WSE 3.0 is the newest incarnation of Microsoft's Web Services Enhancements, a Visual Studio API that magically transforms your ASMX web services into the complex messages that follow a number of the WS-* Specifications.

With Windows Communication Foundation (aka WCF aka Indigo) around the corner, many people are wondering if it is worth the investment to use WSE 3.0 to secure today's web services. The answer is a resounding Yes!

In addition to the many improvements in WSE 3.0 that simplify the process of securing your web services, one important goal of this version is to create SOAP messages that can communicate with WCF. The messages created by WCF and WSE 3.0 are to be "wire level compatible" with clients and services created with both APIs.

Another great benefit in WSE 3.0 is that its design is much more in line with the concepts of WCF than were prior versions of WSE. The more I work with WSE 3.0, the better I understand WCF when I read articles about it or tinker with it.

Therefore, by using WSE 3.0 today you will benefit on three levels.

• You will have secure web services that are based on WS-Security.
• You will get a head start on your education of WCF.
• You can create web services which can be accessed by WCF Client applications.

However, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind when creating services with WSE 3.0 to ensure that they will be compatible with WCF. Some of these apply to any web services created with Visual Studio 2005 and others apply specifically to those that have been enhanced with WSE 3.0.