forum.vdsworld.com

jules · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2003 3:35 pm Post subject: Windows NT Services

Has anyone tried to create a script that will run as a service under Windows NT/XP?

Skit3000 · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2003 5:30 pm Post subject:

Why, if I may ask? You might look at this topic:

http://forum.vdsworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=1801

jules · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2003 6:31 pm Post subject:

Because some things it makes more sense to leave running all the time instead of having start and stop when a user logs in and out.

Thanks for the link. I'll look at some of those suggestions. What I don't understand is what's special about a service that a VDS EXE can't run as one all by itself.

Garrett · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2003 7:15 pm Post subject:

I looked into this some time back. With 9x it's no problem, no special
needs, but with the NT systems, there's some sort of special communication
between the system and the service. VDS back then was not capable of
being able to accept or reply to these communications between the system
and an exe running as a service.

-Garrett

FreezingFire · **Admin Team** Joined: 23 Jun 2002 Posts: 3508

I'd love to be able to run some things on my computer as services directly
with VDS. With it's new API capabilities would it be possible to do this? Smile

Garrett · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2003 12:43 am Post subject:

I don't know, I haven't checked into again lately.

-Garrett

Tommy · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2003 2:09 am Post subject:

It seems that it would require the application to export one or more functions, which
is not possible with VDS 5. So I don't think it will be possible using VDS 5, even if using its
extended DLL calling features.

FreezingFire · **Admin Team** Joined: 23 Jun 2002 Posts: 3508

What does it mean by "to export one or more functions"? Do you think
this will be added into VDS in the future? Perhaps by VDS 8? Smile

jules · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:56 pm Post subject:

Exported functions are the APIs you can call, in a DLL. I didn't realise that an EXE can export them as well, but perhaps it can. Or perhaps the service has to be written as a DLL.
At one time consideration was given to letting VDS create its own extension DLLs. In the end, it was decided that the facility to create units that could be compiled in to the EXE would be easier all round.
It wouldn't be impossible for a future version of VDS to be able to create services or DLLs, but what would be harder would be a way of testing them. Possibly an easier way would be to create some separate wrapper DLL or EXE that could run a VDS prog as a service. But that's probably what the programs mentioned in the link given earlier do, anyway.

CodeScript · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2003 2:30 pm Post subject:

I know it would take time.. But just wondering would the dlls be real dlls or interpreted ones like the exes create by VDS or VB dlls