Routing Overview

Perhaps the most typical use of routing functionality is sending a document to a sequence of recipients for review, and tracking the progress of the document through the cycle. You can see this scenario reflected in some of the discussions and samples presented in this section.

Other possible uses for routing are:

• Sending a Web page to a group of editors for approval before posting it.
• Passing expense reports to appropriate managers for review.

In the past, you might have chosen to build a sophisticated application that makes use of a database engine, a robust but perhaps costly solution. Or you could use the simple routing slips of Microsoft® Office. These routing slips are examples of client-side routing, which lacks a good way to ensure execution in a prescribed period of time or to guarantee that execution will complete. Because of this, server-side routing is probably a better choice.