received. Some examples of uses for behaviors are: Controlling whether metadata is published with a service. Adding security features to a service, such as impersonation, authorization, or managing tokens Recording information about messages, such as tracking, tracing, or logging Message or parameter validation Invoking all additional operations when messages are received—such as notifying users when certain messages arrive Behaviors implement the IServiceBehavior interface for service extensions, the IEndpointBehavior for endpoints, the IContractBehavior interface for service contracts, or the IOperationBehavior for operations. Service behaviors are used for message processing across a service, rather than processing that would be specific to a single operation. Interoperability WCF supports interoperability with WCF applications running on the same Windows machine or WCF running on a different Windows machines or standard Web services built on platforms such as Java running on Windows or other operating systems. In addition to SOAP, WCF 4 supports non-SOAP XML, RSS, JSON, and binary formats for external communication via HTTP or HTTPS. See also Microsoft Connected Services Framework Web Services Enhancements Service Component Architecture (SCA) and Service Data Objects (SDO), which are alternatives to WCF in the Java world standardized by OASIS. WCF Data Services References Further reading Craig McMurtry, Marc Mercuri, and Nigel Watling: Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation: Hands-On, SAMS Publishing, May 26, 2004, Steve Resnick, Richard Crane, Chris Bowen: Essential Windows Communication Foundation (WCF): For .NET Framework 3.5, Addison-Wesley, February 11, 2008, Craig McMurtry, Marc Mercuri, Nigel Watling, Matt Winkler: Windows Communication Foundation Unleashed (WCF), Sams Publishing, March 6, 2007, Juval Löwy: Programming WCF Service, O'Reilly Media, Inc., February 20, 2007, Pablo Cibraro, Kurt Claeys, Fabio Cozzolino, Johann Grabner: Professional WCF 4: Windows Communication Foundation with .NET 4, Wrox, June 15, 2010, Andrew Zhu: Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation 4.0 Cookbook:Chapter 3, Packt Publishing, September 2010, External links Windows Communication Foundation, MSDN Windows Communication Foundation portal. MSDN Library: Windows Communication Foundation WCF Security Guide, Microsoft Patterns & Practices - Improving Web Services Security: Scenarios and Implementation Guidance for WCF. Released Aug 1, 2008. Understanding WCF Services in Silverlight 2 - In depth explanation of WCF services for Silverlight clients. David Chappell: "Introduction to WCF" and "Dealing with Diversity", two papers covering WCF. November 2007. Getting Started with WCF RIA Services - part 1 of the series articles on WCF RIA Services .NET terminology Windows communication and services Formerly proprietary software Free and open-source software Communication Foundation Microsoft free software Object