.NET WF4: Should it be in the middle of everything?
- by stimpy77
I am aware that WF4 (Windows Workflow 4.0, part of .NET 4.0) is a significant rework and redesign of WF3, where much of what made WF3 a poor technology choice has been cleaned up in WF4. For example, as far as I can tell, WF4 (Windows Workflow 4.0) activities are more or less testable with [TestMethod] and mocking. This among other things, like improved performance, has grabbed my attention about the technology again, whereas I had previously pooh-poohed WF3.
I'm working on a new architecture for essentially an n-tier collaborative application (not enterprise-class, just a smallish project with potential to grow significantly) where I'm already trying to discipline myself to use IoC and, to some extent, TDD, and I'm wondering, in general terms, whether it is wiser to just hand-code workflow logic or if I should delve into learning and integrating WF4 so that WF becomes literally the controller of the entire application, i.e. the practical C in "MVC" (not ASP.NET MVC but rather the pattern). So should workflow activities in WF4 be the primary controller for a highly expandable/growable web-based collaborative application? Or am I asking entirely the wrong question?
This is a vague question, I'm sure, so abstract answers are as welcome as specific ones.
