Temporal .NET SDK feature guidance

This section contains the following feature guidance for the Temporal .NET SDK.

Core Application

• Develop a basic Workflow Definition: Workflows are the fundamental unit of a Temporal Application, and it all starts with the development of a Workflow Definition.
• Develop a basic Activity Definition: One of the primary things that Workflows do is orchestrate the execution of Activities.
• Start an Activity from a Workflow: Calls to spawn Activity Executions are written within a Workflow Definition.
• Run a Worker Process: The Worker Process is where Workflow Functions and Activity Functions are executed.
• Set a Dynamic Workflow: Set a workflow that can be invoked dynamically at runtime.
• Set a Dynamic Activity: Set an Activity that can be invoked dynamically at runtime.

Temporal Client

• Create a Temporal Client: Learn to instantiate and configure a client to interact with the Temporal Service.
• Connect to Temporal Cloud: Securely connect to the Temporal Cloud for a fully managed service.
• Start a Workflow: Initiate Workflows seamlessly via the .NET SDK.
• Get Workflow results: Retrieve and process the results of your Workflows efficiently.

Testing

• Test frameworks: Testing provides a framework to facilitate Workflow and integration testing.
• Testing Workflows: Ensure the functionality and reliability of your Workflows.
• Testing Activities: Validate the execution and outcomes of your Activities.
• Replay test: Replay recreates the exact state of a Workflow Execution.

Failure Detection

• Workflow timeouts: Each Workflow timeout controls the maximum duration of a different aspect of a Workflow Execution.
• Workflow retries: A Workflow Retry Policy can be used to retry a Workflow Execution in the event of a failure.
• Activity timeouts : Each Activity timeout controls the maximum duration of a different aspect of an Activity Execution.
• Set an Activity Retry Policy: Define retry logic for Activities to handle failures.

Message Passing

Signals

• Define Signal: A Signal is a message sent to a running Workflow Execution.
• Send a Signal from a Temporal Client: Send a Signal to a Workflow from a Temporal Client.
• Send a Signal from a Workflow: Send a Signal to another Workflow from within a Workflow, this would also be called an External Signal.
• Signal-With-Start: Start a Workflow and send it a Signal in a single operation used from the Client.
• Set a Dynamic Signal: A Dynamic Signal in Temporal is a Signal that is invoked dynamically at runtime if no other Signal with the same input is registered.

Queries

• Define a Query: A Query is a synchronous operation that is used to get the state of a Workflow Execution.
• Send Queries: Queries are sent from the Temporal Client.
• Set a Dynamic Query: A Dynamic Query in Temporal is a Query that is invoked dynamically at runtime if no other Query with the same name is registered.

Updates

• Define an Update: An Update is an operation that can mutate the state of a Workflow Execution and return a response.
• Send an Update: An Update is sent from the Temporal Client.

Cancel and Terminate

• Cancel a Workflow: Interrupt a Workflow Execution and its Activities through Workflow cancellation.
• Terminate a Workflow: Interrupt a Workflow Execution and its Activities through Workflow termination.

Heartbeat

• Heartbeat an Activity: An Activity Heartbeat is a ping from the Worker that is executing the Activity to the Temporal Cluster.
• Set a Heartbeat Timeout: A Heartbeat Timeout works in conjunction with Activity Heartbeats.

Versioning

• Use the .NET SDK Patching API: Patching Workflows using the .NET SDK.

Observability

• Emit Metrics: Each Temporal SDK is capable of emitting an optional set of metrics from either the Client or the Worker process.
• Set up Tracing: Explains how the Go SDK supports tracing and custom context propogation.
• Log from a Workflow: Send logs and errors to a logging service, so that when things go wrong, you can see what happened.
• Use Visibility APIs: The term Visibility, within the Temporal Platform, refers to the subsystems and APIs that enable an operator to view Workflow Executions that currently exist within a Terminal Service.

Debugging

• Debug in a development environment: In addition to the normal development tools of logging and a debugger, you can also see what’s happening in your Workflow by using the Web UI and the Temporal CLI.
• Debug in a development production : Debug production Workflows using the Web UI, the Temporal CLI, Replays, Tracing, or Logging.

Schedules

• Schedule a Workflow:
• Create a Scheduled Workflow: Create a new schedule for a scheduled Workflow.
• Backfill a Scheduled Workflow: Backfills a past time range of actions for a scheduled Workflow.
• Delete a Scheduled Workflow: Deletes a schedule for a scheduled Workflow.
• Describe a Scheduled Workflow: Get schedule configuration and current state for a scheduled Workflow.
• List a Scheduled Workflow: List a schedule for a scheduled Workflow.
• Pause a Scheduled Workflow: Pause a schedule for a scheduled Workflow.
• Trigger a Scheduled Workflow: Triggers an immediate action for a scheduled Workflow.
• Update a Scheduled Workflow: Updates a schedule with a new definition for a scheduled Workflow.
• Use Start Delay: Start delay functionality if you need to delay the execution of the Workflow without the need for regular launches.

Data Encryption

• How to use a custom Payload Codec: Create a custom PayloadCodec implementation and define your encryption/compression and decryption/decompression logic.
• How to use a custom Payload Converter: A custom data converter can be set via the DataConverter option when creating a client.

Durable Timers

• Sleep: A Timer lets a Workflow sleep for a fixed time period.

Continue-As-New

• Continue-As-New: Continue-As-New enables a Workflow Execution to close successfully and create a new Workflow Execution in a single atomic operation if the number of Events in the Event History is becoming too large.

Child Workflows

• Child Workflows: A Child Workflow Execution is a Workflow Execution that is scheduled from within another Workflow using a Child Workflow API.

Asynchronous Activity

• Asynchronous Activity: Asynchronous Activity Completion enables the Activity Function to return without the Activity Execution completing.