Using Wcf Service in asp.net mvc 4 - asp.net-mvc

Question

I have a wcfservice that is coded in vb.net. I want to use it in a c# mvc 4 client application. But when I added this service with right click on references and Add Service References, I can not use this. How can I do this?

Answer 1

Your service codes contain contracts and the implementation. However, The service code should be used in only the service, not in the client programs. You should generate proxy classes to be used by client programs like your Asp.NET applications.
There are 2 typical ways:
1. You run the service, then create a Service Reference to the service instance, so VS IDE will generate proxy classes under folder Service References.
2. Generate proxy classes using svcutil.exe against the service assembly that contain contracts, and build a client API assembly.
The 2nd is the most tidy and efficient way. Please check this article for more details at http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/627240/WCF-for-the-Real-World-Not-Hello-World

Answer 2

This is a pretty basic question but generally speaking you can add a web service reference and endpoint info in the main Web.Config file but I suspect you are having trouble with calling the WCF service URL, if so I posted an example of a generic class/wrapper for calling WCF web services in an MVC application.
Add the Web Reference to Visual Studio 2012 (or similar):
Right click the project in the Solution Explorer
Choose Add–> Service Reference –> Then click the Advanced Button... –>
Then click the "Add Web Reference…" button –> then type the address of your Web Service into the URL box. Then click the green arrow and Visual Studio will discover your Web Services and display them.
You may have known the above already and might just need a generic wrapper class which makes calling the WCF Web Service easy in MVC. I've found that using the generic class works well. I can't take credit for it; found it on the internet and there was no attribution. There is a complete example with downloadable source code at http://www.displacedguy.com/tech/powerbuilder-125-wcf-web-services-asp-net-p3 that calls a WCF Web service that was made using PowerBuilder 12.5.Net, but the process of calling the WCF Web service in MVC is the same no matter if it was created in Visual Studio or PowerBuilder.
Generic wrapper class for calling WCF Web Services in ASP.NET MVC
Of course don't model your error handling after my incomplete example...
using System;
using System.ServiceModel;
namespace LinkDBMvc.Controllers
{
public class WebService<T>
{
public static void Use(Action<T> action)
{
ChannelFactory<T> factory = new ChannelFactory<T>("*");
T client = factory.CreateChannel();
bool success = false;
try
{
action(client);
((IClientChannel)client).Close();
factory.Close();
success = true;
}
catch (EndpointNotFoundException e)
{
LinkDBMvc.AppViewPage.apperror.LogError("WebService", e, "Check that the Web Service is running");
}
catch (CommunicationException e)
{
LinkDBMvc.AppViewPage.apperror.LogError("WebService", e, "Check that the Web Service is running");
}
catch (TimeoutException e)
{
LinkDBMvc.AppViewPage.apperror.LogError("WebService", e, "Check that the Web Service is running");
}
catch (Exception e)
{
LinkDBMvc.AppViewPage.apperror.LogError("WebService", e, "Check that the Web Service is running");
}
finally
{
if (!success)
{
// abort the channel
((IClientChannel)client).Abort();
factory.Abort();
}
}
}
}
}