Why can't you build a website in release mode?

Question

In ASP.Net, if I set up a web application I can configure it to be in release mode but with a website I can only set the configuration to be in debug mode. Why is this?

Answer 1

A Web Site's debug/release is controlled by the Web.Config file:

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

Set debug="true" for debugging, set debug="false" for release.

Answer 2

In web site projects each page is compiled dynamically upon first request. It will compile without debugging symbols unless you specify otherwise in the config file.