This print for content only-size & color not accurate 7" X 9-1/4" / casebound / malloy

■

Note

In a later example, I’ll introduce you to a graphical configuration tool that allows you to author configura-

tion files in a less tedious manner.

In any case, before we build a client application to communicate with our service, let’s dig a bit

deeper into the role of the ServiceHost class type and  element as well as

the role of metadata exchange (MEX) services.

Details of the ServiceHost Type

The ServiceHost class type is used to configure and expose a WCF service from the hosting exe-

cutable. However, be aware that you will only make direct use of this type when building a custom

*.exe to host your services. If you are using IIS (or the Vista-specific WAS) to expose a service, the

ServiceHost object is created automatically on your behalf.

As you have seen, this type requires a complete service description, which is obtained dynami-

cally through the configuration settings of the host’s *.config file. While this happens automatically

upon object creation, it is possible to manually configure the state of your ServiceHost object using

a number of members. In addition to Open() and Close() (which communicate with your service in

a synchronous manner), Table 25-8 illustrates some further members of interest.

C H A P T E R   2 5  

■

I N T R O D U C I N G  W I N D O W S   C O M M U N I C AT I O N   F O U N D AT I O N

891

8849CH25.qxd  10/16/07  10:51 AM  Page 891

---

Table 25-8.

Select Members of the ServiceHost Type