Essential Windows Workflow for C# Developers teaches best practices for developing Windows Workflow Foundation (Windows WF) applications.
Learn why Windows WF was created and discover how to support human and system activities by organizing them into workflows. Learn how to host Windows WF, create custom
activities for Windows WF, and develop workflows in Windows WF.
You'll get answers to these questions:
How can I use workflows to map out processes?
What is the best way to host a workflow?
What are the best practices for customizing my workflows?
How can I create extremely rich workflow
authoring experiences?
How do I know whether to use State Machine workflow or Sequential workflow?
Come and learn to develop applications in a
new visual programming paradigm!
DevelopMentor's Essential courses provide five days of instructor-led training for the experienced developer. Gain deep
understanding of your development platform. Acquire skills you need to be productive today. Build a solid foundation for more advanced topics.
Day 1 Motivation Before studying any major new technology, it is important to get a solid understanding of why the technology exists in the first place. In this module we look at what problems the Windows WF platform is attempting to solve, why developers should care about Windows WF and what business drivers will propel Windows WF adoption. Finally we will look at how Windows WF fits with the rest of the Microsoft software stack.
Architecture Windows Workflow Foundation (Windows WF) is a rehostable workflow framework. In this module we delve into the basic architecture and taxonomy of Windows WF. From the software that constitutes the platform, to Windows WF author modes, to the runtime engine and its services model - this module presents the “big” picture of how Windows WF is designed in order to create a context from which to explore the technology in detail in subsequent modules.
Basic Workflow In this module we will work through the basic structure of a simple sequential workflow. You will learn how to define, configure, instantiate and execute a Windows WF in the context of the workflow runtime.
Basic Workflow Hosting One of Windows WF’s advantages is its ability to be hosted in any process that has the CLR loaded. Although basic hosting is made simple by Windows WF, there are many issues that you need to understand including events, threading models and host application options. In this module we cover host application design in detail.
Day 2 Basic Activities Workflows in Windows WF are built using a graph of Activity objects. This module inventories the basic activities that ship out-of-the-box with Windows WF.
Communication The Windows WF runtime encapsulates all workflow activities – including controlling communication from outside a workflow. To communicate with a workflow, you must send messages into the workflow runtime to a particular instance. In this module we will look at a how this low-level communication takes place and the other Windows WF features that are built on top of it.
Advances Activities This module inventories several of the more advanced built-in activities that ship with Windows WF.
Custom Activities Activities are your atoms of opaque execution. In this module we will cover how to build custom activities, what kind of execution model to use and how to integrate your activities with the Windows WF Designer framework.
Day 3 State Machine Workflow WINDOWS WF supports two basic workflow models: Sequential and State-Machine. This module will discuss the State-Machine option, and the design considerations that might indicate choosing this model.
Long-Running Workflow Sometimes your Workflow will be long-running. Long-running workflows frequently require both transactional and persistence services. In this module we delve into these two complicated and often intertwined issues to see how to use workflow to manage atomic transactions and how to deal with long-running services which need persistence.
Rules-Based Workflow Rules are a way to create Workflows that have more possibility for modification within the framework of a Workflow’s existing activities. In this module we will look at the Rules Engine built into Windows WF, and cover how to use it from certain built-in Activities as well as from a Custom Activity.
Day 4 Web Services and Workflow One of the more interesting applications for Workflow is using it to create composite applications from Services. Also, there is the possibility of exposing your Workflow itself as a Service. This module will cover the basic aspects of using and exposing Web Services from a Workflow.
Adaptive Workflow One of the major design goals of WINDOWS WF was to be flexible as well as extensible. To that end it is possible to take a running workflow and dynamically add or remove Activities. This module will cover the technical aspects of &ldquoadapting&rdquo a workflow and how to ensure you design your workflow appropriately to deal with dynamic changes.
Advanced Hosting Often an advanced hosting environment for Windows WF will need tight control over the workflow runtime. The workflow runtime itself is a service provider, providing threading, persistence and tracking services among others. These services, like almost every part of the workflow runtime, are totally extensible, allowing you to replace them with your own implementation. This module will cover the mechanics as well as the design reasons why you might decide to implement certain services yourself within in your workflow host applications.
Day 5 Designer Hosting As we have seen the interaction with the designer in Windows WF is totally extensible through the construction of custom activities, However, Windows WF designer extensibility does not end there. The designer environment itself a completely rehostable component and can be included in your own workflow applications to create extremely rich workflow authoring experiences for your end-users. In this module we look at how to host the Windows WF designer in your own .NET applications.
Workflow in the Microsoft Stack With this remarkable new runtime at our disposal, the open question is – how to use it? In this module, we wrap up what we’ve learned about Windows WF during the week and summarize the design decisions we have to make when using this new, exciting framework in the context of the rest of the Microsoft stack.
FW333 Essential Windows Workflow Foundation for C# Developers
Hardware and software is not required for this class. Workshops will be team based and a workbook will be provided to capture the participants work.
The instructor will require projection equipment that is capable of projecting the instructor's monitor onto a screen clearly visible by all students participating. A white board and at least two flip chart easels, along with dry erase and flip chart markers, should be available in the room.
Tables should be arranged in pods to accommodate teams of 3-5.
Student Machines
Instructor Machines
Hardware Requirements
Hardware Requirements
Pentium Processor (>= 1Ghz recommended) 512 MB RAM 500 MB free disk space after operating system and tools installed 17” color monitor (required) Networked with TCP/IP (required) Internet connection (optional)
Pentium Processor (>= 1Ghz recommended) 512 MB RAM 500 MB free disk space after operating system and tools installed 17” color monitor (required) Networked with TCP/IP (required) Internet connection (optional) XGA Projector with a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 for displaying PowerPoint slides Functioning sound card with speakers
Software Requirements
Software Requirements
Windows Server 2003 (preferred) or Windows XP - including most recent OS Service Packs
Internet Information Server (IIS) and Message Queuing enabled
Microsoft Office 2007 - MS Word - MS PowerPoint - MS InfoPath
Adobe Reader (most recent version)
Visual Studio 2008 and associated MSDN help (NOTE: Do not install SQL Server Express)
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 1 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=EC2CA85D-B255-4425-9E65-1E88A0BDB72A&displaylang=en
Visual Studio 2008 SP1 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=fbee1648-7106-44a7-9649-6d9f6d58056e&DisplayLang=en
Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=E6E1C3DF-A74F-4207-8586-711EBE331CDC&displaylang=en
SQL Server 2005 Professional Edition
SQL Server 2005 SP2 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=d07219b2-1e23-49c8-8f0c-63fa18f26d3a&DisplayLang=en
MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008 SP1 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7bbe5eda-5062-4ebb-83c7-d3c5ff92a373&displaylang=en
Windows Server 2003 (preferred) or Windows XP - including most recent OS Service Packs
Internet Information Server (IIS) and Message Queuing enabled
Microsoft Office 2007 - MS Word - MS PowerPoint - MS InfoPath
Adobe Reader (most recent version)
Visual Studio 2008 and associated MSDN help (NOTE: Do not install SQL Server Express)
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 1 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=EC2CA85D-B255-4425-9E65-1E88A0BDB72A&displaylang=en
Visual Studio 2008 SP1 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=fbee1648-7106-44a7-9649-6d9f6d58056e&DisplayLang=en
Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=E6E1C3DF-A74F-4207-8586-711EBE331CDC&displaylang=en
SQL Server 2005 Professional Edition
SQL Server 2005 SP2 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=d07219b2-1e23-49c8-8f0c-63fa18f26d3a&DisplayLang=en
MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008 SP1 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7bbe5eda-5062-4ebb-83c7-d3c5ff92a373&displaylang=en
Remote Access Available
Essential Windows Workflow Foundation is now available as a remote access course.
You can now take open enrollment courses in our Los Angeles and Boston facilities without traveling. Remote Access to our ongoing schedule of instructor-led courses will allow you to fully participate real-time in expert-level lectures, demos and labs that have made DevelopMentor a leader in software development training. We've added new collaboration tools and prepared our instructors for remote students in class so you will be fully engaged in the learning process.
Mentoring
Quickly assimilate what you learn in Essential Windows Workflow Foundation and apply it to your project by taking advantage of our Mentoring services.
Our dedicated mentors facilitate your team's development. We add value to your business by enhancing the talent of your employees and maximizing their productivity. Mentors integrate the methodologies, technologies and practical experiences of the classroom through an on-the-job and on-the-project experience that produces real-world results.
Onsite
Essential Windows Workflow Foundation is also available as an onsite course.
If you have a group of people to train, an on-site course, delivered at your facility may be the most cost-effective solution for you. Our staff will work with your team to plan and produce the best possible result based on your team's size, experience levels, project needs and longer-term goals. We can structure a training course, or broader program, tailored to meet the specific needs of your organization. We'll make sure that any lab exercises run on the platform you use and we can tailor the lab exercises to be appropriate to your business. If you prefer to focus on just the pure technological principles, we can also deliver courses at your facility following the same format as our public curriculum.
