With the release of MFC Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) in Visual C++ 4.2, you can use both MFC and the MFC ODBC classes within the multithreaded environment of a Windows NT Service. Neither the MFC Data Access Objects (DAO) classes nor the DAO SDK are thread-safe because the underlying Jet engine is not thread-safe and cannot be used in a Windows NT Service.

The techniques presented here are valid for any multithreaded environment with the MFC ODBC classes, not just a Windows NT Service.

The remainder of this article explores the following three areas relating to using MFC-based database classes within a Windows NT Service:

•	How a Windows NT Service works
•	How to use MFC ODBC in a multithreaded environment
•	Why MFC DAO or the DAO SDK cannot be used in a multithreaded environment

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How a Windows NT Service Works

A Windows NT Service consists of code that is roughly similar to the following:

   VOID WINAPI Main( VOID )
   {
       ...
       if (!StartServiceCtrlDispatcher(...))
           AddToMessageLog(TEXT("StartServiceCtrlDispatcher failed."));
       ...
   }

When a service is started, the Service Control Manager waits for the primary thread of the service to invoke a call to StartServiceCtrlDispatcher(). This call triggers the creation of a named pipe whose purpose is to provide a communication channel between the service and the Service Control Manager. The primary thread acts as a control dispatcher for the service. The service receives control requests from the Service Control Manager via the control handler (callback function). In addition, the StartServiceCtrlDispatcher() invokes a secondary thread that contains the entry point of the service as specified by the SERVICE_TABLE_ENTRY structure. If the StartServceCtrlDispatcher() call succeeds, the StartServiceCtrlDispatcher() call in the primary thread does not return until all running services in the process have terminated.

Any attempt to use database classes within a running service must not only be thread-safe, but must also be able to operate in the secondary thread.

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How to Use MFC ODBC in a Multithreaded Environment

With the release of Visual C++ 4.2, both MFC and the MFC ODBC database code is safe to use in a multithreaded environment. However, you should keep the following points in mind:

•	Use an ODBC Driver That Is Thread-Safe. The multithreading support for the ODBC classes has some limitations. Because these classes wrap the ODBC API, they are restricted to the multithreading support of the components on which they are built. For example, there are many ODBC drivers that are not thread-safe; therefore, the MFC ODBC classes are not thread-safe if you use them with one of these drivers. You should verify whether your particular driver is thread-safe, as well as any components it uses.
•	Avoid Using MFC ODBC Globally or Across Multiple Threads. When creating a multithreaded application, you should be very careful in using multiple threads to manipulate the same object. For example, using the same CRecordset object in two threads may cause problems when retrieving data; a fetch operation in one thread may overwrite the data fetched in the other thread. A global Database object, even protected by a global instance of CCriticalSection, may not be safe.
•	Use a System Data Source Name (DSN) for Your ODBC Data Source. Any ODBC Data Source used by the MFC ODBC classes within a Windows NT Service must be a System DSN. Without a System DSN you see the following Error when trying to open the data source: Data source name not found and no default driver specified State:IM002,Native:0,Origin:[Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] The process for creating a System DSN is identical to creating a regular data source. Open the 32-bit ODBC Administrator (in the Control Panel) and click the button that says "System DSN" to create or modify your System Data Sources. See the Knowledge Base article listed in the REFERENCES section of this article for more information.
•	It May Be Necessary to Impersonate a Valid Windows NT User. When you use an Internet Server API (ISAPI) dynamic-link library (DLL) to get to a data source that is not on the same machine as the ISAPI DLL, you might need to impersonate a valid Windows NT user. For example, an ISAPI DLL using MFC ODBC to manipulate data on a SQL Server that is on a different machine requires a valid Windows NT Domain userid and password. Otherwise, the Windows NT machine running SQL Server does not allow the ISAPI DLL to make the connection. Win32 provides several functions that allow you to log on with a valid userid and password, letting the ISAPI DLL "impersonate" a valid user. See the two Knowledge Base articles listed in the REFERENCES section of this article for more information.
•	Using MFC ODBC in a Windows NT Service Is Just Like Using MFC ODBC in a Console Application. A Windows NT Service is similar to a console application in that it does not offer the standard Windows Message Pump. The MFC ODBC classes, with Visual C++ 4.2, have been written to be more friendly to console applications. However, there are some issues that you should be aware of. See the Knowledge Base article listed in the REFERENCES section of this article for more information.

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Why MFC DAO or DAO SDK Cannot Be Used in a Multithreaded Environment

DAO version 3.x is a single-threaded in-process server and was originally written for Access 1.x and 2.0 and Visual Basic 3.0, both of which are single-threaded. This means that clients (MFC DAO or DAO SDK) can use DAO via custom interfaces only from the first thread in the process that initialized COM, that is, the "primary" thread.

If the client has already initialized COM in the primary thread and then calls CoCreateInstance in the secondary thread asking for the IDAODBEngine interface, CoCreateInstance fails. This fails because COM sees that DAO is not marked as apartment or free threaded in the registry, calls DllGetClassObject from the primary thread, gets the IDAODBEngine interface, tries to marshal it back to the secondary thread, and fails.

See the Knowledge Base article listed in the REFERENCES section of this article for more information.

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For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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System Data Sources

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Impersonating a Valid Windows NT User

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Using MFC Database Classes in a Console Application

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Why DAO Cannot Be Used in a Multithreaded Environment

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Using MFC ODBC with an ISAPI DLL

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