{"id":10810,"date":"2022-07-18T10:19:49","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T17:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/?p=10810"},"modified":"2022-07-18T10:20:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T17:20:29","slug":"eliminate-console-app-errors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/alwaysup\/eliminate-console-app-errors\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: How do I Eliminate Errors from my C# Console App Windows Service?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How<\/div>\n
\n  For a few years now, our company has been using AlwaysUp to run an internally developed C# console application<\/a> as a service. The application checks a folder for incoming files and processes anything it finds. It runs every 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

The application itself works fine. New files are discovered quickly and we have a system that works reliably 24\/7.<\/p>\n

The only problem is that we’re seeing hundreds of errors in the activity report:<\/p>\n

\"Activity<\/a><\/div>\n

Have you ever had this reported before? Can you recommend some ways to help us avoid the errors?<\/p>\n

— Clayton<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hi Clayton. Thanks for supporting our software!<\/p>\n

By default, AlwaysUp’s mission is to run your application 24\/7 — with no interruptions.<\/p>\n

However, your program runs periodically. That’s perfectly fine, but you should make a couple of tweaks to have AlwaysUp tolerate the frequent stops and starts.<\/p>\n

Tweak #1: Minimize the logging around expected starts & stops<\/h2>\n

First, understand that AlwaysUp is a chatty babysitter. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Whenever the application it’s watching starts or stops, AlwaysUp writes an informative entry to the Windows Event Log<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, you will see one of these messages when AlwaysUp starts (or restarts) your C# program:<\/p>\n

\n

The application has been started<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The application has been restarted (run #number)<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

And AlwaysUp writes similar entries when the application crashes or stops for any reason.<\/p>\n

For customers running applications continuously — like Dropbox<\/a>, OneDrive<\/a> or VirtualBox<\/a> — those messages are helpful. They highlight the rare occasions where the application runs into trouble and needs attention.<\/p>\n

But your scenario is different. AlwaysUp launches your application every 30 seconds. As a result, AlwaysUp will inundate your activity log with useless messages.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, our team has already designed an easy way to eliminate the spurious log entries. Please:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Edit your application in AlwaysUp<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Move to the Restart<\/b> tab<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Check the Minimize event logging as the application starts & stops<\/b> box:<\/p>\n

  4. \n

    Save your changes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    That adjustment will prevent AlwaysUp from filling up your event logs. Restart your C# application and you will notice that the activity report is much less verbose.<\/p>\n

    Tweak #2: Make AlwaysUp tolerate “quick exits”<\/h2>\n

    From the detailed logs you sent, each of the three runs completed in less than 1 second. That’s very fast, and the quick turnaround confuses AlwaysUp.<\/p>\n

    In fact, because your C# application does its work and exits so quickly, AlwaysUp thinks that your application failed to start at all!<\/p>\n

    And with that conclusion, AlwaysUp immediately runs your program again.<\/p>\n

    The result is the cycle you see in your logs — the repeated, rapid fire running of your console application.<\/p>\n

    The solution to the problem is to tell AlwaysUp to not to panic if your application completes quickly. To do so:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      Create an empty file called alwaysup-dont-panic-on-quick-exit.txt<\/b> in your AlwaysUp installation directory (likely C:\\Program Files (x86)\\AlwaysUp<\/b>):<\/p>\n

    2. \n

      Restart your application in AlwaysUp.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The presence of that “magic” file signals AlwaysUp to tolerate your application’s speedy exit and avoids the unnecessary restarts.<\/p>\n

      \nBest of luck with your C# console application!<\/p>\n