Using HttpContext.Current.Application to store simple data

Question

I want to store a small list of a simple object (containing three strings) in my ASP.NET MVC application. The list is loaded from the database and it is updated rarely by editing some values in the site's admin area.

I'm thinking of using HttpContext.Current.Application to store it. This way I can load it in the Global.asax:

protected void Application_Start()
{
    RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);

    HttpContext.Current.Application["myObject"] = loadDataFromSql(); // returns my object
}

And then can easily reference it from any controllers or views as needed. Then in the event, the admin area calls the updateMyObject controller action, I can just update the DB and load it in again and replace HttpContext.Current.Application["myObject"].

Are there any cons to doing this? It seems like it will work fine for what I am trying to achieve, however does anyone know of a better way to do this, assuming there is some major disadvantage to the method I've laid out?

Answer 1

HttpContext.Current.Application is essentially a hangover that is needed for backwards compatibility with classic ASP. It's essentially a static Hashtable with classic ASP locking semantics (Application.Lock / Application.UnLock).

As a weakly-typed Hashtable, you will need to cast objects you retrieve:

MyObject myObject = (MyObject) HttpContext.Current.Application["myObject"];

In an ASP.NET application that is not a migration from classic ASP, I would prefer using other standard .NET stuff, such as:

• A static field, using .NET locking semantics if you need locking (e.g. the C# lock keyword, or a ReaderWriterLockSlim instance, depending on your requirements):

  static MyObject myObject = LoadFromSql();

• The ASP.NET Cache - which has rich functionality for managing expiration, dependencies, ...