Couple of weeks ago, I got a paper copy of a book Pablo Cibraro, Kurt Claeys, Fabio Cozzolino, Johann Grabner - Professional WCF 4: Windows Communication Foundation with .NET 4. This book does not have a lot of pages, just about 400. Really, I don’t remember when I saw such a thin book about some technology. Maybe this book does not have a lot pages, but it has a lot of interesting themes.
The first chapter is patterns and principles of SOA applications. This is the best chapter in this book. When I was reading this chapter, I saw that the authors have a lot experience of creating applications with Service-oriented architecture. Authors described all possible architecture principles, with which you can create SOA applications. And they did not limit themselves to the principles that are possible with WCF. I think that this chapter is “must read” for all developers, it doesn’t matter what technologies you are using: PHP, Java or .NET. And it is good luck that Wrox published this chapter online: Design Principles and Patterns. It is about 30 pages, so read it right now.
What else will you meet in this book? You will find a little knowledge about WCF-base. So if you are a junior WCF-developer, when you finish reading this book, go to MSDN articles about WCF to know more about the fundamentals of WCF. You can read this book for taste of WCF technology, but it is not a copy-paste from MSDN. This is why you will not find all principles for example of using DataContractAttribute and DataMembetAttribute attributes in this book. So what will you find in this book? There are a lot of themes from which you can start to comprehend new technologies. This is why I like books like this, a lot of new knowledge, but you should to do homework too if you want to be an expert in this trend. You will know about the fundamentals of integration Windows Foundation 4 and WCF, you will know how to create SOA-applications for Windows Azure AppFabric Platform, very well covered topics of authentication and security. A separate chapter is dedicated to Federated Security, I had never created applications with Federated Security, but now I’m ready. You can find a list of chapters here: Contents.
In the last three chapters, the authors cover three big examples. The first example, after such a flow of information, it seems so simple, and, frankly, the first thoughts that pop up, why is that? It is so simple. But this chapter (11) would be a good gift for beginners in WCF.
I can’t say that the book is 100% the best choice. It has minuses too, the main defect of this book is horrible formatted code in some examples. I think it is problems of redaction: sometimes closing brackets not in the necessary place, sometimes they disappear. But of course, you can download source code from the official book page.
After reading the book, I decided not to waste this knowledge and go to the exam Exam 70-513: TS: Windows Communication Foundation Development with Microsoft. NET Framework 4. I did not have much experience of developing SOA applications with WCF, just about a year, even, perhaps, less. But this book as a basis of knowledge and a bit of MSDN articles have given me enough information to pull up my knowledge and pass this exam. Result:
