How useful is it to use Aspnet_compiler.exe instead of conventional Publish via Visual Studio? And what about resource (resx) files?
Precompilation, as opposed to simple xcopy gives you two main advantages:
The filesystem will not have all the code in .aspx files and all the code behind is compiled into an assembly.
There is no ASP.NET compilation delay the first time you visit a page after the server starts up.
Having said that, my precompilation knowledge is a bit rusty these days, last time I touched it was a while back.