ASP.NET web.config: What is the default for the debug attribute in system.web.compilation?

Question

If I don't include the debug attribute in the compilation element like this:

<system.web>     <compilation /> </system.web> 

Does it default to true or false? Links to sources would be appreciated.

Answer 1

The default for debug attribute in the compilation is false

MSDN - compilation Element (ASP.NET Settings Schema)

debug

Optional Boolean attribute. Specifies whether to compile debug binaries rather than retail binaries. The default is False.

Answer 2

The default value is false, but beware of ASP.NET Configuration File Hierarchy and Inheritance.

So, if in a specific web.config file you find:

<system.web>     <compilation /> </system.web> 

It may very well be that the actual value it true, if there is a web.config file at a higher level with:

<system.web>     <compilation debug="true" /> </system.web> 

If you use the the IIS configuration editor, you can see the actual values. A drop down list allows you to inspect the values set at a higher level.

You can see that the value of debug=true. Not because it is set in the web.config file at the application level, but at the root site level.