YAWL Editor 1.4.5 User Manual
Contents
1. Fig 22 When the Geek complex data type schema is invalid Open the Data Type Definitions dialog and type in the XML text that appears in Fig 21 The above example creates a complex data type called Geek that has two separate sub components Name and Salary of type string and double respectively As depicted in Fig 23 the new data type Geek is available to choose when creating a task or net variable Variables with a usage of Local can have initial values specified for them as depicted in the same figure As with the data type definition dialog parse errors will be listed when the initial value text is red Update Net Variable Name itestGeek Type Usage Local Initial Value name gt Lindsay lt Name gt Salary gt 6000 00 lt Salary gt Fig 23 A Geek task variable YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 31 Net Decomposition Detail Updating Net Variables You can add variables to a net to store information relating to that net that tasks within the net may need to read or update To add a variable to a Net 1 Choose Update Net Detail from the Net Menu S We will be setting up Net variables in the Attend University net S Go to the Attend University Net and choose Update Net Detail from the Net Menu 2 An Update Variables dialog box will appear Fig 24 3 Click on Create An Update Net Variable dialog box will a2. To Export your specification to an XML file 1 Click on the Export this specification to the YAWL Engine file format button E on the Menu Toolbar or click Specification on the Menu and choose Export to YAWL Engine File 2 A window will appear asking you where to save the file 3 Select a location and choose Save This specification save file can now be loaded into a running YAWL Engine and executed New for this release of the editor is the ability to import from an engine XML file 4 Click on the Import YAWL Engine file button e on the Menu Toolbar or click Specification on the Menu and choose Import from YAWL Engine File 5 A window will appear asking you specify the engine XML file 6 Select a location and choose Open This engine XML file is then loaded into the editor As there is no layout and graphing detail on the engine XML file the editor will apply basic layout to the imported specification Specification Analysis Verification of specifications for the engine only determines whether the specification will be executed by the engine In contrast the analysis tool can be used to test for deeper issues in the specification The analysis toolbar button EJ and matching Analyse Specification menu item under the Specification menu allows workflow designers to analyse their specifications A number of potential problems with the workflow can be automatically spotted with analysis Examples includ
3. YAWL_ Editor Man_vl doc 50 Multiple Atomic Task Verify list Instance Detail Multiple Instance Variable SomePerson Y Accessor Query list Maker MasterList ae ae eae ae cea ET ea a aa a aa a a E a Ta a a at a oa at a ea eat a gal ar an ant ae ad nna ea ae ae nant a ad el me a art sa na Nay Splitter Query for Se in MasterList return some Persons Fe text p lt somePerson gt Eor d in rWerify list return lt PersonName gt sd text lt PersonName gt Fig 44 Example multiple instance queries YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 51 Time Service Example The example save file below supplied with the editor source gives you an example of how to build a task that calls through to the optional timer service supplied with the engine Fig 45 YAWLEditor C WAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 simple TimeServiceExample 1 4 5 ywl Sle specification Net Edit Elements Tools View Help meg vele Bs i BAs Time limited task Time limited task expiry Select a number of net elements to manipulate Fig 45 Example showing the usage of a custom YAWL service Note the inclusion of the flow between tasks Time limit setter and Time limited task Without including this flow in the cancellation set of Time limited task expiry even though the Time limited Task is cancelled there could still a token on the flow g
4. SQL queries that identify users or roles authorised for or to allocated tasks will be automatically generated from the editor and passed into the engine XML Then engine can then use these queries to shortlist and pick from valid candidates More detail on engine run time user allocation and authorisation can be found in the YAWL Engine manual More detail on populating the organisation database of the engine can be found in the YAWL administration tool manual YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 54 Known Issues Users cannot type double quote characters in XQuery and XPath expressions this is a deliberate restriction to stop oddities in engine export manifesting Workflow designers are to use single quote characters when manipulating string literals in XQuery XPath expressions There are intermittent reports of editor save file corruption occurring with versions of the editor up to and including version 1 2 The 1 3 release of the editor fixes some bugs that could lead to save file corruption If you get version 1 3 or later editor save file corruption we d appreciate you supplying as much detail to us as possible on when where how it occurred to help us nail this problem once and for all Obviously working on backup copies of a workflow specification is suggested to avoid any wailing and gnashing of teeth in the meantime If you suspect editor save file corruption run your editor from the command line
5. s data type definition in XMLSchema format setting a specification s properties and for printing the specification Net The Net Menu provides options to create remove set the starting net specify decomposition detail and resize the currently selected net It also provides options to export a net to a PNG image file and for directly printing out the net Edit The Edit Menu provides the standard options of Undo Redo Cut Copy Paste and Delete objects within your specification Elements The Elements Menu allows you to align net elements within your specification modify their size or add or remove net elements from task cancellation sets Tools The Tools Menu allows you to specify a running engine that the editor should connect to so you can tailor your workflow designs to specific modules and web services installed in the engine Included in this menu is an option for configuring specification analysis With this release of the editor an amount of default specification analysis is offered as part of the editor If the wofyawl analysis utility is also supplied in the same directory as the editor the configuration dialog will allow specification designers to configure and use wofwawIl for additional specification analysis Also for resource allocation data this menu offers a dialog to identify an organisation database from which resourcing information can be retrieved View You can use this menu to turn off or on the T
6. Notes about Cancellation Sets A Cancellation Set that has been created will remain in the workflow regardless of whether you have the View Cancellation Set option ticked You can create multiple Cancellation Sets in your workflow by selecting another task and choosing the Miew Cancellation Set option All flows leading to or from conditions are not valid cancellation set members Neither are the Input and Output conditions The editor will ignore them if you select them for inclusion in a task s cancellation set YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 29 To remove an element from a Cancellation Set 1 First make sure you have the View Cancellation Set option ticked If it isn t ticked select the task that is initiating the Cancellation Set using the Enter Marquee Selection Mode tool from the Palette Bar and right click then choose View Cancellation Set 2 Select the element for removal using the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button 3 Click on the Remove Selected Items from Visible Cancellation Set button E on the Menu Toolbar Updating Data Type Definitions Version 1 1 of the YAWL Editor introduces the ability for workflow designers to specify data that is processed by a workflow XMLSchema is used to describe the valid data types that are available By default a number of simple XMLSchema data types are supplied for variable definition but if you need more complex data types yo
7. a connection to custom YAWL services that have been registered with a running engine For example a decomposition may be set up to place an order with an external company Upon execution of any task using this decomposition data could be transmitted via a Web Service invocation to this company To have a decomposition invoke custom YAWL service do the following 1 Right click on a task the choose Task Decomposition Detail An Update Task Decomposition dialog box will appear see the YAWL Registered Service Detail box of Fig 28 2 Enter the following details regarding the Web Service e YAWL Service the Service registered with the YAWL Engine 3 Click Done to finish If a valid running YAWL Engine instance can be connected to via the detail supplied in the section above the YAWL Service Dropdown Box will contain entries for all custom YAWL services the engine has registered Otherwise only the default manual Worklist Y AWL service will be available When you select a YAWL Service the editor will query this running engine for the input and output variables required and populate the decomposition variables of the selected task with those variables Base custom services that are supplied with the engine include one for RPC Style Web Service Invocation and one for making and receiving mobile phone SMS messages Later in this manual an example editor save file showing the usage of a custom time service 1s
8. and be on the lookout for exception stack traces The detail of these stack traces 1s needed for tracking further problems of this nature Only the initial values defined for net Local variables will influence running engine workflows All other usage types Input Only Output Only and Input amp Output will not make use of initial values defined for them in the running engine The editor does not currently support XMLSchema elements when defining data to pass through a workflow Hand created engine specification files that use lt element gt tags for data transfer will fail on editor import attempts Convert these into their equivalent lt name gt lt type gt tags to get editor import working as expected Editor Import functionality does not currently import resource perspective detail from an engine XML specification file We need to find a way of getting the clipboard to notify listeners of updates Currently we kludge up whether the Paste action can be activated by simply turning it on when an editor user uses Cut or Copy in the same editor Editor elements cannot currently be cut paste across two running editors on the same machine The menu item Print Specification freezes if not used for some time YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 55 Troubleshooting The YAWL Editor is not responding to my mouse clicks and it is beeping every time I click the mouse Che
9. graph without writing over the top of it e Save files are now saved to a temporary file first and then copied to the final specified file name If there is an editor crash whilst saving only the temporary file will be corrupted e Fixed a bug where saving a specification with a task that has a single flow coming into or going out of it then reloading the specification sees the user unable to add a decorator for that flow e Fixed a bug where right clicking on the knee of a flow would see the pallet popup menu appear whenever the redrawn flow no longer lay underneath the mouse after knee removal YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 3 e Upgraded the editor to fix some bugs in reset net analysis and to include reduction rules for specification analysis YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc Copyright Notice Copyright to this software and its source code is granted under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence v2 1 For detail on the permissions this licence grants you please refer to http www gnu org copyleft lesser htmlz This editor makes use of JGraph 5 9 2 This version of the JGraph library is covered under a n LGPL style licence and is available separately from http www jgraph com a This editor also makes use of code from the YAWL Engine and its support libraries The engine and its support libraries are covered under their own individual copyright licences detail of w
10. that if a person executes this task then they don t have time to perform the Study Privately task therefore it should be removed as an option S Right click on Attend University and choose View Cancellation Set as per Fig 19 Cut B Copy ff Delete Begin My a i Career T Set Label 0 F Set Label Stu View Cancellation Set Toggle viewing ofthis task s cancellation set ajay EH Task Decomposition Detail Update Parameters Fig 19 Viewing a task s cancellation set YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 28 Career Next using the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button from the Palette Bar choose a task condition or implicit condition to add to the Cancellation set Hold down the shift key to select more than one object for cancellation Select the Study Privately task and the Flow Relation preceding it Click on the Add Selected Items to Visible Cancellation Set button the Menu Toolbar Items will be coloured red to indicate belonging to the cancellation set see Fig 20 Add the Study Privately task and the preceding Flow Relation to the cancellation set Once you have established the cancellation set you can right click on the cancellable task and tick off View Cancellation Set option E E O a E Get A Job Career d Started study Privately i al i i i g Fig 20 Adding elements to a Cancellation Set
11. the pallet button Net Element Selection Mode i is selected A small editor will appear over the flow Type your desired text and commit the flow label by pressing the ENTER key You may then drag that flow label around as desired YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 26 S 5 Take the two flow relations that have recently had knees added to them Attach the label yes to the flow relation going from the Knowledge Gained condition to the Feel Smarter atomic task Attach the label no to the flow relation going from the Knowledge Gained condition to the Look for an Easier Book atomic task Drag the labels about to a desired position much like what has been done in Fig 17 Editing Objects You can edit more than one object at a time by using the Enter Marquee Selection Mode tool See Fig 18 1 Select the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button from the Palette Bar 2 Click on the first object that you want to edit 3 Hold down the shift key and then click on the other objects that you want to edit 4 Now choose the Edit option from the Menu or continue holding down the shift key and right click on the mouse button Below are the edit options e Cut Copy Delete e Align e Size Increase Decrease to change the appearance of the objects This can also be done using the CTRL key plus Up or Down arrow on your keyboard Read A Book Knowledge Feel Smarter
12. this button to activate the Marquee Selector which will allow you to select individual or multiple objects by clicking and dragging your left mouse button Please note you can not create flows while using the Marquee Selector Drag Net Window l Select this button to drag the visible window of a net around that net Status Bar The Status Bar provides useful hints throughout the creation of your specification and depending upon which object you are using in the Palette Bar Canvas The Canvas is where you will be creating and editing your workflow diagram s Specification Problem Table The Specification problem table is where you see what problems are currently outstanding in the specification you are building Background task progress bar The Background task progress bar shows work in progress for certain background tasks like the saving of specification files Menus Overview This section provides a brief overview of the YAWL Menus located along the top of the YAWL Editor specification Het Edit Elements Tools View Help YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_Man_v1 doc 9 Specification The Specification Menu provides all the standard file options of Create Open Save Close and Exit It also contains options to validate engine syntax analyse workflow semantics export the specification to the YAWL Engine XML format import specifications from the YAWL Engine XML format updating the specification
13. your task you are free to relabel the task to whatever you like This can be done by right clicking on the task and choosing Set Label from the pop up menu This will not change the name of the decomposition to which the task 1s tied S 5 Connect the Input Condition to your Atomic Task by finding the flow connectors indicated by two parallel blue lines on the sides of the objects and hold the left mouse button down and draw a line from the flow connector on the Input Condition to the one on the Atomic Task The editor will indicate which connection points are valid by drawing a blue box around suitable connectors as your mouse passes over them Begin My Career Fig 5 An established Flow Relation That s it Your Atomic Task is set S 6 Repeat the process for the following Atomic Tasks in order e Go to University e Get A Job e Begin My Career S 7 Link the Begin My Career task to the Output Condition the symbol as per Fig 6 S 8 Finally check the validity of specification by clicking on the Validate this Specification button I in the Menu Toolbar or click on Specification in YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor Man_vl doc 13 the Menu and choose Validate Specification If all things are going to plan then you should receive a confirmation saying that there were no errors detected Begin My Go to Get A Job Career Career University Started Fig 6 The My Career Net Decorating a Task De
14. 5 Update Task Variable SubjectCode fx Type Usage Input amp Output T Fig 29 Updating the Task Variable S 5 Create another variable for the same task called SubjectCode with the type being string and usage being Input amp Output Click Done Fig 30 S The Enroll task now has two variables StudentNumber and SubjectCode Update Task Variable StudentNumber Ed Name StudentNurnber Type string M Usage Input amp Output he Fig 30 Updating another Task Variable Adding Updating Task Parameters Both Input and Output Parameters can be assigned to any tasks to allow the passing of state between nets and their tasks and between tasks and workflow engine users and web services Input Parameters use an XQuery to massage net variable state across possible several net variables into a value that can be passed to a single selected task variable Output parameters use an XQuery to massage task variable state across possible several task variables into a value that can be passed to a single selected net variable For example if a task is called Place an Order then an Input Parameter could be the name of the person placing the order whereas the Output Parameter could be the corresponding identification number of that person To add an Input Parameter YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 36 S 1 First select the task that wi
15. Career Career started Do Private Study Fig 10 Adding a Multiple Atomic Task 3 You will now need to set the parameters of the Multiple Atomic Task Right click on the task and choose Set Instance Detail Ensure that you are viewing the Bounds tab of the dialog as per Fig 11 4 Set the Minimum Instances value This is the minimum number of instances of this task that will be started when the task needs processing S Set the Minimum Instances to 5 5 Set the Maximum Instances value This is the maximum number of instances of this task that can be created S Set the Maximum Instances to 100 6 Set the Continuation Threshold value The moment all instances created have completed or as many instances as the Continuation Threshold specified have completed the multiple instance task itself is considered YAWL Editor Meshal Release 1 YAWL_ Editor Man_vl doc 18 completed which triggers relevant outgoing flow relations from this task Set the Continuation Threshold to 50 Multiple Atomic Task Do Private Study Instance Detail Bounds i Queries Minimum Instances 6 Maximum Instances gt is infinite is equal to 100 Continuation Threshold 2 is infinite is egual to 50 Instance Creation Static O Dynamic Fig 11 Instance Bounds on Multiple Instance Tasks 7 Choose the Instance Creation If a multi instance task has static creation mode when the task is started the number
16. Gained Fig 18 Changing the Size of Multiple Objects Note also that whenever you have selected a number of net elements pressing one of the arrow keys will move the selected elements in the direction of the arrow key and pressing the CTRL key plus the A key will select all elements in the net with input focus Changing Font Size You can change the size of the font used to label tasks and conditions YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor Man_vl doc 27 1 Change the font size by clicking on the View Menu and choosing the Label Font Size option S Change the font size to 18 Advanced Specification Features Cancellation Sets Cancellation Sets allow you to nominate any number of tasks conditions or implicit conditions which exist on flow relations between tasks but are not drawn for cancellation upon the execution of a specified task That is once a specified task is executed in the workflow all state within that task s cancellation set is removed To create a Cancellation Set 1 First select the task that will initiate the Cancellation Set using the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button 4 from the Palette Bar 2 Right click on the task then choose View Cancellation Set The task will be coloured grey to indicate that this task is the cancellable task S Go to the My Career Net We are going to make the Attend University task a cancellable task to demonstrate in the workflow
17. Net in the Decomposition Label field then click the Done button Decomposition Variables will be explained later in the Net Decomposition Detail section of this manual S Change the name of the Net in the Decomposition Label to My Career This Net will be the primary net for our scenario 5 You are now ready to start drawing your specification Atomic Tasks 1 Click on the Add an Atomic Task button mj in the Palette Bar or right click in the whitespace of the Net and choose Atomic Task 2 Position your mouse just to the right of the Input Condition the symbol and click the left mouse button once to place an Atomic Task 3 Set the decomposition of this task by right clicking on the Atomic Task and choosing Select Task Decomposition YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 12 Atomic Task eee Set decomposition to Create Done Cancel Fig 4 The Update Task Decomposition dialog 4 Press the Create button and in the following window Update Task Decomposition enter the decomposition s label See the Select Task Decomposition section of this manual for a full explanation of its features A Set the label to Begin My Career and click the Done button Note that by default a task takes on the label of the decomposition that it is tied to several tasks are allowed to share the same decomposition Once you ve task created
18. YAWL Editor 1 4 5 User Manual Release 1 4 5 QUT Faculty of Information Technology YAWL Editor User Manual Release 1 YAWL_ Editor User _Man_vl doc Document Control Syne with Editor 1 4 5 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 1l Contents Document Contro lnierstare vie tate cue sealers E sacle eie Gaia easiad ae aden lich antec 1i Wok ometo TAW n E A E l Wa AW leg a ER E O l Obtaining the Latest Version of the YAWL Editor senessesssseoeensssssssseeeeees l The YAW Le Proje oinin e E usgsestnlodaenuet 2 NP WAG AC MC CEU C a E seas letaabusspiene anesceeoutaente 2 Gen Se ea a A a ieee es 3 Copy ht NOCO creea a E 5 Launching the Y AWL Editor seessseeeeesssssssseerssssssseccressssssssecreessssssseceeessssss 5 MEXAWCEdtor WOrkS pieeo aa tan seoreeees anes 6 Monu Too DIE reaa EE E E ete ren ane 6 Pale NSM D oe a mee a Sera ee ee rae ee oe 8 SaS Babero n ae E eee Sabine ee O eee keene tee 9 CAIN VAS asic eee Su Sev aac at EA A E A E EN E EE E 9 Menus OVENI W eien n aeseetadet ates seccmwentessuitaaaauueetadet tes ecermenteaaueiae 9 Creating Y our First SpeCifiCatiOn essri i a 11 OVENI EW ern cr a hare atde aaa cee cateaise pera sao ina ae eee ee Suet 11 Bo Ee E EE E E Seen E cna EE E ne rarer A AE E E E 11 Creatine Your First SpeCINCaNO Mesa a e Dudiammeaueee 11 AO AS KG ee a E teeeus oectaws een ye utes See eu ee eueeasee 12 DECOratine a TASK cones iui ud aiedoenteucniagiad ain
19. ary study and is now looking to start their career This scenario will follow the path of a student who either enrols in a University to complete their tertiary eduction or undertakes private study which will eventually lead them to getting a job and starting their new career Creating Your First Specification 1 Click on the Create a New Specification button at the top left of the Menu Toolbar or click on Specification in the Menu and choose Create Specification This will bring up a blank Net called New Net 1 which will be by default the starting net of the workflow For details on selecting a starting net consult the Changing the Starting Net section in this manual YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor Man_vl doc 11 2 Alter the specification s properties as you feel appropriate Click on Specification in the Menu and choose Update Specification Properties A screen as per Fig 3 will appear Update Specification Properties specification ID lunnamedywl sid specification Name OOO specification Description No description has been given 002000002022 Specification Author prestedg O0 O version Number E always Specification valid from _ the date of 21 03 2007 always Specification valid until _ o the date of 21 03 2007 Fig 3 Specification Properties Dialog 3 Rename this Net by clicking on the Net Menu and choosing Update Net Detail 4 Enter the new name of the
20. ask Fig 47 Resourcing constraints can be specified from a new popup menu item available for atomic tasks called Manage Resourcing YAWLEditor C YWAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 simpleRoleAllocationExample 1 4 5 ywl Specification Net Edit Elements Tools View Help BER yiye A ti ESTE BARR Manage Resourcing of Atomic Task Consul x Task Authorisation All are authorised O Only this person is authorised O Only this role is authorised Task Allocation Consultant Task O Allocate to anyone a i O Allocate directly to person Allocate to the role Consultant Select a number of net elements to manipulate Fig 47 Managing Resourcing of a task YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL _ Editor Man_vl doc 53 The dialog for managing resources depicted in Fig 47 shows an example of what happens when the editor fails to gain access to an organisation database but remembers what was last supplied to the editor when the specification was being designed The workflow designer can still choose between the default and the option where a value was remembered only When the editor successfully connects to the organisation database the drop down boxes for allocation and authorisation will be populated out of the database and will allow the workflow designer to select from the roles and individuals listed When workflow specifications are exported to the engine
21. ask Parameter and map the net StudentNumber to the task variable of the same name using this technique Click Done and Done again YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 38 Update Task Parameter SubjectCode add XQuery of element s content from element of net variable SubjectCode T A add XQuery of entire element XQuery SubjectCode gt ittend University sub ecclode text j lt SubjectCode gt populates the task variable Subjectcode M Fig 32 Passing a net s SubjectCode to a Task To add an Output Parameter S 1 First select the task that will require the parameter using Enter Marquee Selection Mode button from the Palette Bar We will be setting up Output Parameters for the variables that we created in the Adding Updating Task Variables section Go to the Attend University Net and select the Enroll task S 2 Right click on the task and choose Update Parameters An Update Parameters dialog box will appear Fig 31 Update the Parameters for the Enroll task S 3 In the Output Parameters section click on Create An Update Net Parameter dialog box will appear similar to Fig 32 i aN If you have already set up a Task Variable for this task then the Existing Task Variable option will be activated and there will be a list of task variables to choose from Choose a variable from the list and click on Done then Done again
22. ck Done Create another Task Parameter and map the task StudentNumber to the net variable of the same name using this technique Click Done and Done again These Output Parameters were set up to demonstrate a simple transfer of state from a net to a task and back to the net Perhaps the task would allow a user to change the values of one of the variables which would eventuate in the net s values changing The Update Parameters dialog box should appear as in Fig 33 40 Update Parameters for Atomic Task Enroll input Parameters AGUE fittend University SubjectCode text fhttend University subjectlode textt Task Variable Subject Code Studenthumber Update Het Variables Marne ime AubjectCode string studenthumber string Task Variables Name Type Usage sub JectClode string Input Output StudentNumber string Input amp Output Met Variable Studenthumber Output Parameters AUE T fEnroll SubjectCode textt i ffEnroll SubjectCade texti i Fig 33 Established task parameters A brief introduction to XQuery e XQuery is a separate language that describes how to manipulate a given XML document to extract data from it For example the XQuery data my Task Variable number 5 is saying that there is some XMLSchema element in an engine XML document with an element called myTask Variable whose content is a number and that the resultant XQuery expression is t
23. ck to see if you have any YAWL Editor dialog windows open These windows don t appear in the Windows Taskbar To check if you have any open dialog windows hold down the ALT key and press the TAB key With the ALT key held down press TAB until you reach the dialog window and let go of the ALT key Close the dialog window and you should be able use the YAWL Editor again Dialog windows appear as the Java icon blue coffee cup I can t connect two elements with a flow Why If the editor does not allow you to connect one element to another it is steering you away from building an invalid net Typical examples include e Trying to connect a second flow to an undecorated task e Trying to point an incoming flow to a split decorator or an outgoing flow from a join decorator Se the troubleshooting entry How do I find out more about elements and principles for more detail When I validate my Net I get the following validation message The net may complete without any generated work Should all atomic tasks in the net be unlabelled This message appears if you have not labelled any of your tasks To label a task and thus ensure that the engine will get a user to handle the task at this point in the workflow right click on the task and choose Select Task Decomposition Choose Create and in the following window Update Task Decomposition and enter the name of your task under Decomposition Label then cl
24. corating a task is the process of adding splits or join conditions on task By putting a split on a task you are telling the task that when 1t has been completed it s succeeding task could be one or more tasks Here are the possible splits for a task e No split no split on task e AND split e OR split e XOR split By putting a join on a task you are telling the task that it could become available through the completion of one or more preceding tasks Below are some possible joins for a task e No join no join on task e AND join e OR join e XOR join For more information on join and split types please consult the YAWL technical papers on the YAWL website Creating Splits and Joins To create a split or join 1 Ensure that your palette is in Net Element Selection mode Select a task When a single task is selected the palette menu will expand YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor Man_vl doc 14 see Fig 7 to include two tabs that allow you to decorate a task with a split and or join YAWLEditor C WAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 Fig _UserManualExample ywl Seles Specification Net Edit Elements Tools View Help BER yeee A T Begin My g Goto Get A Job Career Career i University Started Select a number of net elements to manipulate Fig 7 Decorating a Task 2 Choose the required split or join and the orientation for the split or join to appear and then click Done a Sel
25. e spotting potential deadlock situations unnecessary cancellations set members and unnecessary or join decorators at run time or joins require significant processing effort and should be removed 1f they are not actually needed A configuration dialog for the specification analysis is available under the Tools menu by the name of Configure Analysis Tool see Fig 40 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 48 Configure Specification Analysis Reset Net Analysis Wof AWL Analysis Use the reset net analysis algorithm Use YRWL reduction rules before analysis for optimisation t Use Reset reduction rules before analysis for optimisation t Check for weak soundness property using coverability Check for unnecessary cancellation regions t Check for unnecessary or joins et Check for soundness property using reachability results from bounded nets Show observations in analysis results These tests may overlap in identifying unreachable tasks in the specification potential deadlocks and possible unfinished work in completed workflow cases Fig 40 Specification analysis functions If the optional YAWL specification analysis utility wofyawl exe written by Eric Verbeek is supplied in the same directory as the editor an extra tab entitled WofYAWL Analysis will be enabled in this dialog allowing more analysis options than those supplied by default The utility must be compiled for specific a
26. e task See Fig for an example of this screen being filled out with valid XQuery expressions YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 46 Validating Exporting and Importing At any stage you can validate or export your specification to a YAWL Engine executable XML file To Validate your specification 1 Click on Validate this Specification button E on the Menu Toolbar or click Specification on the Menu and choose Validate Specification 2 A table listing problems will appear with details of any inconsistencies that would stop the specification from running in the YAWL Engine in the specification problem panel Fig 38 shows an example valid specification Fig 39 shows an example invalid specification YAWLEditor C WAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 Fig38_ValidSpecification ywl Specification Net Edit Elements Tools View Help BER yim E PENA Cee ee eR Ree a eee ee eee ee A ee ee ee eee a er ee ee ee Ee Ee eee eee ee eer er Tae tt E et Problems identified in engine specification validation No design time engine validation problems were found in this specification Opening Specification Fig 38 A valid specification YAWLEditor C WAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 Fig39_InvalidSpecification ywl Specification Net Edit Elements Tools View Help LAE Opening Specification Fig 39 An invalid specification YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 47
27. ect your Begin My Career task and change the split to Xor Split Then set the orientation to eastern edge of the task as per Fig 7 a Create a new Atomic task called Do Private Study This task will represent those students that choose not to go to University S Finally select your Get A Job task and decorate it with an Xor Join Then set the orientation of the join to the western edge of this task 3 Split and Join decorators allow you to connect several Flow Relations from and to your task respectively A Create a flow relation from Begin My Career to Do Private Study then create another flow relation from Do Private Study to Get A Job as per Fig 8 Ss 4 Don t forget to check the validity of your specification Hint If you are having troubles with positioning your tasks the alignment tools are a big help YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 15 Go to University Begin My Get A Job Career Career Started Do Private Study Fig 8 XOR Split and Join When Begin My Career has been completed a choice must be made on which of the two tasks Go To University or Do Private Study will be followed XOR Split Get a Job will become available after the completion of the task selected at the point of the XOR split Composite Tasks Composite tasks are place holders for other YAWL Nets That is you can create another workflow in a s
28. eparate Net which is represented by the composite task in other nets To create a Composite Task 1 Click on the Composite Task button o in the Palette Bar or right click in the whitespace of the Net and choose Composite Task s We are going to replace our existing Go to University Atomic Task with a composite task so choose the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button on the Palette Bar click on the Go to University Atomic Task and press the Delete key on the keyboard We will add in the new composite task next 2 Place your Composite Task in your Net S Reconnect the Flow Relations from Begin My Career to the new Composite Task and from new Composite Task to Get a Job 3 Create a new Net by clicking on the Create a new Net button Al on the Menu Toolbar or click on Net in the Menu and choose Create Net 4 Choose a name for this Net by clicking on the Net Menu and choosing Update Net Detail S We are going to call this new Net Attend University YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_Man_vl doc 16 5 Return to your original Net and right click on your Composite Task and choose Unfold to net You will then be given a drop down list with all the Nets available choose the Net this task is to represent and then click Done S Choose Attend University 6 You can now fill out the detail of your new Attend University Net Create the following Atomic Tasks i
29. expression and choose Done YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 42 End of Scenario This is where our scenario ends The My Career Scenario was designed to explain all the functions of the Y AWL Editor and to provide you with a rudimentary understanding of designing a YAWL workflow specification But the complexity of the YAWL Editor does not stop with the current scenario If you are after something more challenging try adjusting your version of the scenario to expand into more sub Nets and more complex situations The completed example described in this scenario is supplied with the editor source distribution when you re ready to experiment further Fig 35 YAWLEditor C YAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 Fig35_UserManualExample ywl Specification Net Edit Elements Tools View Help DER vie e Attend University Begin My O Get A Job Career Career Started Study Privately Read A Book Knowledge Feel Smarter Gained Enroll Do Subjects Pass All Get Degree Subjects Problems identified in engine specification validation No design time engine validation problems were found in this specification Select a number of net elements to manipulate Fig 35 The completed scenario specification Set YAWL Engine Detail YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 43 By specifying the location of a running instance of the YAWL Engine it is possible to have the editor genera
30. g workflow engine invokes and the Net the task resides in YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_Man_vl doc 34 For example if your task is called Place an Order you may want to store the name or identification number of the person placing the order or maybe store the items being ordered Adding a Variable to a Task 1 First select the task that will require the variable using the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button S from the Palette Bar A We will be setting up variables for the Enroll task S Go to the Attend University Net and select the Enroll task 2 Right click on the task and choose Task Decomposition Detail An Update Task Decomposition dialog box will appear Fig 24 S Retrieve the decomposition detail for the Enroll task Update Task Decomposition Enroll Task Decomposition Label En roll Task Decomposition Variables name Type Usa TYAWL Registered Service Detail YAWL Service Fig 28 Updating variables for a task 3 Click on the Create button An Update Task Variable dialog box will appear 4 Enter the Name of your variable choose the Type of the variable from the list click Done then Done again to exit the task decomposition detail dialog S Type in StudentNumber for the name of the variable and choose the type string Leave the Initial Value blank Fig 29 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 3
31. hat element s value with 5 added to it Updating Flow Detail When dealing with tasks that have XOR and OR splits we need some way of telling a running engine which flows should be activated By updating the flow detail you can specify the default flow path and also establish predicates for each flow direction Flows whose predicates evaluate to true in a running engine will execute those flows To update the flow detail of a task that has a split S L Right click on the task and choose Update Flow Detail The number of splits will be the number of Target Tasks The currently YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor Man_vl doc 41 selected flow in the dialog will also be identified by being drawn green in the Net Fig 34 F iy Career Attend University oK Begin My Career Get A Job Career Started Target Task Predicate _ Attend University EEUE atudy Privately The bottom most flow will be used as the default Fig 34 Updating the Flow Detail A 2 To choose the flow ordering select the Target Task that you want as the change the order of use the Up and Down arrows on the right to position the flow The bottom most flow will be used as the default if some flow needs to be followed but no predicates evaluate to true S 3 To specify a predicate for a particular flow select the flow from the list and click on Predicate Enter a predicate as a boolean XQuery
32. hen click on Create and return to the previous section in the manual for Adding a Task Variable If you are familiar with XQuery syntax then you can paste in an XQuery YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 37 to allow manipulation of the Input Parameters Syntactically well formed XQueries will be green and badly formed ones will be red Again red text will be accompanied by a split pane table returning the parse errors that cause the text to be badly formed For workflow designer convenience two XQuery buttons are supplied to generate XQuery expressions from available net variables The add XQuery of element s content only button will return just the content of the XML element for this variable which is useful for simple state transfer between two variables of the same XMLSchema type and expected to be the typical button that users will start out with The other button add XQuery of entire element will return the entire XML element of the selected variable which is useful for times when you want to create a complex type expression from individual variable elements Experience with XMSchema and XQuery are necessary to understand the effects this button will have on runtime YAWL engine State Select the SubjectCode variable from the list of Existing Task Variables Select the SubjectCode net variable and click add XQuery of element s content only Fig 32 Click Done Create another T
33. hich may be found at the YAWL website http www yawl system com a In accordance with this editor s copyright licence the source code may be obtained from the YAWL SourceForge website http sourceforge net projects yawl z Launching the YAWL Editor 1 Download the latest version from the Y AWL SourceForge website http sourceforge net projects yawl a 2 Double click on the YAWLEditor jar file to start the application and away you go YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc The YAWL Editor Workspace The first time you start the YAWL Editor you will be presented with a blank canvas with the instructions in the Status Bar asking you to open or create specification to begin Before you create your first specification let us take a brief tour of the Editor s workspace and the elements within YAWLEditor Specification fet Edit Elements Tools View Help Tear away menu toolbar Tear away palette bar 4 The Canvas gt Specification problem panel Open or create a net to begin J Status bar showing hints and messages Background task progress bar Fig 2 The YAWLEditor Workspace Menu Toolbar The Menu Toolbar contains six groups of buttons to assist you in maintaining your YAWL specification The menu can be repositioned by dragging the left hand anchor bar Specification Maintenance Halae This group of buttons provides you the standard options to create save open a
34. ick Done To label a Condition right click on a task and choose Set Label then type in a name for the label and click Done My specification won t validate without any errors and I don t know what to do First check the logic of your specification and exercise every branch of your workflow for correctness If you are sure of your workflow consult the YAWL website for the proper use of the YAWL elements YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_Man_vl doc 56 http www yawl system com a How do I find out more about the elements and principles of the YAWL workflow specifications For more information about the mechanics of the YAWL workflow elements please consult the YAWL website http www yawl system com a Acknowledgements Queensland University of Technology Dr Marlon Dumas Dr Lindsay Bradford Lachlan Aldred YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 57
35. ion being West by right clicking on Read a Book and choosing Decorate Click Done Finally create the Flow Relation from the Knowledge Gained Condition back to the OR Join of the Read A Book Atomic Task as per Fig 13 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 23 O Study Privately Read A Book Knowledge Feel Smarter Gained Fig 13 Condition Loop for Study Privately Net S 6 Validate your specification Validation should fail and report errors as per Fig 14 The problem here is that the Study Privately multiple instance composite task needs to have more information specified for it to be valid For setting data detail of multiple instance tasks please see the Setting Multiple Instance Queries section of this manual YAWLEditor C WAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 Fig14_UserManualExample ywl Specification Net Edit Elements Tools View Help MBan bime ele Oz AL Begin My Get A Job Career Started Privately Esa a Problems identified in engine specification validation Composite Task Study Privately 69 id Study Privately 69 the x uery for param null cannot be equal to nul The task id Study Privately 69 claims to assign its output to a net variable named null However the c Select a number of net elements to manipulate Fig 14 Validation with unfinished Multiple Instance Tasks S 7 Remove the Study Priva
36. ll require the parameter using the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button from the Palette Bar We will be setting up Input Parameters for the variables that we created in the Adding Updating Task Variables section previously Go to the Attend University Net and select the Enroll task S 2 Right click on the task and choose Update Parameters An Update Parameters dialog box will appear Fig 31 Update the Parameters for the Enroll task i Update Parameters for Atomic Task Enroll Input Parameters Task Variable iable Create Update lt Remove Het Variables Task Variables Hame E Name _Type Usage subjectCode ine Local slbjectCode jstring Input Output studenthumber string Local studenthumber string Input Output Output Parameters AGUE Met Variable m SSS Ss Update Remove Fig 31 Updating Parameters for a Task a 3 In the Input Parameters section click on Create An Update Task Parameter dialog box will appear If you have already set up a Task Variable for this task then the Existing Task Variable option will be activated and there will be a list of task variables to choose from Choose a variable from the list and click on Done then Done again to close the task parameters dialog If you haven t set up Task Variables t
37. n order and then link them with Flow S Relations as per and don t forget to check for validity e Enrol e Do Subjects e Pass All Subjects e Get Degree Attend University Begin My 2 Career Started Do Private Study Enroll Do Subjects Pass All Get Degree Subjects Fig 9 Attend University Composite Task and its matching Net Multiple Atomic Tasks Multiple Atomic Tasks allow you to run multiple instances of a task concurrently To create a Multiple Atomic Task YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 17 1 Click on the Add Multiple Atomic Task button in the Palette Bar or right click in the whitespace of the Net and choose Multiple Atomic Task S Go back to the My Career Net We are going to replace our existing Do Private Study Atomic Task with a Multiple Atomic task so choose penea the Do Private Study Atomic Task and press the Delete key on the keyboard We will add in the new Multiple Atomic task next 2 Place your Multiple Atomic Task in your Net and set the name of this task by right clicking on the task and choosing Select Task Decomposition S Call this task the same name as before by selecting the Do Private Study decomposition from the drop down list Reconnect the Flow Relations from Begin My Career to Do Private Study and from Do Private Study to Get A Job as per Fig 10 pr i A Y a Begin My GetAJob
38. nd close YAWL specification files YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 6 Specification Verification Analysis Exporting amp Importing Y Y e These four buttons allow you to validate your specification again YAWL Engine workflow requirements analyse your specification for deadlocks and other issues export your workflow diagram into an XML file for uploading to the YAWL Engine and import a YAWL Engine XML file into the editor for further alteration respectively Net Maintenance EE Your workflow diagrams are captured within Nets of which a specification could contain many You can use these buttons to create a new Net or remove existing Nets within your specification Edit Options alem This group of buttons provides the standard Undo and Redo options as well as the option to delete the currently selected objects Alignment Options RE These buttons can be used to assist with the alignment of objects within your specification when multiple objects have been selected Object Sizes BIE To increase the size of an object within your specification select the object s and then use these buttons Cancellation Sets These buttons allow you to include in and or exclude elements from the cancellation set of a task YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 7 Zoom Options ARE These buttons allow you to apply zoom functionality to the currently selected net In orde
39. nd bug fixes introduced in this release and the previous release Version 1 4 4 of the YAWLEditor e The Flow Relation button in the palette menu has been removed Now to create a flow from one task to another all you need to do is left click and drag from one connection point to the next valid connection e Upgraded the editor to use Engine 1 0 CR1 This includes switching the editor from using the engine war to the standalone engine jar for getting the engine library it needs This is to better support the engine s installer including just the lite editor for distribution but with full engine enabled functionality e A side effect of this is that the editor now requires Java 5 as its pre requisite runtime JVM e Now when a user selects a single task the palette menu expands to allow the use to modify the split and join decorators for the task without having to go to the popup menu for the task e Fixed a bug where a graph that was scaled would stop the user from being able to draw flows between elements e Now on the label Element dialog hitting enter in the label field will do the same as pressing the done button This is a user convenience for quickly making label changes e The upgrade to 5 9 2 of JGraph broke certain cut and paste behaviour This is now fixed to work with the latest JGraph e Altered how text is positioned with respect to the graphs upon export to PNG JPG and print jobs The text should now appear above the
40. nitial minimum instance number of tasks has started but before the maximum number has been received S Set the Instance Creation type to Static YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 20 10 11 12 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc Click Done Create a new Net by clicking on the Create a new Net button BI on the Menu Toolbar or click on Net in the Menu and choose Create Net Give the new Net a name by clicking on the Net Menu and choosing Update Net Detail We are going to call this new Net Study Privately Return to your original Net and right click on your Multiple Composite Task and choose Unfold to Net You will then be given a drop down list with all the Nets Available choose the Net for this task to initiate and then click Done Choose Study Privately You can now complete your new Study Privately Net represented by your Composite Task Create the following Atomic Tasks in order and then link them with Flow Relations as per Fig 12 e Read a Book e Feel Smarter Don t forget to validate your specification 21 Begin My Career Career Started Do Private Study Enroll Do Subjects Pass All Subjects Study Privately Read A Book Feel Smarter Fig 12 Privately Study Multiple Composite Task and its Net YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 22 Conditions Conditions are ways to re
41. of instances created is decided then and cannot be altered during the execution of the task Conversely if a task has dynamic creation mode then new instances of the task can start once the initial minimum instance number of tasks has started but before the maximum number has been received E Set the Instance Creation type to Static 8 Click Done With the values set in the scenario the Do Private Study task is indicating that a maximum of 100 instances of this task can be executed before triggering the task s outgoing flow A minimum of five instances will be created and once 50 instances have completed the outgoing flow relations to Get A Job will trigger The Queries tab of the Multiple Instance dialog will be explained later in the Setting Multiple Instance Queries section of this manual YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 19 Multiple Composite Tasks Multiple Composite Tasks allow you to run multiple instances of the Net represented by a multiple composite task concurrently To create a Multiple Composite Task 1 Click on the Add Multiple Composite Task button in the Palette Bar or right click in the whitespace of the Net and choose Multiple Composite Task S Go to the My Career Net We are going to replace our existing Do Private Study Multiple Instance Task with a Multiple Composite task so choose the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button on
42. oing to Time limited task Users may suddenly find that there is a time limited task available after the expiry time that triggers cancellation Fig 46 shows a user selecting the time service currently registered with a running YAWL engine as they generate their specification One of the differences between this release of the editor and previous releases is that custom services registered with a running engine will tell the editor what input and output variables that service 1s expecting The editor supplies these variables to workflow designers automatically in this release Note that the variables defined by custom services are the minimum required Extra user defined variables can still be defined and some custom service may make use of these option variables YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 52 Update Task Decomposition Time limited task expiry Task Decomposition Label Time limited task expiry Task Decomposition Variables Mame Type Usage tine string Input Only TAWL Registered Service Detail TAWL Service Time senice allows tasks to be a timeout task re Fig 46 Assigning a registered YAWL service from a running engine Resource Management Example The example save file below supplied with the editor source gives you an example of how to build a tasks that specifies resourcing constraints such which person or role is authorised and or allocated to process a t
43. ooltips which provide useful hints when your mouse is positioned over a toolbar button or an option in a pop up dialog window obtained by right clicking on the canvas It also allows you to change the font size used for element labels toggle whether diagrams should be drawn anti aliased and toggle whether grids should be drawn with diagrams Finally it allows users to iconify all nets or deiconify all nets at once Help The Help Menu provides details of the YAWL Editor copyright as well as Acknowledgements for all the dedicated YAWL contributors Included is an About the Editor dialog which describes which components were used in the YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor Man_vl doc 10 editor s construction compatibility issues and a list of contributors who ve added source code to the editor Creating Your First Specification Overview This next chapter will lead you through the process of creating a YAWL specification from beginning to end through a series of brief lessons following a scenario You can either follow all the instructions including the scenario provided from beginning to end or skip straight to the section that you are interested in and follow the instructions S Look for the blue S next to the instructions for specific details of the scenario The Scenario S The scenario that we will be following throughout this manual is the workflow of a student who has just completed their second
44. oving the Look of Flow Relations You can control and improve the look of the Flow Relations by adding in knees 1 Select the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button t from the Palette Bar Go to the Study Privately Net 2 Right click on the position in the Flow Relation where you want to add a knee signified by a small square in the Flow Relation Right click somewhere on the Flow Relation going from Knowledge Gained Condition to Look for an Easier Book Atomic Task Then left click on the knee created and drag it out to a more desirable location You can add as many knees to a Flow Relation as you like 3 Repeat the process for the Flow Relation between Look For an Easier Book and Read A Book tasks see Fig 17 You can now reconnect flow relations to other elements of a net or different points on the same element When the pallet button Net Element Selection Mode il is selected left click on a flow and drag it to another element If a connection is possible it will be highlighted as described earlier Release the mouse button to attach the flow to its new home 4 Take the current flow relation and move it from the top of the task to its side as depicted in Fig 17 Look for an Read A Book Knowledge Feel Smarter Gained Fig 17 Adding knees to a Flow Relation It is also possible to add labels to flows To do so double click on a flow when
45. ppear Update Net Decomposition Attend University Eg Het Decomposition Label Attend University Het Decomposition Variables Mame Type Usage Cre Update MmeEnave Cancel Fig 24 Updating Attend University Net Variables YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 32 4 Enter the Name of your variable choose the Type of the variable from the list then click Done then Done again to close the Net Decomposition dialog A Type in StudentNumber for the name of the variable and choose its type as String Set the Usage to Local Fig 25 Click Done Create another Net Variable with the name SubjectCode and Type of string Leave the Initial Value blank and set the Usage to Local Click Done Update Net Variable Hame StudentNurnber Type string gt Initial Value Cancel Fig 25 The Net Variable StudentNumber 5 The Net Variables should now appear in the Update variables of Net Attend University dialog box Fig 26 Update Net Decomposition Attend University x Het Decomposition Label lAttend University Het Decomposition Variables Name Type Usage Aub jectCode string Local atudentMumber Fig 26 Updated Attend University Net Variables YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_Man_v1 doc 33 Select Task Decomposition By choosing the Select Task Decomposition option when
46. present a state in between tasks for the workflow To create a Condition 1 2 3 4 5 Click on the Add a Condition button OJ in the Palette Bar or right click in the whitespace of the Net and choose Condition Go to the Study Privately Net We are going to place a loop Condition after the Read a Book Atomic Task to determine whether we gained any knowledge from the book We will add the new Condition next Place your Condition in your Net and set the name by right clicking on the Condition and choosing Set Label Call this Condition Knowledge Gained Now link to the Condition using the Flow Relations object Select the Enter Marquee Selection Mode button from the Palette Bar and click on the Flow Relation going from the Read a Book Atomic Task to the Feel Smarter Atomic Task and press the Delete button on the keyboard Create a Flow Relation from Read A Book to Knowledge Gained Create a Flow Relation from your Condition to a task Set the Flow Relation from Knowledge Gained Condition to Feel Smarter Atomic Task Create another Flow Relation from your Condition to another task to signify the two possible flows from the Condition Before we create our second flow relation from our Condition create another Atomic Task and call it Look for Another Book Change the Join Decoration for Atomic Task Read a Book to an OR Join with the orientat
47. r the buttons allow you to reset the zoom to the actual size to zoom the entire net out to zoom the entire net in and to zoom into the currently selected net elements Palette Bar The Palette Bar contains seven selector buttons that assist with creation selection and positioning of objects within your specification This menu can be repositioned by dragging the left hand anchor bar The Palette bar is also accessible by right clicking anywhere on a net that does not contain a net element Once an element is selected it is possible to drop objects in the canvas by left clicking the mouse button Atomic Task m Select this button to create an Atomic Task which represent a single task to be performed by a human or external application Composite Task o Select this button to create a Composite Task which is a container for another YAWL Net with its own set of Y AWL elements constrained by the same syntax Multiple Atomic Task fa Select this button to create a Multiple Atomic Task which allows you to run multiple instances of a task concurrently Multiple Composite Tasks a Select this button to create a Multiple Composite Task which allows you to run multiple instances of a composite task concurrently YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 8 Condition O Select this button to create a Condition which is a way to represent state for the Net Marquee Selection Select
48. rchitectures and its data format has changed over time This version of the editor needs version 0 4 of the utility and expects it to be called wofyawl0 4 exe regardless of the platform on which it runs Choose the wofyawl implementation right for your environment from Sourceforge and then rename as above it to get analysis working The default specification analysis algorithm was donated to the editor by Moe Wyn and is part of her research into using Reset Net analysis techniques within the setting of YAWL YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 49 Illustrative Examples Multiple Instance Task Example The example save file below supplied with the editor source gives you an example of how to process a simple multiple instance task with its queries filled in Fig 41 YAWLEditor C WAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 simpleMultipleInstanceExample 1 4 5 ywl Speciication Net Edit Elements Tools View Help Belg yeee a ies am Ia Eaa Create list Verify list Show list items Select a number of net elements to manipulate ij Fig 42 A simple specification showing how multiple instance tasks are done Fig 43 shows the core multiple instance queries used to manipulate a XMLSchema element defined for this specification The element has a complex type of PersonList which defines a sequence of lt PersonName gt someName lt PersonName gt elements YAWL Editor Manual Release 1
49. scerrsssssssseeeerssssssseeeeres 47 M staiye Example Se toed destin tera rasiehadeienetuea ink ahehianetsansiehaaeiaaneeies 50 Multiple Instance Task EXampleruiroeineiniiini 50 Time Sevice Ean Enere a T 32 TOW oeseri a E E seaetalectdeactote tales 53 TOUTS POON i T ys uaesavel shame abate waiemen cena 56 INCKMOW Ie GS CINCIUS orse a a E a eae eaceeriinss 57 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor Man_vl doc 11 Welcome to YAWL What is YAWL Based on a rigorous analysis of existing workflow management systems and workflow languages we have developed a new workflow language YAWL Yet Another Workflow Language To identify the differences between the various languages we have collected a fairly complete set of workflow patterns Based on these patterns we have evaluated several workflow products and detected considerable differences in expressive power Languages based on Petri nets perform better when it comes to state based workflow patterns However some patterns e g involving multiple instances complex synchronizations or non local withdrawals are not easy to map onto high level Petri nets This inspired us to develop a new language by taking Petri nets as a starting point and adding mechanisms to allow for a more direct and intuitive support of the workflow patterns identified YAWL can be considered a very powerful workflow language built upon experiences with languages supported by contemporary workflow management s
50. supplied Setting Multiple Instance Queries Multiple Instance Tasks need extra detail for data manipulation The Queries tab available by right clicking on a multiple instance task and selecting Set Instance Detail The Queries tab allows you to manipulate multiple instance data for the task Right click on the task and choose Ensure that you are viewing the Queries tab of the dialog as per Fig 37 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 45 Multiple Atomic Task Instance Detail Bounds Queries Multiple Instance Variable Accessor Quer Fig 37 Data Manipulation for Multiple Instance Tasks To successfully specify multiple instance data manipulation you first need to select which of the task s decomposition variables will be used as the Multiple Instance Variable This variable needs to contain or can derive a number of unique values that will be separated with the Splitter query to pass a unique value per each instance task If the Multiple Instance Variable needs manipulation overall before the unique values are split out of it use the Accessor Query to do SO On the completion of an instance the Instance Query can be used to transform the XML document returned to a form suitable for the Aggregate query to finally generate an overall result The overall result will be assigned to the Result Net Variable on completion of the multiple instanc
51. t casteladvnr A 14 Composite TASS it narscenasrtestbarceannssrnettinciy zs dasuaisaaie Re abigbatiaawiomaeedaresinse dasaiensaitas tnbenasuienieds 16 Multiple Atomie TASKS earnan seca teeter antennae inet ae camneehic 17 Multiple Composite Tasks susisdistnsincnisctun verti ahiadiatnd eenteun eatin etic 20 COU GLOIS ecne cause cedabeadeaatan e E 23 Chanoine the Starine ING ys rssiicatstccevew sustadaceneve ecole evens Seeaadececeeeeeasss 25 Changing the Appearance of Your Specification ccccccccccccceesseeeeeeeeeeeeeees 26 Improving the Look of Flow Relations ccccccccssessseeeeececeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeaas 26 Edine OD OCIS basses a sence a 27 Chano ma Font S176 erupe a EEA EEA 27 Adyanced Specificato n FCAUITeS innana 28 Cance laton SEIS inar a a a S 28 Updating Data Type Definitions cc ccccccccccceeseseeeeeeeeeeeaaeeeseeeeeeeeeeaaas 30 Net Decomposition Detail Updating Net Variables eecceeceeeeeeeees 32 Task Decomposition Detail Updating Task Variables eeeeceeeeeeeees 34 Adding Updating Task Parameters cccccccccccsssesseseeccccceeeseseeceeeeenaes 36 Updating Flow Detail os sssissoci coer coscisssscacctarsasasssetaccuataessessseercctaraaseeusseabecuandies 41 End Orsen O eer E E 43 Set YAWL Enine Detal kesici aa R Neto 43 Setting Multiple Instance Queries cccccccsssseseecccececeeeeesseeeeceeeeaeeeeeeeeees 45 Validating and Exporting eeeeesessssseeeeessssssseeerrsssssss
52. te specifications that take advantages of that YAWL engine s specific setup For this release of the editor the engine behaviour available is limited to a number of web services that the engine has been configured to interact with Further detail on specifying web services to have the workflow interact with can be found in the next section To set the YAWL Engine details 1 Click Engine on the Menu and choose the Set Engine Detail item 2 From the resulting dialog Fig 36 accept the default values or enter the following engine details YAWL Engine URI User Name Password Verify Password The YAWL Engine URI value will default to a locally installed YAWL Engine administration URI The User Name and Passwords will default to the engine default admin user specify Engine Detail TAVYL Engine URI User Name Password were Test Connection verify Password titt N Successful connected to a running engine with the above detail oom ea Fig 36 Specifying the YAWL Engine Details As a user convenience a button called Test Connection is supplied which will attempt to connect to a running engine with the detail supplied before the user commits to using those details for any further editor engine interactions YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 44 Connecting a Decomposition to a registered YAWL Service You can use task decompositions within your workflow to make
53. tely multiple instance composite task and replace it with an atomic composite task using the same decomposition and re drawing flows from Begin My Career and to Get A Job tasks Your updated net should look like Fig 15 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 24 YAWLEditor C WAWL documentation screenshots 1 4 5 Fig15_UserManualExample ywl Specification Net Edit Elements Tools View Help Belg vive Be eS il IE a3 BR Begin My Career Career Started study Privately Tna Caton umes Soe Kea oe Mak oe MAO oe RAR RE TR OR COR RE MO TRE MO RD a a a aa a a oa a RT RUE OOO om an a a So UG GE oC a A os oer nea en ars a On ron ER Select a number of net elements to manipulate Fig 15 Making the Study Privately task an atomic composite Changing the Starting Net At any stage you can change the starting Net of the specification To change the starting Net 1 Select Net from the Menu 2 Choose Set Starting Net 3 From the Choose Starting Net window click on the drop down list and select a new starting Net 4 Click Done Fig 16 Changing the Starting Net Note that the starting net has an input condition symbol gt in its title frame and its minimised icon All sub nets have a composite task symbol LI in their title frames and minimised icons YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 25 Changing the Appearance of Your Specification Impr
54. the Palette Bar click on the Do Private Study Task and press the Delete key on the keyboard We will add in the new Multiple Composite task next 2 Place your Multiple Composite Task in your Net Reconnect the Flow Relations from Begin My Career to the new Multiple Composite Task and from the new Multiple Composite Task to Get a Job 3 You will now need to set the parameters of the Multiple Composite Task Right click on the task and choose Set Instance Detail 4 Set the Minimum Instances value This is the minimum number of instances of this task that will be started when the task needs processing S Set the Minimum Instances to 5 5 Set the Maximum Instances value This is the maximum number of instances of this task that can be created Set the Maximum Instances to 100 6 Set the Continuation Threshold value The moment all instances created have completed or as many instances as the Continuation Threshold specified have completed the multiple instance task itself is considered completed which triggers relevant outgoing flow relations from this task S Set the Continuation Threshold to 50 7 Choose the Instance Creation If a multi instance task has static creation mode when the task is started the number of instances created is decided then and cannot be altered during the execution of the task Conversely if a task has dynamic creation mode then new instances of the task can start once the i
55. to close the task parameters dialog If you haven t set up Net Variables then click on Create and return to the previous section in the manual for Adding a Net Variable YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_ Editor Man_vl doc 39 YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc If you are familiar with XQuery syntax then you can paste in an XQuery to allow manipulation of the Output Parameters Syntactically well formed XQueries will be green and badly formed ones will be red For workflow designer convenience two XQuery buttons are supplied to generate XQuery expressions from available task variables The add XQuery of element s content only button will return just the content of the XML element for this variable which is useful for simple state transfer between two variables of the same XMLSchema type and expected to be the typical button that users will start out with The other button add XQuery of entire element will return the entire XML element of the selected variable which is useful for times when you want to create a complex type expression from individual variable elements Experience with XMSchema and XQuery are necessary to understand the effects this button will have on runtime YAWL engine State From the list of task variables select the SubjectCode task variable and click add XQuery of element s content only From the list of net variables select the SubjectCode variable Cli
56. u can supply your own XMLSchema definition to describe them 1 Select Update Data Type Definitions from the Specification Menu 2 Enter your XMLSchema Data Type Definition into the dialog box Fig 28 3 If the definition text is green your new data type is now available for defining Net or Task variables in your specification If the text is red there is something wrong with your data type definition and the data type will not be available Update Data Type Definitions lt sechema xmlns http ww W3 org 200l MLSchena s lt complexType name Geek gt lt Sequence gt lt element name Name type string gt lt element name Salary type double gt lt _ Sequence gt lt complexType gt lt schena gt ome Fig 21 Adding the Geek complex data type YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 30 When the text is red the split pane will reveal a table listing parse errors that were collected when determining the validity of the text supplied An example of this is shown in Fig 22 Update Data Type Definitions schema xblns http im ws org 2001 SANLochena gt lt complexType name Geek gt Sequence gt lt element name Wame type string gt lt element name Salary type double gt lt sequence gt lt complexType gt lt sche Error ln 68 col 3 The element type schema must be terminated by the matching end tag lt schema gt
57. you right click on a task you have the ability to identify which decomposition this task represents Like nets tasks have decompositions where you can specify variables and a label to associate with the task or net Unlike nets which cannot share net decompositions there is a 1 N relationship between task decompositions scoped to the entire specification and their tasks scoped to nets Besides variables and a label task decompositions also allow the workflow designer to identify which web service the decomposition should invoke in a running workflow engine When two tasks share the same decomposition we are saying that the same activity is required in two different places in the workflow You can use the drop down list to select the task decomposition of a task or alternately you can press the Create button and generate a new one that will automatically become the task s decomposition Fig 27 F My Career Attend O um sea Begin My GetAJob Care Atomic Task Get A Job _ Get Degree Read Book Look for an Easier Book Fig 27 Select Task Decomposition Task Decomposition Detail Updating Task Variables You can add variables to a task to store specific information relating to that task Task variables have several uses One use is to transferring information between workflow users and the workflow engine A second use is for passing data between web services that the runnin
58. ystems YAWL encompasses these existing workflow languages and in addition has a formal semantics Such an approach is in contrast with e g WIfMC s XPDL which takes commonalities between various languages as a starting point and does not have formal semantics YAWL provides support for the control flow perspective the data perspective and the resource perspective The design environment also provides sophisticated analysis support Obtaining the Latest Version of the YAWL Editor As new versions of the YAWL Editor are released to the public they will be available for download at the YAWL website http www yawl system com a Developers interested in obtaining the YAWL Engine can download the files from the YAWL website above The source code for all of the YAWL components can be downloaded through the SourceForge Website http sourceforge net projects yawl a YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc 1 The YAWL Project For more information and progress on the YAWL project visit the YAWL homepage http www yawl system com a YAWL Architecture The following image Fig 1 depicts the interaction between components of the YAWL Engine Apache Tomcat Web Service yawlWSInvoker war Browser http localhost 8080 worklist Fig 1 The YAWL Components YAWL Editor Manual Release 1 YAWL_Editor_ Man_vl doc Getting Started What s New Following is a list of new features a
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