Question

I modify web.config when I HAVE TO 🙂 Debugging setting, session state setting, etc. But in those cases, some tutorial or error message has been explicit: “Open web.config and do XYZ”.

What I wonder is, what else can it do? What things that I do now in other ways would be better done in web.config. Is there a good primer or even a comprehensive web.config book or other resource that I can study to get good understanding of what it is really capable of?

I’ve searched for “web.config” on amazon, etc., and lots of returns for specific technologies that use it, but nothing focused solely on web.config itself.

I hope this isn’t a really dumb question.

Answer 1

I would start with MSDN

http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/web-config-file-demystified

Scott Hanselman has some good postings too:
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ManagingMultipleConfigurationFileEnvironmentsWithPreBuildEvents.aspx