Book Image

OSWorkflow: A guide for Java developers and architects to integrating open-source Business Process Management

Book Image

OSWorkflow: A guide for Java developers and architects to integrating open-source Business Process Management

Overview of this book

OSWorkflow is an open-source workflow engine written entirely in Java with a flexible approach and a technical user-base target. It is released under the Apache License. You can create simple or complex workflows, depending on your needs. You can focus your work on the business logic and rules. No more Petri Net or finite state machine coding! You can integrate OSWorkflow into your application with a minimum of fuss. OSWorkflow provides all of the workflow constructs that you might encounter in real-life processes, such as steps, conditions, loops, splits, joins, roles, etc.This book explains in detail all the various aspects of OSWorkflow, without assuming any prior knowledge of Business Process Management. Real-life examples are used to clarify concepts.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)
OSWorkflow
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
Introduction

Chapter 2. OSWorkflow Introduction and Basics

This chapter introduces OSWorkflow and teaches the basics of the workflow engine. We begin by describing a simple real-world example, and then by using steps, actions, and results we create an XML definition of the process. We have taken the example of the holiday workflow, which is used in every company.

After building the example, we will show you how to visually model workflow definitions. Finally, we will embed OSWorkflow into our application or use it as a standalone workflow engine. The outline will cover the following topics:

  • Downloading and installing OSWorkflow

  • Getting a taste from the distribution

  • OSWorkflow basics

  • Visual Process modeling

  • Ways to implement OSWorkflow

Downloading and Installing OSWorkflow

The current OSWorkflow version, 2.8, requires a Java VM version 1.3 or higher. You can download binaries and sources from the OSWorkflow page at http://www.opensymphony.com/osworkflow/. To use the software, you must unpack the files using any...