Package de.danet.an.workflow.omgcore

This package defines the core domain of a workflow management system.

See:
Description

Interface Summary

ProcessData	ProcessData represents context and result data of a WfExecutionObject.
ProcessDataInfo	ProcessDataInfo describes the structure of the process data associated with a WfExecutionObject.
WfActivity	WfActivity is a step in a process that is associated, as part of an aggregation, with a single WfProcess.
WfAssignment	A WfAssignment links WfActivity objects to WfResource objects.
WfAssignmentAuditEvent	A WfAssignmentAuditEvent provides an audit record of assignment change information for either the status of an assignment change for a WfActivity or when an exisiting assignment is reassigned to another resource.
WfAuditEvent	A WfAuditEvent provides an audit record of workflow event information.
WfAuditHandler	The listener interface for receiving an event from a process.
WfCreateProcessAuditEvent	A WfCreateProcessAuditEvent provides an audit record with information related to the creation of a process.
WfDataAuditEvent	A WfDataAuditEvent provides an audit record of either context changes of a WfExecutionObject or result changes of a WfActivity.
WfExecutionObject	WfExecutionObject is an abstract base interface that defines common attributes, states, and operations for WfProcess and WfActivity.
WfObject	A tagging interface that all omgcore interfaces must extend.
WfProcess	WfProcess is the performer of a workflow request.
WfProcessMgr	A WfProcessMgr represents a template for a specific workflow process; it is used to create instances of a workflow process.
WfRequester	WfRequester is the interface that has a direct concern with the execution and results of a workflow process.
WfResource	WfResource is an abstraction that represents a person or thing that will potentially accept an assignment to an activity.
WfStateAuditEvent	A WfStateAuditEvent provides an audit record of information for a WfExecutionObject's state change.

Class Summary

WfExecutionObject.ClosedState	This class defines the sub-states of State.CLOSED of a WfExecutionObject as returned by howClosedState().
WfExecutionObject.NotRunningState	This class defines the sub-states of OpenState.NOT_RUNNING of a WfExecutionObject as returned by whyNotRunningState().
WfExecutionObject.OpenState	This class defines the sub-states of State.OPEN of a WfExecutionObject as returned by whileOpenState().
WfExecutionObject.State	This class defines the top-hierachy possible states of a WfExecutionObject as returned by workflowState().

Exception Summary

AlreadyRunningException	This exception is raised by an attempt to start a WfProcess that is already running.
AlreadySuspendedException	This exception is raised by an attempt to suspend a WfExecutionObject that is already suspended.
CannotChangeRequesterException	This exception is raised when a change of a WfRequester is requested, but cannot be fulfilled.
CannotCompleteException	This exception is raised by an attempt to complete execution of a WfExecutionObject when it cannot be completed yet.
CannotResumeException	This exception is raised by an operation on a WfExecutionObject that attempts to resume an object that is not in a proper condition.
CannotStartException	This exception is raised by an attempt to start a WfProcess that cannot be started yet.
CannotStopException	This exception is raised by an operation on a WfExecutionObject that attempts to stop an object that is not in a proper condition.
CannotSuspendException	This exception is raised by an operation on a WfExecutionObject that attempts to suspend an object that is not in the proper condidition.
HistoryNotAvailableException	This exception is raised by a request for event audit history of a WfExecutionObject when the history is not available.
InvalidControlOperationException	This exception is raised by an operation on a WfExecutionObject that attempts to perform an invalid control operation on that object.
InvalidDataException	This exception is raised by an attempt to update the context of the result of a WfExecutionObject with data that does not match the signature of that object.
InvalidPerformerException	This exception is raised by an attempt to signal a WfAuditEvent to a WfRequester that was not created by one of the WfProcesses associated with the WfRequester.
InvalidPriorityException	This exception is raised by an attempt to assign an invalid priority to a WfExecutionObject.
InvalidRequesterException	This exception is raised when a WfRequester is being identified that cannot be a "parent" of instances of the process modell.
InvalidResourceException	This exception is raised by an attempt to assign or remove an invalid resource.
InvalidStateException	This exception is raised by an attempt to change the state of a WfExecutionObject to a state that is not defined for that object.
NotAssignedException	This exception is raised by an attempt to release a WfResource from an assignment it is not associated with.
NotEnabledException	This exception is raised by an attempt to create a WfProcess using a WfProcessMgr that is disabled.
NotRunningException	This exception is raised by an operation on a WfExecutionObject that attempts to perform a control operation on an object that needs to be in a running state, but is not.
NotSuspendedException	This exception is raised by an operation on a WfExecutionObject that attempts to perform a control operation on an object that needs to be in a suspended state, but is not.
RequesterRequiredException	This exception is raised when a valid WfRequester is required by the process definition, but one is not supplied.
ResultNotAvailableException	This exception is raised when the requested result of a WfExecutionObject is not available (yet).
SourceNotAvailableException	This exception is raised by the request for the source of a WfAuditEvent when the source is no longer available.
TransitionNotAllowedException	This exception is raised by an attempt to perform an invalid state transistion of a WfExecutionObject.
UpdateNotAllowedException	This exception is raised when it is not allowed to update the process context.

Package de.danet.an.workflow.omgcore Description

This package defines the core domain of a workflow management system. It is an adaption of the OMG "Workflow Management Facility Sepcification, V1.2". We consider the interfaces and classes in this package (together with the interfaces and classes in the extended API) to be useable as a general Java workflow API, i.e. if there was a JSR for a Java workflow API, we think the merger of these two packages would be a good starting point.

We have tried to follow the original specification as close as possible. However, some conventions used by OMG do not fit in the Java environment and changes have been made accordingly.

The main differences are:

• OMG separates words in identifiers using underscores. In the Java environment, words are delimited by using a capital letter.
• The pattern for relationships has been replaced by a single access method RELNAMEs that returns a collection (the plural "s" has been omitted from the relation history of interface WfExecutionObject for gramatical reasons).
• The OMG model introduces a class WfEventAudit. While the collection of WfEventAudits may be considered the result of an audit, we think that individual items are rather WfAuditEvents. This conforms better to the Java naming scheme where event classes end with "...Event" and the corresponding listener interfaces with "...Listener".
• We have appended "...Exception" to the names of the exceptions, as is usual in Java. Additionally, we have put the exceptions in a separate sub-package to avoid naming conflicts when all omgcore classes are imported with a wildcard import.
• There are no enumeration types in Java. While, in general, elements of enumeration types can simply be mapped to constant definitions, we have not followed this approach in all cases.
  • In the Java environment, the states and substates of an execution object can conveniently be modelled as a class hierarchy. This provides type safe usage and allows to define some convenient methods for handling state.

We have, however not changed the following:

• The access method for attributes have not been renamed getAttribute(). The getX()/setX(...) pattern has been introduced by JavaBeans for the configuration of component properties, not as a general mechanism to access attributes. The properties used in the OMG model are dynamic data properties, not configuration options. Therefore, there is no reason why they should follow the getX()/setX(...) pattern

The documentation of classes and methods in this package consists mostly of an abbreviated version of the description provided by OMG's "Workflow Management Facility Specification, V1.2". Unless otherwise stated, the description from the specification applies fully, i.e. you can use the specification to obtain a detailed understanding of the functionallity provided.

The following picture shows the complete model.

Since:

V1.0