http handler compression over iis

Question

I found this article http://archive.webproasp.com/webproasp-27-20080620CompressingWebResourceaxdtoReduceYourWebsiteSize.html

and it explains how to compress axd files (and js files).

I wondered if there is any advantage in doing this over letting IIS handle the compression.

Answer 1

Users on shared hosting often aren't able to change the compression settings on IIS. Using http handlers allows this to be done from within the application.

If you can setup compression at the IIS level there is no reason not to.

Answer 2

If you are using Shared hosting provider like GoDaddy they do not allow you to access IIS. So in this case you have to either write HTTP Handler or Module to accomplish few tasks like Compression, Caching etc.

The best example of doing so is Caching of heavy static images. On Shared hosting you have to go for HTTP Handler solution to implement caching for static images.

This article on Code Project explains how to do it. Same reasons and arguments applies to compression of web resources.