Database Reference
In-Depth Information
File System Web Site
A file system-based web site is stored on the computer like any other folder structure. The main feature
of this type of web site is that it uses a very lightweight ASP.NET development server that is part of Visual
Studio 2012, so it does not require IIS to be available on the developer's local machine.
To view or test a file system web site, ASP.NET Development Server plays the role of the web server.
The ASP.NET Development Server is a server that runs locally on your Windows computer and serves
ASP.NET web pages, which makes it suitable for testing your file system-based web application.
Figure 16-1 shows the New Web Site dialog box with the web site location set to File System; notice
also the path of the folder where this web site will be stored: the local path on your disk.
Figure 16-1.
Specifying a file system web site
FTP Web Site
A web site based on the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) helps you manage and transfer files between a local
machine and a remote web site. The FTP web site offers a Windows Explorer-like interface and exposes
the folder structure where files, documents, and so on, are kept for sharing purposes.
You can access the FTP site to share, transfer, or download files from a remote FTP site to your local
computer, or you can upload files to the remote FTP site.
To view or test the FTP web site, the server computer must have a location to browse, that is, an
HTTP URL that points to the same files as the FTP site.
Figure 16-2 shows the New Web Site dialog box with the web site location set to FTP.
