Rehosted workflows in sharepoint - sharepoint-2010

I'm working in a project like this : http://msmvps.com/blogs/theproblemsolver/archive/2009/12/23/rehosting-the-workflow-designer-in-wf4.aspx
Is it possible to upload this app in a sharepoint and executed it in sharepoint??

As far as I know SharePoint is still using the WF3 runtime and not the WF4 runtime. So no this won't work.

you will have to create a separate Webservice Application (with the WF) in .net 4 and then from SharePoint you call the webservice. From WF you can in turn integrate with Sharepoint through the Managed client object model.
Refer to this link for more information on the client model:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee857094.aspx

Related

Custom WCF Service for SharePoint 2010

I read couple of articles about creating custom WCF services for SharePoint 2010 and each suggests creating it under SharePoint project (as oppose to creating a separate WCF Application project or WCF Library). Also, I came across SharePoint WCF best practices.
So my question: is it possible to create a standalone WCF Service and have an option to deploy it inside of SharePoint (let's say I don't want this service to be a part of my wsp)? And what is the best practice?
thanks.
It has to be part of your wsp file if you are going to deploy it in a SharePoint web app. You can create a stand alone wcf service that can connect to a SharePoint site collection and you can also use the SharePoint Client Object Model to remotely connect to a SharePoint site collection. There are numerous walkthroughs on how to do this.
Here is a good starting point for the Client Object Model http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee537247.aspx

Custom web.config for asp.net web part in sharepoint 2010

Base:
I have created a ASP.NET web part to be deployed to a Sharepoint 2010 site. This web part is using a external web service, a WCF service that is hosted else where, not on the same machine as the Sharepoint site. The web parts are installed on the sharepoint server using a CAB-file that is created via a deploy project.
Issue:
My issue is that I have web service binding configurations in the web.config of my ASP.NET web part solution that I need to modify based on what customer is using it, so I need to be able to modify my binding address after installation (or during).
Other:
I have seen solutions using the SPWebConfigModification, but I have no local installation of Sharepoint so that is not an option. I have also seen pure C# solution where the endpoint address is hard coded in the assembly, but this will prevent me from modifying the address after compilation of the web part. The best way would be to have an external txt/xml-file that I can use from my web part to get the endpoint address from, or a smart way of updating the sharepoint web.config not using SPWebConfigModification.
so...
any one have a awesome solution to my issue?
Can you use custom webpart properties that will contain the WCF endpoint information? This way you will be able to configure your webpart(s) after they are added to a page. The properties are reachable from the webpart code so you can generate the wcf proxy in the runtime with no custom config files in the solution.
this article might help you with the custom properties http://www.lamber.info/post/2010/05/21/How-do-I-create-custom-properties-in-Visual-Web-Parts.aspx
Editing web.config is almost always the wrong place to put something like this.
Maks answer is good and certainly the easiest option, if you want to store the address of the web service in one place to be used by multiple web part instances then this option may be better.
SO - What is a proper way to store site-level global variables in a SharePoint site?

Integrating WF4.0 with Silverlight 4.0

I am new to both Silverlight and WF (both 4.0 version), i was wondering if we can integrate WF4.0 with Silverlight 4.0 in such a way that, when we click on some button in sliverlight UI the workflow should be executed and the output from the final activity of the workflow is displayed in the Silverlight screen. If it can be done then please provide me with some link or any tutorial where i can learn about this and start implementing.
Thanks in advance.
In WF 4.0 you can have workflows started (or progressed) by WCF endpoints. Therefore, if you can call the WCF endpoint from your Silverlight application you should be able to do this quite easily. Lots of information on Microsoft's WF Developer Centre.
Assuming you are using Visual Studio 2010, you can get up and running with a very simple Silverlight -> WF example very quickly...
Create a new project (and new solution) from the 'WCF Workflow Service Application' template. The project will be named DeclarativeServiceLibraryX. This should give you a very simple WorkflowService definition using SequentialService that simply receives the request from a client (with a single integer argument) and sends a response (with the same value). This project is created as a web project so includes a Web.config.
Create a new Silverlight 4 application. You will be asked if you want to host the Silverlight app in the existing web project (created in step #1). Probably a good idea to say yes.
In the Silverlight application, select 'Add Service Reference...', then 'Discover/ Services in Solution'. Service1.xamlx will appear as an option, select it and click Ok.
VS will then generate a WCF service reference client. You could then add a TextBox & Button to capture some data, create the client and send the service call across the wire to the WCF Workflow Service. This Workflow Service could then be modified as necessary (or use these steps to add a WCF Workflow Service to your own web project).
One area that might be challenging is modifying the WCF service bindings to be compatible with Silverlight; perhaps create a Silverlight-compatible WCF service in your server-side project first, then create a WF WCF endpoint and look at the generated code & config to see how to put things together.
The MSDN Endpoint blog is also a useful resource for learning more about WF and WCF (especially with the new style lightweight REST-style 'WCF Web HTTP' bindings, which might be more suitable for consumption by a Silverlight client.
I am assuming that you don't want to host the workflow inside the Silverlight app itself, as WF is a full .Net framework component rather than being Silverlight compatible. I'm sure you could write your own lightweight workflow framework that runs inside Silverlight, but given workflow is generally a multi-user, server-side concern this probably wouldn't be very useful concern.
I found an example with WPF here for these samples. Hope they will help you a bit or at least give a general look at this topic.
Workflow Foundation is not included in the Silverlight 4.0 runtime and thus cannot be used within a Silverlight app. So Silx answer do not relate at all to Silverlight. And James Websters answer is the only solution to make use of WF from Silverlight.
You cant use WF with silverlight.... the only way is , You can call WCF service to access WF as explained by James Webster.

Access external data from Silverlight application running in a webpart in Sharepoint 2010

I can read the SP lists fine and pull data out of the SP context, but I am trying to get data from an external database as well and I don't know exactly how to do that. Is is possible to add WCF communication to the webpart that will allow the Silverlight app to communicate to a WCF service? If so, any examples on how to do this?
Or is there a better way to store/retrieve custom data that I don't want to be accessable through custom sp lists?
You could use a combination of BCS/External Content Types to surface the data in SharePoint, then the SharePoint client object model to access this.
Eric,
I am not sure if i have understood your question correctly. If you have a custom webpart that loads some silverlight content and silverlight needs to access external data using wcf, then you can do the following:
If you need to deploy your wcf service in sharepoint site, then follow this article from Sahil Malik: http://blah.winsmarts.com/2008-5-SharePoint_as_a_WCF_Host.aspx
Once the service is deployed and your able to access it from ie, Add service reference in your silverlight project.
Load the silverlight application in your webpart
This link might also help:
http://blah.winsmarts.com/2008-7-SilverLight_WCF_References_in_SharePoint_-_The_right_way.aspx

Publishing a Silverlight with reference to a WCF

I created a RoleService in my silverlight project and through that got hold of the embership/Role functionality. I am running this on a local machine and is wondering how to publish this to my website. I have 3 web applications:
My main web application where the silverlight object shoule be merged into
The silverlight project which lets me develop the silverlight application
The silverlight host application which I use for testing
In the web application (1) i have made the RoleService so that i can get a hold on my Roles. In the Silverlight application (2) I have a service reference to the service mentioned above which I consume and loads my Role data. This howecer doesnt work when i publich it online. But how do i get it to work online?
Is it because it is trying to connect to service with wrong address? If so, then you just need to propagate WCF service address to your Silverlight application through hosting web.config and start connecting to a correct service.
Let me know if this is the case, then I will share exact solution for this.