WCF: Exposing readonly DataMember properties without set?

Question

I have a server side class which I make available on the client side through a [DataContract]. This class has a readonly field which I\'d like to make available through a pr

Answer 1

Your "server-side" class won't be "made available" to the client, really.

What happens is this: based on the data contract, the client will create a new separate class from the XML schema of the service. It cannot use the server-side class per se!

It will re-create a new class from the XML schema definition, but that schema doesn't contain any of the .NET specific things like visibility or access modifiers - it's just a XML schema, after all. The client-side class will be created in such a way that it has the same "footprint" on the wire - e.g. it serializes into the same XML format, basically.

You cannot "transport" .NET specific know-how about the class through a standard SOAP-based service - after all, all you're passing around are serialized messages - no classes!

Check the "Four tenets of SOA" (defined by Don Box of Microsoft):

1. Boundaries are explicit
2. Services are autonomous
3. Services share schema and contract, not class
4. Compability is based upon policy

See point #3 - services share schema and contract, not class - you only ever share the interface and XML schema for the data contract - that's all - no .NET classes.