com.sonicsw.xq
Interface XQProcessContinuation

All Superinterfaces:

java.io.Serializable

All Known Subinterfaces:

XQFaultProcessContinuation

public interface XQProcessContinuation
extends java.io.Serializable

Using Process continuations a user can interrupt a process flow and then continue it at a later time, potentially from a different location (thread/ container), without losing any of the process context. This feature enables better handling of asynchronous responses in ESB and other use cases that require passivation and reactivation of ESB processes.

The process continuation object contains all the state and context information required to continue the process instance at a later time. A service can obtain the continuation object by invoking the XQProcessContext.getProcessContinuation method. The continuation information can be stored as a simple string and can thus even be set as a message header. Depending on the use case users might choose to persist the continuation in a database, send it along with the message as a correlation header, save it in a cache, etc.

At a later time another service (standalone or within a process) can recreate the continuation object from the relevant data source and then continue the process instance using the information in the continuation.

User should implement XQProcessContinuationHandler to save and retrieve the continuation object to/from your data source (database, message header, cache, etc.)

Conceptually a process continuation can contain three levels of information:

 
 1. Level 0 (STATELESS): 
             The continuation only contains the top level process name
             and composite step name. The process continues from the 
             appropriate step but all other process context information 
             (like exit/RME/Fault, tracking info, process context 
             properties, etc) is lost
 2. Level 1 (PROCESS_CONTEXT): 
             In addition to level-0, the continuation also contains process
             context information (accessible via getProcessRuntime()). The
             process continues from the appropriate step and all the process
             context information is retained in the process instance. 
 3. Level 2 (ITINERARY): 
             In addition to level-1, the continuation also contains the 
             information related to the itinerary parts. This is suitable
             for really advanced cases like dynamic itineraries









Nested Class Summary




static class
XQProcessContinuation.Level



          Denotes the level for the continuation.


 


Field Summary




static XQAddress
NULL_ADDRESS



          Use this address object in your continuation object if you want to explicitly 
 set for exit/fault/RME/tracking address in the activated process to null.


 



Method Summary




 java.lang.String
getCompositeStepName()



          Returns the name of the step to be continued.



 java.lang.String
getCurrentProcessName()



          Returns the name of the current (inner most) process to be continued.



 java.lang.String
getID()



          Returns the unique ID for the continuation.



 XQProcessContinuation.Level
getLevel()



          Get the level for this continuation



 java.lang.Object
getProcessInstanceData()



          Returns additional process instance data.



 XQRuntimeProcess
getProcessRuntime()



          Returns the process context information for the process to be continued.



 java.lang.String
getRootProcessName()



          Returns the name of the top parent process to be continued.



 void
setCompositeStepName(java.lang.String stepName)



          Set the name of the step to be continued.



 void
setCurrentProcessName(java.lang.String processName)



          Set the name of the current (inner most) process to be continued.



 void
setCurrentProcessStepName(java.lang.String stepName)



          Set the name of the step in the current process to be continued.



 void
setID(java.lang.String id)



          Optional method to set a unique ID for the continuation



 void
setLevel(XQProcessContinuation.Level level)



          Set the level for this continuation



 void
setProcessInstanceData(java.lang.Object procInstData)



          Set additional process instance data.



 void
setProcessRuntime(XQRuntimeProcess runtimeProcess)



          Set the process context information for the process to be continued.



 void
setRootProcessName(java.lang.String topProcessName)



          Set the name of the top parent process to be continued.


 





Field Detail



NULL_ADDRESS
static final XQAddress NULL_ADDRESS

Use this address object in your continuation object if you want to explicitly 
 set for exit/fault/RME/tracking address in the activated process to null. 
 
 If an optional field in the continuation object is null then it is 
 ignored while setting the process context during process activation. Therefore
 use this object if you want to explicitly set one of the aforementioned address
 values to null in the activated process.








Method Detail



setID
void setID(java.lang.String id)

Optional method to set a unique ID for the continuation





Parameters:
id - Unique ID to identify the continuation





getID
java.lang.String getID()

Returns the unique ID for the continuation.






Returns:
Return ID or null





setLevel
void setLevel(XQProcessContinuation.Level level)

Set the level for this continuation





Parameters:
level - Continuation level





getLevel
XQProcessContinuation.Level getLevel()

Get the level for this continuation






Returns:
Continuation level





setCurrentProcessName
void setCurrentProcessName(java.lang.String processName)

Set the name of the current (inner most) process to be continued.





Parameters:
processName - Name of the process





getCurrentProcessName
java.lang.String getCurrentProcessName()

Returns the name of the current (inner most) process to be continued.






Returns:
Return the process name





setRootProcessName
void setRootProcessName(java.lang.String topProcessName)

Set the name of the top parent process to be continued. This is useful 
 in the case of nested processes.





Parameters:
topProcessName - Name of the top most process





getRootProcessName
java.lang.String getRootProcessName()

Returns the name of the top parent process to be continued.






Returns:
Return the top process name





setCompositeStepName
void setCompositeStepName(java.lang.String stepName)

Set the name of the step to be continued. In the case of a nested
 process the step name should be a composite value that contains
 the step names of all the parent processes in the invocation chain.





Parameters:
stepName - Name of the step





setCurrentProcessStepName
void setCurrentProcessStepName(java.lang.String stepName)

Set the name of the step in the current process to be continued.





Parameters:
stepName - Name of the step





getCompositeStepName
java.lang.String getCompositeStepName()

Returns the name of the step to be continued. This will be a composite
 name in the case of nested process.





Parameters:
Return - the name of the step to be continued.





setProcessRuntime
void setProcessRuntime(XQRuntimeProcess runtimeProcess)

Set the process context information for the process to be continued. This is 
 used for Level 1 and Level 2 continuations.





Parameters:
runtimeProcess - process context information





getProcessRuntime
XQRuntimeProcess getProcessRuntime()

Returns the process context information for the process to be continued. In
 the case of Level 0 continuations this method will return null.






Returns:
The process context information or null





setProcessInstanceData
void setProcessInstanceData(java.lang.Object procInstData)

Set additional process instance data. This is used for Level 2 continuations.





Parameters:
Return - ID or null





getProcessInstanceData
java.lang.Object getProcessInstanceData()

Returns additional process instance data.  In the case of Level 0 and Level 1 
 continuations this method will return null.






Returns:
Additional process instance data or null.