Components of WF

So what exactly is WF, what are its components?

WF: Stands for Windows Workflow Foundation.

• It is the foundation or framework for allowing all microsoft products and applications to talk / communicate with each other for establishing workflows and rules.

Features of WF:

• It provides us with a graphical representation of business processes. (So now we can show it in a way that even non-technical business users can understand or modify the workflow),
• It allows easy tracking of work flow, it basically removes the overhead involved in tracking the work flow process.
• It provides flexibility for people to skip or override steps. (example - If person A is absent delegate document approval to person B)

What are Workflows:

• Work flows are a set of activities,
• Work flows run within a host process or any application or a server,
• Developers can build their own custom activity libraries.

Components of a Workflow Foundation:

• Base Activity Library (25 such activities are provided out of the shelf in 3.0)
• Runtime Engine
• Runtime Services
• Visual Designer