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NT Service Toolkit
[Source code included]

Learn more about NT Service Toolkit features such as:

• Integrated COM/DCOM Remoting
• Simulation and Debugging
• Scalability, Threading and Synchronization
• Flexible configuration options
• Additional Features

Integrated COM/DCOM

While some services run independently, many are intended to be called from clients. They may serve as resource brokers, implement business logic, or act as a software agent for clients. To do so, they must expose objects through COM or DCOM.

The Desaware NT Services Toolkit allows you to expose two types of objects from the service. The first is an application object, that is shared by all clients. This object is ideal for controlling the service or using the service to share data among different clients. The second type of object is a client object which is unique to each client request and can be used to hold information specific to the client. The client object also has access to the application object allowing you flexibility in providing both client specific and shared data.

Services created with this toolkit can make use of COM objects and services, making it easy to integrate technology such as Winsock, ADO and MSMQ into your service.

Simulation and Debugging

The Desaware NT Service Toolkit is built on a framework by which we automatically generate an executable that becomes your main service executable based on the answers to a few simple questions. This executable then creates objects in an ActiveX DLL server that you create using Visual Basic. Your VB DLL not only implements every part of the service under control of the framework EXE, but provides necessary configuration information as well.

• Run your ActiveX DLL under the Visual Basic environment while it is being used by the framework EXE! Even while it is running as a service! This makes debugging and testing a service easier than it has ever been - even easier than is possible in C++!
• Our built-in Service simulator also makes it possible to test and debug services without actually installing them as a service. This not only speeds development, but is especially critical for testing startup and shutdown scenarios that are difficult to debug.
• The service framework is fully instrumented for tracing and debugging, essential for rapid solution to problems both during development and after distribution.

Scalability, Threading and Synchronization

The NT Service toolkit offers numerous features to improve scalability and support multithreading.

• Client objects that you expose through your service are created on a thread pool, which not only improves the ability to respond to user requests, but also isolates client objects from the main service thread and the service control thread - thus preventing clients from interfering with other tasks being handled by the service.
• A built in timer allows easy implementation of state machines or other periodic functions on the main service thread.
• Supports automatic synchronization to any system synchronization object (Mutext, Event, Semaphore, process, etc.). Sychronization occurs on an automatically spawned background thread, with event notification to the main thread on completion.
• All background and multithreaded operations follow COM threading rules and are completely safe and compatible with Visual Basic.

Flexible configuration options

• Services created with this toolkit are entirely self-installing and self-uninstalling using the command line.
• Command line installation allows specification of user, password and custom install time parameters - ideal for supporting customized automated installations during deployment.
• Silent mode install ideal for remote or automated service installation.

Additional Features

• Interactive service features including the ability to detect the logged on user, and when a user is logging off the system.
• Create full featured control panel applets using Visual Basic.
• A high degree of compatibility with the .NET version of the Toolkit makes migration of services to .NET remarkably easy.
• Excellent support for interactive services.
• Superior shutdown detection (earlier than provided by the .NET framework).
• VB6 class library for controlling services.

Buy Desaware's NT Service Toolkit for COM as Part of the COM Universal bundle for $649 or Buy COM AND .NET Universal packages for $995 .