Foundations of WF, Apress
Microsoft .NET Framework, ASP.NET, Visual C# (CSharp, C Sharp, C-Sharp) Developer Training, Visual Studio
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C# Online.NET Book Review
Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is a system for defining, executing, and managing workflows. WF is part of .NET Framework 3.0 and is available in the Windows Vista operating system. Also, WF has been ported to the Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP operating systems. The workflow runtime in .NET Framework 3.0 can be hosted in any Common Language Runtime (CLR) application domain to provide common facilities for running and managing workflows.
A workflow consists of domain-specific, resumable program statements called activities which are written and organized by developers. Windows Workflow Foundation provides a set of general purpose activities for control flow constructs.
XAML, a XML-based language, is commonly used to declare workflow structure. And, the workflow may be specified in source code using any .NET language—such as C#.
Also, Windows Workflow Foundation requires Visual Studio 2005 and the Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation. These extensions offer a project system which allows workflow compilation from within Visual Studio 2005; a visual debugger which allows the users to debug the workflow designed; and a visual workflow designer which enables developers to design workflows.
This book offers the reader a solid foundation for creating and using workflows without going into too much detail. It is concise, to-the-point, and on target for your first foray into workflow programming. It teaches why one would need to use workflows and how to use them. In other words, this book is a great introduction to WF.
Although a veteran workflow programmer would require greater detail on SharePoint as well as coverage of such topics as batching, changing workflows, queues, roles, and tracking services; the book strikes a great balance for the beginner just getting his feet wet in workflow.
The author's style is simple, direct, and easy to follow. There are many source code examples to acquaint you with workflows and activities. All of the source code examples are in the C# and Visual Basic .NET languages.
Bottom line
Foundations of WF is a great, concise introduction to Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
From the back cover
Have you ever spent hours coding workflow for your applications? If so, the new Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) technology will make your life easier. Foundations of WF: An Introduction to Windows Workflow Foundation introduces you to using Visual Studio 2005 and the Windows Workflow Foundation (part of Windows Vista) to create workflow packages. The book begins by giving you an overview of Windows Workflow Foundation. Then it introduces and shows examples of the various types of workflow that can be created.
You’ll discover the power of WF. You’ll learn about all the prebuild activities you can include in your workflow, along with how to create your own activities. WF is fully extensible and allows you an unlimited number of options for your workflow. You’ll also learn how to use workflow activities to retrieve data, and finally, how to tie an ASP.NET application with a workflow built in WF.
This book, unlike most of the Microsoft WF samples, has code in both VB .NET and C#. All the examples—and there are many—have VB .NET code, and many have the accompanying C# code. This book will allow you to begin creating new workflow applications easily in either VB .NET or C#. Each chapter includes an introduction to one or more activities that make up WF, along with examples of how to use each activity. Many chapters include a final section providing a real world example (a purchase order system). This book will have you using WF to create workflow applications with VB .NET or C# in a short amount of time.
About the author(s)
Brian Myers is a Microsoft Certified Professional and Microsoft Certified Application Developer for .NET. He is currently a software engineer and database administrator.
Table of Contents (abbreviated)
CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Workflow and Windows Workflow Foundation
CHAPTER 2 First Workflow
CHAPTER 3 Conditional Activities
CHAPTER 4 Flow Activities
CHAPTER 5 Rules-Based Workflow
CHAPTER 6 Workflow and Web Services
CHAPTER 7 Interacting with Workflow
CHAPTER 8 Custom Activities
CHAPTER 9 Deploying Workflow Applications
CHAPTER 10 Employee Performance Review Application
CHAPTER 11 Integration with Office 2007
Categories: CSharp-Online.NET Reviews | CSharp-Online.NET Book Reviews | Windows Book Reviews | .NET Book Reviews
