Using "~" in a path resolves as C:\
<p>I'm trying to implement a server control that frobs a couple of files inside the web directory of an ASP.NET site. I'm using VS Web Dev Express 2008 as my IDE. When I call <code>HttpContext.Current.Request.ApplicationPath</code> to get a path to the web root so I can find those files, it returns C:. What the heck?</p>

<p>Absolute paths work just fine, but I'd like to be able to feed the server control a relative directory and just let it do it's thing. What have I done wrong?</p>

<pre><code>public String Target
{
    get { return _target; }
    set
    {
        if (value.StartsWith("~"))
        {
            // WTF? Gives me C:\? Why?
            _target = HttpContext.Current.Request.ApplicationPath +
                value.Substring(1);
        }
        else
        {
            _target = value;
        }
    }
}

private String _target;

protected override void Render(HtmlTextWriter writer)
{
    HtmlControl wrapper = new HtmlGenericControl("div");
    int fileCount = 0;

    try
    {
        DirectoryInfo dir = new DirectoryInfo(_target);
        foreach (FileInfo f in dir.GetFiles())
        {
            fileCount++;
            a = new HtmlAnchor();
            a.Attributes.Add("href", f.FullName);
            a.InnerHtml = f.Name;
            wrapper.Controls.Add(a);
        }
    }
    catch (IOException e)
    {
        throw e;
    }

    Controls.Add(wrapper);
    base.Render(writer);
}
</code></pre>
