About Web Services in workflows
Workflow system leverages Web Services technology to enable workflow authors to define message interaction between Content Cortex processes, as well as between Content Cortex workflows and other business processes.
Workflow system provides three Web Services features:
- A Web Services API that provides a subset of the Process Java™ API. You can use the Web Services API to write step processors.
- The ability to invoke Web Services defined in another workflow. This feature allows you to create workflows that can use Web Services developed by others in your organization or available externally on the Internet.
- The ability to provide a workflow as a Web Service, which enables other applications to interact with your workflow via Web Services.
There are two modalities you can use to create or invoke a Web Service:
- The parameters modality allows you to invoke or create Web Services without requiring knowledge or understanding of XML or XML schemas. This feature provides an easy way to start using Web Services.
- The XML modality requires XML and XML schema knowledge, and allows users to deal with complex XML messages that might not be suitable for the parameters modality.
Invoking a Web Service provided by your company, or a partner
To invoke a Web Service, you need the description (WSDL) of the service, with the expected
parameters and the endpoint where the service can be
executed.
Process Configuration Console and Process Designer provide interfaces for configuring and defining
your Web Services.
- Using Process Designer, the workflow author completes the following steps to invoke a Web
Service as a step in a workflow.
- In Workflow Properties Partner Links, select Web Services to invoke by directly typing in the location of the WSDL.
- Place an Invoke step at the appropriate location on the workflow map, and select the desired Web Service from the list. Process Designer interprets the WSDL to detect required parameters.
- Define appropriate data fields for input and output parameters for the Web Service.
For complex outgoing and incoming messages, you can also define XML schemas, XML data fields, and correlation sets, as required for your application.
Note: A Content Cortex workflow cannot invoke a web service that is deployed on a web server that requires authentication for access.
Providing a Web Service for use within your company, to partners, or for public use
To provide a Web Service, you create a workflow with a Receive step, then make it available for
use by other Content Cortex workflows or outside partners.
- Use Process Designer to define the Web Service, specifying a receive/reply Partner link, and defining any appropriate data fields for input parameters and reply parameters. If an attachment might be part of the input, specify a folder where the incoming attachment will be stored.
- Place a Receive step at the appropriate location on the workflow map, and specify the appropriate Partner Link and the various input parameters for the Web Service.
- Add a Reply step to the workflow map to specify the reply message for the Web Service.
- To make the Web Service available to other workflow within the isolated region, transfer the
workflow containing the Receive step to the workflow database.
To make the Web Service available for use outside the isolated region by either another Content Cortex workflow or an outside process, you publish the Web Service.
Advanced features
- Authentication and security
- Using the built-in authentication option in the Receive step, you can specify that a logon and password is required for a request.
- Correlation
- By configuring correlation sets in Invoke, Receive, and Reply functions, you can identify specific conversations between Web Services. For example, in a purchase order conversation between the buyer and supplier, an order number can be used to identify the appropriate messages between the buyer and supplier.
- Attachments
- You can pass attachments by reference between two Content Cortex workflow systems that have access to the same object store. The attachment reference information is included in the message.