Getting ready for Workflows (WWF)

Yea I got a book .NET framework 3.5 in simple steps. I learnt basics of workflow. I am sharing the same in this post.
Workflow notes
WF – Workflow. Graphical Representation that defines a set of tasks or processes that produce a result
Workflow principles

• Coordinate work done by people and software
• Long running and stateful
• Automate business processes
• Graphically build workflow

Components of workflow. There are six major components of workflow
1. Workflow – Can be either Sequential or State machine workflow.
Sequential workflow

• Activities executed in well-defined order
• It may involve branching or looping of activities

State Machine workflow

• Contains a set of states
• First state represents start state, Last state represents final state
• Event driven model

2. Base Activity Library - Collection of activities used to create workflows
3. Custom Activities – Develop custom workflows based on business needs
4. Host process – Workflow cannot run as a standalone product. A host process can be Windows Forms or Web Services or Web Services
5. Runtime Engine – Responsible for executing workflow instance
6. Runtime Services – Important services are

• Persistence Services – Save the state of workflow
• Tracking Services – Enable developers to monitor workflow
• Transaction Services – Provide transaction support needed for data integrity

Example – Simple workflow with conditions

1. Create a simple sequential workflow console application as shown below

2. Add a While loop

3. Add an if else activity for the while loop

4. Add a code activity for if-else/while loop as shown below

5. Add code as shown in below pic, Declare rollNumbers, marks

6. Add a Declarative Rule Condition and enter the condition

7. Add Code for first If-Else

8. Add Code for Second If-Else

9. Add code for code activity as below

10. Build the application. Workflow result as shown in console window

More Reads - WF4: How to Unit Test a Workflow that calls a WCF Service

Happy reading.....