CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#multithreadingwindows-services
user1828605
user1828605

Reputation: 1735

How to create a scheduled long running process using windows service in c#

I want to create a windows service that performs some really long and heavy work. The code is inside OnStart method like this:

protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
    System.IO.File.WriteAllText(
        @"C:\MMS\Logs\WinServiceLogs.txt", 
        DateTime.Now + "\t MMS Service started."
    );

    this.RequestAdditionalTime(5*60*1000);           
    this.RunService();
}

this.RunService() sends a request to WCF service library hosted on IIS. It does some really long processes, ranging from 1-20 min, depending on the data it has to process. This service that I'm writing is supposed to be scheduled to run every day in the morning. So far, it runs and works fine, but when the time goes over a few seconds or min, it generates timeout exception. This causes the windows service to be in unstable state, and I can't stop or uninstall it without restarting the computer. Since, I'm trying to create an automated system, this is an issue.

I did do this.RequestAdditionalTime(), but I'm not sure whether it's doing what it's supposed to or not. I don't get the timeout error message, but now I don't know how to schedule it so it runs every day. If the exception occurs, then it won't run the next time. There were several articles and SO's I found, but there's something I'm missing and I can't understand it.

Should I create a thread? Some articles say I shouldn't put heavy programs in OnStart, where should I put the heavy codes then? Right now, when the service starts, it does this huge data processing which makes the Windows Service status to "Starting", and it stays there for long time until either the program crashes due to timeout, or completes successfully. How can I start the service, then set the status to Running while the code is running to do some data processing?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1241

Answers (1)

poprogrammer
poprogrammer

Reputation: 61

Your situation might be better suited for a scheduled task as Lloyd said in the comments above. But if you really want to use a Windows service, this is what you would need to add/update in your service code. This will allow your service to list as started and not timeout on you. You can adjust the timer length to suit your needs.

private Timer processingTimer;

public YourService()
{
    InitializeComponent();
    //Initialize timer
    processingTimer = new Timer(60000); //Set to run every 60 seconds
    processingTimer.Elapsed += processingTimer_Elapsed;
    processingTimer.AutoReset = true;
    processingTimer.Enabled = true;
}
private void processingTimer_Elapsed(object sender, ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
    //Check the time
    if (timeCheck && haventRunToday)
        //Run your code
        //You should probably still run this as a separate thread
        this.RunService();
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
    //Start the timer
    processingTimer.Start();
}
protected override void OnStop()
{
    //Check to make sure that your code isn't still running... (if separate thread)

    //Stop the timer
    processingTimer.Stop();
}
protected override void OnPause()
{
    //Stop the timer
    processingTimer.Stop();
}
protected override void OnContinue()
{
    //Start the timer
    processingTimer.Start();
}

Upvotes: 2

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