Working with Data Paths

Data paths are a way to define read and write accessors to workflow data of a process instance. You can use data paths programmatically during runtime via the provided WorkflowService. Please refer to the chapter Stardust Services for detailed information on the embedded usage of Stardust services. If defined as descriptors, data paths can be also used to visualize process data in the Stardust Portals. Note that only data paths defined as descriptors are visible in the Stardust Portals.

Creating Data Paths for Process Definitions

To add a data path, select Data Path in the Overview tree on the left side of the properties dialog pertaining to the chosen process definition. In the right pane, click the Add button.

Figure: Adding a Data Path

The Data Path property pane opens.

Figure: Adding a Data Path

You can specify the following attributes:

• An ID uniquely identifying the data path
  (Please note that IDs containing hyphens, blanks or dots and IDs starting with digits are not supported.)
• A human readable name
• A direction - IN direction is for read access, OUT direction for write access
• Modeled as a descriptor or not
• The referenced workflow data
• An access path to the data

Descriptors

To define a descriptor for a process definition, select the Descriptor radio button in the properties page. By default, Not a descriptor radio button is selected. Then select a data to use as the process data. Note that timestamp data types like datetime, date and time are currently not supported as descriptors. It is also recommended to avoid using Object types like Serialization, Entity Bean or Hibernate as this can lead to performance problems during queries.

Figure: Define a Data Path as Descriptor.

Use Cases

A data path defined as descriptor can be used in the Stardust portals to visualize data relevant for work items in a participant's worklist or to filter displayed entries by these values, for example:

• In the Workflow Execution Perspective to visualize data or to filter by data values.

  
  Figure: Descriptors used as Filter in the Workflow Execution Perspective.

• In the Business Control Center Perspective to visualize data, filter process instances by relevant data in the Process Search view, differentiate process instances in the Gantt Chart view or group by data values in the Traffic Light view.

  
  Figure: Descriptors used as Filter in the Process Search View.

• In the Stardust Portal to visualize data or to filter by data values.

  
  Figure: Descriptors indicated in the Administration Perspective.

Descriptors and subprocesses

Process descriptors attached to a main process do not apply to its sub-processes. If you like to apply the same descriptor, you have to set it explicitly for the sub-process itself.

Key Descriptors

The key descriptor allows designating special descriptors which helps in searching related processes with matching key descriptors. To define a key descriptor for the process definition, select the Key Descriptor radio button.

For more information, please refer to the Case Descriptors section of the Case - Grouping Processes chapter of the Concepts handbook.

Figure: Defining Key Descriptor

When defining key descriptors following rules are applied for IN data path as well as OUT data path:

• the data used in descriptor should be of primitive type with no data path defined

OR

• the data used in descriptor should be structured data which is indexed. It should have the data path defined which results into java primitive type.

Key Descriptors in the Stardust Portal - Use Cases

• The data path defined as key descriptor can be used in the Stardust Portal to search for related joined processes or cases. For more information, please refer to chapter Searching for related Processes or Cases of the End User Handbook.
• In case, you have defined LastName and TaxID as key descriptors for a process definition. In the Workflow Execution Perspective of that process definition, LastName and TaxID can be set as columns.


Figure: Select Columns - Key Descriptor

The value provided for the key descriptor gets displayed under the column LastName and TaxID.


Figure: Key Descriptor Columns - Last Name and TaxID

• Similarly, in the Business Control Center Perspective, you can view the key descriptor value of the searched processes.