| WCF stands for Windows Communication Foundation is a framework for distributed programming. The WCF is designed provides manageable approach for distributed computing, broad interoperability, and direct support for SOA. It contains serialization facilities that enable loose coupling and versioning.
By WCF we can send data as asynchronous messages from one service endpoint to another. A service endpoint can be part of a continuously available service hosted by IIS or it can be a service hosted in an application. The messages we are sendign can be simple or XML, or as complex as a stream of binary data.
It provides integration and interoperability with existing .NET Framework distributed systems technologies such as Message Queuing (MSMQ), COM+, ASP.NET Web services, Web Services Enhancements (WSE), and a number of other functions.
It is a Software development kit for developing services on Windows. WCF is introduced in .NET 3.0. in the System.ServiceModel namespace. WCF is based on basic concepts of Service oriented architecture (SOA).
WCF unifies ASMX, Remoting, and Enterprise Services stacks and provides a single programming model. WCF services are interoperable and supports all the core Web services standards. WCF services also provide extension points to quickly adapt to new protocols and updates and integrates very easily. | | |