I’m now in the session on the PDC 2008: WF 4.0 A first look. Just laying on my chair the leaflet: .NET Framework 4.0 Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation
In that leaflet there was a very nice announcement: Windows Server Dublin.
What’s Windows Server Dublin?
"Simplified hosting Experience with Dublin
Windows Server ‘Dublin’ technologies provide the .NET 4.0 developer with a standard host for WCF and WF application. ‘Dublin’ will allow you to host your workflow using pre-built developer services in a robust scalable environment – freeing you from writing your own host environment"
Woehooo, that’s makes my very happy, it seems that the Workflow Foundation environment gets more and more mature.
This is working together with Visual Studio 10 & .NET Framework 4.0, unfortunately this might take a while before it’s really in production. But he it’s really worth waiting for.
Found in the announcements (All are very good news and make me even more curious to get my hands on it.)
Q: Will “Dublin” support existing applications built on the .NET Framework? What should customers and partners do today to prepare?
A: Yes. “Dublin” will continue to provide backward compatibility for existing Windows Workflow Foundation and Windows Communication Foundation applications. Customers can confidently begin building applications on top of both Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 today, with assurances that those applications will enjoy the benefits of “Dublin” when it becomes available.
Q: What are the customer benefits of the using Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation with “Dublin”?
A: The 4.0 release of .NET Framework represents the second generation of the Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation technologies. For the .NET developer, the 4.0 enhancements include these:
– Simplified coordination of work
– Ability to express applications and services in a way that makes sense to individual teams and businesses
– A framework for durable, long-running applications and services
Q: Will “Dublin” work with the “Oslo” modeling platform technologies?
A: Yes. “Dublin” will be the first Microsoft server product to deliver support for the “Oslo” modeling platform. “Dublin” does not require “Oslo” to operate and provide benefits of hosting .NET applications; however, administrators will be able to deploy applications from the “Oslo” repository directly to the “Dublin” application server. “Dublin” provides model-driven “Oslo” applications with a powerful runtime environment out of the box.
Q: Will “Dublin” work with Microsoft BizTalk Server’s enterprise connectivity services?
A: Yes. The integration server and application server workloads are distinct but complementary; customers want to be able to deploy them separately as needed to support their distinct requirements. For example, customers that don’t need the rich line-of-business (LOB) or business-to-business (B2B) connectivity provided by an integration server will deploy the Windows Server application server to host and manage middle-tier applications. Likewise, customers that need to connect heterogeneous systems across an enterprise, but don’t need to develop and run custom application logic, will deploy BizTalk Server. When customers need both capabilities, “Dublin” and BizTalk Server will work together nicely.
See also: Windows Server Application Server Roadmap