This pertains to non-sp1. If you have SP1 installed there "should" be an option to disable it in the gui. This is from what I've read on the web. I don't have an SP1 machine in front of me so I'm posting this so I can find it later. If it helps you, then hallelujah

Here is what the test client looks like in your tray when it starts:

To disable the Test WCF Client (WcfTestClient.exe / WcfSvcHost) that comes with VS2008 you have to edit the goop that is the Project file.

Delete the following GUID from the PropertyGroup as shown below: {3D9AD99F-2412-4246-B90B-4EAA41C64699}

If you have the project open in Visual Studio it will ask you to reload it. Reload the project and you should be able to use whatever your service host implementation is.

Doing this will turn off the default test client. This was VERY problematic for me today while doing some proof of concept WCF REST implementations.

More on the WCF REST stuff soon. I can't believe how simple it is. The examples I found were not too intiutive so I'll type up a quick and easy tutorial that covers the GET and PUT http verbs.

Coming soon!

When I present at conferences and consult at clients I often get asked "How can I learn WCF?" It's a great question because WCF in itself is a beast (as is WPF and Silverlight, etc).

When I first started with WCF I tried learning via Internet tutorials, browsing the MSDN, looking at magazines, etc. While some of the articles did help I never really grasped the concept of what WCF was presenting until I picked up a couple of books. At that point it hit home (literally within an hour of reading Learning WCF).

Book Complexity

The books below are listed IN ORDER because if you read them in that order they will make more sense. Michele Bustamante's book leans more towards the "WCF Newbie" while Juval Lowy's book tends towards the user that has some SOA experience already and is looking to ramp up on WCF. But Lowy's book also goes into more detail at time which is why its also handy to have on your shelf even if you area a beginner. Example: At times Bustamante's book will cover a topic but if you need more on it, crack open Lowy's.

Please Note Though: Lowy does not cover Integrated MSMQ and Federated Security. If you're looking for that, look at Bustamante's book. Bustamate has about 15 pages on Federated Security. But she only has 1 page on Integrated MSMQ.

If you're still wondering what book to buy, here's the complexity chart as a I see it. (IMO) Hopefully this picture speaks 1000 words.

Here are the actual books and the links to Amazon if you want to read the reviews and what not.

While this may be my own best method for learning WCF - I have recommended it to a couple colleagues and they've had good results so it must have some validity. (I hope.) :)

Good luck!