WCF services allow other applications to access or consume them. A WCF service can be consumed by many ways depending on the hosting type. Here, we are explaining the step-by-step method to consume a WCF service for each of the following popular hosting options:
- Consuming WCF Service hosted in IIS 5/6
- Consuming WCF Service that is self-hosted
- Consuming WCF Service hosted in Windows Activation Service
- Consuming WCF Service hosted in Windows Service
Consuming WCF Service Hosted in IIS 5/6
The process of consumption of a WCF service hosted in IIS 5/6 is discussed below in detail. In addition, the discussion includes how to create proxy and console applications.
Step-1: Once a service is hosted in IIS, we have to consume it in client applications. Before creating the client application, we need to create a proxy for the service.
This proxy is used by the client application to interact with the service. To create a proxy, run Visual Studio 2008 command prompt.
Using service utility, we can create the proxy class and its configuration information.
svcutilhttp://localhost/IISHostedService/Service.svc
After executing this command, we will get two files generated in the default location.
- MyService.cs – Proxy class for the WCF service
- output.config – Configuration information about the service
Step-2: Now, we will start creating the Console application using Visual Studio 2008 (Client application).
Step-3: Add the reference ‘System.ServiceModel‘; this is the core dll for WCF.
Step-4: Create a Proxy class.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
namespace MyServiceClient
{
Class Program
{
Static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Creating Proxy for the MyService
ServiceClient Client = newServiceClient();
Console.WriteLine("Client calling the service...");
Console.WriteLine("Hello Ram");
Console.Read();
}
}
}
The output appears as follows: