4718. Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF) Using C#
Microsoft has provided the Windows Workflow Foundation, a set of assemblies based on the .NET Framework 2.0 (as part of the .NET Framework 3.0), along with a full-featured workflow designer built on top of Visual Studio 2005, and it’s free.
Windows Workflow Foundation makes it easy to create applications that follow a flow, or react to events and move from state to state. By providing a visual interface for designing the applications, and by binding code activities directly to the design of the application, Windows Workflow Foundation makes it easier than ever to create and maintain complex business applications.
In addition, Windows Workflow Foundation provides a runtime engine that manages your application’s behavior (that is, the “plumbing”) and enforces the workflow. The runtime makes sure the workflow behaves in the manner in which you designed and coded it.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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Learn the prerequisites for Windows Workflow Foundation
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Investigate all the available workflow activities
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Learn how to handle exceptions in workflow applications
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Work with Delay and Listen activities
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Learn how to use RuleSets and Policy activities in workflows
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Provide bi-directional communications between the workflow and the host
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Understand the difference between sequential and state machine workflows
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Learn when and how the workflow runtime persists information about a workflow
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Learn when and how the workflow runtime tracks information about a workflow
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Understand how to group activities into a transaction
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Modify an executing workflow from the host application
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Explore how to maintain state between workflow Web service method calls
Course Duration: 4
days
Prerequisites:
This course assumes that students have a strong programming background.
This course assumes intermediate knowledge of Visual C#, and of building Windows
and Console applications using Visual Studio 2005.
1. Introduction to Workflow
What is Windows Workflow Foundation?
Creating Your First Workflow
Hosting a Workflow in a Windows Application
2. Handling Conditions an Exceptions
Introducing Conditional Activities
IfElse Activity
While Activity
ConditionedActivityGroup Activity
Replicator Activity
Handling Exceptions
3. Flow Activities
Introducing Flow Activities
Delay Activity and Handling Properties
Listen Activity
Suspend and Terminate Activities
Parallel and SynchronizeScope Activities
Handling Cancellation
4. Making Decisions in Workflows
Using Rules in Workflows
Using the Policy Activity
Setting Priorities
Forward Chaining
5. Workflow Communications
Calling Methods in the Host from the Workflow
Handling Host Events in the Workflow
Bi-Directional Communications
6. Creating State Machine Workflows
Introduction to State Machines
State Machine Activities
Creating a State Machine Workflow
Circular Navigation in State Machines
7. Using and Building Persistence Services
Introducing Workflow Persistence
Using the SQL Persistence Service
Creating a Custom Persistence Service
8. Using and Building Tracking Services
Workflow Tracking Services
Using the SQL Tracking Service
Tracking Profiles
Creating a Custom Tracking Service
9. Creating Custom Activities
Introducing Custom Activities
Creating a Simple Activity
Creating a More Complex Activity
Creating Composite Activities
10. Handling Workflow Transactions
Transactions
Transactions in Workflows
Transactions and Batches of Work
Compensation in Workflows
11.Dynamic Workflow Updates
Introduction to Dynamic Updates
Modifying a Workflow from the Host Application
Modifying a Workflow from within the Workflow
Dynamic Rule Conditions
12.Workflows and Web Services
Workflow-Based Web Services
Building a Workflow Web Service
Maintaining State in Web Services
Invoking a Web Service in a Workflow