Glossary

activated state: Task state when a task with subtasks is started automatically. A task enters this state when it is ready to do and its AutoActivate property is on. An activated task is also completed automatically.
active process: A copy of a process definition created when the process is started. An active process is also called a process instance because you can create many active processes from the same process definition.
admin pool: A special pool for InConcert users who need Administrator privilege. During process design, you need Administrator privilege to create new attributes and process classes.
API: Application Programming Interface
Application to Transaction Monitor Interface: This is the set of routines that make up the BEA TUXEDO communications library. Programs that can call the ATMI are TUXEDO clients.
asynchronous communication paradigm: A communication in which the requestor does not wait for the response but will poll for it at a later time.
ATMI: See Application to Transaction Monitor Interface.
attribute: Information about a process or task. Some attributes are built in, such as Due Date or Duration. Others are user-defined, such as a customer name or approval code. See also process attribute and task attribute.
attributes window: Activity window where you add attributes to the process and set attribute values.
AutoActivate: Attribute that determines if a task is started and completed automatically. By default, AutoActivate is on for all tasks in a process. Also, eLink won't work properly if AutoActivate is turned off.
Base Job Template: A predefined process definition consisting of the root task only. Your first process definition must be built from a copy of the Base Job Template. You can create as many additional processes from the Base Job Template as you like.
buffer type: Messages are stored in queues as described previously. These messages are stored in buffers that are of the five listed buffer types. The only buffer type allowed in eLink is FML32.
Business Process A set of one or more linked procedures or activities which collectively realize a business objective or policy goal, normally within the context of an organizational structure defining functional roles and relationships.
Business Process window: Window displayed when you confirm your login after clicking on the Edit Flow button. Contains a menu bar, tool bar, status bar and work area where other windows are displayed.
child task: A subtask of another task.
class: A category for a process definition or other InConcert object. During process design, you can create new process classes, but you can only use existing document classes. Document classes can be created only with the InConcert Batch Registry utility.
conditional workflow: A process definition where tasks are performed only under certain circumstances. See also Per-form-Condition.
contract: a contract is an agreement between a eLink and the application about the inputs and expected outputs of operations.
Contract Repository: a database that stores the contracts created in the Process Design Assistant Business Interface Window.
data type: refers to the type of data. In this book, these are the standard C data types (int, double, long, string, etc.)
design pad: Activity window where you lay out and view the process structure.
eLink Platform: A focused usage of BEA TUXEDO that supports eLink application integration. The Business Process Option requires the eLink Platform as prerequisite software.
explicit dependency: User-defined dependency between sibling tasks. In a process definition, you indicate an explicit dependency by drawing an arrow from the precedent task to the dependent task. The dependent task cannot be started until the precedent task is done.
export: to make operations or interfaces available for testing, then for forming into process flows.
Field Manipulation Language (FML): generically, an interface for maintaining buffers with field/value pairs. In TUXEDO, this refers specifically to the 16-bit version. The 32-bit version is called FML32.
flat process definition: A process definition where all tasks with subtasks start and complete automatically. The AutoActivate property is on for all tasks in the process, effectively creating a single-level task hierarchy. This is the default process model.
FML: See Field Manipulation Language (FML)
FML32: See Field Manipulation Language (FML)
hierarchy pane: The left side of the Design Pad. Displays the structure of the process as a whole, similar to the way the Windows File Manager displays the directory structure of the Windows file system. See also task pane.
implicit dependency: Built-in dependency of a task on its parent. A subtask cannot be started until its parent is started.
interface: A shared boundary between eLink and the application connected to it. It is defined by the inputs from eLink to the application and the outputs from the application to eLink.
module: a grouping of interfaces.
operation: a business calculation performed in an eLink application. It requires inputs and most times yields an expected output. In the eLink Business Process Option, the specified inputs and expected outputs are referred to as an operation.
owner pool: Pool assigned to the built-in Owner role. You become the process owner by being a member of the owner pool.
Owner role: A built-in role for the root task. Before any role assignments are made, every task in a process has the Owner role.
parent task: A task with subtasks.
PDA: See Process Design Assistant (PDA).
Per-form-Condition: A condition to be tested when a task becomes ready to do. InConcert can then decide whether to skip the task or let it be performed. A PerformCondition consists of attributes, values, and operators (+ – and, and so on).
pool: A group of InConcert users who perform the same job. Each user must belong to at least one pool; typically, users belong to several pools.
privilege: An access control mechanism for processes. There are four kinds of privilege: Manage, Update, Copy, and Read.
process attribute: Attribute that applies to the process as a whole. When you set a process attribute in one task, its value is the same in every other task. See also task attribute.
process definition: The representation of a business process in a form which supports automated manipulation, such as modeling, or enactment by a workflow management system. The process definition consists of a network of activities and their relationships, criteria to indicate the start and termination of the process, and information about the individual activities, such as participants, associated IT applications and data, etc.; A general description of a business activity, which automates the flow of tasks and other information among members of a work group who are collaborating on a project.
Process Definition Group: An administrative classification of related process definitions within a workflow management system.
Process Design Assistant (PDA): The graphical toolset for designing process definitions and their component activities. (The Process Design Assistant uses a repository that stores data about interface contracts between clients and servers.)
process instance: See active process.
process owner: Person responsible for managing the process. You must be a member of the owner pool to be the process owner.
property: Auxiliary information about an object in the database, such as a process or task. Most properties appear as view-only "attributes" in the Attributes window. Some properties are modifiable, such as role, pool, and AutoActivate.
query: A search for information in the database. There are two kinds of query: process query and document query.
repository tree: the hierarchical structure that displays the contracts and their component parts.
role: Description of the skills needed to perform a task; for example, manager, clerk, or buyer. Each task in a process has one role.
root task: The parent of all other tasks in a process. All processes have a root task.
server: eLink software that controls and coordinates all Business Process functions. Each time you start the eLink Business Process Option, you actually log in to a Business Process server with your user name and password.
sibling tasks: Subtasks with the same parent.
status bar: Bottom of the Business Process window where messages and abbreviated help text are displayed.
struct: groups of elements. The elements can be from any of the five allowable data types.
suspended process: Process in which work has been halted temporarily. No work can be performed on the tasks in a suspended process unless the work has already begun.
synchronous communication paradigm: A communication in which the requestor waits for the reply.
task: A unit of work in a process that is performed by one worker.
task attribute: Attribute that applies to a single task in a process. For example, each task can have a different value for the Due Date attribute. See also process attribute.
task pane: Right side of the Design Pad. When you select a task in the Hierarchy (left) pane, its child tasks, if any, are displayed in the Task pane. See also hierarchy pane.
task state: Status of a task. The task state determines if work can be performed on the task. A task can have one of six states: Waiting, Ready, Bypassed (or Skipped), Activated, In Process (or Acquired), or Done. See also activated state and AutoActivate.
toolbar: The buttons at the top of the Business Process window. The left side of the toolbar provides access to activities. The right side of the toolbar provides access to individual commands available in the particular activity (Process Designer, Process Manager, and so on) you are currently using.
transaction: A collection of tasks treated as a single unit of work within ATMI. The main value of transactions is that they ensure the atomicity of a set of operations that together form a business rule.
user: A person that starts, works on, and completes tasks in a process. Each user has a user name and password defined in the Business Process database.
worker: software agent or user to which tasks are assigned.