Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a programming model for building service-oriented applications that are reliable and secure, integrating various existing technologies for distributed systems. It supports contract-based programming via different types of contracts (data, message, service, operation) and binding options (HTTP, TCP, MSMQ) to facilitate communication details between clients and services. WCF ensures features like service autonomy, security, and compatibility while adhering to service-oriented architecture principles.