How can I read a text file without locking it?

Question

I have a windows service writes its log in a text file in a simple format.

Now, I\'m going to create a small application to read the service\'s log and shows both th

Answer 1

The problem is when you are writing to the log you are exclusively locking the file down so your StreamReader won't be allowed to open it at all.

You need to try open the file in readonly mode.

using (FileStream fs = new FileStream("myLogFile.txt", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite))
{
    using (StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(fs))
    {
        while (!fs.EndOfStream)
        {
            string line = fs.ReadLine();
            // Your code here
        }
    }
}