This book is a step-by-step tutorial to guide you through learning WCF and LINQ to Entities. You will be guided to create five WCF and LINQ solutions from scratch, of which three are multi-tiered real-world WCF service solutions, so you will not only be reading, but also be coding through the book, to gain practical experience of WCF and LINQ to Entities. Various test clients will be associated with each solution and these solutions can be built and run independently of other solutions. Clear step-by-step instructions and relevant screenshots will make sure you won't get lost in the new world of WCF and LINQ to Entities. Configuration files, host applications, test clients, and WCF services for each solution will also be available for download for you to examine, modify, and debug from the outside in. The book focuses on the essentials of using WCF and LINQ to Entities, rather than providing a reference to every single possibility. It leaves the reference material online where it belongs, and concentrates instead on practical examples, code, and advice. This book is for C# and C++ developers who are eager to get started with WCF and LINQ to Entities, and want a book that is practical and rich with examples from the very beginning. Developers and architects evaluating SOA implementation technologies for their company will find this book particularly useful because it gets you started with Microsoft's tools for SOA and shows you how to customize our examples for your prototypes. This book presumes basic knowledge of C# or C++. Previous experience with Visual Studio will be helpful but is not required, as detailed instructions are given throughout the book.