Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is a technology for defining, executing, and managing workflows. It is part of the .NET Framework 3.0 and will be available natively in the Windows Vista operating system.
Windows Workflow Foundation might be the most significant piece of middleware to arrive on the Windows platform since COM+ and the Distributed Transaction Coordinator. The difference is, not every application needs a distributed transaction, but nearly every application does have a workflow encoded inside it.
In this book, K Scott Allen, author of renowned .NET articles at www.odetocode.com, provides you with all the information needed to develop successful products with Windows Workflow.
From the basics of how Windows Workflow can solve the difficult problems inherent in workflow solutions, through authoring workflows in code, learning about the base activity library in Windows Workflow and the different types of workflow provided, and on to building event-driven workflows using state machines, workflow communications, and finally rules and conditions in Windows Workflow, this book will give you the in-depth information you need. Throughout the book, an example "bug reporting" workflow system is developed, showcasing the technology and techniques used.
Create an example "bug reporting" workflow solution using the techniques and skills gained from each chapter
Understand what Windows WF is, and what it can do for you
Learn about the runtime services available in Windows WF
Author workflows with C#, and with XAML, the extensible application markup language
Use the workflow compiler to better understand how WF uses code generation to produce classes from workflow markup
Combine generated workflow code with our hand-written code to produce a workflow type
Learn about the events fired by the workflow runtime during the life of a workflow instance
Build workflows that accept parameters and communicate with a host process by invoking methods and listening for events
Learn about each activity in the Windows WF base activity library; the control flow activities, communication activities, and transaction-oriented activities
Learn about web service activities, rule-centric activities, and state activities
Creating custom activities using both a compositional approach and a derivation approach
Master the execution context, a vital ingredient for creating any robust activity
Learn about the workflow runtime, workflow diagnostics, and the out-of-the-box services provided for WF by Microsoft.
Using scheduling services, persistence services, and tracking services
Select and configure the services needed for a wide variety of scenarios and environments
Use local services for communication with a host process, and web service activities for communication across a network
Uncover the queuing service used behind the scenes of a workflow to coordinate and deliver messages
Create rules and conditions in Windows Workflow Foundation
Understand the role of business rules in software development and see examples of how Windows WF s rules engine can take away some of the burden of rule development