How to create a silverlight enabled WCF service in a different project - wcf

I want to develop a Silverlight enabled WCF service out of the target web page.
Is it possible ? There is not template in the WCF projects tab.
And if yes how?
Maybe will be possible to create it like usual and then move it (copy it) to a WCF project.

Related

WCF with MVC application and mobile app

I'm just wondering how to approach to my project.
In my application I have:
MVC4 project
DB_Project with Interfaces and Models
Repository_Project with interfaces implemantation - I'm using Ninject
Next step is mobile app(XAMARIN), and here is the question:
What kind of WCF project should I choose and why...WCF Service Application or WCF Service Library?
Should I add this project like any other or create separate one?
After choosing WCF project, how to use reference to Repository_Project - is this the right way?
I will give you some thoughts to consider.
1- Your Xamarin app must communicate with an asp.net web api / mvc exposed to the internet. I dont recommend exposing a WCF service to the internet for many reasons.
2- In the Data layer, repositories are abstractions to access your EF dbContext and not to call WCF services.
3- You only add complexity when justified. If you are willing to create WCF project for the xamarin app to communicate with, then i hardly discourage you. WCF project may be created in your case if you have some security policy that enforces 3-tiers architecture where the web api needs a middle tier to access the database. Otherwise, you dont need it.
2-tiers:
Xamarin -> web api -> SQL Server
3-tiers:
Xamarin -> web api -> wcf -> SQL Server

Silverlight webservice

Can webservices be accessed by Silverlight 3? On VisualStudio, a Silverlight project doesn't allow me to add a "web reference" but only a "web service reference" that is for WCF and not "normal" webservices.
Any help?
Thanks
Sure you can. In your web project, add a new asmx webservice and add whatever functions you want. Then build your web project.
Next, go to your silverlight project, right click on Service References, select Add Service reference. If you then hit the Discover button in the dialog that pops up, it should discover your new web service. If it doesn't, then you can manually enter the url to it - if you have Cassini running (press F5 in your web project, then close the browser window once launched, Cassini will continue to run in the background) just enter http://localhost:[port]/MyWebService.asmx as the address. The [port] is whatever port you have Cassini running on for this particular project).
Also don't forget to kee the cross domain limitations and work arounds in scope when considering any implementation:
http://timheuer.com/blog/archive/2008/04/06/silverlight-cross-domain-policy-file-snippet-intellisense.aspx
Also there is a great MIX video on this:
Consuming Web Services in Microsoft Silverlight 3
Description: Come hear how to work with external REST, SOAP, and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services from Silverlight. Learn how to securely and efficiently communicate with services using Binary XML, debug services with improved Faults support, and implement server-to-client "push" using the new Add Service Reference for Duplex functionality.
http://videos.visitmix.com/MIX09/T42F

Use a separate WCF project with Silverlight

I am working on a Silverlight application that uses WCF. I need to have my WCF project separate from the ASP.Net application that will host my Silverlight project. I am looking for some guidance on how I should organize my solution and list gotchas other people have experienced during debugging and deployment.
Specifically my questions are
What type of project should I use for the WCF service?(A WCF project, an ASP.NET project with self-hosted WCF services, something else)
What do I need to so to get it so that when I press F5 I can debug both my Silverlight project and my WCF service? Will I need a cross-domain policy just to debug the thing?
Some background info on why I want to do this:
I have legacy web application that I am gradually converting over to a Silverlight application. Because it is a large web application some of its features will be converted to Silverlight before others.
The legacy web application has lots of code in it that is no longer used. Much of the code that is no longer used references 3rd part assemblies. This is why I want to get rid of the old web application. So obviously I don't want to host WCF services that will be kept for future versions in it. That is my reason for wanting to make the WCF project separate.
We're doing the exact same thing.
We're using a WCF project just in case we have to change how it's hosted in the future. (I.E. no longer using IIS)
2.a. You can have a solution with your silverlight projects, and your wcf project. The silverlight project will have a service reference to the wcf service in your solution. That allows you to debug using F5. However, when you go to deploy, you will have to change your app.config service URIs to refer to your production location.
2.b. You will only need a cross-domain policy file if your fully qualified domain names are different for the wcf service and the silverlight app. Ours happen to be different. Here is an excellent article on when to use the policy file: Clicky
Good luck!
Just remember that when you get ready to deploy, if your service is going to be hosted on a different machine than your app, you need to deploy the service first. Then re-configure your service reference, and finally re-compile your Silverlight before deploying. Otherwise, your Silverlight app will look for the service on your local machine instead of where you deploy it.

What is the difference between a WCF Service Application and a WCF Service Library?

I am developing a WCF web service and I used the WCF Service Application template to do that.
Does creating a "WCF Service Application" fulfill this requirement?
What are the advantage of creating a WCF Service Library over a WCF Service Application?
A service application includes a website host already setup for you. A service library is a library of services that a host can reference and startup.
If you start with a service library (recommended) you can then choose any host you wish (a windows service, IIS/ASP.NET, or even a console application) and you'd just reference your library from your new host. Choosing a Service Application limits your host to just IIS/ASP.NET (though this might be ok for your purposes, but will limit the protocols you can use).
Edit: Changes in IIS since I wrote this allow for a wider variety of protocols on ASP.NET activated services, so choosing a service application is much less limiting than before.
If all you have is the one project I see only added complexity if you separate for the heck of it. I used a library when I had some particular use cases where I had to host in both a windows service and in IIS.
For IIS you you can move the classes and interfaces to a library but keep your .SVC files in the web project. You must edit the .SVC files to point to the properly qualified classes.

Publishing a Silverlight with reference to a WCF

I created a RoleService in my silverlight project and through that got hold of the embership/Role functionality. I am running this on a local machine and is wondering how to publish this to my website. I have 3 web applications:
My main web application where the silverlight object shoule be merged into
The silverlight project which lets me develop the silverlight application
The silverlight host application which I use for testing
In the web application (1) i have made the RoleService so that i can get a hold on my Roles. In the Silverlight application (2) I have a service reference to the service mentioned above which I consume and loads my Role data. This howecer doesnt work when i publich it online. But how do i get it to work online?
Is it because it is trying to connect to service with wrong address? If so, then you just need to propagate WCF service address to your Silverlight application through hosting web.config and start connecting to a correct service.
Let me know if this is the case, then I will share exact solution for this.