Configuration

Configuration Overview

SupermarketWEB uses ASP.NET Core’s configuration system with settings stored in appsettings.json and environment-specific overrides in appsettings.Development.json. Configuration is loaded automatically at application startup in Program.cs.

Database Configuration

Connection String Setup

The database connection is configured in appsettings.json under the ConnectionStrings section:

appsettings.json

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "SupermarketDB": "Data Source=(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB;Initial Catalog=SupermarketEF;Integrated Security=True;Connect Timeout=30;Encrypt=False;Trust Server Certificate=False;Application Intent=ReadWrite;Multi Subnet Failover=False"
  }
}

Connection String Components

Component	Value	Description
`Data Source`	`(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB`	SQL Server instance (LocalDB by default)
`Initial Catalog`	`SupermarketEF`	Database name
`Integrated Security`	`True`	Use Windows authentication
`Connect Timeout`	`30`	Connection timeout in seconds
`Encrypt`	`False`	Disable connection encryption

Configuring for Different Environments

SQL Server LocalDB (Default)
SQL Server Express
SQL Server with Credentials
Azure SQL Database

Use the default configuration for local development:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "SupermarketDB": "Data Source=(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB;Initial Catalog=SupermarketEF;Integrated Security=True;Connect Timeout=30;Encrypt=False;Trust Server Certificate=False;Application Intent=ReadWrite;Multi Subnet Failover=False"
  }
}

For SQL Server Express installations:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "SupermarketDB": "Data Source=.\\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=SupermarketEF;Integrated Security=True;Connect Timeout=30;Encrypt=False"
  }
}

For SQL Server with username/password authentication:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "SupermarketDB": "Data Source=your-server;Initial Catalog=SupermarketEF;User Id=your-username;Password=your-password;Connect Timeout=30;Encrypt=True;Trust Server Certificate=False"
  }
}

Never commit credentials to source control. Use environment variables or Azure Key Vault for production.

For Azure SQL Database:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "SupermarketDB": "Data Source=your-server.database.windows.net;Initial Catalog=SupermarketEF;User Id=your-username;Password=your-password;Encrypt=True;Trust Server Certificate=False"
  }
}

Entity Framework Core Configuration

The database context is registered in Program.cs:

Program.cs

builder.Services.AddDbContext<SupermarketContext>(options =>
    options.UseSqlServer(builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("SupermarketDB"))
);

The SupermarketContext manages five entity sets:

Products - Product inventory
Categories - Product categories
Customers - Customer records
PayModes - Payment methods
Users - User accounts

Authentication Configuration

SupermarketWEB uses cookie-based authentication configured in Program.cs:

Program.cs

builder.Services.AddAuthentication().AddCookie("MyCookieAuth", option =>
{
    option.Cookie.Name = "MyCookieAuth";
    option.LoginPath = "/Account/Login";
});

Authentication Settings

Setting	Value	Description
`Cookie.Name`	`MyCookieAuth`	Name of the authentication cookie
`LoginPath`	`/Account/Login`	Redirect path for unauthenticated users

Customizing Authentication

To modify authentication behavior, update the cookie options in Program.cs:

builder.Services.AddAuthentication().AddCookie("MyCookieAuth", option =>
{
    option.Cookie.Name = "MyCookieAuth";
    option.LoginPath = "/Account/Login";
    option.ExpireTimeSpan = TimeSpan.FromHours(24);  // Cookie expiration
    option.SlidingExpiration = true;                  // Extend on activity
    option.Cookie.HttpOnly = true;                    // Prevent XSS
    option.Cookie.SecurePolicy = CookieSecurePolicy.Always;  // HTTPS only
});

The authentication system works with the Users entity in the database. User credentials are validated against the Email and Password fields.

Logging Configuration

Log Levels

Logging is configured in appsettings.json:

appsettings.json

{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  }
}

Available Log Levels

Trace - Most detailed logging
Debug - Debugging information
Information - General informational messages (default)
Warning - Warning messages
Error - Error messages
Critical - Critical failures
None - Disable logging

Development Logging

Development-specific logging can be configured in appsettings.Development.json:

appsettings.Development.json

{
  "DetailedErrors": true,
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  }
}

Set DetailedErrors to true in development for detailed error pages. Always set this to false in production to avoid exposing sensitive information.

Environment-Specific Configuration

Development Environment

Development settings in appsettings.Development.json:

{
  "DetailedErrors": true,
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  }
}

Features enabled in development:

Detailed error pages
Developer exception page
Verbose logging

Production Environment

The application detects production environment and applies different middleware in Program.cs:

Program.cs

if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error");
    app.UseHsts();
}

Production features:

Generic error handling via /Error page
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)
HTTPS redirection
No detailed errors exposed

Application Settings

Allowed Hosts

Configure allowed host headers in appsettings.json:

{
  "AllowedHosts": "*"
}

In production, restrict AllowedHosts to specific domains to prevent host header attacks:

{
  "AllowedHosts": "yourdomain.com;www.yourdomain.com"
}

HTTPS Configuration

HTTPS is enforced in production through middleware in Program.cs:

app.UseHttpsRedirection();

To configure HTTPS ports and certificates, modify Properties/launchSettings.json.

Middleware Pipeline

The request pipeline is configured in Program.cs:

Program.cs

app.UseHttpsRedirection();
app.UseStaticFiles();
app.UseRouting();
app.UseAuthorization();
app.MapRazorPages();

The middleware executes in this order:

HTTPS Redirection - Redirects HTTP to HTTPS
Static Files - Serves files from wwwroot
Routing - Matches requests to endpoints
Authorization - Validates authentication cookies
Razor Pages - Executes page handlers

Configuration Best Practices

Use Environment Variables

Store sensitive configuration in environment variables, not in appsettings.json:

export ConnectionStrings__SupermarketDB="your-connection-string"

Separate Environments

Maintain separate configuration files for each environment:

appsettings.json - Base settings
appsettings.Development.json - Development overrides
appsettings.Production.json - Production overrides

Use User Secrets

For local development, use .NET User Secrets to store sensitive data:

dotnet user-secrets set "ConnectionStrings:SupermarketDB" "your-connection-string"

Validate Configuration

Test configuration changes in development before deploying to production. Verify:

Database connectivity
Authentication flows
Logging output

Configuration Priority

ASP.NET Core loads configuration in this order (later sources override earlier ones):

appsettings.json
appsettings.{Environment}.json
User Secrets (Development only)
Environment variables
Command-line arguments

This allows you to override any setting without modifying files.

Next Steps

With your configuration complete, you’re ready to start using SupermarketWEB. Explore the features:

Manage products and inventory
Organize items by category
Track customer information
Configure payment methods
Secure your application with user authentication

Get Started

Core Features

Data Models

Development

Configuration Overview

Database Configuration

Connection String Setup

Connection String Components

Configuring for Different Environments

Entity Framework Core Configuration

Authentication Configuration

Authentication Settings

Customizing Authentication

Logging Configuration

Log Levels

Available Log Levels

Development Logging

Environment-Specific Configuration

Development Environment

Production Environment

Application Settings

Allowed Hosts

HTTPS Configuration

Middleware Pipeline

Configuration Best Practices

Configuration Priority

Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

Data Models

Development

​Configuration Overview

​Database Configuration

​Connection String Setup

​Connection String Components

​Configuring for Different Environments

​Entity Framework Core Configuration

​Authentication Configuration

​Cookie Authentication Setup

​Authentication Settings

​Customizing Authentication

​Logging Configuration

​Log Levels

​Available Log Levels

​Development Logging

​Environment-Specific Configuration

​Development Environment

​Production Environment

​Application Settings

​Allowed Hosts

​HTTPS Configuration

​Middleware Pipeline

​Configuration Best Practices

​Configuration Priority

​Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Configuration Overview

Database Configuration

Connection String Setup

Connection String Components

Configuring for Different Environments

Entity Framework Core Configuration

Authentication Configuration

Cookie Authentication Setup

Authentication Settings

Customizing Authentication

Logging Configuration

Log Levels

Available Log Levels

Development Logging

Environment-Specific Configuration

Development Environment

Production Environment

Application Settings

Allowed Hosts

HTTPS Configuration

Middleware Pipeline

Configuration Best Practices

Configuration Priority

Next Steps