Self Hosting - (WCF)

Self hosting is the process of hosting a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service within a process that is not managed by a Windows service. In this way, the WCF service can run independently of IIS or any other web server.

Syntax

To self-host a WCF service in an application, you will need to create a service class that implements a WCF service contract, and then use a ServiceHost class to expose the service over a specific endpoint. Here is an example of what the code might look like:

using System;
using System.ServiceModel;

namespace MyNamespace
{
  [ServiceContract]
  public interface IMyService
  {
    [OperationContract]
    void MyMethod();
  }

  public class MyService : IMyService
  {
    public void MyMethod()
    {
      Console.WriteLine("MyMethod was called.");
    }
  }

  class Program
  {
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
      var host = new ServiceHost(typeof(MyService), new Uri("http://localhost:8000"));
      host.AddServiceEndpoint(typeof(IMyService), new BasicHttpBinding(), "MyService");
      host.Open();
      Console.WriteLine("Service started. Press <Enter> to stop.");
      Console.ReadLine();
      host.Close();
    }
  }
}

Example

Here's an example of how to self-host a WCF service in an application:

using System;
using System.ServiceModel;

namespace MyNamespace
{
  [ServiceContract]
  public interface IMyService
  {
    [OperationContract]
    void MyMethod();
  }

  public class MyService : IMyService
  {
    public void MyMethod()
    {
      Console.WriteLine("MyMethod was called.");
    }
  }

  class Program
  {
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
      var host = new ServiceHost(typeof(MyService), new Uri("http://localhost:8000"));
      host.AddServiceEndpoint(typeof(IMyService), new BasicHttpBinding(), "MyService");
      host.Open();
      Console.WriteLine("Service started. Press <Enter> to stop.");
      Console.ReadLine();
      host.Close();
    }
  }
}

Output

When you run the code to self-host your WCF service, you should see output similar to this:

Service started. Press <Enter> to stop.

Explanation

In the example code, we define the service contract and implementation as C# classes, and then use a ServiceHost object to expose the service over a specific endpoint. We specify the binding and address of the endpoint using the AddServiceEndpoint method, and then open the ServiceHost object to start listening for incoming requests. We also provide a prompt for stopping the service using the Console.ReadLine method.

Use

Self hosting is useful when you need to host a WCF service in a process that is not managed by IIS or any other web server. For example, you might use self hosting to create a standalone console application that exposes a WCF service. You can then use the console application as a simple host for your WCF service.

Important Points

• Self hosting is the process of hosting a WCF service within a process that is not managed by IIS or any other web server.
• A ServiceHost object can be used to expose a WCF service over a specific endpoint.
• You can use self hosting to create a standalone console application that exposes a WCF service.

Summary

In this page, we discussed self hosting in the context of WCF. We covered the syntax, example, output, explanation, use, important points, and summary of self hosting a WCF service in an application. Self hosting is useful when you need to host a WCF service in a process that is not managed by IIS or any other web server. By using a ServiceHost object, you can expose a WCF service over a specific endpoint and use it in a standalone console application or other process.