SnapFlow Adopts Silverlight 4 - Keynotes at PDC09
In a previous post I covered SnapFlow, a tool that allows for a non-developers to easily define and deploy workflow applications. In short, SnapFlow leverages Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) to define and power those workflows which, in turn, run in the cloud. The underlying workflows are defined by XML and this allows one to easily store a workflow definition (and resulting state) into a database store (like SQL Server). SQL Server allows you to natively store, query, and process XML.
Up until now, the SnapFlow tool has been a Silverlight 2 application. At PDC09 in Los Angeles, during the day 2 keynote (begins at 53:40) by Scott Guthrie, Silverlight 4 beta was announced. During Scott Guthrie’s session, SnapFlow founder Samad Wahedi spoke about the SnapFlow tool and how they are able to support Direct Buy and integration to their LOB systems. (Read more here about the SnapFlow announcement.)
“SnapFlow is the most sophisticated line of business application I’ve seen yet and demonstrates the rich internet applications that can be built with Silverlight ,” said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, Microsoft Corp. “SnapFlow’s innovative architecture enables people to design, build and automate the workflow - whether as simple as an expense report process or as complex as order management from a legacy system - without any programming.”
At the heart of Silverlight 4 is ‘full trust’ and ‘offline’ RIA application support which allows for rich integration possibilities directly to and with local applications and other 3rd party LOB systems accessible via the local network. Some of the integration-specific capabilities specifically mentioned during the keynote include local file system access, cross-site networking, hardware device access, COM automation support, and (as you would imagine) Microsoft Office integration.
The ability for SnapFlow to take advantage of these new integration features is very compelling. It will take the SnapFlow tool to new heights, especially for those scenarios that require integration to other applications and systems. SnapFlow is in the process of developing a new Silverlight 4 release and anyone can sign-up for a free 90-day trial offering. The updated tool will be available at a date closely corresponding to Silverlight 4’s general availability. (a date is not available at this time but is expected in the coming months)
Incidentally, other Silverlight 4 capabilities mentioned during the keynote include media enhancements like webcam and microphone support, H.264 output protection, and offline DRM capabilities. Business application support like printing, rich textbox, direct clipboard access, mouse right click and wheel support, implicit styles, native drag-n-drop, improved controls, simple data binding, windowing APIs, notification pop-ups, and HTML support. (Please note that all of this is subject to change.)
Here is some specific content (and demos) available on Scott Guthrie’s blog that talk about some of the new Silverlight 4 capabilities mentioned during PDC09.
Partners Involved
Interknowlogy expertise and talent (led by Tim Huckaby) drove the pilot to upgrade the SnapFlow tool to Silverlight 4 for the PDC09 keynote demo.
SoftSource (led by Shaun McAravey) played an important role and led the port of SnapFlow to the Windows Azure platform for PDC09.
A big THANK YOU to both partners for thier great work ethic and professionalism through the PDC process.
To read more about SnapFlow’s involvement at PDC09 please refer to the following:
SnapFlow Unveiled in PDC09 Keynote
SnapFlow.com Front Page Feature (PDC)
Microsoft Showcases Developer Opportunities for Windows and the Web
Press Kit
Tim Huckaby Blog
…