Oracle BPEL,

How To Get Ready For It

OpenWorld 2007
Sunday, November 11
 Agenda

• Statement of Direction on Oracle Workflow

• What is BPEL
• Skills you need for BPEL
• Conversion from Oracle Workflow to BPEL
• Recommended Direction
• What about AME
• Additional References
 More Information

Search for the following using Google:

bpel workflow migration site:www.oracle.com

There are many articles that will be

briefly discussed here, that you can
review later.
This tip was provided by Robert Wunderlich, Oracle
 Statement of Direction on Oracle
Workflow

http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/workflow/workflow_sod.html

Some key points from the desupport notice:

• Error Correction Support (ECS) ends on 11-SEP-2007.
• The final version will be 2.6.x.
• The desupport applies to all platforms.
• Oracle Workflow Client and Oracle Workflow Server will not be included
in Oracle Database Editions 11g and above.
• Oracle Workflow will only be included in Oracle E-Business Suite
releases.
• Existing Oracle Workflow customers continue to receive error correction
support up until the same date that error correction support ends for
product bundle purchased which include Oracle Workflow. For example,
Oracle Database 10gR2 customers using Oracle Workflow will receive
error correction support for Oracle Workflow until error correction
supports ends for Oracle Database 10gR2.
 Additional Facts

• Oracle Workflow will continue to be used and supported in R12

• Use of Oracle Workflow is not planned for the Fusion product. Oracle Workflow
will be replaced in the following areas with the following technologies:
Process Navigator Flows
– Migrated to ADF Task Flows
– In Oracle AS11 a new feature, Activity Guides, is planned to target these use cases
Page Flows
– Migrated to ADF Task Flows
Simple Deferred Activities (DML activities)
– Database Events
– BPEL can also be used
XML Transaction Flows
– Transformations capabilities of E-Business Suite
– BPEL can also be used
Business Processes
– Orchestration of system services and human tasks
– BPEL can also be used
Ref 1
 What is BPEL

• BPEL or WS-BPEL
Business Process Execution Language
• BPEL is an open industry standard
http://docs.oasis-open.org/wsbpel/2.0/wsbpel-specification-draft.html

– Oracle has made supported extensions to BPEL

• Human Workflow Service Engine
• Database Interfaces
• Applications Adapter
• SOA based (Service Oriented Architecture)
 What is BPEL

• BPEL allows for the integration of Web

Services into end-to-end processes.
• These BPEL processes can themselves
be a Web Service.

• BPEL is far more powerful than

Workflow so keep an open mind as we
all move through this transition.
 BPEL Features

• Supports Async Transactions

• Flow Control
• Compensating Transactions
• Data Manipulation using XPath,
XSLT, and XQuery
Oracle’s Added BPEL Features

• Human Workflow
– Routing/Assignments
– Notifications
– Nomination, Delegation and Reassignment
– Escalations
– JSP Forms
– Work List Application
– Comments and Attachments
– Audit Trail

• Database Interfaces
BPEL Process in JDeveloper
 BPEL Process in XML

• The graphic representation you see in

JDeveloper is not BPEL. BPEL is a
standard way to build a process
description using XML.
• <Show file>
 Products Required

You can try this out now yourself on your PC

• OAS with the SOA Suite
– Runs the BPEL Processes Manager
– Database to save process state information in
– Provides Audit Trails and Process History
http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/tech/webservices/index.html
soa_windows_x86_101310_disk1.zip

• JDeveloper
– Used to design the BPEL Process
– Used to deploy the BPEL Process to an OAS Instance
– Saves the BPEL definition as an XML file
http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/jdev/htdocs/soft10132.html
jdevstudio10132.zip
 Free BPEL Introductory Courses

• These courses guide you through the installation, configuration,

and sample development exercises using the BPEL Process
Manager and the JDeveloper tools

• Contact your sales rep for additional information

• Oracle Sales is currently offering free introductory course on
Oracle BPEL

• These courses guide you through the installation, configuration,

and sample development exercises using the BPEL Process
Manager and the JDeveloper tools

• Contact your sales rep for additional information

 Skills You Need For BPEL

• JDeveloper Knowledge
• SOA Knowledge (Service Oriented
Architecture)
• Oracle Application Server Knowledge
• XML (JDeveloper is essentially creating a
structured XML Document that defines the
BPEL Process)
• Java/J2EE
• Your PL/SQL and SQL skills are still useful
 Additional BPEL Resources

• OAUG Middleware SIG

BPEL is a component of the Oracle Application Server

• Intro to BPEL
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/bpel/pdf/orabpel-BPEL101.pdf
• Oracle® BPEL Process Manager,
Developer's Guide 10g (10.1.3.1.0),
B28981-03, January 2007
http://download-east.oracle.com/docs/cd/B31017_01/integrate.1013/b28981/toc.htm
• Oracle BPEL Process Manager Site
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/bpel/index.html

• More at the end of this presentation

Converting from Oracle Workflow to
BPEL

• This information is still fairly immature.

It was collected from many Oracle ML
Notes and some white papers.

• It is meant to provide you with a rough

outline of what we as users might
expect.
Converting from Oracle Workflow to
BPEL

Metalink Note: 394387.1

How To Migrate Workflow Processes To Oracle
BPEL Process Manager
• There will be no automated migration of
business process from WF to BPEL, as these
are two very different technologies.
• Standard workflow processes defined in EBS
will be migrated as part of the upgrade
process.
Converting from Oracle Workflow to
BPEL

• WF processes will have to be migrated

manually by orchestrating business services
available. Underlying PLSQL code can be
reused in some cases to implement a
business service.
Converting from Oracle Workflow to
BPEL

• There will be guidelines on how to migrate

customizations on top of workflow standard
processes and custom defined workflow
processes from WF to BPEL. These
guidelines are not ready yet to customers.

• The best document so far is reference 1 at

the end of the presentation.
 Recommended Direction

Two categories for this decision:

• Existing Oracle E-Business Suite Workflows

• Standalone Oracle Workflow Processes

 Existing Oracle E-Business Suite
Workflows

• Continue to develop Workflow customizations as required

– Oracle Workflow will be around for many of us, for years to come
– We don’t know exactly how BPEL will be used at the functional level yet
• Design customizations keeping in mind BPEL
– Separate API calls from functional processing
– Functional Processing should be usable with BPEL
– Keep API calls in one section of code so you just have to call a new API
wrapper
– Know what functionality will be in BPEL and what will be in other Tech Stack
products
• Document customization
– Why is this customization required? Exact gap being filled.
– Document code design so it is obvious where API calls are and exactly what
they are doing
– Document Notification requirements
 Standalone Oracle Workflow
Processes

• Provided that the Workflow Process does not use Oracle E-

Business Suite functionality consider development in BPEL.
– Workflows built using Oracle E-Business Suite functions (Account
Generators, E-Business Suite Processes, etc.) probably should
remain in Workflow
– Keep in mind the requirement to have a recent OAS instance
running to support Oracle SOA Suite
– Contact your sales representative to ensure you are in license
compliance
 What About . . . . .

• How will the Account Generator

functionality be handled?
• Will the Workflow Mailer be replaced?
• What about the Business Events
functionality?
• Will AME be replaced?
 References

• Migrating to BPEL from Oracle Work Flow

January 2007, Manoj Das
• How To Migrate Workflow Processes To Oracle BPEL
Process Manager
Metalink Note:394387.1
• BPEL Service Orchestration Hands-On Workshop
Guide to Labs, Oracle Sales Class
• Oracle Application Server with Oracle E-Business Suite
Release 12 FAQ
Metalink Note:415007.1