What is the use of Web.config file?

ASP.NET configuration files are XML-based text files. Each "web.config" file applies configuration settings to the directory it is located in and to all virtual sub directories under it.

Settings in sub directories can optionally override or modify settings specified in main directories. The root configuration file "WinNT\Microsoft.NET\Framework\<version>\config\machine.config" provides default configuration settings for the entire machine.

ASP.NET configures IIS to prevent direct browser access to "web.config" files. This ensures that their values cannot become public (Attempts to access them will cause ASP.NET to return 403: Access Forbidden). At run time, ASP.NET uses these "web.config" configuration files to hierarchically compute a unique collection of settings for each incoming URL target request. These settings are calculated only once and then cached across subsequent requests. ASP.NET automatically watches for file changes and will invalidate the cache if any of the configuration files change.

Written by Sandeep Mogulla, Webmaster at www.startvbdotnet.com

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