Beginning WF : Windows Workflow in .NET 4.0

Windows Workflow Foundation is a ground-breaking addition to the core of the .NET Framework that allows you to orchestrate human and system interactions as a series of workflows that can be easily mapped, analyzed, adjusted, and implemented. As business problems become more complex, the need for a workflow-based solution has never been more evident. WF provides a simple and consistent way to model and implement complex problems. As a developer, you focus on developing the business logic for individual workflow tasks. The runtime handles the execution of those tasks after they have been composed into a workflow. Beginning WF demonstrates, in an eminently readable and accessible style, how Microsoft's Workflow Foundation (WF) technology can be used in a wide variety of applications. Loaded with lots of simple yet demonstrative sample projects Very hands-on with practical "how-to" information Indexed by feature so specific questions are easily answered What youll learn Beginning WF will take you step by step through many of the useful applications of workflow technology. Along the way, you will: Create designer-based and code-based workflows Communicate between applications using workflow activities Implement SQL persistence with custom participants Create workflow extensions and custom activities Build applications that support long-running workflows Host workflows in WCF services Who this book is for This book is perfectly suited to anyone using or considering Microsoft's Windows Workflow Foundation. It describes what WF can do for you and how to quickly learn the basic concepts needed to be proficient. If you're actively implementing a workflow project, this book has lots of sample projects that demonstrate the most useful design patterns. Table of Contents Building a Simple Workflow Coded Workflows Flowchart Workflow Passing Arguments Replicated Activities Exception Handling Extending the Built-In Activities Send and Receive Communicating with the Host Application Web Services SQL Persistence Custom Extensions Tracking Transactions Transactions with Persistence WorkflowServiceHost Compensation, Confirmation, and Cancellation Collections Interoperability with Workflow 3.5 Policy