Get the details here:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924330/. 

 

My favorite fix is that the per instance pipeline configuration works as advertised/expected.  This was something a client of mine really needed as we had a pipeline template that we used with many different customers.  However, we had different configuration for each customer.  Essentially, we had file naming standards and different encryption key identifiers that we needed to configured.  Without this fix, we would have had to use a different pipeline definition for each port.  With the fix, we just updated our binding files to include the configuration of the pipeline components and we could reuse the same template over and over again.  Awesome, and of course, included in the 2006 version.

You might file this under the "it has always been this way and I'm late in figuring it out" category, but I just found the three letter snippet shortcut for Workflow dependency properties and events.  I didn't see this in earlier builds and was getting tired of CTRL+K -> CTRL+X then drilling into the menus to get to Worfklow Dependency property.  Especially since the EventHandler snippet always came first and the way they are worded I had to either move to the cursor keys or type 25+ characters to get it to move down to the property item. 

 

Now I just WDP + Tab + Tab and I'm happily editing a workflow dependency property. 

Or, I can WDE + Tab + Tab and edit my dependency property for an event handler. 

 

Awesome!

Kevin Lam has put together a great set of posts describing the direct binding options in BizTalk Server when using messaging shapes in Orchestration.  This is one of those powerful features of BizTalk that gets underutilized because people don't understand it, or even know about it.  It is also one of the areas where people get into real trouble because you need to understand it well in order to use it without getting yourself into trouble. 

 

 

I found this posting the other day and was surprised to find some things in here that I didn't realize had changed.  Not that I should be surprised, it's hard to keep up with a big product like BizTalk.  :) 

 

Interesting points include a new registry entry that allows you to invoke statics without having to assert the class into the runtime; support for generics; and allowing object traversal.  Unfortunately, the latter item is only available in code, which is a huge bummer since I find this to be one of the most frustrating things with the BRE composer. 

 

There are several other interesting tidbits so be sure to check it out if you do anything with the BRE in BizTalk.

 

 

Next month Pluralsight has our first public offering of Introducing Windows Workflow Foundation right in my own town of Minneapolis.  We did a Double Feature with WF and WCF back in August and it was great.  If you are looking for some training on WF, check out the information page and register now "Space is limited" as they say.  

 

We'll have great hands on labs mixed in with lecture to give you the right balance of concepts with experience.  Hope to see you there. 

 

Minneapolis not convenient for you?  Leave a comment as to where you would like to see us do public Workflow courses.  Boston?  Dallas?  Seattle? Denver?  Atlanta?  Vegas?  :)  If we get enough interest for a location, we'll get a course up and running and I'll be sure to announce it here. 

 

I've seen several requests for tracking the current state in a state machine workflow.  There are several options including adding custom activities, using call external method, or using the WorkflowIdled event and the StateMachineWorkflowInstance to do this.  They all have their drawbacks however. 

 

 

The ideal solution would give you the current state when it is entered and allow you to get that information without having to do anything specific in your workflow in order to track it.  I've created a sample that uses a custom tracking service to track the state changes in a state machine workflow. 

 

The tracking service is pretty simple, defining a single activity tracking location to track the executing state of the StateActivity.  The tracking channel just writes out the state name to the console.  In your use, you can customize the tracking channel to do whatever makes sense in your application (write to DB, raise an event, etc.). 

 

Find the sample here and leave any feedback as comments. 

 

So, I haven't blogged in MONTHS, and here's why. 

 

I'm getting ready to blog again and post some samples, etc. in the coming months, so for those of you still "listening", there will be something to read.  :)