Workflows: Workflow Architecture

The workflow functionality in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is built on the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), a Microsoft Windows platform component that provides a programming infrastructure and tools for development and execution of workflow-based applications. WF simplifies the process of asynchronous programming to create stateful, long-running, and persistent workflow applications. The WF run-time engine manages workflow execution and allows workflows to remain active for long periods of time and to survive restarting the computer. Run-time services offer functionality such as transactions and persistence to manage errors gracefully and correctly.

The WF run-time engine provides the services that every workflow application needs, such as sequencing, state management, tracking capabilities, and transaction support. The WF run-time engine serves as a state machine responsible for loading and unloading workflows, as well as managing the current state of any workflows that are running. WF allows any application process or service container to run workflows by hosting WF — that is, loading WF within its process. Windows SharePoint Services hosts the WF run-time engine. In place of the pluggable services that are included with WF, Windows SharePoint Services provides custom implementations of the following services for the engine: transaction, persistence, notifications, roles, tracking, and messaging. Developers can then create workflow solutions that run within Windows SharePoint Services.

Following Figure shows the workflow architecture in Windows SharePoint Services. Windows SharePoint Services hosts the WF run-time engine within its process, and provides custom implementations of the necessary services. The functionality of the WF run-time engine, as well as the hosting functionality Windows SharePoint Services provides, is exposed through the Windows SharePoint Services object model.