What is Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)

What is Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)

• WF is a tool for building workflow enabled applications on windows.
• The Windows Workflow Foundation namespace in Microsoft .NET Framework is called System.Workflow. Windows Workflow Foundation provides a consistent and familiar development experience with other Microsoft .NET Framework technologies such as ASP.NET, Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Presentation Foundation. Windows Workflow Foundation provides full support for Visual Basic .NET and C#, debugging, a graphical workflow designer and the ability to develop your workflow completely in code. Windows Workflow Foundation also provides an extensible model and designer to build custom activities which encapsulate workflow functionality for end-users or for re-use across multiple projects.
• WF provides a flexible flow model for various types of workflow:
• Sequential workflow in which one task is executed after another
• State machine workflow in which external events drive the flow
• Rule-driven workflow in which a set of rules in combination with the state of data drive the order of processing.
  

Advantage of Workflow Technology
Workflow technology provides abstractions convenient to describe real world scenarios

Resources for WF

• MSDN® Workflow Page
• Download the Microsoft® Visual Studio® Extensions
• Download 12 Hands-on Labs
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/workflow
  

Community Site for Windows Workflow (WF)

• Download samples, tools, and runtime service components
  http://wf.netfx3.com
• Windows Workflow (WF) Forums
• Ask questions in the forums
  http://wf.netfx3.com/forums

Related Links
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)