What is the diff between http handler and ashx - asp.net

I know that httphandler is different from an ashx file. But I heard it from somewhere that they are the same. I am not able to find any reading material that shows that these two are different.

Basically, ashx is to HttpHandler, what apsx is to an ASP.NET (WebForms) Page.
It's just the default extension for an HttpHandler and there's nothing stopping you from using a different extension and configuring your server to use that extension.

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Does ASP.NET not recognize an HttpModule if it doesn't have an accompanying .asmx file?

I created an HttpModule (without any associated axmx file), hooked it up via my web.config, and I'm able to track my incoming requests. A colleague commented that ASP.NET won't recognize it if there isn't any asmx file associated with it. My solution still works. Would anybody know any case where this won't work? For AJAX requests, maybe?
There is nothing wrong with what you have done.
Asmx is for web services.
Http Modules optionally can have an ashx file associated with it.
You have to link the class via web.config.
Only having a class is perfectly normal. You should not face any issues with it.
If you hooked the module in web.config you're fine. No need to register it elsewhere. There is just difference where to register it in web.config - for IIS7++ its in the system.webServer section, for IIS6 and lower it is in the system.web section.

IIS handle static files?

Does IIS handle request that of static file eg:
http://localhost:9000/Content/ABC.pdf
If it doesnt then can we add some setting so that the .pdf request is also handled by IIS and it passes through URLRewite module.
Asp.net only receives requests for aspx, asmx, ashx.
If a file name extension has not been mapped to ASP.NET, ASP.NET will not receive the request.
If you create a custom handler to service a particular file name extension, you must map the extension to ASP.NET in IIS and also register the handler in your application's Web.config file. For more information, see HTTP Handlers and HTTP Modules Overview.
If possible change your url to an ashx file. If not, you can map pdf to be recognized by asp.net.
Yes, IIS handles static content just fine (it does serve images up, right?).
By default it will bypass any dynamic processing and return the content directly.
If your setup does not automatically handle PDF files correctly, you may simply need to add the correct mime type to the configuration.

ASP .NET code in SVG?

I am looking for a way that I can add .SVG files to server-side code handlers or something, so that I can have server-side code handled in my .SVG files, without needing to change to the .ASPX file extension.
I know how to do this in PHP, just not in ASP .NET.
Implement an ASP.NET HTTP handler. See HTTP Handlers and HTTP Modules Overview.
Basically, you create an implementation of the System.Web.IHttpHandler interface and register it in web.config (you can register it for any URL pattern you like, so you can serve *.svg URLs and have the handler execute your logic).
If you're running an older IIS version, you will also need to add a file extension mapping to IIS configuration. For IIS 7, all you need to do to add the mapping is to register your handler in web.config.

Can an assembly in an ASP.NET Bin folder automatically register HTTP handlers?

Is it possible for a .NET assembly in an ASP.NET web site's Bin folder to automatically respond to certain incoming HTTP requests, as if it had an httpHandlers entry in the web site's web.config file, but without actually having to add that entry?
For example an assembly may contain the following metadata to get some embedded static resource to be available in an ordinary HTTP request:
[assembly: System.Web.UI.WebResource("SomeManifestResource", "image/gif")]
I'm looking for similar functionality that instead of returning a static resource will actually invoke an HttpHandler that is defined the assembly. Again, without actually having to add the entry to the web.config file.
No that is simply not possible.
Everything in ASP.NET that responds back with HTML output is HttpHandler somewhere in the inheritance hierarchy. So HttpHandlers are really one of the most critical part of ASP.NET runtime. Even your asp.net pages [aspx,ascx] do implement IhttpHandler to be able to serve HTML content.
You must configure them in your web.config to have them work for you.

ASP file being caught by .NET isapi

I need to serve up a few .asp pages from within my ASP.NET site.
This ASP.NET site has a handler that allows us to serve up pages out of the database instead of finding them on disk (where the .asp files are located).
The problem appears to be that the .NET isapi (C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\aspnet_isapi.dll) is catching my request... at that point, it is going to the database and not finding the file.
My question: why is ASP.NET catching my request? I would think it should come in and use the proper extension mapping for .asp (C:\WINDOWS\system32\inetsrv\asp.dll).
Is there a way to tell ASP.NET to leave the .asp files alone?
one alternative is to set up a virtual directory which only can execute .asp and without asp.net support.
It sounds like you have a wild card script mapping in your application configuration forwarding all requests into the aspnet_isapi.dll. Is the a .asp mapping to asp.dll?

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