Chapter 2. Windows Communication Foundation Primer

Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.

--Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a critical part of the Microsoft services strategy and a key part of BizTalk Server 2013 platform. WCF is a rich and expansive topic, so this chapter will only focus on the key aspects of WCF, which prepares us for its usage in later chapters.

In this chapter, you will learn:

• What WCF is and why it matters
• How to construct and configure new WCF services
• Service hosting options
• How to call a WCF service from a client application