1、1Enhydra Shark / Together Workflow Server and Enhydra JaWE / Together Workflow Editor Workshop 2Basic Introduction to Workflow Technology3Basic Introduction to Workflow TechnologyWhat is Work Flow technologyWhat is WorkflowWhat is Workflow Management SystemWFM systems support in three functional are

2、as:the Build-time functionsthe Run-time control functions the Run-time interactions with human users and IT application toolsWhat is Workflow Enactment ServiceWhat is Workflow Engine4Generic Workflow Product Structure5WfMC and Workflow Reference ModelProcess Defition ToolWorkflow Enactment ServiceWo

3、rkflow Client ApplicationsInvoked ApplicationsOther Workflow Enactment ServiceAdministration & Monitoring toolsAdmin and WH ClientsShark Tool AgentsTWEShark ServerInterface 1Interface 2Interface 3Interface 4Interface 56Enhydra JaWE / Together Workflow Editor7TWE IntroductionGraphical application for

4、 XPDL Process Definition Modeling. Makes creating and editing XPDL easy. Uses swim lines to represent participants of the process. Every XPDL element has property panel for editing element properties.Final output of modeling process is a XML file based on XPDL schemaXPDL created by TWE can be interp

5、reted by any XPDL workflow engineAccomplished three main goals:Graphical representation of process definitionExport of process definitions to XPDLImport of any valid XPDL and its graphic representation8XPDL and TWEPackage the top element of XPDL schemaExternal package conceptHow does TWE support ext

6、ernal package conceptHow to create new XPDL and to define package properties in TWE9XPDL and TWEWorkflow Process DefinitionGraph and property panel representation of workflow process definition in TWE Start/End markers10XPDL and TWETypeDeclarationStandard XPDL data typesCustom data typesPackage scop

7、eProblems with a scope - external packages and application definitionsShark solution to scope problemHow to use it when defining variablesHow to define in TWEParticipant representation of users/roles/systemExternal package/Package/Workflow process scopeWhere to define - best practiceHow to define in

8、 TWETWEs Special “Arbitrary expression participant”TWEs LDAP support11XPDL and TWEApplication representation of applications to be executed at runtimeExternal package/Package/Workflow process scopeWhere to define - best practiceHow to define in TWEHow to use it from Activitys ToolFormal parameters l

9、ike a Java method parameter definitionDataField Synonymous (workflow relevant data, variable)Usage within workflow (conditions, actual parameters, ) Data types standard/customScopeHow to define in TWEHow to use it in conditions, actual parameters, deadline expressions,12XPDL and TWEActivity represen

10、ts the unit of workgenerally associated with their performers and application assignments. 13XPDL and TWEDifferent activity typesManual activityTool activityRoute activitySub-Flow activityBlock activityHow to define in TWETransitionLink between two activitiesCan describe the condition to get from th

11、e source to the target activityDifferent transition typesConditional/unconditional transitionOtherwise transitionException transitionDefault exception transitionHow to define in TWEHow does TWE validate graphical transition insertion14XPDL and TWEActivitySet Group of activities and transitions insid

12、e processExecuted by block activities When to use itHow to define in TWEExtended attributesNecessity for vendor specific attributesPrimary method to support vendor specific extensions. Defined by the user or vendor to express any additional entity characteristics How to define in TWEsimple part of E

13、xtended Attributecomplex part of Extended AttributeCan be defined for every main main XPDL entitity15TWE GUISplit into several parts: Main menu, main toolbar and info bar. 4 areas with componentsEasy to layout components differently16TWE GUIComponents: Graphdisplays the selected process or activity

14、set Graph toolbarParticipant manipulationActivity and transition manipulationStandard editor functions: inserting, moving, selecting and deletingDouble click, right click functionalityXPDL ViewText view of the selected elementHighlighting Search function(Graph) Overview overview of the whole process

15、 graph easy way to navigate17TWE GUIExternal package relationsRelations amongst main package and its externally referenced packagesTransient package pool Shows packages opened in Transient mode Add/remove Transient packagesCopy from transient packagesNavigator Hierarchical view of package and its ma

16、in sub-elementsPackage tree hierarchical view of the whole package/XPDLProperties main details of selected elementSearchDisplays references to the selected object or search result Results in hierarchical view18TWE GUIProblems Displays information about problems in XPDLPossibility to easily navigate

17、to the problematic elementWfXML Communication with workflow engine based on WfMC If4Uploading/downloading/updating XPDL) Menu & Toolbar:File (new, open, reopen, close, save, recent files,)Edit (cut, copy, paste, undo, redo,.)Package (validation, insert process, properties, )Process (properties, )Ext

18、ernal packagesSettings (Language, Configuration)Help19TWE ConfigurationBasic configuration fileOne property file per componentConfiguring TWE behaviorConfiguring graphical propertiesPossibility to switch between different configuration/modes at runtimeShark engine configurationWfMOpen engine configu

19、ration20Possible TWE customizationsHelping XPDL developers to concentrate on business problemMaking XPDL modeling less error proneWorkflow engine dependent customizationspecial ext. attributes and their property panelsset of XPDL features it does not supportXPDL features interpreted in a special way

20、 Introduction of new activity types E.g. automated activities for sending e-mailscustomized property panel for entering all the informationSpecial XPDL template for creating new workflow processesTWE can be easily customized in order to support these requirements.21Modeling XPDLs for SharkPackages s

21、cript type elementTool activity with sys. participant performer and start mode restrictionNo activity and system participant restrictionType specifics allowed data typesApplication definition and ToolAgentClass extended attributeDeadlines usage of additional (system) variables in expressionsPROCESS_

22、STARTED_TIMEACTIVITY_ACTIVATED_TIMEACTIVITY_ACCEPTED_TIMEType Declarations and External packages issue22Application definitions and tool agentsTool agent interfacedefined by WfMC Engine access to external system in a standard manner XPDL Application definition representation of real applicationlike

23、declaring a function in programming language this function is called by Tool activities defined in the process flow. Tool activitiesProvide information about the parameters to pass to the applicationMany different XPDL application can be mapped to tool agent represented by the same Java classThose a

24、pplication definitions can even They can define different formal parameters.23Deadlines, exception handling, transition conditionsDeadlinesDefined for Activities A time until activity should be finishedWorkflow system periodically tests the deadline condition If deadline condition is satisfied, proc

25、ess will follow the “exception” transition as defined in XPDL.ExceptionsSpecial transition types to model itModeling what happens in the case of deadlineModeling what happens in the case of exception in tool agent execution.Transition conditions Expressions made by the usage of variablesExpressions

26、evaluated at run-timeExpression must evaluate in boolean value Used to determine if the transition should be triggered or not24Enhydra Shark/TWSEnhydra Shark / Together Workflow Server25Introduction to SharkWorkflow engine that executes processes based on XPDL definition.Completely based on standard

27、s defined by WfMC and OMGA library that can be embedded in WEB/Swing/Console application, or it can be deployed as CORBA service, WEB service, EJB service, RMI service, Supports automated, manual and mixed workflow processesExtensible work item allocation algorithms. Activities are automated through

28、 an extensible system of Tool AgentsHuman interactions are managed through work itemsThrough a worklist API shark clients are able to manage work items.Fully transactional behavior with JTA supportCan be used in a cluster scenarioEasy change of DB used for persistence via DODS. It includes scripts f

29、or creating tables for DB2, HSQL, MSQL, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, 26Introduction to SharkA lot of possibilities to configure engine thanks to its nice architectureEach shark component has an API, and default implementation(s) Standard implementation simply replacable by the custom ones Even the ker

30、nel itself can be tuned-up.Default kernel does not use proprietary extensions of XPDL (extended attributes)Supports ToolAgent concept defined by WfMC. Comes with several useful tool agents already definedSupports deadline handling and XPDL exception transitionsPossible callback to shark from its com

31、ponentsCan use custom Java classes as variablesAppearing of deadlocks is minimized thanks to the DODS buffer transaction.Supports XPDL definition update27XPDL and Shark28XPDL and SharkProcess definitionFor each XPDL definition there is a factory that creates process instancesEvery process instance h

32、as unique instance IdActivity definition Created during process enactment, and based on the flow and rules defined in XPDLevery activity instance has unique instance IdVariable definitionCreated during process enactment based on XPDL definitionThe same Id as in XPDL Assigned to process/activity cont

33、ext Value is changing in runtime through shark API or during tool agent executionEngine executes processes based on XPDL definitionEngine interacts with the user that can update process/activity variables, and complete activity; Based on user input, variable values, engine determines which activity

34、will be executed next 29Shark architectureThe architecture is divided into three main API components:shark client API, shark kernel and shark plug-in APIs30Shark client APIs - possibilitiesAPI for handling XPDLsGetting the list of uploaded XPDLs (and their versions), upload, update, delete, retrieva

35、l of XPDLs for the monitoring purpose (possible usage from the client side to graphically show the process flow)API for obtaining the list of uploaded processs definitionsAPI for obtaining various runtime and XPDL informationCore API (OMG API and WAPI)Instantiating processes, aborting processes/acti

36、vities, retrieving/changing process/activity variables, completing activity, API for deleting processes, checking deadlines and limits, cache handlingFilter builder API:Filters and OMGs “WfXXXIterators”Filters and WfMCs WAPIWhy to use filter builders?31Core client API (OMG API)32Shark kernelImplemen

37、tation of special core kernel APIA glue that bounds client API implementations and internal component implementations based on provided configuration.Handles the client requests by parsing XPDL definition, communicating with internal components and implementing its own logic to achieve the goal.The

38、benefit of having kernel API33Kernel processing34Kernel processing (simplified)35Shark plug-in APIsMandatory plug-in components and their purpose: Repository persistence componentInstance persistence componentScripting componentOptional plug-in components and their purpose: Assignment componentUserG

39、roup componentParticipantMapping componentToolAgent componentApplicationMapping componentEventAudit componentLogging componentCaching componentSecurity component36TWS - shark extensionsTWS is shark extension that:Implements advanced APIs Extends shark kernel to interpret extended attributesBrings mo

40、re useful implementations of plug-in APIsBrings more useful tool agent implementationsMost important additional functionality:Possibility to use variables not defined in XPDLPossibility to have transient processes and variables (even the ones not defined in XPDL by the usage of special naming conven

41、tion)Possibility to specify that all activities should not have special context, but to use the one of the process (for performance reasons)Possibility to specify a process or activity behavior per definition. API to “find out the future and the past”, and to navigate through process based on its XP

42、DL definition37Swing Admin process monitoring38WEB Client worklist handling39Worklist handlerApplication that enables a human workflow participant to manage the work items which have been assigned to them Shark provides graphical Worklist Handlers: graphical swing worklist handle, WEB based worklist

43、 handler applicationWorklist handlers able to access shark through:POJOEJBWebService40Assignment managerWhats the purpose of Assignment managerAssignmentManager 4 method interface:Method to configure managerMethod to obtain UserGroup API implementationMethod to obtain ParticipantMapping API implemen

44、tationMethod to actually retrieve assignments for the activitySeveral assignment manager implementations coming with Shark:StandardAssignmentManagerHistoryRelatedAssignmentManagerXPDLStraightParticipantMappingAssignmentManagerHow to handle XPDL, Participant mapping and UserGroup informationHow to wr

45、ite your own assignment manager41Tool agents XPDL Application definition42Tool agents definition of activity ToolThe actual values for the application parameters will be determined at run-timeWe can consider such Activity execution as a call to the function43Tool agents how it worksShark kernel is p

46、assing workflow relevant data to tool agent and expecting tool agent to update some variables as the result of its call.When XPDL is deployed into shark engine, and when tool activity is about to execute shark kernel:gets the current value of variables specified as actual parameters in the case actu

47、al parameter is an expression, it evaluates expression using current values of all process variables and specified expression interpreterprovides these values to a DefaultToolAgent (if we do not use Application mapping)DefaultToolAgent reads an ext. attrib. ToolAgentClass (from Application definition) delegates a call to appropriate tool agent specified by this attributeActual tool age