What is Web.Config File?
It is an optional XML File which stores configuration
details for a specific asp.net web application.
Note: When you
modify the settings in the Web.Config
file, you do not need to restart the Web service for the modifications to take
effect.. By default, the Web.Config file applies to all the pages
in the current directory and its subdirectories.
Extra: You can
use the <location> tag to
lock configuration settings in the Web.Config
file so that they cannot be overridden by a Web.Config
file located below it. You can use the allowOverride
attribute to lock configuration settings. This attribute is especially valuable
if you are hosting untrusted applications on your server.
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What is Machine.config File?
The Machine.Config file, which specifies the settings that
are global to a particular machine. This file is located at the following path:
\WINNT\Microsoft.NET\Framework\[Framework
Version]\CONFIG\machine.config
As web.config file is used to configure one asp
.net web application, same way Machine.config file is used to configure the
application according to a particular machine. That is, configuration done in
machine.config file is affected on any application that runs on a particular
machine. Usually, this file is not altered and only web.config is used which
configuring applications.
You can override settings in the Machine.Config file for all
the applications in a particular Web site by placing a Web.Config file in the
root directory of the Web site as follows:
\InetPub\wwwroot\Web.Config
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What can be stored in Web.config file?
There are number of
important settings that can be stored in the configuration file. Here are some
of the most frequently used configurations, stored conveniently inside
Web.config file..
1. Database connections.
2. Session States
3. Error Handling (CustomError
Page Settings.)
4. Security (Authentication
modes)
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What is the best place to store Database connection
string?
In Web.Config, you would add a key to the AppSettings
Section:
<appSettings>
<add key="MyDBConnection" value="data
source=<ServerName>;Initial catalog =<DBName>;user
id=<Username>;password=<Password>;" />
</appSettings>
Example:
<add key="ConnectionString" value= "data
source=localhost;Initial catalog=northwind;user id=sa;password=mypass"
/>
Then, in your ASP.Net application - just refer to it like this:
using
System.Configuration;
string connectionString
= (string )ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["ConnectionString"];
Can I use IIS as an alternative way of configuring Custom error pages?
Yes, you can. But the preferable way would be ASP.NET, as
the ASP.NET custom pages are configured in XML based web.config (application
configuration) file, resulting in easy (xcopy) deployment and management.
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Hierarchy of Configuration File
Configuration files are arranged in hierarchy. Child Web.Config
files override configuration settings specified by their parents. This means
that you do not need to copy the complete contents of a parent Web.Config file when creating a Web.Config lower in the hierarchy. You can
specify only the configuration settings that you need to modify.
Note: If your asp.net
application doesn’t consist of Web.Config file than all the settings from
machine.config file would be applied.
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Difference between Web.Config and Machine.Config File
Two types of
configuration files supported by ASP.Net.
Configuration files are used to control and manage the behavior of a web
application.
i) Machine.config
ii)Web.config
Difference between Machine.Config and Web.Config
Machine.Config:
i) This is automatically installed when you install Visual Studio. Net.
ii) This is also called machine level configuration file.
iii)Only one machine.config file exists on a server.
iv) This file is at the highest level in the configuration hierarchy.
Web.Config:
i) This is automatically created when you create an ASP.Net web
application project.
ii) This is also called application level configuration file.
iii)This file inherits setting from the machine.config
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