How would you develop a workflow application in Java?

Question

I want to develop an application that allows its users to define workflows and then executes them.

My environment is JBoss so naturally I'm considering jBPM.

I can NOT use the jBPM graphic workflow design tools since my workflows are very specific and I don't want to expose my users to all jBPM features.

Questions:

1. Is jBPM robust and scalable?
2. Is jBPM standard (i.e., used by enough people)?
3. How do I tie my own workflow GUI to the jBPM engine?
4. Is jBPM suitable for the job, should I consider a different platform or maybe do it (the workflow logic) myself?

Answer 1

Not a direct answer to your question, but I think you should also take into consideration:

• As you want your users to define workflows, are you sure you're not just referring to a finite state machine, rather than a workflow?
• Can the user change existing workflows, and if so: if the workflow is changed, do you want running processes to continue using the old definition, or do you need to be able to migrate the running processes to use the new definition?

Answer 2

How do I tie my own workflow GUI to the jBPM engine?

Readed at jBPM main page:

JBoss jBPM provides a process-oriented programming model (jPDL) that blends the best of both Java and declarative programming techniques.

jBPM jPDL API docs overview

Answer 3

1. Is jBPM robust and scalable?

   Ans: Yes, Jbpm is robust and scalable. Need to configure/develop properly..

2. Is jBPM standard (i.e., used by enough people)?

   Ans : You need to ask with jbpm forum.

3. How do I tie my own workflow GUI to the jBPM engine?

   Ans : You need to develop processConfiguration file for each workflow, and deploy
   these config file(xml file), this updates jbpm related tables and your workflow related tables.

4. Is jBPM suitable for the job, should I consider a different platform or maybe do it (the workflow logic) myself?

   Ans : Its suitable for big workflows( where the stages/Nodes and logic are more). And easy to Integrate with rule engine.