Microsoft Windows Workflow
Foundation Step by Step (Pro Step
By Step Developer) by Kenn Scribner
Nothing Short Of A Masterpiece
Get hands-on guidance for using Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation
to create process-managed applications for Microsoft Windows—one step
at a time. Understanding Windows Workflow Foundation is essential for
every developer who works with multiple applications and services that
must exchange data or results. Windows Workflow Foundation defines a
process flow amongst people, applications, and services—mapping
dependencies and sequences to allow automation of tasks across
previously stand-alone programs. With STEP BY STEP, you work at your
own pace through hands-on, learn-by-doing exercises to understand the
core capabilities and fundamental techniques for working with Windows
Workflow Foundation. New-to-topic developers can take a sequential
approach to understanding workflows and learning how to create Windows
Workflow Foundation–enabled applications and services. This book
includes a CD with practice exercises and code samples to help
developers accelerate their productivity.
Personal Review: Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation
Step by Step (Pro Step By Step Developer) by Kenn Scribner
I have been pretty heavy into WF for almost 2 years now and really
thought I had it mastered. So when I bought a Step by Step book, I really
just wanted it to help me teach the concepts. B/c workflow is a new way of
thinking about programming, I'm always looking for new/better ways to
teach it.
What I got instead of a beginner's book teaching worfklow foundation was
a big slice of humble pie. Why do I say that? B/c this book is nothing short
of amazing. It's unbelievably well written. There is no stone unturned, and
I mean no stone unturned whatsoever. The examples are compelling and
are very real world. In fact, they show beyond any shadow of a doubt that

Workflow foundation can be used all over the place - essentially anywhere
you need a workflow. While that last statement may seem strange, it really
isn't. THe hardest thing I've seen most people wrestle with learning WF is
realizing that's it's not just applicable in some external rare/specific
circumstances. You can (and should) use it anywhere you have a series of
steps that must be executed together.
One critic knocked the book b/c the author takes off on so many
digressions code wise. How anyone could level this charge against the
author is beyond me - in fact, it's borderline heresy. The digressions (if
you want to call them that - I think they're better described as "Real World"
uses) are what makes this book shine.
One application shows a mock stock trading system that runs Monte-Carlo
simulations on the stocks. It allows you to add/remove stocks and run the
simulations repeatedly. This is something that most folks would never think
to do with WF, yet his presentation of it is so elegant and intuitive that I
challenge anyone who's honestly worked through his examples to say that
it didn't change the way they thought of WF afterward.
In another case, to show State Machines, he walks through a sample Soda
Machine. Not only is it a clever way of implementing a State Machine, it is
as perfect of an example as I think you could come up with.
Although I'm hard pressed to say I had a favorite chapter, I'd have to cite
Chapter 13 as a favorite just b/c, well, it really explains in depth how
Microsoft uses Workflow Actvities all over the place in products like
Microsoft Speech Server, SSIS or Biztalk. He doesn't talk about those per
se, but if you've used them, you no doubt are familiar with the workflow
designers. Each of them has its own set of custom activities. He walks
throug buidling a FTP component that is reminiscent of the one that SSIS
uses. If he just stopped at building the activity itself, no one could say he
skimped on the lesson. But he continues, walking you through building a
ActivityValidator and then building full UI support for it as a Toolbox item.
When you're done, you'll see something that looks and feels almost
identical to the FTP component in SSIS from start to finish. No detail is left
uncovered. And at that point, every activity you've used in any one of those
products will look different to you - in the sense that you'll probably be able
to reverse engineer them in your head. If not, I think you'd definitely be
able to build one of your own for any given activity you've used in those
products.
It's really hard to fathom how much thought the author put into coming up
with the examples. But he was dead set on making sure that you
understood exactly what you can do with workflow and how many different
scenarios it is applicable to. Throw in some really in-depth coverage, a
really compelling writing style and an uncanny ability to cover the tiniest of
nuances all the while being appropriate to both beginners and experts and
you have exactly what I described at the onset - a Masterpiece.

I really don't think there's a single thing in this book I could take issue with
or say could be done better. And that's coming from someone who teaches
WF and pretty much has lived and breathed it since it's earliest bits were
released. I wanted something to help me teach WF and I got way more
than I bargained for.
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