Question 1

How to deploy Elsa Workflows in a production .NET application?

Accepted Answer

Elsa can be integrated into any .NET 6+ application via NuGet packages, but production deployment requires setting up persistence (like Entity Framework Core) and security, as the Docker images are reference implementations only. Check the documentation for guidance on configuring workflow servers and studios separately.

Question 2

Elsa Workflows vs Windows Workflow Foundation for .NET developers?

Accepted Answer

Elsa is inspired by Windows Workflow Foundation but is modern, open-source, and designed for .NET Core and beyond, with a visual designer and cloud-native support. It's better for teams wanting community-driven development and flexibility, whereas WF is more established but tied to older .NET frameworks.

Question 3

Can Elsa handle long-running workflows like order processing?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Elsa explicitly supports both short-running and long-running workflows with persistence options, making it suitable for processes like order fulfillment. It uses an actor model for high throughput and can save workflow state to databases like MongoDB or SQL Server.

Question 4

How to create custom activities in Elsa Workflows?

Accepted Answer

Custom activities can be built by extending base activity classes in C# and registering them with the workflow runtime. The documentation provides examples, and the modular architecture allows integration into the visual designer for drag-and-drop use.

Question 5

What databases does Elsa Workflows support out of the box?

Accepted Answer

Elsa supports Entity Framework Core for SQL databases, MongoDB for NoSQL, and Dapper for lightweight ORM, giving flexibility in data storage. This is highlighted in the persistence agnostic feature, allowing teams to choose based on their stack.

Question 6

Is Elsa Workflows good for microservices orchestration?

Accepted Answer

Yes, with built-in activities for HTTP calls and messaging, Elsa can orchestrate microservices by defining workflows that call APIs or handle events. Its actor-based architecture ensures scalability, but you'll need to manage service discovery and error handling manually.

Elsa Core (.6k)

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