WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere ESB 6.0.2 Update

At WebSphere Technical Exchange 2006, Eric Herness gave an update on the latest set of WPI products which will be available in December 2006. The introductory talk to this one is WebSphere Business Integration 6.0.2 Update.

WBI roadmap:

WID/WPS/WESB 6.0.2 on WAS 6.0.2 in Dec 2006
6.0.2 for z/OS on Mar 30, 2007
WID/WPS/WESB 6.1 on WAS 6.1 in approx 3Q07
WebSphere Service Registry and Repository 6.0 on Sept 29, 2006

Key New Features

New integration capabilities
- Direct integration with WMQ
  - MQ-JMS binding
  - MQ-Native binding
- JMS import/export bindings
  - Support all five JMS message types
  - An SDO type for each message type
- Java interface/artifacts consumption
  - Today: Make a Java class reusable using Java-to-WSDL tooling
  - 6.0.2: Import a J-type SCA, generate a WSDLDescribedPOJO (which is a WSDL-type SCA)
Additional OoS
- WS Endpoint Administration
- ESB Mediation Module Properties
Additional Features
- Dynamic Endpoint Selection
  - useDynamicEndpoint header property
- New Service Registry Lookup Primitive
  - Integration with WSRR
- Better business rules support
  - Auditing on import/export of rules
- Human task management
  - Enhanced support for groups
  - Ad-hoc collaboration
    - Retain responsibility: Subtasks
    - Delegate responsibility: Follow-on tasks
  - Server controlled page flow
    - completeAndClaimSuccessor() assigns the next human work item from the same process to the same user
  - Post-processing of staff query results
    - Plugin interface to modify Staff Query result set
  - Customizable E-mail
    - Ability to change the template for notification e-mail messages
  - Binary custom properties for human tasks
    - Attach a small BLOB to a human task
  - Pending human tasks
  - Follow-up human tasks
    - Get it off my list of todo's for now
- Query properties for process-leve variables (MQWF feature)
- Information service activity
  - Enables a process to get data by invoking a service
- Dynamic invocation of sub-processes
- Extended support for custom properties
- Cleanup for completed processes
  - deleteCompletedProcessInstances(), deleteCompletedProcessInstances.py (lots of args)
- Enhanced BPC (Business Process Choreographer) Exloprer
  - Graphical process view -- displays graphical view of process templates and instances
- BPC Observer
  - Graphs of process stats, helps find processes by technical qualities
- BPC API/Client
  - Generic API to the BPC engine
- Support for remote clients
  - Enables WAS apps to invoke SCAs in WPS
- Web client generation for human workflows
  - Good for quick demos; initial GUIs to develop into real GUIs
- Event sequencing
Consumability
- Better WAS ND admin console for WPS
Performance
- Lazy parsing for ESB
- Streamlining of paths for XSLT, SCA bindings, BPC engine, etc., etc., etc.
- WID: Improvements to build cycle and validation
Platform Integration
Migration
- Enhanced tools
- ICS: Runtime support
- WBI-SF: Not as much new
- WMQWF
- WID: No migration needed for 6.0.x projects

WS-Security Deployment Descriptor Management for SCA -- 6.0.2 won't overwrite them anymore

WPS 6.1

WAS 6.1
Consumability
Connectivity
Performance
ND Enhancements
Transformation
Mediations

Other themes:

SCA2
Better XML support
Config instead of code
Flexible access to function
WS- everything
Event-driven architecture