Global.asax Syntax

The Global.asax file, also known as the ASP.NET application file, is an optional file that contains code for responding to application-level and session-level events raised by ASP.NET or by HTTP modules. The Global.asax file resides in the root directory of an ASP.NET application. At run time, Global.asax is parsed and compiled into a dynamically generated .NET Framework class derived from the HttpApplication base class. ASP.NET is configured so that any direct URL request for the Global.asax file is automatically rejected; external users cannot download or view the code in it.

The Global.asax file is optional. You create it only if you want to handle application or session events.

In This Section

• Application Directives
  Tags that define optional application-specific settings used by the ASP.NET parser when processing the Global.asax file.

• Code Declaration Blocks
  Tags that define sections of server-side code that can be embedded in the Global.asax file.

• Code Render Blocks
  Tags that define inline code or expressions that can be embedded within the declarative sections of the Global.asax file.

• Server-Side Object Tag Syntax
  Elements that create application and session variables using a declarative syntax.

• Server-Side Include Directive Syntax
  Tags with a syntax for specifying server-side includes of text files within ASP.NET application files.

Related Sections

• ASP.NET Life Cycle
  Provides information about the step-by-step processing that occurs during an ASP.NET application lifetime.

See Also

Other Resources

Custom ASP.NET Processing with HTTP Handlers
Extending ASP.NET Processing with HTTP Modules
ASP.NET Page Syntax