Custom Policy Activity update it's own properties at runtime

Custom Policy Activity update it's own properties at runtime

• Socrates Kapetaneas

  I still haven't been able to resolve this issue.

  Also tried the following with same results...

  lData.role_name = ((TActivityQueue)executionContext.Activity).RoleName;

  I must be missing something - Dharma Shukla "Essential Windows Workflow Foundation" - p337 - indicates it's possible to update a property on an activity from a rule action.

  The only way I could get this to work is by setting up the property on the work flow class and then setting up a dependency property in the custom activity that refers back to the work flow property. Only then do I get a value from RoleName in the custom activity. This seems kind of dangerous though if I have multiple children executing in parallel...but further testing will bear this out.

  
  

• Dan0001

  Hi,

  Do you mean updating a property of your custom policy activity If that is the case, this should do it:

  this.x.P where x is your Custom Policy Activity variable and P is the property to be updated.

  Thanks,

  Maggie

  
  
  

• ahmedilyas

  Jurgen,

  I think I tried - in some form - to execute the rule directly against the activity instead of the root activity, and received errors. But I don't have the details at this time. So I will try it again in next day or 2 and advise.

  Thanks. John.

  
  

• axelfxxx

  One possibility: if your custom activity is executing inside another activity that spawns new execution contexts, then your rule will be updating the "template" activity, not that actual instance of the activity that is executing. You can find more info on spawned contexts here:

  http://blogs.msdn.com/advancedworkflow/archive/2006/03/21/557121.aspx

  If this is the case, you would need to write more complicated rules to navigate to the correct activity instance, e.g. by accessing the DynamicActivity property on a While activity. A cleaner solution, might be to execute the rules directly against your custom activity and then navigate up the activity tree instead of down the tree. In other words, your rules might look something like:

  IF this.RootActivity.WorkFlowParameters["primary_market"].ToUpper() == "DALLAS"

  THEN this.RoleName = "TSDSOFTE"

  In your Execute method, then, you can change the line to:

  lRuleExecution = new RuleExecution(lRuleValidation, this, executionContext);

  
  
  

• netmeister343943

  The "this" is the root workflow, not the activity. Are you trying to update the property as if it sat on the root workflow
  
  

• soconne

  Maggie,

  So if the rule looked like the following...

  Rule Info...

  Condition - this.WorkFlowParameters["primary_market"].ToUpper() == "DALLAS"

  then action - ((TWTC.WF.WFActivities.TActivityQueue)this.GetActivityByName("taskCleanOrder")).RoleName = "TSDSOFTE"

  else action - ((TWTC.WF.WFActivities.TActivityQueue)this.GetActivityByName("taskCleanOrder")).RoleName = "TSDSOFTW"

  or the following...

  then action - this.taskCleanOrder.RoleName = "TSDSOFTE"

  else action - this.taskCleanOrder.RoleName = "TSDSOFTW"

  Then you would expect to access the RoleName property within the custom policy activity (taskCleanOrder) and see a value other then null

  But what I am seeing is null for "this.RoleName" in this line of code in the custom policy activity (see complete code below).

  lData.role_name = this.RoleName; // this.RoleName is null

  Am I missing something

  Thanks.

  taskCleanOrder

  protected override ActivityExecutionStatus Execute(ActivityExecutionContext executionContext)

  {

  .... code omitted

  this.TrackData(this.getSLA(executionContext));

  .... code omitted

  }

  protected virtual IUpdateActivitySLAArg getSLA(ActivityExecutionContext executionContext)

  {

  IUpdateActivitySLAArg lData;

  RuleSet lRuleSet;

  Activity lRootActivity;

  RuleDefinitions lRuleDefinitions;

  RuleValidation lRuleValidation;

  RuleExecution lRuleExecution;

  // Find the root Activity

  lRootActivity = this.RootActivity(executionContext.Activity.Parent);

  if (lRootActivity != null)

  {

  // Get the RuleDefinitions from the root activity

  lRuleDefinitions = (RuleDefinitions)lRootActivity.GetValue(RuleDefinitions.RuleDefinitionsProperty);

  lRuleSet = lRuleDefinitions.RuleSets[this.AssignedToRuleSet.RuleSetName];

  lRuleValidation = new RuleValidation(lRootActivity.GetType(), null);

  lRuleExecution = new RuleExecution(lRuleValidation, lRootActivity, executionContext);

  lRuleSet.Execute(lRuleExecution);

  }

  lData = new t_update_activity_sla_arg();

  lData.activity_history_id = -1;

  lData.work_flow_instance_id = this.WorkflowInstanceId;

  lData.activity_qualified_name = this.QualifiedName;

  lData.user_name = TConstants.SYSTEM_AUDIT_ID;

  lData.activity_due_date = DateTime.UtcNow.AddHours(16);

  lData.event_type_id = Convert.ToInt32(TEventType.SLAUpdate);

  lData.role_name = this.RoleName; // .AssignedTo; // "TSDSOFTE";

  Debug.WriteLine(this.GetType().Name + ".getSLA. RoleName = " + this.RoleName + ", DateTime=" + DateTime.Now.ToString("F"));

  return lData;

  }

  Debug Info

  ***********************************************************
  User Tracking Record
  ***********************************************************
  EventDateTime: 2/26/2007 3:50:05 AM
  QualifiedName: taskCleanOrder
  ActivityType.FullName: TWTC.WF.WFActivities.TActivityQueue
  ActivityType.Name: TActivityQueue
  ContextGuid: f8f1de8c-6336-4166-939f-d50bef83eafe
  EventOrder: 11
  UserData: System.Workflow.Activities.Rules.RuleActionTrackingEvent
  TrackingDataItem: WorkFlowParameters
  TrackingDataItem.ToString(): System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.String]
  TrackingDataItem: IsATTOrder
  TrackingDataItem.ToString(): True
  TrackingDataItem: EvalCleanOrderCount
  TrackingDataItem.ToString(): 1
  RuleActionTrackingEvent
  ***********************
  RuleName: ruleAssignedToTaskCleanOrder
  ConditionResult: True
  TActivityQueue.getSLA. RoleName = , DateTime=Monday, February 26, 2007 3:50:05 AM

  ***********************************************************
  User Tracking Record
  ***********************************************************
  EventDateTime: 2/26/2007 3:50:05 AM
  QualifiedName: taskCleanOrder
  ActivityType.FullName: TWTC.WF.WFActivities.TActivityQueue
  ActivityType.Name: TActivityQueue
  ContextGuid: f8f1de8c-6336-4166-939f-d50bef83eafe
  EventOrder: 12
  UserData: this.work_flow_instance_id = 1f92a5d6-99ef-4f11-8804-7ee3de00b7b4
  this.activity_qualified_name = taskCleanOrder
  this.activity_history_id = -1
  this.event_type_id = 1
  this.role_name =
  this.activity_due_date = 2/27/2007 1:50:05 AM
  this.user_name = SYSTEM

  TrackingDataItem: WorkFlowParameters
  TrackingDataItem.ToString(): System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.String]
  TrackingDataItem: IsATTOrder
  TrackingDataItem.ToString(): True
  TrackingDataItem: EvalCleanOrderCount
  TrackingDataItem.ToString(): 1

  
  

• Martin Kristensen

  Hi John,

  Is this problem resolved or are you still having issues

  -Kavita

  
  
  

• barkingdog

  Kavita,

  I'm trying to update the property on the activity instance that is executing the ruleset as per the code samples I provided above.

  For brevity I am reiterating the code as follows...

  Rule Info...

  Condition - this.WorkFlowParameters["primary_market"].ToUpper() == "DALLAS"

  then action - ((TWTC.WF.WFActivities.TActivityQueue)this.GetActivityByName("taskCleanOrder")).RoleName = "TSDSOFTE"

  else action - ((TWTC.WF.WFActivities.TActivityQueue)this.GetActivityByName("taskCleanOrder")).RoleName = "TSDSOFTW"

  or the following...

  then action - this.taskCleanOrder.RoleName = "TSDSOFTE"

  else action - this.taskCleanOrder.RoleName = "TSDSOFTW"

  public partial class TActivityQueue // aka "taskCleanOrder"

  {

  private string _RoleName;

  public string RoleName

  {

  get { return _RoleName; }

  set { _RoleName = value; }

  }

  protected override ActivityExecutionStatus Execute(ActivityExecutionContext executionContext)

  {

  .... code omitted

  ...Execute the ruleset above that is supposed to update RoleName property above so that I can use that value in the next statement

  this.TrackData(this.RoleName);

  .... code omitted

  }

  } //end of TActivityQueue

  
  
• Custom Policy Activity update it's own properties at runtime