Summary

ASP.NET applications introduce a new architecture for building Web applications and a new set of programmable, extensible server controls. In this chapter we reviewed the architecture of ASP.NET applications and the role of HTTP handlers in servicing ASP.NET requests . The Page object is the programmatic cornerstone of Web forms, and it provides a number of directives that control the execution of the Web form. ASP.NET introduces the new view state, which conveniently preserves the contents of server controls between postbacks. However, this convenience may come at a performance price, so we also discussed the implications of disabling view state. ASP.NET provides an advanced configuration system using XML-based configuration files. We reviewed the Web.config file in detail and discussed how to create and use custom configuration settings. Finally, we reviewed ways to optimize your ASP.NET application.