Flowchart workflow - FreeFormActivityDesigner sample

Here is the long due sample for writing custom activity designers utilizing the freeform activitydesigner. This is still a very crude sample, so we will try to post improved versions from time to time. Thanks to Arjun for the Executors and Validators. The validators show a false positive sometimes because of a bug that we will be fixing soon.

http://www.thispointer.com/workflows/FlowChart.exe

here is a preview of the flowchart workflowtype get http://www.thispointer.com/workflows/FlowChart.jpg

User groups and funny names

Today a friend of mine is attending a Java users group meeting, the name of the user group is seajugs ( stands for Seattle Java users group)
that made me wonder what other user groups have funny names like this and I came up with the following
Microsoft users group - mugs
Toshiba Hardware users group - thugs
Borland users group - bugs
Roland users group - rugs

What would you like to pass down to your kids

I had once asked my biology teacher how intelligence/smartness got passed on to kids. By then we had already learnt about genes etc already in class. What I wanted to know was how exactly the genes recorded our "intelligence" or favourable traits. He didnt give me a straighforward answer then( Instead gave me some BS on why I was too proud too think I was more intelligent than the first man to invent fire). But now I know that we can't exactly pass down any trait that we wish. It's more like we try do everything possible to be the best, and you might happen to be selected by nature, and your genes will then happen to carry down whatever you did to get selected.

I wish there was a better way to do this than just let it to natural selection. Ofcourse in a very general way we do this by recording history, technical documentation etc. But all this will be useless if we ever had to do a "start from scratch". In such a situation all our knowledge of chip making, automobile making, food processing, home building everything gone. We will be left with our instincts to start building from. Wouldnt it be awesome if we could pass down traits to future generation in a more persistent way , through our genes directly embed it into the instinct of future generations?

If only we could what would you personally want to pass to your kids? like handy rules of thumb, tips etc..

please write what such traits,tips,rules you would like to passdown.

here are few to start with.


Ranjesh - Eating chicken will make you happy

Video of Eric Rudder's keynote

Here is a video of the eric rudder keynote that introduced Windows Workflow Foundation.

WWF talked about at 3.45 and 13.00 into the presentation.
The demo starts at 14.30 .

I made the custom designers for the state machine workflow and the sequential workflow shown in the demo :)

Windows Workfow Foundation Hands on labs now available online

Windows Workflow Foundation Beta1 is already available at MSDN, and was distributed on DVD 4 in the PDC 05 DVD set ( the goods).
By popular demand the labs are now available online

check it out and send us your feedback :)

www.windowsworkflow.net

The word is out - Windows Workflow Foundation

Finally the word is out, this is what we have been building, Windows Workflow Foundation. WWF will be a part of WinFX.

here are some of the links to WWF ( Windows Workflow Foundation )
http://www.windowsworkflow.net - community site for windows workflows
http://msdn.microsoft.com/workflow - the official windows workflows site

misc links & articles.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/sep05/09-14PDC05Day2PR.mspx
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1859045,00.asp
http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/dailyarchives.jhtml?articleId=170702983

I worked on the Eric Rudder Key note, Bill Devlins session ( Introduction to Workflows) and Don & Dharmas session ( Indigo and workflows).. Yes I made those good looking State activity designer and custom activity designer that were shown in the demos. I also wrote two custom trackng services , one to show visual tracking of the workflows, and other to create an RSS feed out of the tracking ( that was shown in Don & Dharma's session ).

Good times man, good times!, we will soon see tons of innovative and interesting activities written by developers all over the world, at www.windowsworkflow.net. I just cant wait to see them all :)

watch out for more of my posts on building some interesting custom activities..

Eric Rudder' keynote

Check out Eric Rudder's keynote on the 14th, for a new technology that we have been working on :) that will be a part of WinFX.

Also check out the Don Box & Dharma session ( Communications track).

I will be at PDC 2005

The technology my team is building will be unveiled at PDC '05. Im working on the demos that will show case our stuff. I will be there for the duration of the conference ( 13th-15th Aug), will you be there ? let me know.