Can you expose XML webservices from a Windows Forms Application?

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+4 Q:

Can you expose XML webservices from a Windows Forms Application?

This might sound like a silly question, but when I search for webservices, I get no information about how to create them in a windows forms application.

The only result is how to create and expose them by creating an .aspx page.

So my questions is: Can you create and expose webservices within a windows forms application or are they somehow tied in with .asp pages?

Thanks!

later edit: Is there an example of how to create a webservice in a .cs file and not in a .aspx file?

+1 A:

First, It is not a silly question at all.

are they somehow tied in with .asp pages?

Webservices are not tied to any other application. A WebService ~~is an~~ could be an Application itself. You can create a WebService as a part of a solution, which may have any other type of application like Asp.Net WebApplication or no other application at all.

You can consume a Webservice form any of the following but not limited to

Console Application
Asp.Net Web Application
Windows Forms Application

This article might help

calling Webservice through C# Console app

Asad Butt 2010-03-01 12:36:40

Thanks for the quick response. Is there an example of how to create a webservice in a .cs file and not in a .aspx file?

Andrei 2010-03-01 12:58:50

It looks like he's asking about hosting W/S, not just consuming... WCF is the shortest path AFAIK.

Jim Leonardo 2010-03-02 01:41:18

-1: not only is the linked article about consuming a web service and not calling it; the article is also about ASMX web services, which are now considered by Microsoft to be "legacy technology".

John Saunders 2010-05-04 01:18:50

A web service is also not an application, not even in legacy ASP.NET/ASMX (it's just a class that's instantiated by an HTTP handler). You could, technically, host a WCF service using the `netTcpBinding` and a `ServiceHost` inside a Windows Forms application. Not sure why you'd *want* to, but it's wrong to say that web services need to be dedicated applications, it's very common to host them as part of a Windows Service.

Aaronaught 2010-05-04 01:23:05

Thanks mate for correction

Asad Butt 2010-05-04 04:12:29

+2 A:

I would like to say that a WebService is a service interface into your application, not the application itself.

For exposing a WebService in another hosting enviornment than IIS (where your ASP.Net pages are hosted) you can use the following;

If you are using the WCF toolkit from Microsoft, this means; Create a 'ServiceHost' (actual class name) that can host your webservice implementation. This can be done in any application (ASP.Net pages, Winform, NT Service and even a console application).

Hope this helps,

Marvin Smit 2010-03-01 12:47:21

+1 A:

Traditionally with .net Web Services were implemented using asp.net asmx files hosted in iis. With .net 3 came WCF which allows a range of different types of services (not just web services) hosted in a range of .net applications and services, not just iis. WCF is a complex and powerful set of technologies i have found this book to be helpful

Ben Robinson 2010-03-01 23:49:38

WCF is more complicated for two reasons:1) They wanted to include a plethora of options and 2) By not requiring hosting in IIS, it has to take up some infrastructure duties. However, this last point is exactly the reason why you can host it in WinForms. I haven't done it myself, but have been part of a project where it was done. It also allows you to ask the question "Do I really want to use SOAP, or some other message medium?"

Jim Leonardo 2010-03-02 01:35:01

This SO question may help, seems like what you're asking for, presuming a WCF approach.

Jim Leonardo 2010-03-02 04:32:50

ansaurus

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Can you expose XML webservices from a Windows Forms Application?

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