Potřeboval bych přeložit tuto stránku : http://www.windowsworkflowfoundation.eu/
PS: příspěvek jsem upravil.
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is one of the parts of the .NET
3.0 framework as released by Microsoft. One of the most interesting aspects of
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is the separation between business process code
and the actual implementation, often a requirement in Service Oriented
Architecture (SOA). Before Windows Workflow Foundation the typical scenario
would be to write both the business logic and the actual implementation in C#,
Visual Basic .NET or another .NET language. The result was no clear separation
between business logic and its implementation. With the release of Windows
Workflow Foundation (WF) the business logic can be defined in the workflow while
the actual underlying implementation is done in C#, Visual Basic .NET or another
.NET language. So basically the what is done in the workflow and the how is done
in traditional programming code.
The best way to look at a workflow is as a schematic description of a real world
problem. For example: If an order is placed, check if we have enough inventory
and if not create a purchase order and send it to the supplier, notify the
account manager by email of the expected delivery date the supplier specified.
These activities are modeled in a graphical way making the workflow much more
understandable. The activities themselves, like sending an email, are done in
traditional C# or Visual Basic .NET code in such a way that they are unaware of
their context, all they know is that they have to send an email as told by the
workflow.
Windows Workflow Foundation is basically a library consisting of an execution
engine, a rules engine, a number of activities, a number of supporting runtime
services and a designer allowing developers to design their workflows graphical
in Visual Studio 2005 (VS2005). In fact it even includes a graphical debugger
allowing the developer to step through the workflow and even into the underlying
.NET code. The engine is designed in such a way that the developer has a free
choice between building the workflow as code constructs or in a declarative
fashion using XAML. Either way he can use the graphical designer the same way,
all that changes is the output. Because the runtime engine has the capability of
parsing and executing the XAML itself we have tremendous flexibility in our
workflows. There is no need to compile them at the same time as the rest of the
application. This flexibility even goes further and the engine allows for the
runtime alteration of the executing workflow, how about that for flexibility!
Because Windows Workflow Foundation is a library, not a standalone platform or
service, the developer is completely free to include the Windows Workflow
Foundation library in process in his own application or web site/service. This
can be of great benefit to existing applications where using a separate workflow
server, like BizTalk 2006, would be prohibitive. Because of the modular way
Windows Workflow Foundation is designed, the developer is free to replace
standard services like persistence, scheduling or tracking with another
implementation if he or she so desires.
The .NET basis ensures full interoperability with other .NET assemblies like
System.Data, System.EnterpiseServices, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).