Introduction to Background Services in .NET 7

In .NET 7, background services perform long-running tasks outside the request-response pipeline. They're essential for tasks like data processing, integration with other systems, or time-consuming computations without blocking user interactions.

Worker Services, introduced in .NET Core 3.0, have matured in .NET 7. They provide a template for writing long-running services, leveraging Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting for background task execution with minimal configuration.

.NET 7 enhances background services with better dependency injection support, allowing for cleaner code and easier testing. It simplifies the incorporation of scoped services within background tasks.

Background services in .NET 7 can handle application shutdowns gracefully, ensuring that tasks are completed or stopped correctly, which is critical for the stability and reliability of your applications.

IHostedService interface defines the contract for a service. BackgroundService is an abstract class that implements IHostedService with a default execution loop, simplifying the implementation of your background tasks.

With .NET 7, implementing timed background tasks is made more intuitive. It supports scheduling and executing tasks at specified intervals, using timers combined with cancellation tokens for precise control.

Background services in .NET 7 are ideal for applications requiring real-time data processing, such as IoT devices, complex event processing systems, and microservices that need to perform background maintenance tasks.