Programming Windows® Identity Foundation

Introduction

It has been said that every problem in Computer Science can be solved by adding a level of indirection.

You don’t have to go far to find examples of successful applications of that principle. Before the introduction of the concept of driver, programs had to be rewritten every time one changed something as simple as the monitor. Before the introduction of TCP/IP, programs targeting a token ring network environment had to be rewritten if the network protocol changed. Drivers and TCP/IP helped to free application developers from the need to worry about unnecessary details, presenting them with a generic façade while leaving the nitty-gritty details to the underlying infrastructure. In addition to making the developer profession a happier ...