title: Web API: How to properly use with MVC5 form population after Read?
body: <p>I have to move a project from a purely controller based scenario to one utilizing web API.  There are currently a lot of views already intact whose forms are populated from the controller which calls an injected service object to get its data for edit (update) scenarios.</p>
  
  <p>What is the recommended way to populate a form without using a purely AJAX and jQuery approach when the form loads?  Would there be a lost in efficiency by having the controller call the web API method?  It seems a little inefficient to have to write a bunch of functions that populate the form fields one line at a time.</p>
  
  <p>Also, for the form, how would I differentiate between when a form would "POST" and when it would "PUT"?</p>