In which format web.config file is stored?

The web.config file in ASP.NET is stored in XML format. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a widely used markup language that provides a structured way to store and represent data. The web.config file follows the XML syntax and conventions, allowing it to define various configuration settings for an ASP.NET application.

XML format consists of elements enclosed in opening and closing tags, with attributes and values associated with those elements. The web.config file uses a hierarchical structure with nested elements to organize and represent different configuration sections and settings.

Here's an example of the XML format used in the web.config file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
    <system.web>
        <authentication mode="Forms" />
        <authorization>
            <deny users="?" />
        </authorization>
    </system.web>
    <connectionStrings>
        <add name="MyConnectionString" connectionString="Data Source=ServerName;Initial Catalog=DatabaseName;User ID=Username;Password=Password" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
    </connectionStrings>
    <!-- Other sections and elements go here -->
</configuration>

In the above example, you can see the opening and closing tags, attribute-value pairs, and the hierarchical structure of the XML elements. The <b>'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>'</b> declaration at the beginning specifies the XML version and character encoding used.

The XML format provides a standardized and machine-readable way to represent configuration settings in the web.config file, allowing the ASP.NET runtime and other tools to parse, interpret, and apply the configuration to the application accordingly.