BPEL Development with ActiveBPEL

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BPEL Development with ActiveBPEL

• Brendan Tansey

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What is BPEL?

• Business Process Execution Language for Web
  Services (BPEL4WS)
• Web service orchestration language
• Simple arithmetic and logical operators
• Lecture on Oct 26th!

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BPEL Development

• Requires
• BPEL Engine
• BPEL Developer (or text editor, for the
  masochistic)
• BPEL Engine
• Executes BPEL processes
• IBM BPWS4J
• ActiveBPEL Engine
• Installation notes on Wiki

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BPEL Developer

• Oracle BPEL Designer
• Oracle BPEL Process Manager (OC4J, JBOSS, BEA
  WebLogic)
• Eclipse BPEL Project
• Parasoft BPEL Maestro
• Intalio Designer
• Many others

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ActiveBPEL Designer

• Construct graphical workflows
• Assist with WSDL creation
• Simulate workflow execution
• Prepare service for deployment
• Deploy service to ActiveBPEL server
• Eclipse-based
• Makes your life easier

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ActiveBPEL Designer Cons

• Windows-only
• Windows lab in CSC 1-67
• Go to CSC 1-43 to get an account
• Install onto network drive
• Make workspace on network drive
• Quirky
• Hence, presentation

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ActiveBPEL Designer Demo

• Create a simple web service that adds 4 input
  numbers
• Uses an existing web service
• Takes 4 numbers as input a,b,c,d
• Returns two sums as output ab, cd
• Create client for service

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Live Demo! (with slides)
Using an external web service to add four numbers
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Create project/BPEL
Add external web references
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Create sequence

• Drag Sequence from palette
• In sequence, insert Operation Wizard
• Follow wizard instructions, creating a new WSDL
  file in your current project
• Refresh project so new WSDL is visible

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Create service instance

• Force first element of sequence to create a new
  instance

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Using external services

• Add WSDLs as imports

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Using external services

• Create input and output variables for services

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Create assignment activity

• Assign our services input to input for other
  service

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Invoke web service

• Create invoke activity with Operation Wizard
• Select local copy of remote WSDL (cant use
  remote copy buggy)
• Choose port type and operation
• Create new PLT
• Add to existing WSDL (buggy)

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Assign service output

• Use built-in arithmetic operator

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Simulating execution
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Providing sample input
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Error!

• Need to initialize complex types before using
• Initialize with literals.

ltin0 xmlns"" xmlnsdef"http//siffleur.cs.ualber
ta.ca9999/axis/services/AddFunction1Service"
xmlnsxsi"http//www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instan
ce" xsitype"defComplex"gt lti
xmlnstns"Sum4WSDL" xmlnsxsd"http//www.w3.org/
2001/XMLSchema" xmlnsxsi"http//www.w3.org/2001/
XMLSchema-instance" xsitype"xsddouble"gt0.0lt/igt
ltr xmlnstns"Sum4WSDL" xmlnsxsd"http//www
.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlnsxsi"http//www.w3.o
rg/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsitype"xsddouble"gt
0.0lt/rgt lt/in0gt

• Red Invoked services namespace
• Green Your services namespace
• Yellow Variable type element types
• Magenta Variable structure

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Creating complex responses
lt?xml version"1.0" encoding"UTF-8"?gt ltns1addCom
plexReturn xmlnsns1"urnBeanService"gt ltigt4.2lt/i
gt ltrgt5.7lt/rgt lt/ns1addComplexReturngt
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Successful simulation
Can now examine output variable
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Deploying your service

• The ActiveBPEL Engine requires that all services
  are packaged into .bpr files.
• These packages need deployment descriptors and
  manifests
• These files need to be placed in the Tomcat/bpr
  directory
• Or, deployed through ActiveBPEL Designer (easiest)

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Creating a Deployment Descriptor
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Finish deployment
Change Deployment URL to Match ActiveBPEL Engine
installation
Binding must be set to RPC Encoded
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Creating a client

• See sample code on Wiki
• String endpoint URL of service
• URL can be found in Axis servlet
• call.setOperationName(new QName(,ltprocessNamegt
  )
• ltprocessNamegt from BPEL Admin Console

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Engine admin client

• http//siffleur.cs.ualberta.ca9999/active-bpel/
• Can conflict with other Tomcat applications.
  Errors in the admin client are likely caused by
  this.
• Can view process graph for deployed services
  online

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Tips

• If working from home, authenticate to
  access.cs.ualberta.ca to access non-standard
  remote ports.
• When creating an invoke activity, copy remote
  WSDL to local project in order to use it. Local
  copy also needs to be added to web references.

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More tips

• Invoke creation wizard is buggy. If you cant
  select your WSDL, click Create new then back
  to Use existing .
• Remember the when creating static endpoints.
• There is more than one way to accomplish most
  things in ActiveBPEL.

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Yet more tips

• If an import isnt being read correctly, remove
  it and re-add it.
• If properties give errors when they should work,
  check imports, then re-select each value

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References

• ActiveBPEL documentation http//www.activebpel.or
  g/docs/index.html
• BPEL v1.1 Specifications http//www-128.ibm.com/d
  eveloperworks/library/specification/ws-bpel/
• More on BPEL next Tuesday in class