Top 50 ASP.NET Interview Questions (With Example Answers)
Updated 9 March 2023
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ASP.NET is an open-source, server-side web application framework from Microsoft that enables web developers to create dynamic websites, web applications and web services. If you are interviewing for any role that requires knowledge of ASP.NET, the interviewer may ask you both basic and in-depth questions. Reviewing some of the commonly asked ASP.NET interview questions and their example answers can help you feel more confident during the actual interview. In this article, we outline some of the most frequently asked ASP.NET interview questions and review some of the example answers.
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Tips To Prepare For An ASP.NET Interview
You can prepare for an ASP.NET interview by going over the basics of ASP.NET. You may also review the following concepts:
Algorithms
Data structures
Databases
Networking
Page life cycles
Shared assemblies
Design patterns
OOP concepts
JavaScript
AJAX
Also, think of the common technical challenges to developing a web application and find innovative ways to resolve those. You can use those as examples when answering interview questions. Also, consider practising the common interview questions on input controls, optimisation, bundling, redirecting and managing state. In an ASP.NET programmer interview, you can expect questions on a variety of general knowledge and specific elements. Some questions might compel you to speak broadly about the .NET framework, while others may be more geared at discovering your knowledge of the ASP extension.
Related: How To Succeed in Your First Interview
Top 45 ASP.NET Interview Questions
You may study both technical and general interview questions to help you prepare. Here are 45 common interview questions for you to consider:
What do you know about ASP.NET?
Which version of ASP.NET have you worked with?
How will you run an ASP.NET application?
What is the AutoPostBack feature, and how can you disable it?
What is the difference between the ASP session state and the ASP.NET session state?
What do you know about the ASP.NET page life cycle?
What is IIS, and how do you use it?
What is caching, and what are its main requirements?
What is the role of CLR in the .NET framework?
Can you explain how the session object differs from the application object?
Do you know the difference between the GET method () and POST method ()?
How do globalisation and localisation differ?
Do you know the difference between a page theme and a global theme?
What do you know about ViewState?
What are the types of configuration files?
How do Web config and Machine config files differ?
Can you list the built-in objects in ASP.NET?
What do you know about ASP.NET page directives?
What is a Master Page, and how does it differ from an ASP.NET page?
How do you create a nested Master Page?
What is a cookie, and what is its default timeout?
What do you understand about event bubbling?
What steps will you take to create a user control?
What do you know about custom control?
How do user controls differ from custom controls?
In ASP.NET, what are the HTML server controls?
What are the security controls in ASP.NET?
What are themes and skins?
Can you explain the difference between in-proc and out-of-proc?
How does Debug.Write differ from Trace.Write?
How does Server.Transfer differ from Response.Redirect?
Can you list the types of authentication in ASP.NET?
What are the types of validation control in ASP.NET?
Can you explain the use of Global.asax?
What is the significance of the EnableViewState property?
How does file-based dependency differ from key-based dependency?
How does early binding differ from late binding?
Can you explain the difference between Web.config and Machine.config?
What do you know about web services?
Can you explain the difference between Finalize() and Dispose()?
Can you explain GAC and its purpose?
What are ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Web API frameworks?
What is the client-side state management system in ASP.NET?
What is the server-side state management system in ASP.NET?
What are the different page navigation methods in ASP.NET?
Related: .NET Interview Questions and Sample Answers
5 Common Interview Questions About ASP.NET With Example Answers
Practising these interview questions and reviewing sample answers may help with your job interview preparation:
1. Do you know the difference between managed and unmanaged code?
The interviewer may ask this question to assess your understanding of code functionality and security. Your answer can include definitions of both types of code and their tasks and actions. After you finish explaining the basics of managed and unmanaged move into the differences between the two. Point out how the differences impact the way users interact with the code. When answering this question, prepare for any follow-up questions about protecting computers against risks. Security is important so you may discuss certain risks.
Example: Managed and unmanaged code differ in their functionality. Managed code generally uses the Common Language Runtime (CLR) function in a .NET framework, while the developer has to compile and prepare unmanaged code for .NET. With the help of the CLR function, managed code can perform a variety of tasks. It can support and format several languages with the CLR language compiler and execute them in .NET. It can also act as a timed garbage collector in an application.
Additionally, it can secure sensitive information in the code and check permission with security objects before performing any requested task. For the unmanaged code, the developer determines the code's functionality and security.
Related: Backend Developer Skills: Definition and Examples
2. What are the different modes for the session state in ASP.NET?
With this question, the interviewer may want to assess your understanding of the different modes for storing the session state. You can mention the different modes and briefly explain each of them.
Example: The different modes for storing the session state in ASP.NET are InProc, custom mode, off-mode and OutProc. InProc is the default mode, and it can store the session state in the web server's memory. You can choose a specific custom storage provider with custom mode. If you want to disable the session state, you can use off-mode.
You can handle the OutProc mode by using StateServer and SQLServer. In StateServer, the ASP.net state service stores the session state and retains it even after the application server restarts. It then enables web servers to access the session state. In SQLServer, the database stores and preserves a session state and makes it available to web farm servers.
Related: Essential Web API Interview Questions and Example Answers
3. What is the REST architecture?
An understanding of the REST architecture is crucial for developing web applications, so this is a question that developers may often get at job interviews. You can mention its use and principles in your answer.
Example: Representational State Transfer (REST) is an architectural style that you can use for designing interoperable web applications and services. It uses HTTP for communication instead of complex protocols like SOAP and RPC. As per the REST principles, all files, images, videos, web pages and other elements are resources, and you can identify each of these with their unique identifier.
REST recommends using simple and uniform interfaces and doing everything through representation. For instance, the request will go from the client to the server and the response will come from the server to the client. Each request will be an independent one.
4. How does a website differ from a web application?
It is a basic question that ASP.NET freshers often get during job interviews. You can briefly explain the differences between websites and web applications by comparing their features.
Example: The website content is static, while the content of a web application is dynamic and interactive. Visitors can read the content on the website but cannot change or manipulate it. A web application may offer restricted content for users to read and manipulate. User authentication is not essential for websites but may be necessary for web applications to provide users with access to many of their features and options.
Creating a website can be a simple matter since it may only require you to upload and update information. On the other hand, web application creation may be more complex as developers have to consider the functions of the applications and how users will interact with them. You can directly access an entire website through a browser, which is not possible with a web application as it is only a part of the website. You do not need to precompile a website, but it is necessary for deploying a web application.
5. What are the different page events in ASP.NET?
An ASP.NET page life cycle consists of a series of processing steps that take place every time the page runs. Interviewers often ask this question in job interviews for ASP.NET positions since developers must know the page life cycle to write code specific to each of its phases to get the intended results.
Example: The page life cycle stages are page request, start, initialisation, load, postback event handling, rendering and unload. Some of the phases can only take place if the page undergoes partial-page or full-page postback processing. The page life cycle remains the same for both. An understanding of the page life cycle is necessary for developing custom controls.
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