Windows Workflow Foundation Fundamentals




On-Demand! version of this course

Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) allows developers to create dynamic, reactive applications with true object reuse and composition. WF provides the tools and services .NET developers need to add rich workflow capabilities to their ASP.NET and Smart Client applications as well as Web and Windows services. WF solves many common problems that developers encounter when building typical applications with processes that span more than a single interaction. With the ability to fully involve business users and IT Pros in the use and monitoring of an application, WF stands to single-handedly change the way .NET programs are written in the future. This course provides fast-paced exposure to WF to get you started today, and provides information on using WF with the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) to build transparent services and smart clients.


Who Should Attend

Developers interested in ramping up quickly on the WF architecture, programming model, and other key concepts and features. Experience programming in C# using Visual Studio .NET is required.


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course details


Technologies: Windows Workflow Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation
Language(s): C#
Length: Four days, 9am-5pm
US Class Price: $2795
UK Class Price: $3195

course instructors


Aaron Skonnard
Jon Flanders
Matt Milner
David Cowles

upcoming public offerings


8/10/2009  Irvine, CA
Double Feature
Double Feature Small IconWCF+Workflow


9/28/2009  Waltham, MA
Double Feature
Double Feature Small IconWCF+Workflow


10/12/2009  London
Double Feature
Double Feature Small IconWCF+Workflow


Course outline:

Day 1

  Introducing Windows Workflow Foundation - Building reactive systems
- Components of Windows Workflow Foundation
- Understanding workflows and activities

  Activity Fundamentals - Creating simple activities
- Using dependency properties and activity binding
- Creating validation logic for custom activities
- Activity lifecycle

  Workflow Runtime and Services - Hosting the workflow runtime
- Creating and managing workflow instances
- Using runtime services
- Creating custom runtime services
- Workflow runtime events

Day 2

  Composite Activities - Creating actitivites that control other activities
- Managing child activities
- Working with the ActivityExecutionContext
- Activity Conditions and attached dependency properties
- Building simple composite activities to reuse control flow logic

  Programming WF with Visual Studio - Understanding workflow projects and the build process in Visual Studio
- Activities included in the base activity library such as While, Replicator, EventHandlingScope, and Listen
- Workflow debugging
- Synchronization issues and concurrent processing

  State Machines - State machine concepts
- State machine specific activities
- Design patterns supported by state machine workflows

Day 3

  Persistence and Tracking Services - Workflow and activity serialization
- Persistence service basics
- Using the SQL Server persistence service
- Tracking services architecture
- Creating tracking profiles
- Using the SQL Tracking Service
- Creating custom tracking services

  Consistency and Reliability - Transactions and compensation
- Handling errors in workflows, activities and the host application
- Using the WorkBatch and the IPendingWork interface to participate in workflow transactions

  Workflow and (Web) Services - ASMX / .NET 2.0 web service support
- Using the Send and Receive activity to model service communications with WCF
- Hosing workflow as services
- Consuming and aggregating services from workflows
- Hosting workflow services in IIS and Windows Process ACtivation Services

Day 4

  Business Rules and Dynamic Update - Creating business rule policies
- Using the Policy activity
- Consuming business rules from .NET code; outside of a workflow
- Applying dynamic updates to running workflow instances
- Combining dynamic update with business rules

  Workflow Designers - Workflow modeling, serialization and compilation
- WOrklow designer rehosting support and scenarios
- Designer services available when rehosting
- Workflow themes

  Workflow and SharePoint - Workflow in SharePoint architecture and concepts
- SharePoint activities for workflow
- Creating workflows with SharePoint designer
- Creating workflows for SharePoint in Visual Studio
- Creating user interfaces with InfoPath and ASPX pages