Directory structure

Directory structure

In general, the ASP.NET directory structure can be determined by the developer's preferences. Apart from a few reserved directory names, the site can span any number of directories. The structure is typically reflected directly in the URLs. Although ASP.NET provides means for intercepting the request at any point during processing, the developer is not forced to funnel requests through a central application or front controller.

The special directory names (from ASP.NET 2.0 on) are:

App_Code: This is the "raw code" directory. The ASP.NET server automatically compiles files (and subdirectories) in this folder into an assembly which is accessible in the code of every page of the site. App_Code will typically be used for data access abstraction code, model code and business code. Also any site-specific http handlers and modules and web service implementation go in this directory. As an alternative to using App_Code the developer may opt to provide a separate assembly with precompiled code.

App_Data: default directory for databases, such as Access mdb files and SQL Server mdf files. This directory is usually the only one with write access for the application.

App_LocalResources: E.g. a file called CheckOut.aspx.fr-FR.resx holds localized resources for the French version of the CheckOut.aspx page. When the UI culture is set to French, ASP.NET will automatically find and use this file for localization.

App_GlobalResources: Holds resx files with localized resources available to every page of the site. This is where the ASP.NET developer will typically store localized messages etc. which are used on more than one page.

App_Themes Adds a folder that holds files related to themes which is a new ASP.NET feature that helps ensure a consistent appearance throughout a Web site and makes it easier to change the Web site’s appearance when necessary.

App_WebReferences holds discovery files and WSDL files for references to web services to be consumed in the site.

Bin Contains compiled code (.dll files) for controls, components, or other code that you want to reference in your application. Any classes represented by code in the Bin folder are automatically referenced in your application.

Authentication

For ASP.NET application developers there had been, before IIS 7, two authentication models you needed to program against. These models were the IIS and ASP.NET pipelines. First, IIS would examine the request and perform its authentication routines and then afterwards pass it to ASP.NET so it could do a similar task.

In IIS 7 we have unified these two models to produce a new robust pipeline that does the best that both older models did. IIS still supports all the old authentication protocols but also now supports forms authentication which can protect against all content types and does not rely on Windows accounts. In addition to supporting all the old features you have come to know and love we have also enhanced some of them such as the Anonymous Authentication feature.

These changes will be discussed in the upcoming sections.