Getting ApplicationState in asp.net without HttpContext

Question

I got a webapp that stores a config object in ApplicationState. This object contains the connection string to the database among other things.

Sometimes i start a async thread to do a few longer running tasks, like sending emails and updating the database.

However since this thread don't have a HttpContext i can't get at the config object.

I know this design that everything depends on HttpContext is bad, but thats too late to change now. Looking at reflector i see that the HttpContext class just uses a static internal class to get the ApplicationState. Is there any other way to get at it?

All those internal classes in .net are really annoying.

Answer 1

Just pass whatever you like to your thread when you start it. Use a ParameterizedThreadStart delegate to start it instead of just a ThreadStart delegate. You could either pass it HttpContext.Current, or else bundle together the information you want your thread to have, and pass it.

Answer 2

If you really need access to Application State (or similar) from async handlers you should modify your HttpApplication subclass (e.g. Global.asax) to store the Application State instance (this.Application) to a static property during Application_Start:

public static HttpApplicationStateWrapper State { get; private set; }

protected void Application_Start()
{
    State = new HttpApplicationStateWrapper(this.Application);
}

It would be more appropriate to use a DI framework to register this instance, but if you have one available you could probably avoid the use of Application State altogether for storing config. Further, there is a configuration framework in .NET that directly addresses this need and provides the ability to read configuration from anywhere.