12.2. Creating Custom Workflows
The WF does not provide a way to create custom workflows; instead, it simply acts as the host for the creation of instances of prebuilt workflows. This is similar to the .NET Framework, which does not provide a way to create custom applications. Instead, developers need to use some extra components to create custom workflows. The development experience varies a bit depending on the version of Visual Studio being used. Visual Studio 2005 was released well ahead of the general availability of WF, so extra components were needed for it to be used to develop custom workflows. Conversely, Visual Studio 2008 coincided with the .NET Framework 3.5 release, which included the WF and therefore the necessary hooks and components to create custom workflows.
12.2.1. Developing Custom Workflows with Visual Studio
When using Visual Studio 2005, developers need to download and install the Visual Studio 2005 for .NET Framework 3.0 (Windows Workflow Foundation): www.andrewconnell.com/go/243 (VSeWWF). The VSeWWF adds a few things to Visual Studio to enable developers to create custom workflows:
A workflow designer interface that provides developers with a similar experience to building ASP.NET 2.0 or Windows Forms applications. Developers can easily drag and drop activities from the Visual Studio Toolbox onto the design surface and link them together.
An activity data-bound parameter creator/binder wizard that makes it easy to bind the parameters of an activity to ...
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