Using Windows Workflow Foundation for Web services

The term workflow is perhaps among the most overloaded words in the realm of software engineering. From Computer Science 101 to the most elaborate business systems, it generally manages to carry weight on many an application design. In the upcoming paragraphs we will address one of the most recent additions to this space -- Windows Workflow Foundation -- and how it will influence service-orientated designs.

Workflows lend themselves to the granular nature of services. In other words, services fulfill a very small unit of work in favor of being reusable for many different scenarios, this in turn creates the possibility of stitching together an innumerable number of outcomes as workflows, so at a very simplistic level a workflow is nothing more than a series of services glued together to fulfill a particular business process.

In the very specific case of services, many approaches have emerged to solve this workflow problem: WSFL (Web Services Flow Language), X

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT .NET Workflow Office System Developer Conference 2008 preview Book Excerpt: Executing activities in Windows Workflow Foundation Manage application processes with Windows Workflow Foundation Web-based workflow builder plugs into SharePoint 2007 Beginning Windows Workflow Foundation development, Part 2 BPA Server offers drag-and-drop workflow development Firm taps Windows Workflow Foundation to give customers more control Seapine updates workflow, info management tool Special Report from the .NET 3.0 Roadshow .NET 3.0 Roadshow: An introduction to WF .NET Architecture Microsoft's Oslo modeling platform, the M language and .NET Introduction to ASP.NET's Model View Controller (MVC) Design Pattern Free book from Microsoft brings patterns and practices to .NET A look at concurrency constructs and primitives in .NET Designing Windows Communication Foundation service contracts Book excerpt: Java EE and .NET security interoperability Book excerpt: .NET Framework Design Guidelines Book Excerpt: Executing activities in Windows Workflow Foundation Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) and the .NET Framework Book excerpt: Hands-on Windows Communication Foundation

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

LANG (Web Services for Business Process Design) and BPEL (Business Process Execution Language), to name a few. Among them, the one with the most traction is without a doubt BPEL, in part due to its backing not only from major industry vendors but also from boutique shops specializing in service-oriented architecture.

But while BPEL provides the semantics and depth to orchestrate elaborate Web services scenarios, it's still relegated to a niche status confined to the services world. If you ponder the aspect of creating workflows strictly from services, you will arrive at the very realistic conclusion that workflows in many enterprises require the integration of non-serviceable legacy applications or even non-system human tasks, workflows that would fall beyond the scope of BPEL or any other orchestration technique currently applicable to SOA. In light of this last possibility comes Windows Workflow Foundation.

Read the rest of this tip on SearchWebServices.com.

Rate this Tip To rate tips, you must be a member of SearchWinDevelopment.com. Register now to start rating these tips. Log in if you are already a member. DISCLAIMER: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.