NOTE: The project name in this sample code is mcWebService which is a spelling mistake. I meant to put mcWinService. And now I don't want to change all the screen shots and code all over again. I hope it won't confuse you :).
Ok, its time for one more tutorial. This times pick is Windows Services. Creating Windows Services is not a big deal using C# and Visual Studio. Just follow few simple steps and you are all set to run and test your first Windows Service.
Windows Services is new name for NT Services you used to develop in previous versions of Visual Studio. This tutorial walks you through how to create and use your Windows Services. This Service writes some text to a text file when stop and start the service. The base idea is taken from MSDN but its more elaborated. You can modify it according to your needs.
Step 1. Create Skeleton of the Service
To create a new Window Service, pick Windows Service option from your Visual C# Projects, give your service a name, and click OK.
![Create Windows Services]()
The result look like this. The Wizard adds WebService1.cs class to your project.
![Create Windows Services]()
Set your ServiceName to your own name so it would be easier to recognize your service during testing OR you can set this property programmatically using this line this.ServiceName = "mcWinService";
This is the name you will be looking for later :).
![Create Windows Services]()
The default code of WebService1.cs added by the Wizard looks like here
- namespace mcWebService
- {
- using System;
- using System.Collections;
- using System.Core;
- using System.ComponentModel;
- using System.Configuration;
- using System.Data;
- using System.Web.Services;
- using System.Diagnostics;
- using System.ServiceProcess;
- public class WinService1 : System.ServiceProcess.ServiceBase
- {
-
-
-
- private System.ComponentModel.Container components;
- public WinService1()
- {
-
-
- }
-
- static void Main()
- {
- System.ServiceProcess.ServiceBase[] ServicesToRun;
-
-
- / create a second service object. For example,
-
-
- ySecondUserService()};
-
- ServicesToRun = new System.ServiceProcess.ServiceBase[] { new WinService1() };
- System.ServiceProcess.ServiceBase.Run(ServicesToRun);
- }
-
-
-
-
- private void InitializeComponent()
- {
- components = new System.ComponentModel.Container();
- this.ServiceName = "WinService1";
- }
-
-
-
- protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
- {
-
- }
-
-
-
- protected override void OnStop()
- {
-
- }
- }
- }
Step 2. Add functionality to your service
As you saw WebService1.cs, there are two overridden functions OnStart and OnStop. The OnStart function executes when you start your service and the OnStop function gets execute when you stop a service. I write some text to a text file when you start and stop the service.
- protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
- {
- FileStream fs =new FileStream(@"c:\temp\mcWindowsService.txt" ,
- FileMode.OpenOrCreate, FileAccess.Write);
- StreamWriter m_streamWriter =new StreamWriter(fs);
- m_streamWriter.BaseStream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.End);
- m_streamWriter.WriteLine(" mcWindowsService: Service Started \n");
- m_streamWriter.Flush();
- m_streamWriter.Close();
- }
-
-
-
- protected override void OnStop()
- {
- FileStream fs =new FileStream(@"c:\temp\mcWindowsService.txt" ,
- FileMode.OpenOrCreate, FileAccess.Write);
- StreamWriter m_streamWriter =new StreamWriter(fs);
- m_streamWriter.BaseStream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.End);
- m_streamWriter.WriteLine(" mcWindowsService: Service Stopped \n");
- m_streamWriter.Flush();
- m_streamWriter.Close();
- }
Step 3 - Install and Run the Service
Build of this application makes one exe, mcWinService.exe. You need to call installutil to register this service from command line.
installutil C:\mcWebService\bin\Debug\mcWebService.exe
You use /u option to uninstall the service.
installutil /u C:\mcWebService\bin\Debug\mcWebService.exe
Run the application
Step 4 - Start and Stop the Service
You need to go to the Computer Management to Start to start and stop the service. You can use Manage menu item by right clicking on My Computer.
![Manage Windows Services]()
Under Services and Applications, you will see the service mcWinService. Start and Stop menu item starts and stops the service.
![Computer Management]()
Step 5: Test the Service
Go to your temp directory and see if text file is there with contents or not.
That's it.