Develop Reference

Windows service stops right after launching

I have following problem with the windows service I was writing:
When I start the service it stops immediately. When I was using a console app it wasn't crushing. I have no idea what's the cause of this problem.
Here's the code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ServiceModel;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Configuration.Install;
using WindowsService;
namespace WS
{
[ServiceContract(Namespace = "http://WS")]
public interface INewsReader
{
}
public class NewsReaderService : INewsReader
{
public NewsReaderService()
{
var config = new Config();
var scheduled = new Schedule(config);
scheduled.ExecuteScheduledEvents();
while (true)
{
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
int i = 0;
}
}
}
public class NewsReaderWindowsService : ServiceBase
{
public ServiceHost serviceHost = null;
public NewsReaderWindowsService()
{
ServiceName = "NewsReaderWindowsService";
}
public static void Main()
{
ServiceBase.Run(new NewsReaderWindowsService());
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
var thread = new System.Threading.Thread(() =>
{
while (true)
{
int i = 0;
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
}
});
thread.Start();
serviceHost = new ServiceHost(typeof(NewsReaderService));
serviceHost.Open();
}
protected override void OnStop()
{
}
}
[RunInstaller(true)]
public class ProjectInstaller : Installer
{
private ServiceProcessInstaller process;
private ServiceInstaller service;
public ProjectInstaller()
{
process = new ServiceProcessInstaller();
process.Account = ServiceAccount.LocalSystem;
service = new ServiceInstaller();
service.ServiceName = "NewsReaderWindowsService";
Installers.Add(process);
Installers.Add(service);
}
}
}

Well, first of all I think your OnStart method is written badly. I can't see the reason for creating a, basicly, empty thread. You should there only initialize service (If necessary), immediately start a new thread that will work for whole time and leave the OnStart method.
Second of all use try catch block, because in my opinion somewhere in there is exception and that's why your windows service stops.
Thirdly see this example WCF Hosting with Windows Service

Writing in the console while program is writing in this console

Is it possible to write something in the console while the program is writing something in this console ? It can be useful when you rename, or remove some files, when you do a repetitive action, and the program is writing a lot in the console. Then you will be able to write a command to stop the execution of the repetitive action while the program is continuing to write in the console. I think it's not very clear, well I illustrated you this fact with the code which I think the most apt (but I precise that it doesn't work ;) ). We have 3 classes.
The main class :
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
private static bool m_Write;
public static bool write
{
get { return m_Write; }
set { m_Write = value; }
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int index = 0;
Console.ReadLine();
m_Write = true;
Reader reader = new Reader();
while (m_Write)
{
index++;
Writer writer = new Writer(index.ToString());
}
}
}
}
The reading class :
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Threading;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Reader
{
private Thread m_Reading_Thread;
private string m_text_To_Read;
public Reader()
{
m_Reading_Thread = new Thread(new ThreadStart(Read));
m_Reading_Thread.Start();
}
public void Read()
{
m_text_To_Read = Console.ReadLine();
if (m_text_To_Read == "Stop")
{
Program.write = false;
}
}
}
}
And the writing class :
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Threading;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Writer
{
private Thread m_Writing_Thread;
private string m_Text_To_Write;
public Writer(string text_To_Write)
{
m_Text_To_Write = text_To_Write;
m_Writing_Thread = new Thread(new ThreadStart(Write));
m_Writing_Thread.Start();
}
public void Write()
{
Console.WriteLine(m_Text_To_Write);
}
}
}

This isn't nearly as complicated as you're trying to make it. In general there are two ways you can do this. You can start a background thread to do the writing, and have the main thread block on the console waiting for the read, or you can have the main thread writing and have the background thread do the read. I like the first solution best:
public class Program
{
private static readonly ManualResetEvent StopWriting = new ManualResetEvent(false);
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
Thread t = new Thread(WriterFunc);
t.Start();
string input;
do
{
input = Console.ReadLine();
} while (input != "stop");
// Tell the thread to stop writing
StopWriting.Set();
// And wait for the thread to exit
t.Join();
}
private static void WriterFunc()
{
int index = 0;
while (!StopWriting.WaitOne(Timeout.Infinite))
{
++index;
Console.WriteLine(index.ToString());
}
}
}
Note that I used a ManualResetEvent here rather than a Boolean flag. An even better solution would be to use a CancellationToken. Using a flag can cause all kinds of interesting problems because the compiler might determine that the variable can't change (it assumes single-threaded access). Your thread might continue running even after the variable is changed.
If you want the main thread to do the writing, and the background thread to do the reading:
public class Program
{
private static readonly ManualResetEvent StopWriting = new ManualResetEvent(false);
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
Thread t = new Thread(ReaderFunc);
t.Start();
int index = 0;
while (!StopWriting.WaitOne(Timeout.Infinite))
{
++index;
Console.WriteLine(index.ToString());
}
// Wait for the background thread to exit
t.Join();
}
private static void ReaderFunc()
{
string input;
do
{
input = Console.ReadLine();
} while (input != "stop");
// Tell the main thread to stop writing
StopWriting.Set();
}
}

Something like this would work:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var w = new Writer();
var r = new Reader();
while (!r.finish)
{
w.enabled = true;
string k = Console.ReadKey(false).KeyChar.ToString();
w.enabled = false;
string line = k + Console.ReadLine();
r.Read(line);
}
}
}
class Writer
{
public bool enabled = true;
public Writer()
{
var timer = new System.Timers.Timer(1000);
timer.Elapsed += (a, b) =>
{
if(enabled)
Console.WriteLine("Test");
};
timer.Start();
}
}
class Reader
{
public bool finish = false;
public void Read(string line)
{
if (line == "stop")
{
finish = true;
}
}
}
}
Don't worry if the Writer writes above what you are typing, the Console.ReadLine() only considers what you have typed.

In the case of a console application, no two threads can write data to the screen at the exact same time.
AFAIK, in the above answer, the Writes()'s constructor is continuously executed until it finishes running. Then the control will be passed to the Reader(). So I don't think that works for what you need. Correct me if I am wrong.

Self install Windows Service in .NET

I have read this question. I have same issue, but I don't understand the answer from lubos hasko. How exactly can I do it? Can you someone post me full walkthrough?
When I run code below, something is installed, but in list of service, I could not find it.
I have this, but this not work:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Configuration.Install;
using System.Linq;
using System.Reflection;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
public class Service1 : ServiceBase
{
public Service1()
{
File.AppendAllText("sss.txt", "ccccc");
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
File.AppendAllText("sss.txt", "asdfasdf");
}
protected override void OnStop()
{
File.AppendAllText("sss.txt", "bbbbb");
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
if (System.Environment.UserInteractive)
{
string parameter = string.Concat(args);
switch (parameter)
{
case "--install":
ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(new string[] { Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location });
break;
case "--uninstall":
ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(new string[] { "/u", Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location });
break;
}
}
else
{
ServiceBase.Run(new Service1());
}
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
I dont understad this either:
if (System.Environment.UserInteractive) ...

This is my complete solution, and it works. It is basically the same answer as in this question.
using System;
using System.Configuration.Install;
using System.Reflection;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.IO;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program : ServiceBase
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.UnhandledException += CurrentDomainUnhandledException;
if (System.Environment.UserInteractive)
{
string parameter = string.Concat(args);
switch (parameter)
{
case "--install":
ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(new string[] { Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location });
break;
case "--uninstall":
ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(new string[] { "/u", Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location });
break;
}
}
else
{
ServiceBase.Run(new Program());
}
}
private static void CurrentDomainUnhandledException(object sender, UnhandledExceptionEventArgs e)
{
File.AppendAllText(#"C:\Temp\error.txt", ((Exception)e.ExceptionObject).Message + ((Exception)e.ExceptionObject).InnerException.Message);
}
public Program()
{
this.ServiceName = "My Service";
File.AppendAllText(#"C:\Temp\sss.txt", "aaa");
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
base.OnStart(args);
File.AppendAllText(#"C:\Temp\sss.txt", "bbb");
}
protected override void OnStop()
{
base.OnStop();
File.AppendAllText(#"C:\Temp\sss.txt", "ccc");
}
}
}
and in same project create this class:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Configuration.Install;
using System.Linq;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Text;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
[RunInstaller(true)]
public class MyWindowsServiceInstaller : Installer
{
public MyWindowsServiceInstaller()
{
var processInstaller = new ServiceProcessInstaller();
var serviceInstaller = new ServiceInstaller();
//set the privileges
processInstaller.Account = ServiceAccount.LocalSystem;
serviceInstaller.DisplayName = "My Service";
serviceInstaller.StartType = ServiceStartMode.Automatic;
//must be the same as what was set in Program's constructor
serviceInstaller.ServiceName = "My Service";
this.Installers.Add(processInstaller);
this.Installers.Add(serviceInstaller);
}
}
}
Run this program with parameters --install/--uninstall as Administrator on Windows 7. Check the error log in temp. Check working log on the same path.

First of all, in your Service1 constructor set ServiceName property.
Excerpt from MSDN:
The minimum you need to implement in the constructor for a class inherited from ServiceBase is to set the ServiceName on your component. No other processing is specifically required in the constructor. You should handle most initialization in OnStart rather than in the constructor.
Second of all you need to pass arguments to your service when running it from command line. --install for install, --uninstall for uninstall - look at your switch statement it's doing it on input arguments.

System.Environment.UserInteractive property tells you that
whether a Windows process or a service like IIS that runs without a user interface.
If this property is false, do not display modal dialogs or message boxes because there is no graphical user interface for the user to interact with.
Source
Check this article as well.

Does WqlEventQuery contain a constructor with 1 argument?

I am trying to create a simple service in C# using VS2008 that creates a text file when the computer goes into sleep mode. My current code throws out the following error:
'SleepNotifierService.WqlEventQuery' does not contain a constructor that takes '1' arguments
Now I looked in the Object browser, and it looks like it does take in one argument. This is what the browser had to say:
public WqlEventQuery(string queryOrEventClassName)
Here is my code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Text;
using System.Management;
using System.IO;
namespace SleepNotifierService
{
public class WqlEventQuery : EventQuery { }
public partial class Service1 : ServiceBase
{
ManagementEventWatcher _watcher;
public Service1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
WqlEventQuery query = new WqlEventQuery("Win32_PowerManagementEvent");
_watcher = new ManagementEventWatcher(query);
_watcher.EventArrived += new EventArrivedEventHandler(watcher_EventArrived);
_watcher.Start();
}
protected override void OnStop()
{
_watcher.Stop();
}
void watcher_EventArrived(object sender, EventArrivedEventArgs e)
{
try
{
int eventType = Convert.ToInt32(e.NewEvent.Properties["EventType"].Value);
switch (eventType)
{
case 4:
Sleep();
break;
case 7:
Resume();
break;
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
//Log(ex.Message);
}
}
public void Sleep()
{
StreamWriter SW;
SW = File.CreateText("c:\\MyTextFile.txt");
SW.WriteLine("Sleep mode initiated");
SW.Close();
}
public void Resume()
{
}
}
}
Am I interpreting that object browser wrong? I'm new to creating services and C#/.NET in general so it might be something trivial.
Appreciate any help,
Tomek

You're using wrong WqlEventQuery. There's one defined in System.Management and it indeed has a one-argument constructor, but there's also your custom WqlEventQuery class.
If you want to use .NET BCL's class, you'll have to fully qualify it:
var query = new System.Management.WqlEventQuery("Win32_PowerManagementEvent");
or even prefix it with global keyword:
var query = new global::System.Management.WqlEventQuery("Win32_PowerManagementEvent");

Windows Service without the VS2005 template

I have the VS2005 standard edition and MS says this:
Note: The Windows Service Application
project templates and associated
functionality are not available in the
Standard Edition of Visual Basic and
Visual C# .NET...
Is it possible to write a Windows Service application without upgrading my VS2005 Standard edition?

If you can cut and paste, an example is enough.
A simple service to periodically log the status of another service. The example does not include the ServiceInstaller class (to be called by the install utility when installing a service application), so installing is done manually.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Text;
using System.Timers;
namespace SrvControl
{
public partial class Service1 : ServiceBase
{
Timer mytimer;
public Service1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
if (mytimer == null)
mytimer = new Timer(5 * 1000.0);
mytimer.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(mytimer_Elapsed);
mytimer.Start();
}
void mytimer_Elapsed(object sender, ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
var srv = new ServiceController("MYSERVICE");
AppLog.Log(string.Format("MYSERVICE Status {0}", srv.Status));
}
protected override void OnStop()
{
mytimer.Stop();
}
}
public static class AppLog
{
public static string z = "SrvControl";
static EventLog Logger = null;
public static void Log(string message)
{
if (Logger == null)
{
if (!(EventLog.SourceExists(z)))
EventLog.CreateEventSource(z, "Application");
Logger = new EventLog("Application");
Logger.Source = z;
}
Logger.WriteEntry(message, EventLogEntryType.Information);
}
}
}

Yes, look here:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/system/WindowsService.aspx

Sure, you just need to write the code yourself. It's not actually very hard. Here are a couple of references to how to do it:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc301845.aspx
http://www.aspfree.com/c/a/C-Sharp/Creating-a-Windows-Service-with-C-Sharp-introduction/