I have a standard .NET windows service written in C#.
Can it install itself without using InstallUtil? Should I use the service installer class? How should I use it?
I want to be able to call the following:
MyService.exe -install
And it will have the same effect as calling:
InstallUtil MyService.exe
Yes, that is fully possible (i.e. I do exactly this); you just need to reference the right dll (System.ServiceProcess.dll) and add an installer class...
[RunInstaller(true)]
public sealed class MyServiceInstallerProcess : ServiceProcessInstaller
{
public MyServiceInstallerProcess()
{
this.Account = ServiceAccount.NetworkService;
}
}
[RunInstaller(true)]
public sealed class MyServiceInstaller : ServiceInstaller
{
public MyServiceInstaller()
{
this.Description = "Service Description";
this.DisplayName = "Service Name";
this.ServiceName = "ServiceName";
this.StartType = System.ServiceProcess.ServiceStartMode.Automatic;
}
}
static void Install(bool undo, string[] args)
{
try
{
Console.WriteLine(undo ? "uninstalling" : "installing");
using (AssemblyInstaller inst = new AssemblyInstaller(typeof(Program).Assembly, args))
{
IDictionary state = new Hashtable();
inst.UseNewContext = true;
try
{
if (undo)
{
inst.Uninstall(state);
}
else
{
inst.Install(state);
inst.Commit(state);
}
}
catch
{
try
{
inst.Rollback(state);
}
catch { }
throw;
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.Error.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}