Walkthrough: Create a WCF service in .NET Framework Windows Forms

This walkthrough demonstrates how to create a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service, test it, and then access it from a .NET Framework Windows Forms application.

Note

Your computer might show different names or locations for some of the Visual Studio user interface elements in this article. You might be using a different edition of Visual Studio or different environment settings. For more information, see Personalize the IDE.

Prerequisites

Visual Studio with the Windows Communication Foundation component installed. To install it:

1. Open the Visual Studio Installer app, or select Tools > Get Tools and Features from the Visual Studio menu.
2. In Visual Studio Installer, choose Modify next to the version of Visual Studio you want to modify.
3. Select the Individual components tab, and then choose Windows Communication Foundation under Development activities.
4. Select Modify.

For more information, see Modify Visual Studio workloads, components, and language packs.

Create a WCF service

To create a WCF service in Visual Studio, follow these steps:

1. In Visual Studio, select File > New > Project from the menu.

2. On the Create a new project page, enter wcf service library in the search box. Select either the C# or Visual Basic template for WCF Service Library, and then select Next.

   

   Tip

   If you don't see any templates, you might need to install the Windows Communication Foundation component of Visual Studio. For more information, see Prerequisites

3. On the Configure your new project page, verify the settings, and then select Create.

   This step creates a working WCF service that you can test and access. The following steps demonstrate how to modify the default method to use a different data type. In a real application, you'd also add your own functions to the service.

4. In Solution Explorer, double-click IService1.cs or IService1.vb in your WCF service library project, depending on which type of project you created.

   

5. Find the following line:

   C#

   [OperationContract]
   string GetData(int value);
   

   VB

   <OperationContract()>
   Function GetData(ByVal value As Integer) As String
   

---

6. Change the type for the value parameter to string.

   In this code example, note the OperationContract attribute. This attribute is required for any method exposed by the service.

   C#

   [OperationContract]
   string GetData(string value);
   

   VB

   <OperationContract()>
   Function GetData(ByVal value As String) As String
   

---

7. In Solution Explorer, double-click Service1.cs or Service1.vb.

   

8. In the editor, find the following line:

   C#

   public string GetData(int value)
   {
       return string.Format("You entered: {0}", value);
   }
   

   VB

   Public Function GetData(ByVal value As Integer) As String Implements IService1.GetData
       Return String.Format("You entered: {0}", value)
   End Function
   

---

9. Change the type for the value parameter to string, as follows:

   C#

   public string GetData(string value)
   {
       return string.Format("You entered: {0}", value);
   }
   

   VB

   Public Function GetData(ByVal value As String) As String Implements IService1.GetData
       Return String.Format("You entered: {0}", value)
   End Function
   

---

Test the WCF service

To test the WCF service you created, follow these steps:

1. Press F5 to run the service.

   The WCF Test Client form appears and loads the service.

2. Under IService1, double-click the GetData() method.

   The GetData tab appears in the WCF Test Client form.

   

3. In the Request box of the GetData tab, select the Value field and enter Hello.

   

4. Select the Invoke button. If a Security Warning dialog box appears, select OK.

   The result displays in the Response box.

   

5. On the File menu, select Exit to close the test form.

Access the WCF service

After you create and test the WCF service, you can reference it from a project and use it to build a client application.

Reference the WCF service

To reference the WCF service from a project, follow these steps:

1. Select File > Add > New Project.

2. In the Add a New Project window, choose either a C# or Visual Basic Windows Forms App (.NET Framework) project. Select Next, and then Create to create the project.

3. In Solution Explorer, right-click the project node of the new project, and select Add > Service Reference.

   The Add Service Reference dialog box appears.

4. Select Discover.

   

   Service1 displays in the Services pane.

5. Select OK to add the service reference.

Build a client application

To use a WCF service reference to build a client application, follow these steps.

1. In Solution Explorer, double-click Form1.cs or Form1.vb in the Windows Forms app.

   The form opens in Windows Forms Designer.

2. Open the Toolbox by selecting View > Toolbox from the menu, or press Ctrl+Alt+X from the keyboard.

3. From the Toolbox, drag a TextBox control, a Label control, and a Button control onto the form.

   

4. Double-click the Button control, and add the following code in the Click event handler:

   C#

   private void button1_Click(System.Object sender, System.EventArgs e)
   {
       ServiceReference1.Service1Client client = new
           ServiceReference1.Service1Client();
       string returnString;
   
       returnString = client.GetData(textBox1.Text);
       label1.Text = returnString;
   }
   

   VB

     Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
   ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
         Dim client As New ServiceReference1.Service1Client
         Dim returnString As String
   
         returnString = client.GetData(TextBox1.Text)
         Label1.Text = returnString
     End Sub
   

5. In Solution Explorer, right-click the project node (for example, WindowsFormsApp1), and select Set as StartUp Project.

6. Press F5 to run the project. Enter some text and select the button. The label displays You entered:, followed by your text.

   

Related content

• Windows Communication Foundation Services and WCF Data Services in Visual Studio