Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)

WCF stands for Windows Communication Foundation. It is basically used to create a distributed and interoperable Application. WCF Applications came into the picture in .Net 3.0 Framework. This is a framework, which is used for creating Service oriented Applications. You can send the data asynchronously from one end point to another. I think you all know about Web Service and are thinking, if we alwatchy have Web Services and accessing on a remote basis then why did WCF come into picture?

WCF (Windows Communication Foundation): WCF, as the name suggests, is a unified .NET framework that is used to develop service-oriented applications. It allows you to develop applications that can communicate using different communication mechanisms.

WCF is used to create a distributed and interoperable Applications. It provides a framework which is used for building service-oriented-connected applications for the transmission of the data as an asynchronous, from one service-point to other service-point. Previously known as Indigo and is a framework for building, configuring, and deploying network-distributed services.

For developing a WCF service application, there are mainly two tools – Microsoft Visual Studio and CodePlex. Microsoft Visual Studio is a complete package of development tools, necessary for developing a large number of diverse applications like ASP.NET web applications, desktop applications, mobile applications, and many more.

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a platform or a framework for creating and distributing connected applications. Built on top of the 2.0 .NET Framework CLR, the WCF is a set of classes that allows developers to build service-oriented applications.

Creating a WCF service is a simple task using Microsoft Visual Studio 2012. Given below is the step-by-step method for creating a WCF service along with all the requisite coding, to understand the concept in a better way.

After creating a WCF service, the next step is to host it so that the client applications can consume it. This is known as WCF service hosting.

Hosting a WCF service in IIS (Internet Information Services) is a step-by-step process. IIS Hosting is illustrated below in detail with the desired coding as well as screenshots to understand the process.

Here, the WCF service is hosted in a console application. Given below is the process with suitable steps in a sequential manner that explains the entire process.

To understand the concept of WAS hosting, we need to comprehend how a system is configured and how a service contract is created, enabling different binding to the hosted service.

The operation of Windows service hosting is a simple one. Given below are the steps with requisite coding and screenshots that explain the process in an easy way.

WCF services allow other applications to access or consume them. A WCF service can be consumed by many ways depending on the hosting type. Here, we are explaining the step-by-step method to consume a WCF service for each of the following popular hosting options −

WCF service binding is a set of several elements in which each element defines the way the service is communicating with the client. A transport element and a message encoding element are the two most vital components of each binding. In this chapter, we will discuss various WCF service bindings that are commonly used.

The set of techniques employed by WCF for binding a set of messages (client requests) to service instances is known as Instance Management. WCF supports three types of instance activation and they are discussed in this chapter.

A transaction in WCF is a set of operations that follow some properties, collectively known as ACID. Here, if a single operation fails, the entire system fails automatically. When an order is placed online, a transaction takes place. The following example can be helpful to understand the process of transaction in simpler terms.

WCF RIA Service is a higher-level framework and a new component of frameworks like .NET 4 and Silverlight 4 that eases the procedure of building a complex business application in Silverlight by offering client-side validation. RIA stands for Rich Internet Applications.

A WCF service boasts of a robust security system with two security modes or levels so that only an intended client can access the services. The security threats that are common in a distributed transaction are moderated to a large extent by WCF.

A WCF service developer may encounter some unforeseen errors which require reporting to the client in a suitable manner. Such errors, known as exceptions, are normally handled by using try/catch blocks, but again, this is very technology specific.