Using Workflows with cXML

 

WebLogic Collaborate allows you to use WebLogic Process Integrator workflows to exchange normal business messages. While there is no cXML plug-in for WebLogic Process Integrator, you can nonetheless integrate cXML business documents through the use of business operations.

The following sections describe how to exchange cXML business messages in WebLogic Collaborate, using WebLogic Process Integrator workflows and the cXML API-driven interface:

• Including cXML in Workflows

• Designing Workflows for Exchanging Business Messages

• Working with Business Messages

For more information about developing workflows using WebLogic Process Integrator, see Creating Workflows for BEA WebLogic Collaborate.

 

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Including cXML in Workflows

Workflows intended to use cXML must make use of an externally-created business operation class to encapsulate the cXML API used by WebLogic Collaborate.

The result of this development process is a workflow that, when executed, allows the methods defined in the wrapper class to be invoked. These methods perform the defined cXML business operation.

Workflow Integration Tasks

Using cXML with WebLogic Process Integrator workflows requires a specific combination of administrative, design, and programming tasks.

Programming Task

Externally created business operation classes use the cXML API to perform a specific business operation. For example, you might create a class that implements the PunchoutSetupRequest functionality for a workflow. For more information, see the cXML User's Guide at:

http://www.cxml.org

If you plan to pass parameters using the workflow, you must create a class that can accept such parameters. You can then pass parameters into the class using workflow variables. These parameters can then be used to set up your cXML output.

To configure the class, its methods, and any parameters that you have defined, open the WebLogic Process Integrator Studio and choose Business Operations from the Configure menu. For more information, see Using the BEA WebLogic Process Integrator Studio.

Within WebLogic Process Integrator, you can then invoke the business operation used to invoke the cXML process operation as a workflow action. When you add an action, select Perform Business Operations from the Integration Actions folder of the Add Actions dialog box. This option allows you to map workflow variables to the method parameters used by the cXML wrapper class. For more information, see Using the BEA WebLogic Process Integrator Studio.

Administrative Tasks

Before you start using cXML with WebLogic Process Integrator workflows, you must complete the following administrative tasks. These tasks are in addition to those that you normally perform while using WebLogic Process Integrator to generate workflows for use with WebLogic Collaborate:

• Using the WebLogic Collaborate Administration Console, create and configure the entities that will be involved in your cXML transactions in the WebLogic Collaborate repository, including trading partners, collaboration agreements, and so on. For more information, see Administering BEA WebLogic Collaborate.

• After you have created a Business Operation class, create a Business Operation within WebLogic Process Integrator to make use of the Business Operation class. For more information on creating a Business Operation class, see Using the cXML API.

Design Task

In addition to the design work required to create a WebLogic Process Integrator workflow for use with WebLogic Collaborate, you must do some extra design work if you want to use cXML in your workflow. Specifically, you must design your workflow to use a Business Operation to execute all cXML functionality. For each cXML function you need to execute, you must create a separate Business Operation.

 

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Designing Workflows for Exchanging Business Messages

To use workflows to exchange business messages in WebLogic Collaborate, design workflow template definitions by using the WebLogic Process Integrator Studio. For information about creating WebLogic Collaborate workflows, see Using the BEA WebLogic Process Integrator Studio and Creating Workflows for BEA WebLogic Collaborate.

As discussed previously, use of cXML in WebLogic Process Integrator workflows requires the creation of business operation classes to implement the cXML API. In the previous section, we discussed the creation of these business operation classes. In this section, we will discuss the use of business operation classes to manipulate cXML messages within WLPI.

 

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Working with Business Messages

You use WebLogic Process Integrator in conjunction with WebLogic Collaborate to enable trading partners to exchange business messages. cXML is one method by which this task may be performed.

The following sections describe how to work with cXML business messages exchanged using workflows:

• About cXML Business Messages

• Prerequisite Tasks for Exchanging Business Messages

About cXML Business Messages

A cXML business message is the basic unit of communication exchanged between trading partners in a conversation. A cXML business message is a multi part MIME message that consists of:

• A business document, which represents the XML-based payload part of a business message. The payload is the business content of a business message.

• An attachment, which represents the non XML payload part of the business message. Attachments are optional entities within the cXML1.2 standard, and are not available with cXML 1.1. implementations.

As with other forms of business messages, you can access the contents programmatically, as described in Creating Workflows for BEA WebLogic Collaborate. Unlike with XOCP and RosettaNet business messages, however, the WebLogic Collaborate implementation of cXML does not allow you to use any other method to access the contents of a business message when using cXML.

Prerequisite Tasks for Exchanging Business Messages

Before you can send and receive business messages, you must define the following actions in the workflow template using the WebLogic Process Integrator Studio:

• To define the sending of a business message, define a Manipulate Business Message action to construct the business message and a Send Business Message action to send the message.

• To define the reception of a business message, define a Manipulate Business Message action to process an incoming business message.

For more information, see Creating Workflows for BEA WebLogic Collaborate.