Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a framework for building service-oriented applications by which we can send asynchronous message/data from one service endpoint to another service endpoint.
WCF is a runtime and a set of APIs for creating systems that sends messages between services and clients. The same infrastructure and APIs are used to create applications that communicate with other applications on the same computer system or on a system that resides in another company and is accessed over the Internet.
The WCF fundamentals are as follows:
- Unification
- COM+ Services
- Web Services
- .NET Remoting
- Microsoft Message Queuing
- Interoperability
- Service Orientation
WCF Architecture
There are four major layers that provide developers with a new service-oriented programming model. The WCF architecture consists of the following layers.