Using the ServiceInstaller Class in VB.net

By: Steven Holzner in VB.net Tutorials on 2010-10-23

ServiceInstaller objects install Windows services. Here is the inheritance hierarchy of this class:

Object
   MarshalByRefObject
      Component
         Installer
            ComponentInstaller
               ServiceInstaller

You can find the more notable public properties of objects of the Service Installer class in Table 10, their more notable methods in Table 11, and their more notable events in Table 12. Note that I'm including the properties, methods, and events inherited from the Installer and ComponentInstaller classes in these tables.

Table 10: Noteworthy public properties of *ServiceInstaller* objects.
Property	Means
DisplayName	Holds the display name of the service.
HelpText	Gets the help text for the installers.
Installers	Gets the installers themselves.
Parent	Gets/sets the parent installer.
ServiceName	Holds the name used to identify this service.
ServicesDependedOn	Specifies the services that must be running to support this service.
StartType	Specifies when this service is started.

Table 11: Noteworthy public methods of *ServiceInstaller* objects.
Method	Means
Commit	When overridden, commits the install operation.
Install	Installs the service by writing service data to the registry.
Rollback	Rolls back data written to the registry.
Uninstall	Uninstalls the service.

Table 12: Noteworthy public events of *ServiceInstaller* objects.
Event	Means
AfterInstall	Occurs after the installers have run.
AfterRollback	Occurs after the installations are rolled back.
AfterUninstall	Occurs after all the installers finish their uninstallation operations.
BeforeInstall	Occurs before the each installer's Install method runs.
BeforeRollback	Occurs before the installers are rolled back.
BeforeUninstall	Occurs before the installers execute uninstall operations.
Committed	Occurs after all the installers commit installations.
Committing	Occurs before the installers commit installations