Introduction to BPEL

Lesson Objectives

 After completing this lesson, you should be

able to do the following:
 Build a synchronous BPEL process
 Deploy the BPEL process to the BPEL Server
 Initiate the process
 Manage and administer the process
Introduction to BPEL
 BPEL:
 Is a technology to create a program that can invoke web
services but presents a very intuitive flow-chart type
representation that can be easily understood and modified
 More technically, it is a markup language for composing

a set of discrete services into an end-to-end process

flow
 BPEL Process is a web service, hence has a WSDL
document that describes its operation
 invokes operations described in interfaces in the WSDL of
other services.
Orchestration Requirements
 Process orchestration coordinates services in a process from a single
run-time environment
 Orchestration should enable us to create:
 Business processes from services and human activities
 Integration flows to integrate various applications

 Orchestration requirements include:

 Execution sequencing including serial, parallel, or other kinds of control flow
dependency patterns
 Exception handling including transactions and compensations
 Data flow and manipulation
 Event handling including timers and other out-of-band events

 Why am I telling you about Orchestration!

 BPEL is a standard for business process orchestration
BPEL Process Manager

 Oracle BPEL Process Manager is implementation of the BPEL standard.

 The Oracle BPEL Process Manager consists of the three components.
Each component enables you to perform a specific set of tasks:
 The design environment (Oracle JDeveloper) enables you to design and
deploy BPEL processes.
 The BPEL Server is where the process is ‘deployed’
 BPEL Control can be used to run and monitor the BPEL process
Describing Oracle BPEL Process
Designer

Editor

Component Palette
Application Navigator

Property Inspector

Log Window
The Hello Process
Creating the Hello Process
 Create connection to the application server
and to the BPEL and ESB Server
Create the workspace and add project

 Create a new workspace and a new BPEL

synchronous project template
Create a skeleton synchronous
process

By selecting
Synchronous BPEL
Process, a skeleton is
created along with all of
the necessary source
files are created.
Anatomy of a BPEL Project
Workspace

Project file

Schema file

BPEL deployment descriptor:

Contains metadata regarding
the Hello process

BPEL source file:

Definition of this BPEL process

WSDL interface of this process:

A client uses this interface to
initiate the Hello BPEL process
Adding an Activity to the Process Flow

Example: Assigning text to an output message.

Drag an Assign activity

and drop it between the
receiveInput and
replyOutput activities
Creating a Copy Rule
Viewing the WSDL Source

Types

Messages

Port types

Partner Links
BPEL Process Source Structure
<process>
<!-- Partner Links Section: services -->
<partnerLinks>
<partnerLink name="service-name" .../>
</partnerLinks>
<!-- Process Variables Section: message data -->
<variables>
<variable name="var-name" messageType="type"/>
</variables>
<!-- ORCHESTRATION LOGIC -->
<!-- Activity Flow Section: activities -->
<sequence name="main">
<receive .../>
<assign><copy><from...><to...></copy></assign>
<reply .../>
</sequence>
</process>
BPEL Process Source Structure
The <process> element
<process> is the top-level element
forSection:
<!-- Partner Links the BPEL source
services -->
<partnerLinks> code.
<partnerLink name="service-name" .../>
</partnerLinks>
<!-- Process Variables Section: message data -->
<variables>
<variable name="var-name" messageType="type"/>
</variables>
<!-- ORCHESTRATION LOGIC -->
<!-- Activity Flow Section: activities -->
<sequence name="main">
<receive .../>
<assign><copy><from...><to...></copy></assign>
<reply .../>
</sequence>
</process>
BPEL Process Source Structure
<process>
<!-- Partner Links Section: services -->
<partnerLinks>
<partnerLink name="service-name" .../>
</partnerLinks>
<!-- Process Variables Section: message data -->
<variables>
<variable name="var-name" messageType="type"/>
The <partnerLinks> element contains a list of
</variables>
<!-- ORCHESTRATION
<partnerLink> LOGIC
elements defining services that -->
<!-- Activity
participate in theFlow
BPELSection:
process. activities -->
<sequence name="main">
<receive .../>
<assign><copy><from...><to...></copy></assign>
<reply .../>
</sequence>
</process>
BPEL Process Source Structure
<process>
represent messages a
<!-- Partner Links Section: services -->
<partnerLinks> XML documents used
activities in process.
<partnerLink name="service-name" .../>
</partnerLinks>
<!-- Process Variables Section: message data -->
<variables>
<variable name="var-name" messageType="type"/>
</variables>
<!-- ORCHESTRATION LOGIC -->
<!-- Activity Flow Section: activities -->
<sequence name="main">
<receive .../>
<assign><copy><from...><to...></copy></assign>
<reply .../>
</sequence>
</process>
BPEL Process Source Structure
<process>
<!-- Partner Links Section: services -->
<partnerLinks>
<partnerLink
The name="service-name"
<sequence> element .../> logic, or
contains the orchestration
</partnerLinks>
process flow. The process flow is comprised of a sequence of
<!-- Process
activities Variables
that coordinate theSection: message
flow of messages datathe
across -->services
<variables>
integrated within the business process. For example:
<variable name="var-name" messageType="type"/>
</variables>
<!-- ORCHESTRATION LOGIC -->
<!-- Activity Flow Section: activities -->
<sequence name="main">
<receive .../>
<assign><copy><from...><to...></copy></assign>
<reply .../>
</sequence>
</process>
What next?

 After development, the BPEL process needs

to be deployed
 Deploying means putting the process in the
BPEL server.
 Deployment can be achieved through
 JDeveloper
 Command prompt
Deploying where?
 If you want to use JDeveloper for deploying the
process, you need to create connection from
JDeveloper to the BPEL Server
 BPEL server is running in Application server
 Recall that the application server houses BPEL, ESB and
other servers
 Hence we need to create two connections
 Application Server Connection to the Oracle Application
Server
 Integration Server Connection to the BPEL Server that
utilizes the AS connection created above
Creating Connection to AppServer

1
3

4
Create connection to BPEL Server

3
Building and Deploying the process
 After creating the process, we need to compile and
build it.
 When you build your process, all of the process
components are packaged into a ‘BPEL suitcase’ JAR
file.
 The JAR file can be deployed to any Oracle BPEL
Process Manager server, simply by copying it into the
appropriate deployment directory.
 JDeveloper uses ANT to build the BPEL process. It
generates a build.xml file that builds and deploys
the suitcase to your local server’s default domain, in
this case %ORACLE_HOME
%\bpel\domains\default\tmp
Deploying the process
 To build and deploy the Hello BPEL process:
1. In the Applications Navigator, right-click the Hello project
and select Deploy > MyBpelServer > Deploy to default
domain.
2. Verify that the process compiled and deployed successfully by
reviewing the message text in the Messages tab in the Log
window of JDeveloper
 Deploying a BPEL process makes it a service. This
is made possible by automatic addition of <service>
and <binding> tag to the WSDL during deployment.
Oracle BPEL Console
 BPEL Console lists all the deployed processes
 BPEL Console can be used for
 Invoking a BPEL process with appropriate input
 Viewing completed, in process and failed instances
 Viewing the flow in an instance
 Viewing messages exchanged in an instance
 Deploying, undeploying a process
 Purging instance and sensor data
 BPEL Admin activities
BPEL Console Dashboard
 The Dashboard shows all the deployed processes
Initiate a process
View the Response
See the Visual Flow of the process
Managing and Administering

 BPEL console can be used to manage the

process that includes
 Viewing all in-flight, closed and failed instances
 Deploying a BPEL Process if jar is available
 Undeploying a BPEL process
 Bulk operations like undeploying, retiring
 Setting log levels