What is WCF

WCF stands for Windows Communication Foundation. Foundation means the framework. In short WCF is framework to communicate applications on windows platform.

Earlier, We (Microsoft .Net developer) use different different methodologies to develop application which communicate with different application. For example, If you want to send/receive messages from another application which is developed in Java then you must need to go with ASPX based web service and if you want to communicate application in organization boundary then you can choose .Net remoting. There are lots of way to develop application which can send/receive messages. Some of them are listed below:

• ASPX based Web service
• .Net remoting
• MSMQ based application
• COM+

But when you want to change your application from one method to another then you need to write it from the beginning. Because it is not feasible to migrate from one method to another. So Microsoft have put all those methodologies and create new framework where developer does not required to worry about communication methodologies.

WCF provides most of all the communication methodologies.

WCF is loosely coupled service. You can host your WCF service on any type of applications like

IIS
Console Applications
Windows Application
Windows Service