This chapter introduces some state-of-the-art technologies like Event Stream Processing (ESP) and Complex Event Processing (CEP) and their applications in BPMs. We will look at an OSWorkflow function provider that interfaces with the Esper CEP engine and allows monitoring of real-time process information and events. This chapter assumes basic knowledge of SQL and the relational data model concepts.
CEP is a relatively new technology to process events and discover complex patterns inside streams of events. CEP engines are also known as Event Stream Processing (ESP) engines. Events can be anything that happens outside or inside your application. These events contain data about the business situations that occurred and information about the data (also known as metadata). A sequence of events from the same source is called an event stream.
By processing the event streams with business-defined patterns, you can detect and react...