The Windows Workflow Foundation runtime engine is responsible for creating and maintaining running workflow instances. To accomplish this, the runtime engine needs a host process that includes console applications, Windows Forms-based applications, ASP.NET Web sites, and Web services. Additionally, workflow-enabled applications that host the Windows Workflow Foundation runtime engine can further refine the behavior of the workflow runtime engine by using services. The base services in Windows Workflow Foundation can be configured to support transactions, persistence, tracking, threading, and scheduling. For application-specific functionality, your application can also define custom services that can be added to the runtime engine.

This section covers a variety of topics related to developing workflow-enabled applications, including hosting the Windows Workflow Foundation runtime engine, configuring the base services used by the runtime engine, and also developing your own custom services.

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