Introduction
A workflow is a series of distinct programming steps or phases. Each step is modeled in WF as an Activity. It has been completely reengineered from the ground up. It is a way to execute business processes and in today’s applications supporting business processes we are frequently using Windows Workflow technologies as the key technical solution.
A key component of workflow design is the use of extensions to configure the environment in which the workflow activities operate, the .NET Framework provides a library of activities and custom activities can also be developed for additional functionality. The Workflow Designer is built using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). This enhances the activity designer experience and improves performance for large and complex workflows.
Some of the major criteria for workflows are listed below:
- Visual Representation of process
- Can be dynamically modified at run-time
- Can be long-running
Activities can be assembled visually into workflows using the Workflow Designer, a design surface that runs within Visual Studio. The designer can also be hosted in other applications.
Getting Started:
Step 1: Start Visual Studio 2010 and select the New Project and choose Workflow Console Application give name in my case HelloWorld
The application generates a Program.cs file and Workflow1.xaml file which is used for the console application and workflow
Step 2: First go to Workflow1.xaml file initial it is empty, drag a WriteLine activity
Step 3: Go to the properties of WriteLine activity and insert the value
Step 4: Go to the Program.cs file and modify the code like below
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using System; using System.Linq; using System.Activities; using System.Activities.Statements; namespace HelloWorld { class Program { static void Main(string[] args) { WorkflowInvoker.Invoke(new Workflow1()); Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to exit"); Console.ReadLine(); } } } |
Step 5: Run the application
Output
Press Enter to exit the application output