OSWorkflow - initial action for steps?

[email protected]
Newsgroups gmane.comp.java.open-symphony.devel
Message-ID <[email protected]>
I'm trying to model some workflows that use asynchronous processing (by sending JMS 
messages to some other system) in OSWorkflow and I'm finding it difficult. I can 
create steps than have actions (called manually ala the example) that send JMS 
messages, and I've created a JMS listener that waits for the reply and invokes the 
proper action to "complete" the step and let it transition to the next step, no 
problem..

But once I transition to the next step, say "Step B", there is no way to 
automatically perform an action when the workflow transitions to that "step" from 
somewhere else (maybe from a join, or from some other step's result). I cant have 
every place that could possibly transition to Step B perform the JMS action.. the 
same workflow XML would get propagated all over the place.. I want Step B to 
perform the JMS action automatically whenever a workflow transitions to it.

Seems like what I need is the <initial-actions> stanza within a <step> definition.. 
That would allow the specified actions to occur whenever a transition is performed 
to that step.

What do you think? How hard woud that be?

Can you think or any workarounds given the current model? There doesn't seem to be 
any hook in the <step> definition that would allow me to perform an action.. Makes 
it very difficult to use the product for workflows that are "automatic" sorts of 
background flows, as opposed to users performing actions directly.

-Greg





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