XElement.Load("~/App_Data/file.xml") Could not find a part of the path

Question

I am new in LINQtoXML. I want to use XElement.Load("") Method. but the compiler can't find my file. can you help me to write correct path for my XML file? Note that: I defined a Class in App_Code and I want to use the XML file data in one of methods and my XML file Located in App_Data.

settings = XElement.Load("App_Data/AppSettings.xml");

i cant Use Request.ApplicationPath and Page.MapPath() or Server.MapPath() to get the physical path for my file because i am not in a class Inherited form Page class.

Brief error Message:
Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\App_Data\AppSettings.xml'.

you see the path compiled is fully different from my project path(G:\MyProjects\ASP.net Projects\VistaComputer\Website\App_Data\AppSettings.xml)

Full error Message is here:

System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException was unhandled by user code
  Message="Could not find a part of the path 'C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\\Common7\\IDE\\App_Data\\AppSettings.xml'."
  Source="mscorlib"
  StackTrace:
       at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
       at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, Int32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
       at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize)
       at System.Xml.XmlDownloadManager.GetStream(Uri uri, ICredentials credentials)
       at System.Xml.XmlUrlResolver.GetEntity(Uri absoluteUri, String role, Type ofObjectToReturn)
       at System.Xml.XmlReader.Create(String inputUri, XmlReaderSettings settings, XmlParserContext inputContext)
       at System.Xml.XmlReader.Create(String inputUri, XmlReaderSettings settings)
       at System.Xml.Linq.XElement.Load(String uri, LoadOptions options)
       at System.Xml.Linq.XElement.Load(String uri)
       at ProductActions.Add(Int32 catId, String title, String price, String website, String shortDesc, String fullDesc, Boolean active, Boolean editorPick, String fileName, Stream image) in g:\MyProjects\ASP.net Projects\VistaComputer\Website\App_Code\ProductActions.cs:line 67
       at CMS_Products_Operations.Button1_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in g:\MyProjects\ASP.net Projects\VistaComputer\Website\CMS\Products\Operations.aspx.cs:line 72
       at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e)
       at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventArgument)
       at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.System.Web.UI.IPostBackEventHandler.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventArgument)
       at System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(IPostBackEventHandler sourceControl, String eventArgument)
       at System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(NameValueCollection postData)
       at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint)
  InnerException: 

Answer 1

You could try the HostingEnvironment.ApplicationPhysicalPath static property (assuming this is used in an ASP.NET application):

string filePath = Path.Combine(
    HostingEnvironment.ApplicationPhysicalPath, 
    @"App_Data\AppSettings.xml"
);

I different and IMHO better approach is to write a reusable function which takes the filename as parameter and which at the end of the day will be called from some WebForm where you will have access to Server.MapPath. The advantage of this is that this function is no longer dependent on the ASP.NET engine and could be reused in some other application where the filename will be calculated differently. So basically separate the concerns:

1. Calculate the filename location
2. Pass a filename to a function that does some parsing on it