Pros/cons of reading connection string from physical file vs Application object (ASP.NET)?
- by HaterTot
my ASP.NET application reads an xml file to determine which environment it's currently in (e.g. local, development, production).
It checks this file every single time it opens a connection to the database, in order to know which connection string to grab from the Application Settings.
I'm entering a phase of development where efficiency is becoming a concern. I don't think it's a good idea to have to read a file on a physical disk ever single time I wish to access the database (very often).
I was considering storing the connection string in Application["ConnectionString"]. So the code would be
public static string GetConnectionString
{
if (Application["ConnectionString"] == null)
{
XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
doc.Load(HttpContext.Current.Request.PhysicalApplicationPath + "bin/ServerEnvironment.xml");
XmlElement xe = (XmlElement) xnl[0];
switch (xe.InnerText.ToString().ToLower())
{
case "local":
connString = Settings.Default.ConnectionStringLocal;
break;
case "development":
connString = Settings.Default.ConnectionStringDevelopment;
break;
case "production":
connString = Settings.Default.ConnectionStringProduction;
break;
default:
throw new Exception("no connection string defined");
}
Application["ConnectionString"] = connString;
}
return Application["ConnectionString"].ToString();
}
I didn't design the application so I figure there must have been a reason for reading the xml file every time (to change settings while the application runs?) I have very little concept of the inner workings here. What are the pros and cons? Do you think I'd see a small performance gain by implementing the function above?
THANKS
