web.config file

It has the following elements:
 •
Clear - it removes all references to inherited sections and section groups.

 •
Remove - it removes a reference to an inherited section and section group.

 •
Section - it defines an association between a configuration section handler and a configuration element.

 •
Section group - it defines an association between a configuration section handler and a configuration section.

 
The Application Settings:
 
The application settings allow storing application-wide name-value pairs for read-only access. For example, you can define a custom application setting as:
 

For example, you can store the name of a book and its ISBN number:
 

The Connection Strings:
 
The connection strings shows which database connection strings are available to the website. For example:
 

           connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;
        Data Source=E:\\projects\datacaching\ /
        datacaching\App_Data\ASPDotNetStepByStep.mdb"
        providerName="System.Data.OleDb" />
           connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;
        Data Source=C:\ \databinding\App_Data\books.mdb"
   providerName="System.Data.OleDb" />

 

The System.Web Element:
 
The system.web element specifies the root element for the ASP.NET configuration section and contains configuration elements that configure ASP.NET Web applications and control how the applications behave.
 
It holds most of the configuration elements needed to be adjusted in common applications. The basic syntax for the element:
 

The following table provides brief description of some of common sub elements of the system.web element:
 
anonymousIdentification:
 
This is required to identify users who are not authenticated when authorization is required.
 
authentication:
 
It configures the authentication support. Basic syntax:
 

   ...
  

 

authorization
 
It configures the authorization support.Basic syntax:
 

caching:
 
Configures the cache settings.Basic syntax:
 

   ...
   ...
   ...
   ...

 

customErrors:
 
Defines custom error messages. Basic syntax:
 

deployment:
 
Defines configuration settings used for deployment. Basic syntax:
 

hostingEnvironment:
 
Defines configuration settings for hosting environment.Basic syntax:
 

    idleTimeout="HH:MM:SS"
    shadowCopyBinAssemblies="true|false"
    shutdownTimeout="number"
    urlMetadataSlidingExpiration="HH:MM:SS"
/>
 

identity:
 
Configures the identity of the application. Basic syntax:
 

          userName="domain\username"
          password=""/>
 

machineKey:
 
Configures keys to use for encryption and decryption of Forms authentication cookie data.
 
It also allows configuring a validation key that performs message authentication checks on view-state data and Forms authentication tickets. Basic syntax:
 

  validationKey="AutoGenerate,IsolateApps" [String]
  decryptionKey="AutoGenerate,IsolateApps" [String]
  validation="HMACSHA256" [SHA1 | MD5 | 3DES | AES | HMACSHA256 |
    HMACSHA384 | HMACSHA512 | alg:algorithm_name]
  decryption="Auto" [Auto | DES | 3DES | AES | alg:algorithm_name]
/>
 

membership:
 
This configures parameters of managing and authenticating user accounts.Basic syntax:
 

    defaultProvider="provider name"
    userIsOnlineTimeWindow="number of minutes"
    hashAlgorithmType="SHA1">
    ...

 

pages:
 
Provides page-specific configurations. Basic syntax:
 

   asyncTimeout="number"
   autoEventWireup="[True|False]"
   buffer="[True|False]"
   clientIDMode="[AutoID|Predictable|Static]"
   compilationMode="[Always|Auto|Never]"
   controlRenderingCompatibilityVersion="[3.5|4.0]"
   enableEventValidation="[True|False]"
   enableSessionState="[True|False|ReadOnly]"
   enableViewState="[True|False]"
   enableViewStateMac="[True|False]"
   maintainScrollPositionOnPostBack="[True|False]"
   masterPageFile="file path"
   maxPageStateFieldLength="number"
   pageBaseType="typename, assembly"
   pageParserFilterType="string"
   smartNavigation="[True|False]"
   styleSheetTheme="string"
   theme="string"
   userControlBaseType="typename"
   validateRequest="[True|False]"
   viewStateEncryptionMode="[Always|Auto|Never]"
>
   ...
   ...
   ...
   ...

 

profile:
 
Configures user profile parameters. Basic syntax:
 

    enabled="true|false"
    inherits="fully qualified type reference"
    automaticSaveEnabled="true|false"
    defaultProvider="provider name">
    ...
    ...

 

roleManager:
 
Configures settings for user roles. Basic syntax:
 

    cacheRolesInCookie="true|false"
    cookieName="name"
    cookiePath="/"
    cookieProtection="All|Encryption|Validation|None"
    cookieRequireSSL="true|false "
    cookieSlidingExpiration="true|false "
    cookieTimeout="number of minutes"
    createPersistentCookie="true|false"
    defaultProvider="provider name"
    domain="cookie domain">
    enabled="true|false"
    maxCachedResults="maximum number of role names cached"
    ...

 

securityPolicy:
 
Configures the security policy. Basic syntax:
 

urlMappings:
 
Defines the mappings for hiding the actual URL and providing a more user friendly URL. Basic syntax:
 

webControls:
 
It provides the name of shared location for client scipts. Basic syntax:
 

webServices:
 
This configures the web services.