Web.config

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web.config ( all lowercase ) is the main settings and configuration file for an ASP.NET web application. The file is a text based XML document that defines such things as connection strings to any databases the application uses, the default language for child pages, whether debugging is allowed and how it can be implemented, whether SessionState is used by default, what type of authentication is used, if any, and so on. Web.config files can only be placed inside directories that have been configured as ASP.NET applications such as the web application's root directory. Web.config files inherit properties from higher level .config files and ultimately machine.config however some settings inside machine.config cannot be overridden.

The web.config file is so central to the ASP.NET framework that when the file is saved, IIS restarts the application it belongs to. Visual Studio will automatically create a web.config file when you need one, such as compiling a web application to run in debug mode.