Microsoft’s Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) provides a framework for creating scalable applications consisting of independent program units called activities. WF 4 is a major rewrite of this technology, offering significantly higher performance and making it easier to create and execute workflow applications. This four-day course covers the latest version of WF, including new features such as state machine activities introduced with .NET Framework 4 Platform Update 1. The course uses Visual Studio 2010, which provides a visual Designer for creating workflows.

The course begins with an overview of the concepts of workflow and the programming model provided by WF. The essentials of WF programming are then covered followed by a systematic treatment of the major features of WF, including the Built-In Activity Library. Primitive and control flow activities are discussed, and the alternatives to hosting workflows are covered. Collection and parallel activities are covered. The creation of custom activities, both using the Designer and code, is explained. Flowchart and state machine activities are covered. Persistence and bookmarks are discussed. Workflow Services, using Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is covered. The course concludes with a discussion of debugging, error handling, transactions and compensation.

Numerous programming examples and exercises are provided. The student will receive a complete set of notes and all the programming examples.

.Net Training Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the student should be able to:

• Understand the concept of workflow and the architecture of WF
• Implement workflow applications using WF
• Use standard activities from the Built-In Activity Library
• Implement custom activities for workflow applications
• Provide hosting for workflow applications
• Implement persistence in workflow applications
• Implement and consume workflow services
• Debug workflow applications
• Handle errors and perform compensation in workflow applications