## Designing Business Processes Using WebLogic Integration

WebLogic Integration simplifies the development, management, and delivery of business processes. A business process orchestrates the execution of business logic and the exchange of business documents among applications, users, enterprise networks, and trading partners in a loosely coupled fashion.

WebLogic Workshop makes it easy to create a business process: click the target folder and choose File —> New —> Process File. The Process Designer opens and displays a new process file that contains a Start and Finish node.

The Process Designer is a graphical tool that enables you to design business processes and establish interactions with clients and resources, such as databases, JMS queues, file systems, and so on.

Process Designer

The following table summarizes the business process design tools shown in the previous figure.

Tools for Designing Business Processes

Callout # | Use this tool... | For this task...
--- | --- | ---
1 | Application Window | Create, view, and edit business process files in your application project. This window also provides shortcuts for performing specific operations on application files. For example, you can generate a Task control by right-clicking the business process (.jpd) file and selecting Generate Task Control File from the drop-down menu.
2 | Design and Source Views | Design your business process in this area. Switch between the Design and Source Views, as required. Changes made in one view are automatically reflected in the other.
3 | Palette Window | Graph a set of nodes that depict your business process by dragging components from the Palette window and dropping them onto the Design View canvas. Node types include: Client Request—Invoke a business process from a client so you can perform one or more operations using the methods exposed by the business process. Client Response—Send a message back to the calling client. Control Send—Interact asynchronously with an enterprise resource via a control. Control Send with Return—Interact synchronously with an enterprise resource via a control. Control Receive—Create a handler for a callback from a control. Perform—Execute your custom Java code. Decision—Select a path of execution based on the evaluation of one or more conditions. Switch—Select a path of execution based on the evaluation of an expression specified on a condition node. While Do—Evaluate a condition before the activities in a loop are performed. Do While—Perform the activities in a loop before evaluating a condition. For Each—Execute one or more activities that you specify in one or more nodes in the loop. Parallel—Execute multiple activities simultaneously. Event Choice—Wait to receive multiple events before proceeding. Finish—End execution.
4 | Data Palette Window | Define instances of variables and Java controls to be used in the business process.
5 | Node Builder | Design the functionality of the business process node. To invoke the node builder, double-click the node. A node builder is a task-driven interface that enables you to define the logic for the nodes in the business process. Examples of this logic includes: Methods that are invoked by clients to start your business process or by which the business process responds to clients. Controls that your business process node uses to interact with resources and the data exchanged in the interaction. Data transformations to map heterogeneous data as it is exchanged between your business process and resources.
6 | Property Editor Window | Set properties for the nodes in your business process.

The WebLogic Integration Administration Console, shown in the following figure, allows administrators to manage and monitor the resources required for your WebLogic Integration applications, such as business processes.

WebLogic Integration Administration Console

The following lists the specific resources that can be managed by the WebLogic Integration Administration Consoles:

- Process Instance Monitoring—Monitor instances of business processes.
- Process Configuration—Configure business processes.
- Message Broker—Monitor Message Broker message-based communication.
- Event Generators—Create, view, and edit event generators.
- Worklist Administration—Administer and monitor worklist task instances.
- Application Integration—Monitor enterprise adapters.
- Trading Partner Management—Configure and manage trading partners.
- System Configuration—Configure system and security information.
- User Management—Configure users and roles that access integration system resources.
- Business Calendar Configuration—Create and edit the business calendars that determine user availability or timing of system events.

To learn more about designing and managing business processes in WebLogic Workshop:

- View a demo, Designing a Business Process, that shows how to design a business process using the business process design tools.
- See Guide to Building Business Processes in the WebLogic Workshop Help.
- See Process Configuration, in Managing WebLogic Integration Solutions, available on E-docs.