Store and Retrieve connection string instate of web.config

Essentially, interviewer want to check if your fundamentals are clear or you have just memorized the answers (ratta!).

 

The principle behind storing connection string in web.config is to be able to modify it depending on the environment, for example, development, testing, production, etc. without having to compile the whole code. This fact must be clear to you and this is what is checked.

 

I am aware this sound so simple and almost a common sense, but believe me ther interviewer is checking if you have that basic knowledge or not. Because some candidates don't.

 

So the clever answer would be:

 

"Connection string is one of the several configurable settings for any application. If these settings are hard-coded within application and if their values change between environments, which it invaribaly does, we need to recompile the code. This is avoided by storing such information outside app in plain text file. Web.config provides this function as a part of the framework. If we choose not to use it, settings can be stored in any flat file, registry, etc. so long as app is written to read these settings from that place at run time without issues".

 

Hope it helps!