I would not have been able to come to terms with WCF in its early days without the constant support and interaction with the WCF (then Indigo) program managers. I am especially grateful to my friend Steve Swartz, one of the WCF architects, not just for his knowledge and insight, but also for his patience with me, and those long IM sessions. Thanks go to Yasser Shohoud, Doug Purdy, and Shy Cohen for the fascinating strategic design reviews, and to Krish Srinivasan for his almost philosophical approach to engineering. Working with you guys has been the best part of learning WCF and a privilege on its own right. The following WCF program managers also shared their time and helped clarify WCF: Andy Milligan, Brian McNamara, Eugene Osovetsky, Kenny Wolf, Kirill Gavrylyuk, Max Feingold, Michael Marucheck, Mike Vernal, and Steve Millet. Thanks also to the group manager, Angela Mills.

Outside Microsoft, thanks to Norman Headlam and Pedro Felix for providing valuable feedback. I am grateful to Nicholas Paldino for his help. Nick’s knowledge of the .NET framework is second to none, and his meticulous attention to details contributed greatly to the quality and cohesiveness of this book.

Finally, to my family: my wife, Dana, who keeps encouraging me to write down my ideas and techniques, while knowing too well that writing a book entails precious time away from the her and the girls; and to my parents, who imparted to me the love for engineering. I dedicate this book to my seven-year-old daughter, Abigail, and my four-year-old, Eleanor. You all mean the world to me.