A workflow is a set of activities stored as a model that describe a
real world process. Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is the programming
model, engine and tools for quickly building workflow enabled
applications. Windows Workflow Foundation facilitates in defining,
executing, and managing workflows. WF technology is part of .NET
Framework 3.0.
Just like flow of the work in real word, Work
passes through the model from start to finish and activities might be
executed by people or by system functions. Workflow provides a way of
describing the order of execution and dependent relationships between
pieces of short or long running work. It provides a general framework
that supports both human and system workflow which is now standard part
of the Windows environment. WF radically enhances a developer’s ability
to model and support business processes. Once a workflow model is
compiled it can be executed inside any Windows process including
console apps, forms- based apps, Windows Services and web services.
Windows Workflow Foundation is supported by a companion set of
extensions to Visual Studio 2005. These extensions contain a visual
workflow designer which allows users to design workflows by placing
activities within the workflow model, a visual debugger which enables
the users to debug the workflow designed, and a project system which
enables the user to compile their workflows inside Visual Studio 2005.
Activities are the building blocks of workflow, think of them as a unit
of work that needs to be executed. Developers can write their own
domain-specific activities and then use them in workflows.
WF
is also supported in Windows SharePoint Services to provide the
foundation for using workflows with the 2007 Office system too.
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