Is there something like the FileSystemWatcher for Sql Server Tables?

Question

i would like my windows service (to be written in .NET) to recognize when new rows are added to a specific table, but instead of pulling the data from the sql-server i would

Answer 1

Be careful using SqlDependency class to monitor changes in database tables - it has problems with memory leaks. However, you can use your own realization with DDL triggers and SQL Service Broker API or use one of open source projects, e.g. SqlDependencyEx:

int changesReceived = 0;
using (SqlDependencyEx sqlDependency = new SqlDependencyEx(
          TEST_CONNECTION_STRING, TEST_DATABASE_NAME, TEST_TABLE_NAME)) 
{
    sqlDependency.TableChanged += (o, e) => changesReceived++;
    sqlDependency.Start();

    // Make table changes.
    MakeTableInsertDeleteChanges(changesCount);

    // Wait a little bit to receive all changes.
    Thread.Sleep(1000);
}

Assert.AreEqual(changesCount, changesReceived);

Hope this helps.