Can we start a windows service off a dll instead of an exe?

Question

Just wondering, would it be possible to start a windows service off a .net 3.5 dll and not an exe ? Is there any workaround which helps one do that ? How can one specify an entry point in that case ? Thanks, KG

Accepted Answer

There is no "oficial way" to run a .net dll as a windows service. It would require the svchost.exe to load the DLL and bind to the start/stop exports. However there MS do not provides documentation on such topic.

In msdn documentation the terms used are "service application" or "service executable", so no "dll way" either.

EDIT:

Just found this attempt to run a dll as a service (pain!): http://forum.sysinternals.com/topic11974.html

Can we start a windows service off a dll instead of an exe?

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