WinServiceBase Summary

This is a windows service base project that is designed to run multiple processes semi-dynamically. It can be run from the command line using a flag or as a windows service. Starts up multiple processes each in it's own thread. Processes are expected to have a boolean config flag in the app.config

Running the application/service

• To run in Visual Studio Debug mode or from the command line
  • Set "-c" in the debug tab's command line arguments
• To run from a command prompt
  • pass "-c" to the executable as you would any command line
• To run as a windows service
  • Use the "Batch Files" to add the windows service to the local services management console on your local or server machine
  • Batch Scripts are written for the path: C:\Services\WinServiceBase\WinServiceBase.exe

Adding a Process

• Create a new class that derives from ProcessBase
  • REQUIRED: CanStartProcess - bool variable used to determine if the process should be started when the application is started
  • REQUIRED: ExecuteProcess() - This method is called to start the process in it's own thread. This should contain a while loop that exits based on a wait event. (see windows event logger for example)
  • REQUIRED: StopCode - string variable used to shutdown the process on command
  • REQUIRED: ExitInstructions - string variable printed in the console on startup when the application is started in console mode
• NLog can be used for logging
  • A default logger is instantiated for processes deriving from ProcessBase, use ProcessLogger for creating log messages

Existing Processes

• Windows Event Logger
  • A simple process that creates an entry in the windows event log once a minute.
  • Primarily used to test that the service is functional, not used outside the dev environment