Hi Roy There's recently been a new mail list setup for folks interested in workflow and workflow-related projects...
http://lists.werken.com/mailman/listinfo/workflow-discuss so far there's a bunch of folks there from various projects and perspecitves (e.g. Craig McClanahan of Struts/commons-workflow, Patrick Lightbody of OSWorkflow, Jason van Zyl & Bob McWhirter of Werkflow and me who tinkers with Jelly in a workflow setting). The list is just started to get going. It might be interesting to share your ideas over there too; there seems a few of us doing similar Java/XML workflow stuff. James ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roy Truelove" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, July 12, 2002 10:08 PM Subject: [Mav-user] Presentation workflow framework proposal (long) > Hello everybody, > > I have a proposal for a presentation workflow that I'd like to submit as a > plug-in to Maverick. I've already started working on it so some of the > functionality is already complete, but I'd like to run it by the list to see > what functions people want / need in a presentation workflow framework. I'm > sure there are situations that I have not considered that others have run > into. Here is a rundown of what I'm starting with. > > * Functions * > > - A workflow is a set of commands (or states) that complete some "unit of > work", i.e. registering for a site, completing a purchase, etc. Workflows > can > consist of any number of nested workflows. > > - Each workflow has a scope, and attributes added to that scope are only > visible within that workflow. These are "workflow attributes". > > - Workflows can be written modularly. This means that one workflow can > "call" another workflow to get something done. The caller can pass > parameters to the callee, and the callee can return values to the caller. > When the callee is complete it simply returns to the state specified by the > caller. Calls are put on a stack to keep track of workflow attributes. > > - Workflows can have an entry point, meaning that if a user tries to enter > that workflow s/he will be redirected to the entry point. > > - Workflows can be modal - the user cannot leave the workflow until the > "unit of work" is complete. If they try to go to another page, they will be > redirected back. The user *is* allowed to jump around within that workflow. > > - For workflows that must be completed step by step, states can be numbered > within a workflow. A user will be able to go backwards in a workflow but > not jump forward. > > * How it works (basically) * > > - Workflows are specified within the maverick.xml file. > > - Each Command class must subclass WorkflowCommand (which subclasses > throwawaybean2. if you don't want to use throwawaybean2 you can create your > own WorkflowCommand class.) The WorkflowCommand class processes each > request to let the Workflow Manager know where the user is, if the user > should be bounced somewhere else, etc. > > - When a workflow wants to call another workflow, it calls a GenerateCall() > method which pushes the stack and redirects the client to the called > workflow. The called workflow returns by calling generateReturn(), which > pops the stack and redirects to the page specified. > > * Simple Example * > > A user wants to register for your website, but his company can't be found in > your pulldown menu. You write a workflow of about 3 steps that lets a user > type in a company, makes sure that the company is not in there (as an > acronym or whatever) and lets the user create a company if it's not. This > workflow returns a company_id to the registration workflow, and now that > workflow can continue. That same "add company" workflow can then be used > anywhere else in the application where a company needs to be added to your > database. > > Thanks for any input, and thanks for reading this far. :) > Roy > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > This sf.net email is sponsored by:ThinkGeek > Gadgets, caffeine, t-shirts, fun stuff. > http://thinkgeek.com/sf > _______________________________________________ > Mav-user mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/mav-user > Archives are available at http://www.mail-archive.com/ > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Everything you'll ever need on one web page from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts http://uk.my.yahoo.comm ------------------------------------------------------- This sf.net email is sponsored by:ThinkGeek Welcome to geek heaven. http://thinkgeek.com/sf _______________________________________________ Mav-user mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/mav-user Archives are available at http://www.mail-archive.com/
