endpoint.tv Screencast - Working with WF Tracking Profiles

Posted: Jan 21, 2009 at 8:00 AM

By: Cliff Simpkins

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Welcome to the latest video in the weekly WF/WCF Screencast series.

In this video, CSD MVP Matt Milner from PluralSight guides the viewer through how to work with WF tracking profiles (both SQL and custom tracking services). In last week's screencast, Matt introduced you to tracking services in WF 3.5. This week, Matt expands on tracking profiles, detailing out to create a profile via code and SDK sample apps, serialize the profile out for use in applications, and how to use the profiles within your workflow activities and workflows.

To build the profile, Matt demonstrates how to create a tracking profile two ways: by code and using Workflow Tracking Profile Designer from the WF SDK. To build the tracking profile via code, Matt introduces the concepts of workflow track points, workflow tracking locations, and how to use workflow tracking events to specify the details that you want to track. He also demonstrates how to detail which activity types you wish to track. Matt also opens up a serialized profile XML file and walks the viewer through how the profile is stored. For the Workflow Tracking Profile Designer, Matt demonstrates how the app generates the same CML file, but also how it allows you to commit the tracking profile to a SQL database.

Finally, Matt demonstrates how to use tracking in your activities and workflows to track data at runtime. He demonstrates how to send data into the tracking provider from WF activities, and how to use the Workflow Monitor SDK sample application to pull and visually display the tracked data.

For additional information on WF, please check out the WF Dev Center on MSDN and the .NET Endpoint team blog. For more information on classes offered by Aaron and the PluralSight folks, check out their catalog of instructor led courses and new online courses that cover a variety of Microsoft technologies, ranging from .NET v3.5 to WSS to BizTalk server.

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Thanks for making the screen casts. They are helpful. I'm still a newby to WWF so viewing a hands-on demonstration is helpful. What would be even more helpful would be to have the code associated with the cast. Is this downloadable somewhere?

Also, with this tagged as WF 3.5 I expected to see instruction on how I would configure Service hosted workflow using a Recieve and/or send Activity to use the sql tracking. Do you have another cast that demonstrates this? Specifically, I need some help with the .config file settings and what must be considered when deploying it. I'd also like to know how I could create a tracking profile in code on this type of service instead of doing it from the config file.

Again, thanks for posting and any additional help you can provide would be appreciated.

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Bucc0 Thick Programmer

Apr 30, 2009 at 11:43 AM

Thanks for making the screen casts. They are helpful. I'm still a newby to WWF so viewing a hands-on demonstration is helpful. What would be even more helpful would be to have the code associated with the cast. Is this downloadable somewhere?

Also, with this tagged as WF 3.5 I expected to see instruction on how I would configure Service hosted workflow using a Recieve and/or send Activity to use the sql tracking. Do you have another cast that demonstrates this? Specifically, I need some help with the .config file settings and what must be considered when deploying it. I'd also like to know how I could create a tracking profile in code on this type of service instead of doing it from the config file.

Again, thanks for posting and any additional help you can provide would be appreciated.
cliff.simpkins

Jun 29, 2009 at 12:56 PM

This is a long time after your post (and you likely got your answer - I hope ), but the code for the screencasts are posted along with the videos on the PluralSight site. For this screencast, the sample code can be found here.

As for using Workflow Services, there are other screencasts for doing this. As an example, check out the one on using the WF 3.5 Receive Activity.

(BTW - I really wish we had the ability to be notified when comments were posted...but I digress )

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