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Note

While it is true that a desktop Windows application does not have to show a main window, a typical

*.exe

does require user interaction to load the executable. A Windows service (described next) can be configured

to run even if no users are currently logged on to the workstation.

If you are building an in-house WCF application, another alternative is to host your WCF serv-

ice library from within a dedicated Windows service. One benefit of doing so is that a Windows

service can be configured to automatically start when the target machine boots up. Another benefit

is that Windows services run invisibly in the background (unlike our console application) and do

not require user interactivity. 

To illustrate how to build such a host, begin by creating a new Windows service project named

MathWindowsServiceHost (see Figure 25-15). Once you have done so, rename your initial Service1.

cs file to MathWinService.cs using Solution Explorer. 

Figure 25-15.

Creating a Windows service to host our WCF service