Microsoft ASP.NET Coding Strategies with the Microsoft ASP.NET Team (Pro-Developer)

ASP.NET’s configuration system provides a simple configuration that does not require special tools to edit or manage the file. Instead, XML is used to store the various configuration options required by ASP.NET. The configuration system is very flexible in that it allows for fine-grained control at various application levels as well as provides switches that allow or deny the overriding of sections.

Storing custom configuration data can be accomplished either by using the <appSettings /> section or by authoring a custom configuration section handler. Although <appSettings /> is the easiest approach to use, authoring a custom configuration section handler provides the highest degree of flexibility. Note that in the next version of ASP.NET, we will provide graphical tools as well as more APIs for programming and managing the ASP.NET configuration system.