How to Communicate with WCF Services from Unmanaged C Clients?

Using Unmanaged C Clients to Communicate with WCF Services

Understanding the need to connect unmanaged Windows C clients with WCF services, we must delve into several potential approaches, each with its limitations.

WWSAPI

Unfortunately, the WWSAPI option is unsuitable for this scenario as it is incompatible with Windows 2000 clients.

ATL Server

While attempting to utilize ATL Server, flattening WSDL and removing policy references, the resulting WSDL format remains incompatible with sproxy.

Bridging with a Managed C DLL

The most effective solution involves writing WCF code for clients in C# and employing a C bridge DLL to facilitate communication between unmanaged C code and the managed WCF code.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the C Bridge DLL

1. Create HelloService WCF Service

   • Initialize a Windows NT Service to host WCF Hello Service.
   • Define IHelloService and HelloService classes.

2. Build the Service

   • Build the Windows NT Service project.
   • Install the service.

3. Create Bridge DLL Interface

   • Add IHelloServiceClientBridge.h, which declares the bridge DLL's public interface.

4. Create Bridge DLL Implementation

   • Add HelloServiceClientBridge.h and .cpp to implement the bridge DLL's functionality.
   • Include Managed C header files.
   • Use #using directives to reference the HelloServiceClient assembly.
   • Implement the SayHello() method to make WCF service calls and marshal the result to an unmanaged string.

5. Update MFC Application

   • Add IHelloServiceClientBridge.h.
   • Call the SayHello() method in the MFC application's button handler.
   • Display the WCF service response in a message box.

Conclusion

This detailed process provides a viable solution for leveraging unmanaged C clients to interact with WCF services. By employing a C bridge DLL, it becomes feasible to seamlessly integrate these components and achieve the desired communication functionality.

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