Welcome to Release 12.1 of the Oracle Workflow Developer's Guide.
This guide assumes you have a working knowledge of the following:
The principles and customary practices of your business area.
Computer desktop application usage and terminology.
The Oracle E-Business Suite graphical user interface.
To learn more about the Oracle E-Business Suite graphical user interface, read the Oracle E-Business Suite User’s Guide.
Operating system concepts.
Oracle Database, Oracle Application Server, and PL/SQL technology.
If you have never used these products, Oracle suggests you attend training classes available through Oracle University.
See Related Information Sources for more Oracle E-Business Suite product information.
To reach Oracle Support Services, use a telecommunications relay service (TRS) to call Oracle Support at 1.800.223.1711. An Oracle Support Services engineer will handle technical issues and provide customer support according to the Oracle service request process. Information about TRS is available at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/trs.html, and a list of phone numbers is available at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/trsphonebk.html.
Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible to all users, including users that are disabled. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Accessibility standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For more information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/.
Screen readers may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, some screen readers may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.
This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.
This chapter introduces you to the concept of a workflow process and to the major features of Oracle Workflow.
This chapter tells you how to use Oracle Workflow Builder to define a workflow process definition.
This chapter tells you how to use Oracle Workflow Builder to define the components necessary to compose a workflow process diagram.
This chapter tells you how to use Oracle Workflow Builder to define a workflow process diagram and how to load roles from the database so you can assign notification activities to specific roles.
This chapter tells you how to use Oracle Workflow's predefined activities.
This chapter describes the standard APIs to use for Oracle Workflow PL/SQL and Java procedures and functions.
This chapter tells you how to test your workflow definitions using the Developer Studio.
This chapter tells you how to manage business events using the Oracle Workflow Event Manager Web pages.
This chapter tells you how to use Oracle Workflow's predefined events.
This chapter describes a sample workflow process that illustrates several Oracle Workflow features.
This chapter describes how Oracle Workflow handles errors in workflow processes and event subscription processing.
This appendix lists the navigation paths to Oracle Workflow developer Web pages in the seeded Oracle Workflow responsibilities for Oracle E-Business Suite.
This appendix provides a description of the menus and toolbars in Oracle Workflow Builder.
This appendix lists embedded workflows in Oracle E-Business Suite, as well as Oracle's support policy towards the customization of embedded workflows, events, and subscriptions.
This book is included on the Oracle E-Business Suite Documentation Library, which is supplied in the Release 12.1 Media Pack. You can download soft-copy documentation as PDF files from the Oracle Technology Network at http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/. The Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1 Documentation Library contains the latest information, including any documents that have changed significantly between releases. If substantial changes to this book are necessary, a revised version will be made available on the "virtual" documentation library on My Oracle Support (formerly OracleMetaLink).
If this guide refers you to other Oracle E-Business Suite documentation, use only the latest Release 12.1 versions of those guides.
Online Documentation
All Oracle E-Business Suite documentation is available online (HTML or PDF).
Online Help - Online help patches (HTML) are available on My Oracle Support.
PDF Documentation - See the Oracle E-Business Suite Documentation Library for current PDF documentation for your product with each release. The Oracle E-Business Suite Documentation Library is also available on My Oracle Support and is updated frequently.
Release Notes - For information about changes in this release, including new features, known issues, and other details, see the release notes for the relevant product, available on My Oracle Support.
Oracle Electronic Technical Reference Manual - The Oracle Electronic Technical Reference Manual (eTRM) contains database diagrams and a detailed description of database tables, forms, reports, and programs for each Oracle E-Business Suite product. This information helps you convert data from your existing applications and integrate Oracle E-Business Suite data with non-Oracle applications, and write custom reports for Oracle E-Business Suite products. The Oracle eTRM is available on My Oracle Support.
Related Guides
You should have the following related books on hand. Depending on the requirements of your particular installation, you may also need additional manuals or guides.
Oracle Alert User's Guide
This guide explains how to define periodic and event alerts to monitor the status of your Oracle E-Business Suite data.
Oracle Application Framework Developer's Guide
This guide contains the coding standards followed by the Oracle E-Business Suite development staff to produce applications built with Oracle Application Framework. This guide is available in PDF format on My Oracle Support and as online documentation in JDeveloper 10g with Oracle Application Extension.
Oracle Application Framework Personalization Guide
This guide covers the design-time and run-time aspects of personalizing applications built with Oracle Application Framework.
Oracle Diagnostics Framework User's Guide
This manual contains information on implementing and administering diagnostics tests for Oracle E-Business Suite using the Oracle Diagnostics Framework.
Oracle E-Business Suite Concepts
This book is intended for all those planning to deploy Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12, or contemplating significant changes to a configuration. After describing the Oracle E-Business Suite architecture and technology stack, it focuses on strategic topics, giving a broad outline of the actions needed to achieve a particular goal, plus the installation and configuration choices that may be available.
Oracle E-Business Suite Developer's Guide
This guide contains the coding standards followed by the Oracle E-Business Suite development staff. It describes the Oracle Application Object Library components needed to implement the Oracle E-Business Suite user interface described in the Oracle E-Business Suite User Interface Standards for Forms-Based Products. It provides information to help you build your custom Oracle Forms Developer forms so that they integrate with Oracle E-Business Suite. In addition, this guide has information for customizations in features such as concurrent programs, flexfields, messages, and logging.
Oracle E-Business Suite Installation Guide: Using Rapid Install
This book is intended for use by anyone who is responsible for installing or upgrading Oracle E-Business Suite. It provides instructions for running Rapid Install either to carry out a fresh installation of Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12, or as part of an upgrade from Release 11i to Release 12. The book also describes the steps needed to install the technology stack components only, for the special situations where this is applicable.
Oracle E-Business Suite System Administrator's Guide Documentation Set
This documentation set provides planning and reference information for the Oracle E-Business Suite System Administrator. Oracle E-Business Suite System Administrator's Guide - Configuration contains information on system configuration steps, including defining concurrent programs and managers, enabling Oracle Applications Manager features, and setting up printers and online help. Oracle E-Business Suite System Administrator's Guide - Maintenance provides information for frequent tasks such as monitoring your system with Oracle Applications Manager, administering Oracle E-Business Suite Secure Enterprise Search, managing concurrent managers and reports, using diagnostic utilities including logging, managing profile options, and using alerts. Oracle E-Business Suite System Administrator's Guide - Security describes User Management, data security, function security, auditing, and security configurations.
Oracle E-Business Suite User's Guide
This guide explains how to navigate, enter data, query, and run reports using the user interface (UI) of Oracle E-Business Suite. This guide also includes information on setting user profiles, as well as running and reviewing concurrent requests.
Oracle E-Business Suite Integrated SOA Gateway User's Guide
This guide describes the high level service enablement process, explaining how users can browse and view the integration interface definitions and services residing in Oracle Integration Repository.
Oracle E-Business Suite Integrated SOA Gateway Implementation Guide
This guide explains how integration repository administrators can manage and administer the Web service activities for integration interfaces including native packaged integration interfaces, composite services (BPEL type), and custom integration interfaces. It also describes how to invoke Web services from Oracle E-Business Suite by employing the Oracle Workflow Business Event System, and how to manage Web service security, configure logs, and monitor SOAP messages.
Oracle E-Business Suite Integrated SOA Gateway Developer's Guide
This guide describes how system integration developers can perform end-to-end service integration activities. These include orchestrating discrete Web services into meaningful end-to-end business processes using business process execution language (BPEL), and deploying BPEL processes at run time.
This guide also explains how to invoke Web services using the Service Invocation Framework. This includes defining Web service invocation metadata, invoking Web services, and testing the Web service invocation.
Oracle Workflow Administrator's Guide
This guide explains how to complete the setup steps necessary for any product that includes workflow-enabled processes. It also describes how to manage workflow processes and business events using Oracle Applications Manager, how to monitor the progress of runtime workflow processes, and how to administer notifications sent to workflow users.
Oracle Workflow User's Guide
This guide describes how users can view and respond to workflow notifications and monitor the progress of their workflow processes.
Oracle Workflow API Reference
This guide describes the APIs provided for developers and administrators to access Oracle Workflow.
Oracle Workflow Client Installation Guide
This guide describes how to install the Oracle Workflow Builder and Oracle XML Gateway Message Designer client components for Oracle E-Business Suite.
Oracle XML Gateway User's Guide
This guide describes Oracle XML Gateway functionality and each component of the Oracle XML Gateway architecture, including Message Designer, Oracle XML Gateway Setup, Execution Engine, Message Queues, and Oracle Transport Agent. It also explains how to use Collaboration History that records all business transactions and messages exchanged with trading partners.
The integrations with Oracle Workflow Business Event System, and the Business-to-Business transactions are also addressed in this guide.
The Oracle Integration Repository is a compilation of information about the service endpoints exposed by the Oracle E-Business Suite of applications. It provides a complete catalog of Oracle E-Business Suite's business service interfaces. The tool lets users easily discover and deploy the appropriate business service interface for integration with any system, application, or business partner.
The Oracle Integration Repository is shipped as part of the E-Business Suite. As your instance is patched, the repository is automatically updated with content appropriate for the precise revisions of interfaces in your environment.
Oracle STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that you never use SQL*Plus, Oracle Data Browser, database triggers, or any other tool to modify Oracle E-Business Suite data unless otherwise instructed.
Oracle provides powerful tools you can use to create, store, change, retrieve, and maintain information in an Oracle database. But if you use Oracle tools such as SQL*Plus to modify Oracle E-Business Suite data, you risk destroying the integrity of your data and you lose the ability to audit changes to your data.
Because Oracle E-Business Suite tables are interrelated, any change you make using an Oracle E-Business Suite form can update many tables at once. But when you modify Oracle E-Business Suite data using anything other than Oracle E-Business Suite, you may change a row in one table without making corresponding changes in related tables. If your tables get out of synchronization with each other, you risk retrieving erroneous information and you risk unpredictable results throughout Oracle E-Business Suite.
When you use Oracle E-Business Suite to modify your data, Oracle E-Business Suite automatically checks that your changes are valid. Oracle E-Business Suite also keeps track of who changes information. If you enter information into database tables using database tools, you may store invalid information. You also lose the ability to track who has changed your information because SQL*Plus and other database tools do not keep a record of changes.