Windows Workflow Foundation Overview

Article
01/09/2007

Windows Workflow Foundation is the programming model, engine, and tools for quickly building workflow-enabled applications on Windows. It consists of a namespace, an in-process workflow engine, and designers for Visual Studio 2005. Windows Workflow Foundation can be developed and run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, and the Windows Server 2003 family. Windows Workflow Foundation includes support for both system workflow and human workflow across a variety of scenarios, including workflow within line-of-business applications, user interface page-flow, document-centric workflow, human workflow, composite workflow for service-oriented applications, business rule-driven workflow, and workflow for systems management.

Windows Workflow Foundation provides a consistent and familiar development experience with other .NET Framework 3.0 technologies, such as Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Presentation Foundation. It provides full support for Visual Basic .NET and C#, debugging, a graphical workflow designer, and developing your workflow completely in code or in markup. Windows Workflow Foundation also provides an extensible model and designer to build custom activities that encapsulate workflow functionality for end users or for reuse across multiple projects.

The concepts in this section are inherent to Windows Workflow Foundation. They are briefly described here to provide a basic understanding. The Programming Guide section of this SDK provides implementation details and a deeper level of knowledge.