Easier way to debug a Windows service

Question

Is there an easier way to step through the code than to start the service through the Windows Service Control Manager and then attaching the debugger to the thread? It\'s ki

Answer 1

Here is the simple method which I used to test the service, without any additional "Debug" methods and with integrated VS Unit Tests.

[TestMethod]
public void TestMyService()
{
    MyService fs = new MyService();

    var OnStart = fs.GetType().BaseType.GetMethod("OnStart", BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Static);

    OnStart.Invoke(fs, new object[] { null });
}

// As an extension method
public static void Start(this ServiceBase service, List parameters)
{
     string[] par = parameters == null ? null : parameters.ToArray();

     var OnStart = service.GetType().GetMethod("OnStart", BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Static);

     OnStart.Invoke(service, new object[] { par });
}