Workflow Foundation-based Workflow Engine Development

The Workflow Management System (WfMS) is a system that defines, manages and executes "workflow" with the logic and sequence that predefined in the wfms. WfMS can improve and optimize the business flow; improve the efficiency of business work; implement better control over business process; improve the quality of customer service; improve the flexibility of business process and etc. Workflow Foundation provides user with graphic designer which will give user convenient experience of developing workflow. But as the target user of Workflow Foundation is experienced developer, the most general user can not develop workflow on the foundation; in the meantime the management of the foundation can only be done by specialists. It is urgent to build a system that general users can enjoy better design experience and manage it more conveniently.Firstly, the current situation and problem of the traditional workflow engine are introduced. The limit applied by WfMS, provided by Microsoft and other companies, on the general users is analyzed. The value of developing a workflow engine based on WF is cleared. On the basis above, the design of the system's structure and the main interface and class are introduced in detail firstly. Then the subsystems of workflow designer and workflow execution service are introduced. The discussion is focused on the design of these main subsystems: the validation of the activity in the workflow designer, the non-code rule designer, manipulation of the concurrency operations on the workflow instance.