Professional WCF Programming: .NET Development with the Windows® Communication Foundation

Chapter 4. Addresses

Chapter 2 spent quite a bit of time explaining the makeup of endpoints, and one of the main concepts discussed was that of addresses and how they apply to endpoints and the important role they play in communication. As you learned, every endpoint must have an address so that other programs can communicate with it. An address basically declares "here I am" to the outside world.

This chapter builds on the brief introduction in Chapter 2 and delves deep into addresses by discussing the different types and formats of addresses, and then the rest of the chapter shows you how to program addresses.

This chapter discusses the following:

• Address types

• Address formats

• Programming addresses

WCF Addresses

Chapter 2 discussed the three components that make up an endpoint. Those three are the address, binding, and contract. Not being one to start an argument, but if I had to make a choice as to which of those was the most important component of the endpoint, I would have to say it is the address, only because without the address, you wouldn't be able to find the endpoint to begin with. Without the address, the endpoint is basically useless.

Now, you could argue the same for the binding and contract. Without either of those, the endpoint would be rendered useless as well, and I would agree with that. But you have to first find the endpoint, and that is what the address does. It specifies where the service endpoint is. You have to be able to find it and get to it to be able to use ...