Summary
In this chapter, we have learned and clarified many concepts related to SOA, web services, and WCF. The key points in this chapter are:
SOA is an architectural design pattern
Web services are the most popular and practical way of realizing SOA today
There are many standards and specifications for web services, including (but not limited to) WSDL, SOAP, WS-I Profiles, and various WS-* standards
WCF is a better technology for developing SOA services
A WCF service has at least one service endpoint
A WCF service endpoint has an address, a binding, and a service contract
A WCF service can be self-hosted or can be hosted in a managed or an unmanaged application
A WCF service can publish metadata and communicates with client applications through channels
.NET Framework 3.0 or above is required to develop and run WCF service applications
Visual Studio 2008 and 2010 are the preferred IDEs for WCF service application development