A BPEL process is a set of business-related activities that
are invoked in a specific sequence to achieve a business goal. Examples are
provided that show how you might develop applications for typical actions
on processes.
About this task
A BPEL process can be either a microflow or a long-running process:
- Microflows are short running BPEL processes that are
executed synchronously. After a very short time, the result is
returned to the caller.
- Long-running, interruptible processes are executed as
a sequence of activities that are chained together. The use of certain constructs
in a process causes interruptions in the process flow, for example, invoking
a human task, invoking a service using an synchronous binding, or using timer-driven
activities.
Parallel branches of the process are usually navigated asynchronously,
that is, activities in parallel branches are executed concurrently. Depending
on the type and the transaction setting of the activity, an activity can be
run in its own transaction.