Question

I need to initialize StructureMap.ObjectFactory in ASP.NET MVC 3 application.

ObjectFactory.Initialize(x => x.For<Db>().HttpContextScoped().Use<Db>());

Do I have to do it in Application_BeginRequest or Application_Start?

Answer 1

As a general rule, you should always setup your IoC container in the Application_Start event handler, since it only needs to happen once during the lifetime of the application.

In the case of StructureMap, the documentation recommends to separate the container configuration code in a separate Bootstrapper class:

public static class Bootstrapper
{
    public static void Bootstrap()
    {
        // ObjectFactory.Initialize(...
    }
}

which you then invoke from the Application_Start event handler:

protected void Application_Start()
{
    Bootstrapper.Bootstrap();
}