Can ASP.NET Routing be used to create “clean” URLs for .ashx (IHttpHander) handlers?

Question

I have some REST services using plain old IHttpHandlers. I\'d like to generate cleaner URLs, so that I don\'t have the .ashx in the path. Is there a way to us

Answer 1

I actually like Joel's solution better, as it doesn't require you to know the type of handler while you're trying to setup your routes. I'd upvote it, but alas, I haven't the reputation required.

I actually found a solution which I feel is better than both mentioned. The original source code I derived my example from can be found linked here http://weblogs.asp.net/leftslipper/archive/2009/10/07/introducing-smartyroute-a-smarty-ier-way-to-do-routing-in-asp-net-applications.aspx.

This is less code, type agnostic, and fast.

public class HttpHandlerRoute : IRouteHandler {

  private String _VirtualPath = null;

  public HttpHandlerRoute(String virtualPath) {
    _VirtualPath = virtualPath;
  }

  public IHttpHandler GetHttpHandler(RequestContext requestContext) {
    IHttpHandler httpHandler = (IHttpHandler)BuildManager.CreateInstanceFromVirtualPath(_VirtualPath, typeof(IHttpHandler));
    return httpHandler;
  }
}

And a rough example of use

String handlerPath = "~/UploadHandler.ashx";
RouteTable.Routes.Add(new Route("files/upload", new HttpHandlerRoute(handlerPath)));