Describing Windows Communication Foundation The
move to service-oriented communication has changed
software development. Whether done with SOAP or in some
other way, applications that interact through services
have become the norm. For Windows developers, this
change was made possible by Windows Communication
Foundation (WCF). First released as part of the .NET
Framework 3.0 in 2006, then updated in the .NET
Framework 3.5, the most recent version of this
technology is included in the .NET Framework 4. For a
substantial share of new software built on .NET, WCF is
the right foundation.