In Brief

This chapter explained how ASP.NET handles application-level events and manages state:

• Global.asax contains event-handling routines that enable handling of application-level events. This includes events that occur when beginning and ending the application, each request, and Session state. Other events include handling of unhandled exceptions and authentication handling.

• Application state is for holding information across an entire application. It is global to all users of the application.

• Session state is a per-user state bag to hold information for each user during a session. Practical applications include personalization of the Web site for individuals or shopping cart management.