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.

score 58 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

58

The default for debug attribute in the compilation is false

debug

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

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

answered Aug 24 '12 at 18:27

Mark

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 14 '17 at 21:13

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.

score 4 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 21 '16 at 15:07

4

The Default value will be false.

Here is a link to MSDN about the compilation tag for web.config.

edited Sep 21 '16 at 15:07

Stacked

answered Aug 24 '12 at 18:28

AndyC

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 31 '18 at 15:19

2

The default is false as described by previous answers.

If debug=true is specified in Machine.config, every web app's web.config will inherit it and it will be treated as default then.

answered Jul 31 '18 at 15:19

soccer7

To find the path of `machine.config`: https://stackoverflow.com/a/2325492/2173353 – user2173353 Feb 23 '21 at 21:24

4 Answers4