Using the ServiceBase Class in VB.net

By: Steven Holzner

The ServiceBase class is the base class for a Windows service. Here is the inheritance hierarchy of this class:

Object
   MarshalByRefObject
      Component
         ServiceBase

You can find the more notable public properties of ServiceBase objects in Table below and their more notable protected methods in Table. (This class has no non-inherited events.)

Table: Noteworthy public properties of *ServiceBase* objects.
Property	Means
AutoLog	Specifies whether to record Start, Stop, Pause, and Continue commands in the event log.
CanPauseAndContinue	Gets/sets if you can pause and resume the service.
CanShutdown	Gets/sets if the service should be informed at system shutdown.
CanStop	Gets/sets if the service can be stopped.
EventLog	Gets an event log you can use to write to.
ServiceName	Gets/sets the name used to identify the service.

Table: Noteworthy protected methods of *ServiceBase* objects.
Method	Means
OnContinue	Executes when a service resumes after being paused.
OnPause	Executes when a service pauses.
OnPowerEvent	Executes when the computer's power status changes, as when notebooks go into suspended mode.
OnShutdown	Executes when the system is shutting down.
OnStart	Executes when the service starts.
OnStop	Executes when a service stops running.