Worklist Manager Components

In addition to the service engine itself, which handles runtime processing, the WLM SE also includes the following components:

• Worklist Manager Database

• Task Definition Wizard

• Task Definition Editor

• About the Worklist Manager Console

Worklist Manager Database

The Worklist Manager database stores information about each human task generated by a BPEL process or other workflow. All tasks generated from the same instance of the WLM SE are stored in the same database. The database tracks the status of each task, the users and groups assigned to a task, its priority, due dates, input and output data, and so on. The database also persists the status of each task so incomplete tasks are recovered in the event of system failure, and users can continue to process each task.

The WLM SE supports Oracle, MySQL, and Java DB (Derby) databases. For development and testing purposes, the connection pool and JDBC resource for a Java DB database are automatically created when you install the WLM SE, and the Java DB database is automatically generated the first time you start the WLM SE.

The database maintains a complete history of tasks completed, which can grow to be a very large number of records. You should periodically archive older completed tasks to prevent the tables from growing too large.

Task Definition Wizard

The Task Definition Wizard takes you through the basic steps of creating a task definition file, and uses the task-related information you enter to define the Worklist Manager task. This allows you to quickly create a framework for the task definition without any coding. Once you create the task definition, you can configure the task using the Task Definition Editor. The wizard automatically defines the title for a new task, using the name you specify in the wizard, and assigns a priority of 5 to the task.

Task Definition Editor

Once a task definition file is created by the wizard, you can use the Task Definition Editor to further customize and configure the task. From the Task Definition Editor, you can assign users and groups to a task and define escalations, notifications, timeout periods, and trigger actions. The editor provides graphical tools so you can easily edit task definitions. You can also edit the file's source code directly.

You can edit the task definition in any of the following editing windows called views, which are accessible from the Task Definition Editor toolbar:

• Source View: The Source tab displays the underlying code for the task definition. You can use the Source view to write the entire task definition, make refinements to an existing definition, or to review the underlying code created by the Task Definition Editor.

• Design View: The Design tab displays a task definition in graphical view on a series of tabbed pages that each display specific information about the task. The tabbed pages allow you to graphically assign tasks and define escalations, notifications, deadlines and durations, and variable updates.

• Mapper View: The Mapper tab provides a framework to define values for input and output variables. Currently the Mapper can only be used from the Actions tab. The Mapper provides a variety of XPath functions that you can use to manipulate the input and output data.

When a task definition is open in the editor, the Navigator window appears in the lower left side of NetBeans. This window provides a logical view of the task definition. When you select a field in the Design view, the corresponding element is highlighted in the Navigator. If you double-click an element in the Navigator, the corresponding field is shown in the Design view. You can also right-click elements in the Navigator and select to either go to that element in the source or go to that element in the design. The Imports section of the Navigator list any XSD or WSDL files that are referenced from the task definition.

About the Worklist Manager Console

The Worklist Manager Console is a web-based tool to manage the human tasks that are generated from workflow processes. The console accesses the Worklist Manager tasks from the Worklist Manager database to display information about each task. Assigned users can access the console to view, claim, update, complete, and reassign tasks.

An installation of the WLM SE includes a default Worklist Manager Console that is already deployed and available from the GlassFish server. You can use this console for testing and development purposes. A similar Worklist Manager Console is also provided as sample projects in NetBeans. The sample projects include a web application and its corresponding composite application. You can download and modify these projects to create a custom Worklist Manager Console based on the default console. You can also create your own custom console using the client API provided by the Worklist Module project.