Howdy again, I'm thinking aloud about a problem here in case there is lateral thinking available.
We have a mature app that uses a single-file database that is locked. Now new apps want to use this file as well, but how can they share it? The usual fix would be to (1) Migrate it into something like SQL Server (2) Wrap the file in code in a different process and expose it as a service. Option 1 has too many dependencies that aren't available. Option 2 is easy to code, but you have to manage the lifetime of the process and perhaps make it a Windows Service, which makes a bigger install and runtime footprint. At the moment I'm wondering if the "service" could be a hidden console or WinForms app that is registered in HKLM Run, or similar. That way it's a "fake lightweight service". *Greg K*
