App_Code modules ignore machine.config namespaces

Question

I have a legacy ASP.NET/VB.NET WebSite. There several App_Code modules/code files that use types from common namespaces (such as the "System", etc.) included in the machine.config file.

For some reason, these modules do not recognize the included namespaces from the machine.config file. Modifications of the machine.config file have no effect on these modules anymore.

When I am creating a new ASP.NET/VB.NET WebSite project, I am unable to replicate this situation. Modifications of the machine.config file have the required effect, as expected. I assume that this issue is caused by some specific option in the WebSite Web.config file. Any hint/reference would be appreciated.

Answer 1

This issue was caused by the following VB.NET compiler glitch: There was a lot of other complication errors caused by some missing dependency assemblies. For some reasons, the VB.NET compiler was unable to recognize modules from namespaces included in the machine.config file. Once the complication errors with missing dependency assemblies has been resolved, the issue with machine.config namespaces has gone.