Does Windows Workflow Foundation comprises an Inference based rule engine, like a flow based rule engine?

Question

I need to develop a web app that infers new rules from a given rule base. Example: A developer advised to modify a source code might reflect changes on other files, so he has to subsequently modify the affecting files also. So my engine should be capable of inferring such new rules. Can I use Windows Workflow Foundation ? Platform: ASP.net

Answer 1

Short answer: No, not natively.

WF it's an API which allows you to write, through simple steps called activities, complex processes to be executed by the engine.

Those steps can be control flow activities like If, While, Switch, etc. or expressions like Add, Multiple, And, Or and many others. There's also the concept of variables, inputs and outputs. You can also write your activities to execute whatever code you want.

So basically you've all the goodies of procedural programming (including state) and you can design whatever processes you want on top of that, including a inference engine. Your workflow can be the interpreter, receiving input, and outputting your inferences.

PS: there's a native StateMachine, you may want to start from there.