Developing Applications with Windows Workflow Foundation, livelessons
Microsoft .NET Framework, ASP.NET, Visual C# (CSharp, C Sharp, C-Sharp) Developer Training, Visual Studio
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C# Online.NET Courseware Review
Personally, I am a creature of the printed word. However, many people learn best using other learning modalities. And, there are many complex subjects which benefit from multimedia presentations. Computer-Based Training (CBT) is designed to bring these modalities together under the control of software to provide a rich, user-paced learning experience.
| Addison-Wesley has introduced a CBT series comprised of video (DVD-ROM) and book pairs called livelessons. The very first title in this new series is the subject of this review—Developing Applications with Windows Workflow Foundation. Its author is Brian Noyes, respected author (Pro WF, Windows Workflow in .NET 3.0), instructor, and speaker. This first livelesson targets developers—with no previous WF experience—needing to learn Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
The sample lesson to the right is of a much inferior quality to the actual DVD-ROM video. |
The livelessons system is a great way to learn WF either alone or in small groups such as an office team. In a single three hour training stint or in six half-hour, morning sessions, the programmer can develop a clear understanding of workflows under Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
Our author and trainer is a great choice because of his authoring and training background. The content is well-organized and well-paced. Video and sound quality are acceptable: it is as easy to understand the speaker as it is to read the source code on the computer screen.
This livelessons set contains a 65 page booklet with some three hours of video instruction. The video is organized into 20 chapters of approximately 5 to 30 minutes in length. The display usually contains either a "slide" with a video inset of the speaking instructor or a view of a computer screen containing an example with voiceover.
The DVD software requires no installation; but, there is a problem with the presentation software. The familiar tape recorder buttons for fast forward, rewind, and skip are missing. This forces the user to click on the slider control and drag it to a specific elapsed time in the lesson in order to move forward or backward. And, once you release the control, there is no indication that the function is being performed until the software begins displaying the new location. What is needed is a more complete set of media controls, including the ability to simply click on the slider instead of clicking and dragging. However, this inconvenience is not sufficiently odious to warrant not purchasing the product.
On laptops, I noticed the non-resizeable DVD presentation window does not size itself correctly, being rather too long on wide-aspect displays.
In future versions, sound levels should be normalized. On this DVD, there are minor variations in the audio levels depending on whether the author is on camera or not.
Bottom line
Developing Applications with Windows Workflow Foundation is a great multimedia CBT introduction to Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
Publisher's description
It's no secret that many developers learn best by watching other master developers at work. Developing Applications with Windows Workflow Foundation is one of the first in a new line of "LiveLessons" video products from Pearson, covering cutting edge topics by the top experts in the field in a video format. This one gives developers everything they need to know to get up and running producing applications that take advantage of the revolutionary methods of Microsoft's Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), one of the pillars of the just-released .NET 3.0. Brian Noyes is one of the most noted authorities on WF. In addition to speaking about it at conferences and writing about it in major journals, he was the WF expert in the .NET 3.0 Roadshow, which toured six major markets across the US this past October.
From the back cover
For all developers who want to leverage the power of Windows Workflow Foundation in their own applications.
Looking for a better way to master today’s rapidly changing programming technologies? Want expert help, but don’t have the time or energy to read a book? Can’t find classroom training worth the money? Discover LiveLessons: self-paced, personal video instruction from the world’s leading technology experts.
- LiveLessons are three-to-four hour video courses, on DVD with a book supplement, that are organized into bite-sized, self-contained lessons–you’ll learn key skills in as little as fifteen minutes!
- Each lesson begins with well-defined learning objectives and ends with comprehensive summaries, which help you track your progress.
- Follow along as your instructor shows how to get results in today’s top development environments.
Windows Workflow Foundation is a complex topic. Much of the development and actions of workflows are completed interactively in Visual Studio Designer and are not easily communicated through the written word.
In twenty quick and easy lessons, .NET expert and trainer Brian Noyes takes you through comprehensive visual training and shows you how to build software that takes full advantage of this revolutionary new product. With Developing Applications with Windows Workflow Foundation, you’ll master workflow concepts, integration, persistence, Web services, exceptions, transactions, events, and more–all at your own pace.
About the author(s)
Brian Noyes is a software architect, trainer, writer, and speaker with IDesign, a premier .NET consulting and training company. He has been developing software systems for more than fifteen years, speaks at many major software conferences around the world, and writes for a variety of software journals and magazines. He is the author of Pro WF, Windows Workflow in .NET 3.0, Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0, and Smart Client Deployment with ClickOnce.
Table of Contents (abbreviated)
- 1 Windows Workflow Overview
- 2 Windows Workflow Architecture and Services
- 3 Visual Studio 2005 Project and Item Templates
- 4 Sequential Workflow Basics
- 5 State Machine Workflow Basics
- 6 Base Activities 1: Code, IfElse, While
- 7 Base Activities 2: Delay, Sequence, Parallel, InvokeWorkflow
- 8 Base Activities 3: Listen, ConditionedActivityGroup, Replicator, Policy
- 9 Integrating WF into Applications
- 10 Enabling Persistence and Tracking
- 11 Passing Parameters Into and Out of a Workflow
- 12 Calling Into a Running Workflow from the Host Application
- 13 Calling from a Workflow into the Host Application
- 14 Web Service Calls Out from a Workflow
- 15 Web Service Calls into a Workflow
- 16 Handling Exceptions
- 17 Using Transactions in Workflows
- 18 Handling Events in Workflows
- 19 Developing Custom Composite Activities
- 20 Developing Custom Simple Activities
- Extra Open the LiveLessons Extra Folder for Code Samples
Other videos in this series
- Developing Applications with Windows Workflow Foundation, livelessons
Categories: CSharp-Online.NET Reviews | CSharp-Online.NET Book Reviews | CSharp-Online.NET:Education and Training Reviews
