Metadata Formats

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) supports the metadata formats in the following table.

Metadata Specifications and Usage

Protocol	Specification and usage
WSDL 1.1	Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.1 WCF uses Web Services Description Language (WSDL) to describe services.
XML Schema	XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes Second Edition and XML Schema Part 1: Structures Second Edition WCF uses the XML Schema to describe data types used in messages.
WS Policy	Web Services Policy 1.2 - Framework (WS-Policy) Web Services Policy 1.5 - Framework WCF uses the WS-Policy 1.2 or 1.5 specifications with domain-specific assertions to describe service requirements and capabilities.
WS Policy Attachments	Web Services Policy 1.2 - Attachment (WS-PolicyAttachment) WCF implements WS-Policy Attachments to attach policy expressions at various scopes in WSDL.
WS Metadata Exchange	Web Services Metadata Exchange (WS-MetadataExchange) version 1.1 WCF implements WS-MetadataExchange to retrieve XML Schema, WSDL, and WS-Policy.
WS Addressing Binding for WSDL	Web Services Addressing 1.0 - WSDL Binding WCF implements WS-Addressing Binding for WSDL to attach addressing information in WSDL.