Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)

The following steps are followed to use WCF:

Define Service Contract: Create an interface and mark it with the [ServiceContract] attribute. Inside this interface, mark the service's methods with the [OperationContract] attribute.

public interface ICalculator

{

    [OperationContract]

    int Add(int a, int b);

    [OperationContract]

    int Subtract(int a, int b);

}

{

    public int Add(int a, int b)

    {

        return a + b;

    }

    public int Subtract(int a, int b)

    {

        return a - b;

    }

}

Host the Service: Create a hosting application to host the service, such as a console application or IIS.

using System.ServiceModel;

class Program

{

    static void Main(string[] args)

    {

        ServiceHost host = new ServiceHost(typeof(CalculatorService), new Uri("http://localhost:8000/CalculatorService"));

        host.AddServiceEndpoint(typeof(ICalculator), new BasicHttpBinding(), "");

        host.Open();

        Console.WriteLine("Service is running...");

        Console.ReadLine();

        host.Close();

    }

}

Create the Client Application: Add a reference to the service in the client application and call the service's methods.

using System.ServiceModel;

class Client

{

    static void Main(string[] args)

    {

        ChannelFactory<ICalculator> factory = new ChannelFactory<ICalculator>(new BasicHttpBinding(), new EndpointAddress("http://localhost:8000/CalculatorService"));

        ICalculator proxy = factory.CreateChannel();

        int result = proxy.Add(5, 3);

        Console.WriteLine("5 + 3 = " + result);

        ((IClientChannel)proxy).Close();

        factory.Close();

    }

}

Data Contracts: The [DataContract] and [DataMember] attributes are used to define data structures, which controls the serialization and deserialization of data.

public class Person

{

    [DataMember]

    public string FirstName { get; set; }

    [DataMember]

    public string LastName { get; set; }

}

Service Behaviors: Various attributes and configuration settings are used to control the behavior of services, such as Instancing Mode (InstanceMode), Threading, etc.

Binding Types: WCF provides various types of bindings, such as BasicHttpBinding, NetTcpBinding, WSHttpBinding, etc., which support various protocols and features for communication.

Metadata: WCF services support mDNS (Metadata Exchange), which allows clients to easily access the service's metadata (such as WSDL) and automatically generate client proxies.