Advanced ASP.NET AJAX Server Controls For .NET Framework 3.5

C. ASP.NET Handlers and Modules

ASP.NET handlers and modules provide the underlying support that makes ASP.NET AJAX function, and a good understanding of how they work can go a long way. In this appendix, we cover how HTTP handlers and modules work and how they fit into the overall ASP.NET 2.0 application lifecycle.

ASP.NET Application Lifecycle

The application lifecycle that ASP.NET 2.0 goes through when processing a request consists of quite of few layers. As shown in Figure C.1, the flow of a request from a client starts with the request coming into IIS and logic being applied to determine whether the ASP.NET runtime will be processing the request. If the file extension of the request ends with .aspx, .ascx, .ashx, .asmx, or .svc, the ASP.NET ...