Question

I recently had a problem with the Issue Tracker starter kit that seemed to be resolved by using the ‘build’ option. Previously, I would typically use the ‘play’ button to debug my app, then just stage the files when everything was working, assuming that the last time I hit the ‘play’ button, it had fully compiled the app.

Anyhow, I’m wondering if there’s a difference between the ‘play’ button and the ‘build’ menu option? if so, what are the differences?

Answer 1

The ‘build’ button compiles your website while the ‘play’ button builds and fires up a browser with the default page as an argument.

The ‘play’ button is designed to execute a assembly that is designated in your solution as a starting point. Since an ASP.NET website has no true ‘entry point’ (like static void Main() in a console application) the ‘play’ button simulates a similar action by opening the browser to your projects ‘start page’.