Windows Communication Foundation and its Advantages

So why do we need WCF? After all we have so many options available as described above.

WCF is a framework for service-oriented communication designed for diverse but realistic scenario where different applications can interact and communicate with each other.

WCF is becoming the default technology for Windows applications that expose and access services.

WCF is implemented primarily as a set of classes on top of the .NET Framework’s Common

Language Runtime (CLR).It allows creating clients that access services. Both the client and the service can run in pretty much any Windows process—WCF doesn’t define a required host as host can be IIS, Application Process or WAS. Wherever they run, clients and services can interact via SOAP, via a WCF specific binary protocol, and in other ways.

WCF addresses a range of problems for communicating applications but the most important aspects are:

1)     Unification of the original .NET Framework communication technologies

2)     Interoperability with applications built on other technologies

3)      Explicit support for service-oriented development.

Unification of the original .NET Framework communication technologies

Earlier to choose the right distributed technology from the multiple choices originally offered by the .NET Framework is very critical task. Yet for the diverse requirements where different clients consume the service, no single technology would fit the bill. The available options are:

As shown below WCF provides maximum coverage so it would be an obvious choice for design.

Communication Technologies and Features Matrix

	ASMX	.Net Remoting	WSE	Enterprise Services	System. Net	System. Messaging	WCF
.Net - .Net communication
Interoperable
Distributed Transaction
Supports WS- standards
Queued Messaging
RESTful Communication

Posted in: .NET,WCF