The WebApplication Object
The final piece of the Web System that deserves discussion is the WebApplication object. This class inherits from the System.Web.HttpApplication class, and provides the code behind the Global.asax file.
The responsibility of this class is to orchestrate the running of the Charlie application. For example, the PluginManager needs to install the core plugins before the WebContextBuilder can build the current WebContext object. These managers and builders and various other “worker” classes do not tell each other what to do. Rather, it is the responsibility of the WebApplication object to tell these workers what to do, and when.
As I mentioned in The Trouble with Modules, the WebApplication class exposes a number of custom events, so that the plugins can become involved in all stages of Charlie’s processing. This is not an “extra” responsibility for the WebApplication class (if it were, it should be relocated). Rather, it is another aspect of the WebApplication class specifying what happens, and when.
You know what? The WebApplication class doesn’t deserve much discussion after all. It is vitally important to Charlie, but it is so simple that there’s really not much to say about it. Oh well. I’ll add another picture of Marilyn Monroe in the hope that it adds a little bit of interest to this weblog entry.
by Alister Jones | Next up: Charlie … It’s Alive! →
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