---
title: "WCF(Windows Communication Foundation)"  
description: "Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a framework for building service-oriented applications. Using WCF, you can send data as asynchronous message"  
author: "Uttam Misra"  
published: 2010-10-14  
updated: 2014-09-18  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/blog/23/wcf-windows-communication-foundation  
category: "wcf"  
tags: ["wcf"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# WCF(Windows Communication Foundation)

Windows [Communication](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/126321/5-fails-and-fixes-of-the-office-communication) Foundation (WCF) is a framework for building service-oriented [applications](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/12847/how-to-choose-the-right-ethernet-cable-for-industrial-applications). Using WCF, you can send data as asynchronous messages from one service endpoint to another. A service endpoint can be part of a continuously available service hosted by IIS, or it can be a service hosted in an application. An endpoint can be a client of a service that requests data from a service endpoint. The messages can be as simple as a single character or word sent as XML, or as complex as a stream of [binary data](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/302219/explore-the-science-binary-data-here).

##### A few sample scenarios include:

- A secure service to process [business transactions](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/105212/how-to-choose-a-mobile-payment-solution-for-business-transactions).
- A service that supplies current data to others, such as a traffic report or

other monitoring service.

- A chat service that allows two people to communicate or exchange

data in real time.

- A dashboard application that polls one or more services for data and

presents it in a logical presentation.

- Exposing a workflow implemented using Windows Workflow

Foundation as a WCF service.

- A Silverlight application to poll a service for the latest data feeds.

[While creating](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/105382/which-constraints-we-can-use-while-creating-a-database-in-sql) such applications was possible prior to the existence of WCF, WCF makes the development of endpoints easier than ever. In summary, WCF is designed to offer a manageable approach to creating [Web services](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/942/basics-of-asp-dot-net-web-services) and [Web service](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/895/web-service-introduction) clients.

- It combines functionalities of Asp.Net Web services, remoting, MSMQ and Enterprise Services.\
- It’s more reliable and secured then Web services.\
- All the [major changes](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/42932/what-were-some-major-changes-brought-about-by-henry-ford-s-model-t-automobile) can be done in the [configuration file](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/155707/what-is-the-usage-of-asp-dot-net-configuration-file) instead of code file.

---

Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/blog/23/wcf-windows-communication-foundation

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