Run as service

Max13 · wrote on 10 May 2016, 14:52

Hi there,
I'm writing a simple "ping" app that sends a ping to out server periodically. The thing is my company wants it to start as a service, to be able to "see" a powered-on computer even if it has restarted and/or without anyone logged in.

Is there a solution provided by Qt? I can't find something useful for me.

Thank you for your help

kuzulis · 10 May 2016, 15:29

I can't find something useful for me.

Perhaps, because you lazy looking for?
QtService: https://github.com/qtproject/qt-solutions

mrjj · wrote on 10 May 2016, 15:19

hi
alternatively u could just cheat and use a tool to run it as service.
http://www.howtogeek.com/50786/using-srvstart-to-run-any-application-as-a-windows-service/

Max13 · 10 May 2016, 20:21

@kuzulis said:

Perhaps, because you lazy looking for?

I found this but while I'm struggling with an error on make g++: error: CreateProcess: No such file or directory, I still hoping there is something included in Qt. Maybe my error is related to the fact that I'm on 5.6 (and the project mentions 5.5), but that's another thread.

@mrjj said:

alternatively u could just cheat and use a tool to run it as service.

I also thought about this at first (like the included sc, as command line), but as the app will run on around 30 computers and will be installed by users, I need a simple workflow. So either a simple command line tool that will be run on the first start by my app (after install) or the above solution provided by @kuzulis (or similar)

mrjj · wrote on 10 May 2016, 15:36

@Max13 said:

g++: error: CreateProcess:

is that mingw compiler?

Oh, i understand. To Make installer to setup the app as service is
as much work as making native a service. :)

? Offline · 11 May 2016, 11:20

Why don't you just run ping from a cron job?

kshegunov · M Max13 10 May 2016, 15:29

@Max13
What OS are we talking? I recently began (and implemented for Linux) such a thing (Qt 5.5 compatible). My idea is that at some point I wrap up the Windows code as well.

the_ · wrote on 11 May 2016, 05:51

I recently wrote a windows service (file transfer from/to a server, connection checks,...) in plain C compiled with mingw but it a bit of pain (so much code to type...)

@Max13 said:

I also thought about this at first (like the included sc, as command line), but as the app will run on around 30 computers and will be installed by users, I need a simple workflow. So either a simple command line tool that will be run on the first start by my app (after install) or the above solution provided by @kuzulis (or similar)

As far as i remember you need full Admin rights (on Win7 it was not enough to run the CMD as administrator when logged in as a normal user) to register/install a service. I was looking for installer kits that can do that but could not find any examples for this.

Max13 · 11 May 2016, 12:52

@mrjj said:

is that mingw compiler?

Oh, i understand. To Make installer to setup the app as service is
as much work as making native a service. :)

It's mingw, installed with Qt. It's easier for the user (therefor for me, if I don't have to help them) if I make an installer that installs (as a service) and start. Then the user has NOTHING to do except double clicking the installer.

@Wieland said:

Why don't you just run ping from a cron job?

It's not just really a ping. Currently it's calling an API to say "I'm still awake", the plan is to "ping" with a some logs.

@kshegunov said:

What OS are we talking?

Windows XP and Windows 7. QtSolutions was a great idea. If you have implemented yours another, share.

@the_ said:

I recently wrote a windows service (file transfer from/to a server, connection checks,...) in plain C compiled with mingw but it a bit of pain (so much code to type...)

I don't doubt it. I want to avoid native APIs as much as possible. To keep the cross-platform ability

Finally, I managed to compile QtSolutions/QtService using just the cmd command line by Qt. All the env variables was there. It's a little bit complicated to understand the first time how to implement it, as there is only examples, but I simply has to wrap my code in an overridden QtService::start() and that's it.

My project is Open Source: https://github.com/Max13/Pulse-Qt

Thank you for your help

kshegunov · M Max13 11 May 2016, 11:20

@Max13 said:

Windows XP and Windows 7. QtSolutions was a great idea. If you have implemented yours another, share.

~~Currently only for Linux.~~ I have some old source for windows that I'm going to refactor, but I've been busy ... you know how it is.

kshegunov · 18 May 2016, 21:55

@Max13
Hello,
Just letting you know that as of today I have an implementation for Windows as well. ~~Still tweaking it a bit (the installation/ deinstallation should update the PATH), but it appears to be fully functional otherwise. Let me know if you're interested.~~

I just merged the win32 branch, so you can get the library here.

Kind regards.

Max13 · 18 May 2016, 23:36

@kshegunov said:

Just letting you know that as of today I have an implementation for Windows as well.

I'm playing around with QtService, but I'll look at yours as soon as I can ;)

kshegunov · M Max13 18 May 2016, 21:55

@Max13
Do let me know whether it's convenient to use, and of course suggestions are welcome. (bug reports please post on the issue tracker).