Using the Workflow XML Loader
The Workflow XML Loader lets you upload and download XML definitions for Business Event System objects between a database and a flat file. When you download Business Event System object definitions from a database, Oracle Workflow saves the definitions as an XML file. When you upload object definitions to a database, Oracle Workflow loads the definitions from the source XML file into the Business Event System tables in the database, creating new definitions or updating existing definitions as necessary.
The XML definitions for Business Event System objects are structured according to the following document type definitions (DTDs):
You can download Business Event System object definitions in either normal download mode or exact download mode.
- Normal download mode lets you save a generic copy of object definitions from one system that you can use to create similar definitions in other systems. In this mode, the Workflow XML Loader replaces certain system-specific data within the object definitions with tokens. Choose normal download mode, for example, when you want to save Business Event System object definitions from a development system as seed data that can be uploaded to a production system.
- Exact download mode lets you save object definitions exactly as they are specified in the database. In this mode, the Workflow XML Loader does not convert any data to tokens; instead, all values, including system-specific values, are copied to the XML file. Choose exact download mode, for example, when you want to save Business Event System object definitions from one production system so that you can replicate them to another production system that communicates with the first.
In normal download mode, the Workflow XML Loader uses the following tokens to replace system-specific data within Business Event System object definitions. The tokens are prefixed by #.
- #NEW--Replaces the global unique identifier for an agent within an agent definition, or for an event subscription within a subscription definition.
- #LOCAL--Replaces the global unique identifier for the local system wherever it appears within an agent or subscription definition.
- #OWNER--Replaces the name of the schema that owns a queue when the schema appears as part of the queue name and agent address within an agent definition.
- #SID--Replaces the database system identifier (SID) when it appears as part of the agent address within an agent definition.
- #WF_IN--Replaces the global unique identifier for the WF_IN agent on the local system when it appears as the Source Agent, Out Agent, or To Agent within an event subscription definition.
- #WF_OUT--Replaces the global unique identifier for the WF_OUT agent on the local system when it appears as the Source Agent, Out Agent, or To Agent within an event subscription definition.
- #WF_ERROR--Replaces the global unique identifier for the WF_ERROR agent on the local system when it appears as the Source Agent, Out Agent, or To Agent within an event subscription definition.
By converting these system-specific values to tokens, the loader produces template definitions that you can use to create similar objects in other systems. When you upload object definitions that contain tokens to a database, Oracle Workflow replaces the tokens with the appropriate values for that system.
See Also
Managing Business Events
To Download Business Event System XML Definitions from a Database
To download Business Event System object definitions from a database to a flat XML file, you can either run the Workflow XML Loader manually, or, if you are using the standalone version of Oracle Workflow, you can use a script to run the loader.
To run the Workflow XML Loader manually, run JRE against oracle.apps.fnd.wf.WFXLoad. You must specify your CLASSPATH pointing to the Java Runtime Environment, the directory containing the Workflow JAR files, the Oracle JDBC implementation, and the following Workflow JAR files:
- wfjava.jar--Workflow Java utilities
- wfapi.jar--Workflow Java APIs
Note: If you are using the standalone version of Oracle Workflow with Oracle9i, the Workflow JAR files are located in the <ORACLE_HOME>/jlib directory. If you are using the version of Oracle Workflow embedded in Oracle Applications, the Workflow JAR files are located in the <ORACLE_HOME>/wf/java/oracle/apps/fnd/wf/jar/ directory.
For example, on UNIX, use the following command to run the Workflow XML Loader:
jre -classpath "$<JREPATH>/rt.jar:$<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>:
$<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>/wfjava.jar:
$<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>/wfapi.jar:
$<ORACLE_HOME>/jdbc/lib/classes111.zip:"
oracle.apps.fnd.wf.WFXLoad -d[e] <user> <password> <connect_string> <protocol> <lang> <output_file> <object> <key>
On Windows NT, use the following command:
jre -classpath ";<JREPATH>\rt.jar;<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>;
<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>\wfjava.jar;
<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>\wfapi.jar;
<ORACLE_HOME>\jdbc\lib\classes111.zip;"
oracle.apps.fnd.wf.WFXLoad -d[e] <user> <password> <connect_string> <protocol> <lang> <output_file> <object> <key>
If you are using the standalone version of Oracle Workflow, you can use sample scripts called wfxload for UNIX or wfxload.bat for Windows NT to run the Workflow XML Loader. These scripts are located on your server in the Oracle Workflow admin subdirectory. For example, on UNIX, use the following command:
wfxload -d[e] <user> <password> <connect_string> <protocol> <lang> <output_file> <object> <key>
On Windows NT, use the following command:
wfxload.bat -d[e] <user> <password>
<connect_string> <protocol> <lang> <output_file> <object> <key>
When running the Workflow XML Loader, use either the -d option or the -de option to specify the download mode that you want.
- -d --Normal download mode. The loader converts system-specific data within the object definitions to tokens prefixed with #, where appropriate.
- -de --Exact download mode. The loader copies the object definitions exactly and does not convert any data to tokens.
Additionally, replace the variables in the download command with your parameters as follows:
- <user>--The user name of your database account.
- <password>--The password for your database account.
- <connect_string>--The connect string for the database. The format of the connect string depends on the JDBC driver type.
- For a JDBC OCI8 driver, the connect string should be the database name as specified in its TNSNAMES entry, in the following format: <database_name>
- For a JDBC THIN driver, you can use two different types of connect string. For the first type, the connect string should include the host name, port number, and database system identifier (SID) in the following format: <host_name>:<port_number>:<database_SID>
For the second type, the connect string should include an Oracle Net name-value pair with the host name, protocol, port number, and SID in the following format: (description=(address=(host=<host_name>)(protocol= <protocol>)(port=<port_number>))(connect_data=(sid= <database_SID>)))
- <protocol>--The JDBC driver type you want to use to connect to the database. The JDBC driver type can be either oci8 or thin.
- <lang>--The abbreviation for the language of the XML file. This parameter is case insensitive. Use the standard language abbreviations for the Oracle database server, such as US for American or JA for Japanese. For a list of the standard language abbreviations, see: Locale Data, Oracle National Language Support Guide.
- <output_file>--The name and full path of the output file to which you want to save the definitions.
- <object>--The type of object definitions you want to download.
- EVENT--Event, event group member, and event subscription definitions
- SYSTEMS--System definitions
- AGENTS--Agent definitions
- ALL--All Business Event System object definitions, including events, event group members, systems, agents, and event subscriptions
Note: The Workflow XML Loader only downloads system, agent, and event subscription definitions that belong to the local system.
- <key>--An optional key to restrict the definitions that are downloaded. If you specify a key, the loader retrieves definitions only for those objects whose internal names include that key. The key value is case sensitive and cannot contain any spaces. To retrieve all object definitions of the specified type, you can omit this parameter.
Note: If you specify ALL for the object type, the Workflow XML Loader ignores the key and downloads all Business Event System object definitions from the system.
Attention: To use the Workflow XML Loader in download mode, you must have a version 8.1.7 or higher database. The download utility is not supported for earlier versions of Oracle8i. To replicate Business Event System objects from one system to another for earlier database versions, you should follow the steps to synchronize systems using predefined subscriptions provided with the Business Event System. See: Synchronizing Systems.
You can, however, use the Workflow XML Loader in upload mode with versions of Oracle8i earlier than 8.1.7.
To Upload Business Event System XML Definitions to a Database
To upload Business Event System object definitions from an XML file to a database, you can either run the Workflow XML Loader manually, or, if you are using the standalone version of Oracle Workflow, you can use a script to run the loader.
To run the Workflow XML Loader manually, run JRE against oracle.apps.fnd.wf.WFXLoad. You must specify your CLASSPATH pointing to the Java Runtime Environment, the directory containing the Workflow JAR files, the Oracle JDBC implementation, and the following Workflow JAR files:
- wfjava.jar--Workflow Java utilities
- wfapi.jar--Workflow Java APIs
Note: If you are using the standalone version of Oracle Workflow with Oracle9i, the Workflow JAR files are located in the <ORACLE_HOME>/jlib directory. If you are using the version of Oracle Workflow embedded in Oracle Applications, the Workflow JAR files are located in the <ORACLE_HOME>/wf/java/oracle/apps/fnd/wf/jar/ directory.
For example, on UNIX, use the following command to run the Workflow XML Loader:
jre -classpath "$<JREPATH>/rt.jar:$<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>:
$<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>/wfjava.jar:
$<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>/wfapi.jar:
$<ORACLE_HOME>/jdbc/lib/classes111.zip:"
oracle.apps.fnd.wf.WFXLoad -u <user> <password> <connect_string> <protocol> <lang> <source_file>
On Windows NT, use the following command:
jre -classpath ";<JREPATH>\rt.jar;<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>;
<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>\wfjava.jar;
<Workflow_JAR_file_directory>\wfapi.jar;
<ORACLE_HOME>\jdbc\lib\classes111.zip;"
oracle.apps.fnd.wf.WFXLoad -u <user> <password> <connect_string> <protocol> <lang> <source_file>
If you are using the standalone version of Oracle Workflow, you can use sample scripts called wfxload for UNIX or wfxload.bat for Windows NT to run the Workflow XML Loader. These scripts are located on your server in the Oracle Workflow admin subdirectory. For example, on UNIX, use the following command:
wfxload -u <user> <password> <connect_string> <protocol> <lang> <source_file>
On Windows NT, use the following command:
wfxload.bat -u <user> <password> <connect_string> <protocol> <lang> <source_file>
When running the Workflow XML Loader, use the -u option to specify that you want to run the loader in upload mode. Additionally, replace the variables with your parameters as follows:
- <user>--The user name of your database account.
- <password>--The password for your database account.
- <connect_string>--The connect string for the database. The format of the connect string depends on the JDBC driver type.
- For a JDBC OCI8 driver, the connect string should be the database name as specified in its TNSNAMES entry, in the following format: <database_name>
- For a JDBC THIN driver, the connect string should include the host name, port number, and database system identifier (SID) in the following format: <host_name>:<port_number>:<database_SID>
- <protocol>--The JDBC driver type you want to use to connect to the database. The JDBC driver type can be either oci8 or thin.
- <lang>--The abbreviation for the language of the XML file. This parameter is case insensitive. Use the standard language abbreviations for the Oracle database server, such as US for American or JA for Japanese. For a list of the standard language abbreviations, see: Locale Data, Oracle National Language Support Guide.
- <source_file>--The name and full path of the source file from which you want to upload definitions.
