Define Resource Files and Satellite Assemblies.

Resource Files: A resource file contains non-executable data that are used by the application and deployed along with it. Bitmaps, Icons etc are the examples of resource files. In ASP.NET, resource files are used to make application to support multiple cultures. You can create resource files each of them correspond to specific locale or culture of the application. You can use resgen utility to compile resource file into an assembly. You can create a satellite assembly from a compiled resource file using the AL utility provided with Microsoft .NET SDK.

Advantages of resource files are as follows.
It supports Globalization features in ASP.NET.
You can have culture based information separate from the content and logic of the application.
You can change resource content without effecting application's code.

Satellite Assemblies
Satellite Assemblies are the special kinds of assemblies that exist as DLL and contain culture-specific resources in a binary format. They store compiled localized application resources. They can be created using the AL utility and can be deployed even after deployment of the application.
Satellite Assemblies encapsulate resources into binary format and thus make resources lighter and consume lesser space on the disk.

Note: Resource-only assemblies can contain any resource, such as images and text. Satellite assemblies contain only culture-specific resources

What is the difference between login controls and Forms authentication?

• Forms authentication can be easily implemented using login controls without writing any code.
• Login control performs functions like prompting for user credentials, validating them and issuing authentication just as the FormsAuthentication class.
• However, all that’s needs to be dne is to drag and drop the use control from the tool box to have these checks performed implicitly.
• The FormsAuthentication class is used in the background for the authentication ticket and ASP.NET membership is used to validate the user credentials.