Essential Windows Communication Foundation

“Whether this is the first time or the fifty-first time you’re using WCF, you’ll learn something new by reading this book.”

 --Nicholas Allen, Program Manager, Web Services, Microsoft

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is the easiest way to produce and consume Web services on the Microsoft platform. With .NET 3.5, WCF has been extensively revamped--and Visual Studio 2008 gives developers powerful new tools for utilizing it. Essential Windows Communication Foundation shows developers exactly how to make the most of WCF with .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008.

Drawing on extensive experience working with early adopters, three Microsoft insiders systematically address the topics developers ask about WCF. The authors approach each subject with practical advice and present best practices, tips, and tricks for solving problems. Throughout, you’ll find detailed explanations, solutions for the “pain points” of WCF development, and an extensive collection of reusable code examples. Coverage includes

• Using WCF contracts to define complex structures and interfaces
• Understanding WCF’s channel stacks and channel model architecture
• Configuring the WCF communication stack to use only the protocols you need
• Using standard and custom service behaviors to manage concurrency, instances, transactions, and more
• Serializing data from .NET types to XML Infosets and representing Infosets “on the wire”
• Hosting WCF services via IIS, managed .NET applications, and Windows Activation Services
• WCF security, in depth: authentication; transport and message-level security; and Internet and intranet scenarios
• Improving reliability: exception handling, diagnostics, and more
• Workflow services: new integration points between WCF 3.5 and Windows Workflow Foundation
• Building client-to-client, peer network-based applications
• Utilizing WCF for non-SOAP Web services: AJAX and JSON examples and .NET 3.5 hosting classes

Microsoft’s Steve Resnick, Richard Crane, and Chris Bowen are technology experts at the Microsoft Technology Center in Boston. They specialize in helping customers improve their technical agility by applying WCF and related technologies. Resnick has specialized in Internet technologies and distributed computing at Microsoft since 1995. He is a frequent speaker at Microsoft events and is now technology director for the U.S. Microsoft Technology Centers. Crane has more than 15 years of experience in senior software development roles. He specializes in large-scale Web sites, distributed computing, transactional systems, and performance analysis. Bowen has been an architect and developer for more than 15 years at companies such as Monster.com and Staples and is co-author of Professional Visual Studio 2005 Team System.

Foreword xxv

Preface xxvii

Chapter 1: Basics 1

Chapter 2: Contracts 33

Chapter 3: Channels 91

Chapter 4: Bindings 111

Chapter 5: Behaviors 181

Chapter 6: Serialization and Encoding 241

Chapter 7: Hosting 287

Chapter 8: Security 315

Chapter 9: Diagnostics 375

Chapter 10: Exception Handling 403

Chapter 11: Workflow Services 423

Chapter 12: Peer Networking 459

Chapter 13: Programmable Web 503

Appendix: Advanced Topics 537

Index 553

Steve Resnick has worked at Microsoft since the mid-1990s, spanning architect, developer, and evangelist roles in the field. He specializes in Internet technologies, architecting and designing high-volume, high-value Web applications. Steve is the National Technology Director for the Microsoft Technology Centers in the United States, where he sets strategy and direction so that his team can solve the toughest customer challenges. He has worked with .NET since the beginning and is an expert in Web services, BizTalk, transaction processing, and related technologies. He holds a M.S. and B.S. in Computer Science from Boston University and University of Delaware, respectively.

Rich Crane is a Technical Architect at the Microsoft Technology Center in Waltham, Massachusetts. A software architect and engineer with more than 18 years of experience, Rich has spent the last six years helping customers architect and build solutions on the Microsoft platform. He has worked with numerous Microsoft products and technologies and is an expert in BizTalk, SQL Server, SharePoint, Compute Cluster Server, and of course Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. He has spoken at conferences and community events such as TechEd and Code Camp. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Drexel University with a B.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Chris Bowen is Microsoft’s Developer Evangelist for the northeastern United States, specializing in development tools, platforms, and architectural best practices. Asoftware architect and engineer with 15 years of experience, Chris joined Microsoft after holding senior positions at companies such as Monster.com, VistaPrint, Staples, and IDX Systems, and consulting on Web presence and e-commerce projects with others. He is coauthor of Professional Visual Studio 2005 Team System (2006, WROX) and holds an M.S. in Computer Science and a B.S. in Management Information Systems, both from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.