How to Integrate Bpel Processes with a User Interface

There are different ways to call/instantiate bpel processes from a front-end application.
Depending on the customers’ knowledge and expertise the choice between the different solutions can be made accordingly.

In this blog-post I will explain some of these options in short:

• Call Bpel Process from Java-Code:

String input = “1450″;

// Here you need to define the request-operation of your bpel process

String xml =
“<asyncloanflowprocessrequest
xmlns=”http://xmlns.oracle.com/AsyncLoanFlow”&gt;
<input>”+input+”</input></asyncloanflowprocessrequest>”;

Locator Locator locator = new Locator(“default”,”bpel”);
IDeliveryService deliveryService = (IDeliveryService)locator.lookupService(IDeliveryService.SERVICE_NAME);

// construct the normalized message and send to Oracle BPEL Process Manager
NormalizedMessage nm = new NormalizedMessage();
nm.addPart(“payload”, xml );
deliveryService.post(“AsyncLoanFlow”, “initiate”, nm);

• Call Bpel Process from your User Interface (JSP, JSPX, JSF, …):

This means you need to define the same code as defined in the above java-sample
in a jsp-script tag.

• Use the Databinding layer of ADF Faces to integrate the Faces Application with your Bpel Process:

1. Create BPEL WebService DataControl defined on the WSDL-endpoint of the BPEL Process





2. Create new JSF JSP page
3. Drag & Drop UI Components based on DataControl



4. Run

• Define a Web Service Proxy on your deployed Bpel process:

1. Create WebService Proxy defined on the WSDL-endpoint of the BPEL Process




2. Create new JSF JSP page
3. Call the Web Service Proxy Service from your backing-bean code to initialize the deployed bpel process. Bind this method to the submit/invoke/initiate-button when you want to call the bpel process.
4. Run

Other options can be explored as well, but these are the most common ones to think of.