How can I invoke a WCF operation without HTTP container?

Question

I have an environment in which I cannot add another HTTP container (whether ServiceHost, IIS, etc.) but I still need to process SOAP requests (represented as strings) with a WCF web service. I was hoping to write a simple wrapper method (C#) such as:

string processSoapMessage(string req);

In that method, I would manually create a System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message instance with an XML reader that operates on the input string. I was hoping to avoid writing manual dispatching code by creating a ChannelDispatcher that would process the resulting Message instance, but it seems that ChannelDispatchers are tied to a particular ServiceHost, something I cannot have in my environment if it requires an open port. Is there some dispatching code I can call to accomplish this without creating a hosting container?

Answer 1

So you cannot create a simple console app that will create and open a ServiceHost to host your service class?

Marc

Answer 2

Assuming everything is happening on the same machine, then using a Named Pipe binding is probably your best bet.

Answer 3

Whatever you do, don't use the System.String type to hold XML. Pass an XmlReader or XmlDocument or something. Always use XML APIs to manipulate XML.