ASP.NET Core flow

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ASP.NET Core flow

bhavna 106

Is it like this?

OS(windows/Linux)------->dotnet.exe/w3wp.exe/app.exe (for ASP.NET 5/6)------->App.dll (having Main())-->start kestrel to listen http requests.

OR

OS(windows/Linux)------->dotnet.exe/w3wp.exe/app.exe (for ASP.NET 5/6)------->Main()[Console APP]--->kestrel-->appname.exe---.>App.dll

which one is correct or None of the above?

My question basically is, what is the role of appname.exe when you have dotnet.exe, or dotnet.exe has no role in asp.net core 3+ (5/6)?

AgaveJoe 31,361 Reputation points

2022-01-11T19:46:17.42+00:00

My best guess is you are wondering about hosting which is covered in the official documents. There's a lot to read...

Host and deploy ASP.NET Core
Anonymous

2022-01-12T02:48:51.343+00:00

Hi@bhavna ,

Could you please tell me what you mean about the role? Admin or user role? Besides, for asp.net core , all the web application contain the program.cs, the dotnet exe will run this program.cs 's main method to run the kestrel and then running the web application.
bhavna 106 Reputation points

2022-01-13T16:14:58.213+00:00

No, see, When we log the worker process for ASP.NET Core 5/6 we get ApplicationName.exe as the worker process, not dotnet.exe.
So, My question is does appname.exe replace dotnet.exe.

Also, my main question is, when we press ctrl+f5 from VS or write dotnet.exe appname.dll then the application starts and main() hits, but in production with reverse proxy settings, how does the main() starts means who calls the Main() and when?

Until Main() doesn't execute kestrel won't start, so how does Apache forward the request to Kestral when kestrel is not yet started?

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AgaveJoe 31,361 Reputation points

2022-01-11T19:46:17.42+00:00

My best guess is you are wondering about hosting which is covered in the official documents. There's a lot to read...

Host and deploy ASP.NET Core
Anonymous

2022-01-12T02:48:51.343+00:00

Hi@bhavna ,

Could you please tell me what you mean about the role? Admin or user role? Besides, for asp.net core , all the web application contain the program.cs, the dotnet exe will run this program.cs 's main method to run the kestrel and then running the web application.
bhavna 106 Reputation points

2022-01-13T16:14:58.213+00:00

No, see, When we log the worker process for ASP.NET Core 5/6 we get ApplicationName.exe as the worker process, not dotnet.exe.
So, My question is does appname.exe replace dotnet.exe.

Also, my main question is, when we press ctrl+f5 from VS or write dotnet.exe appname.dll then the application starts and main() hits, but in production with reverse proxy settings, how does the main() starts means who calls the Main() and when?

Until Main() doesn't execute kestrel won't start, so how does Apache forward the request to Kestral when kestrel is not yet started?

Answer 1

Bruce (SqlWork.com) 84,086

.net is a virtual machine language like java. the compilers create il code, so a program is required to load and run the IL code.

For classic .net, a custom exe was generated that had a snippet of code to load and run the IL code that was embedded in the exe. This required a custom exe format be created to host the embedded IL code.

the .net core is cross platform, so the exe hack wasn't done. instead a lightweight exe is created that loads and hosts the app dll. If I remember correctly, in the original core release it was just a bat file. the main difference of this implementation is no application code is included in the produced exe. so it really makes no difference if you run the code with dotnet, or the generated exe.

the AspNetCore host module supports .net core two ways. the first is out of process, or reverse proxy. in this case it need an exe to run. you can either use the dotnet command line or the generated exe. if in process, then a dedicated app pool is required, and host module loads and runs the app dll directly. in this case you specify the dll name.

here is the docs on actually hosting .net core application in C/C++ so you can write your own host:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/tutorials/netcore-hosting

note: the .exe extension is only used on windows.

bhavna 106 Reputation points

2022-01-15T06:45:24.177+00:00

Thanks, @Bruce (SqlWork.com) for your answer, My last question is does OS (Linux/MacOS) call this exe? or how does it start?
Bruce (SqlWork.com) 84,086 Reputation points

2022-01-15T18:18:35.257+00:00

On Unix based systems, executables don’t need a file extension (and typically don’t, as you would need to include it to run the program) the file system has an execute attribute instead.

If you add the execute attribute to a script file, the first line identifies the program used to execute the script.

Note: the .exe extension and many others, are based on the conventions used by the O/S (RSTS/E) used to develop dos, and windows followed the dos conventions.

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ASP.NET Core flow

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