Hello,
In Visual Studio 2008 ASP.NET in C#, what are the pros and cons of starting with an ASP.NET Web Site vs an ASP.NET Web Application?
Which was introduced first? Is one approach the "more modern" approach? In what situations would you use one versus the other?
Thanks!
Adam
The Web Site model was introduced with VS 2005 (IIRC) and it replaced the VS 2003 web site model, which was more like todays Web Application model.
The Web Application model was delivered later as an add-on. Since VS 2008 it is a regular part of Visual Studio.
As for the advantages of either model and the differences between them, please see the numerous similar/duplicate questions (http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=website web application) and especially this answer for a great summary: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/398037/asp-net-web-site-or-web-application/398049#398049
I haven't used a web application since VS 2003. Website projects have it all now: masterpages, organized folders for the content of your site (ie - App_Data, App_Themes, etc.), sitemap files.
Ever since MS introduced Cassini as a built-in web container for debugging in VS, it's been MUCH easier to just use websites.