Programming Windows® Identity Foundation (Dev - Pro) [Paperback]

Vittorio Bertocci (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2010 | Series: Dev - Pro

Get hands-on guidance designed to help you put the newest .NET Framework component- Windows Identity Foundation, the identity and access logic for all on-premises and cloud development- to work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vittorio Bertocci is a Senior Architect Evangelist in DPE and a key member of the extended engineering team that produces Microsoft's claims-based platform components (e.g. Windows Identity Foundation, ADFS 2.0). He is responsible for identity evangelism for the .NET developers community and drove initiatives such as the Identity Developer Training Kit and the IdElement show on Channel 9.

He is co-author of Understanding Windows Cardspace (Addison-Wesley, 2008) and a prominent authority/blogger on Azure, "Geneva" (the code name for Windows Identity Foundation), .NET development, and related topics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 1 edition (September 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735627185
• ISBN-13: 978-0735627185
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 1 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #692,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Vittorio Bertocci is a Senior Architect Evangelist in DPE and a key member of the extended engineering team that produces Microsoft's claims-based platform components (e.g. Windows Identity Foundation, ADFS 2.0). He is responsible for identity evangelism for the .NET developers community and drove initiatives such as the Identity Developer Training Kit and the IdElement show on Channel 9.

He is lead author of Understanding Windows Cardspace (Addison-Wesley, 2008), of the upcoming Programming Windows Identity Foundation (MSPress) and a prominent authority/blogger on Azure, "Geneva" (the code name for Windows Identity Foundation), .NET development, and related topics.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent WIF resource September 20, 2010

By rrain

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a must have for any anyone tasked with writing claims aware applicatons. Do NOT let the size of this book fool you either - it is jammed full of critical details. This is the only publication available that goes into the detail that Vittorio goes into. Whether you're new to claims-based development and just want to know enough to get started writing Relying Party's (that's about the first 50 pages), or need the in-depth knowledge of how protocols work, intricate details of WSFAM and SAM, and such, this book has you covered. I also like how Vittorio draws attention to solutions to some common problems, such as home-realm discovery, pass through claims, impersonation, proof-of-possession, custom STS's, and more. You will also find references to some very useful tools to aid in your development.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource to get started with WIF October 6, 2010

By Vishwas Lele

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having followed Vittorio's work (blog, webcasts, code samples)related to claims-based identity over the last two-three years, I ordered this book as soon as it arrived. And this book did not disappoint. I read the book cover-to-cover within a week of its arrival and found it to be very useful in helping me better understand the concepts behind WIF.

Here are some additional details that I hope will be helpful to anyone considering this book:

1) Claims based identity is an important enabling technology that .NET developers and designer need to understand well. And this is not just case, if you are an ASP.NET or WCF developer. Claims-based identity is important even if you are SharePoint, BI or Azure developer.

2) This book is broken up into two parts. The first part explains the basics of claims based identity. Second part is more advanced and gets into the nuts and bolts of WIF.

3) Don't skip over the ASP.NET chapters (2, 3 & 4 ) just because you are not going to use WIF inside ASP.NET. These aforementioned chapters cover a number of important concepts ( such as single-sign-on, claims transformation, federation) that you will need to understand when using WIF outside of ASP.NET (say with WCF).

4) Being involved with the WIF team for a long time, Vittorio is able to provide important context around how some of the features have evolved, design decisions etc.

5) Last but not the least, it is hard to write a book on security. Fortunately, Vittorio has managed to write it in a conversational, unassuming style that makes it easy to read. Wherever needed, he provides a just in time, overview of protocols ( WS-Trust, WS-Federation and so on) without getting mired in the details associated with these, rather arcane, specifications.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Long on Talk, Short on Code May 10, 2011

By Shawn Brock

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're looking for a semi-exhaustive explanation of plumbing and details, this might be the book for you. Maybe.

I was looking for some code samples and reasonable quick-start type guides to at least get a proof of concept up and running, but there is no sort of cohesion to the book that makes it possible. The first part labors on about federated identity and fundamentals, which is fine to an extent. However, it just keeps going on with theory... again, which is fine if you want to sit and read a book to learn about federated security.

A preferred approach, and the one followed by most good technical books, is to start with a basic example and explain the theory behind it in small chunks.

I was surprised by how frustrating this book is based on the other reviews, so maybe I'm missing something everyone else is getting. But, if you're looking for a reasonable quick start to WIF with meat to back up the code, this probably isn't a good fit for you.