Typical use cases

Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation follow different use case scenarios, but both share the fact that they are frameworks. Both WCF and Workflow are used as part of a custom-built solution. While some third-party vendors leverage and re-host these technologies, the use cases outlined here assume that these technologies are going to be used as the foundation of a new application. Use cases fit into one of these three categories: WCF, WF, and WF Services.

Windows Communication Foundation use cases

Windows Communication Foundation is striving to become the implementation framework of choice for distributed service-based scenarios. Examples include a company implementing a company-wide Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to offer enterprise services for tasks such as tax calculations, shipping quotes, or inventory checks. Using WCF is about approaching different distributed scenarios in a standardized way, increasing supportability, maintainability...