDownListFor() with a SelectList - asp.net

Question

What is the correct way to populate a SelectList when using the Html.DropDownListFor helper in ASP.Net MVC 3?
I basically have a "Create" form which I want to specify the entry values on for a particular field. For example, it is a movie database and I want the ability to enter a Genre, but I don't want users to be able to enter what they like, so I assume a SelectList to be the best answer?
A way that works is to create a new class with a static method to return the SelectList:
public class Genres
{
public static List<string> GetGenres()
{
List<string> myGenres = new List<string>();
myGenres.Add("Comedy");
myGenres.Add("Romantic Comedy");
myGenres.Add("Sci-Fi");
myGenres.Add("Horror");
return myGenres;
}
}
Which can then be used like this:
<div class="editor-field">
#Html.DropDownListFor(model => model.Genre, new SelectList(OLL.Models.Genres.GetGenres()))
</div>
It just doesn't seem like the right/easiest way to do it? I think I'm missing something obvious here...
Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

Answer 1

This is a simple selectList style I use for drop downs all the time, hopefully you find this helpeful.
ViewBag.AlbumListDD = from c in db.Query<DatabaseEntities.VenuePhotoAlbum>("WHERE VenueId = #0", VenueId)
select new SelectListItem
{
Text = c.Name,
Value = c.Id.ToString()
};
Inside my view:
#Html.DropDownList("AlbumId", (IEnumerable<SelectListItem>)ViewBag.AlbumListDD, new { id = "ChangeAlbum" })
Hopefully you can find this useful as this is a database route to go. I typically like to have all of that sort of information in a database and that way users can dynamically add/remove and change these dropdown items at will. There is a bit of SQL work behind the scenes required when removing a type but it has proven to be very successful and fast for me at this point.

Answer 2

var og = (from s in DB.Products
select new SelectListItem
{
Text = s.ProductName,
Value = s.ProductID.ToString()
});
ViewBag.lstProducts = new SelectList(getproductname, "ProductID", "ProductName");
<p>
#Html.DropDownList("AlbumId", (IEnumerable<SelectListItem>)ViewBag.lstProducts, new { #id = "drp" });
</p>