MVC 4 Data Annotations "Display" Attribute

If two different views are sharing the same model (for instance, maybe one is for mobile output and one is regular), it could be nice to have the string reside in a single place: as metadata on the ViewModel.

Additionally, if you had an inherited version of the model that necessitated a different display, it could be useful. For instance:

public class BaseViewModel
{
    [Display(Name = "Basic Name")]
    public virtual string Name { get; set; }
}

public class OtherViewModel : BaseViewModel
{
    [Display(Name = "Customized Inherited Name")]
    public override string Name { get; set; }
}

I'll admit that that example is pretty contrived...

Those are the best arguments in favor of using the attribute that I can come up with. My personal opinion is that, for the most part, that sort of thing is best left to the markup.