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Bonita Open Solution 5.x Essentials
Bonita Open Solution 5.x Essentials

Bonita Open Solution 5.x Essentials: Developing applications using Bonita Open Solution means you can model business processes in a workflow, and this book teaches you all the fundamentals by taking you through the entire development cycle.

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Bonita Open Solution 5.x Essentials

Chapter 2. Variable Types and Scope

There are many types of variables that can be used in Bonita Studio that are essential in creating processes. This chapter introduces all the variables available and also explores their scope.

Pool variables versus step variables


Bonita gives us the options to create two kinds of variables with regard to scope: pool variables and step variables. Pool variables are akin to global variables in any programming language and step variables correspond to the local variables of a function.

The type of variables, integers or text, are the same for both pool and step variables. Only their scope differs. For example, there might be an integer variable such as an ID number that might be required in all the steps of the workflow. We would have to make this a pool variable so that it can be accessed by all steps. On the other hand, one of the steps might have a field, called name, which might be required only at that step. Hence, it makes sense to make name a step variable that is accessible only by that step.

To define a pool variable, select the pool and click on the Data tab in the details panel. We can add the variables by clicking on the Add... button. Similarly, to define a step variable...

The text variable


The text variable is used to hold text of all kinds in Bonita. Note that this variable is of the type string of Java, found in java.lang.String. The Multiplicity option is used to select whether the variable is a single string variable or an array of strings. We can also state the default value that this variable will take. If left blank, the variable will be initialized to null, the way Java Strings are initialized. This variable is used to store any kind of text value in Bonita.

The variable List of Options... contains a list of text variables that can be used in drop-down boxes or radio buttons. When we select the List of Options... as the data type, a box appears where we define the list that we want to populate. Let's name this list Smartphones. Click on the Add... button, type in Apple, and click on OK. Similarly, add more options. such as Samsung, HTC, and Nokia. We can also rearrange the list options by clicking on the Up and Down tabs. After we have created the...

The Boolean variable


The Boolean variable holds Boolean values, that is, true or false, and is of the type Boolean of Java, found in the package java.lang.Boolean. Its multiplicity can be single or it can be an array of Boolean values. The default value of this variable, if left blank, is null.

The integer variable


Bonita Studio offers integer variables, but they are of the Java type Long (java.lang.Long). Be sure to initialize the integer value here, and if you want to use it for counting or keeping track of a sum of integer values, then give the default value as 0.

Tip

When using external connectors or Java code for evaluating the integer variable, beware that the type of the integer variable is not Integer but Long.

The float variable


In addition to the Integer variable, if we want to deal with decimal points and large numbers, Bonita offers the float variable, which is of the Java type Double (java.lang.Double). You can use the float variable for calculating money values, and so on.

The date variable


The date variable is used to store date values, for example, the date that the date-picker widget is in the Web application stores. It is of the Java type Date (java.util.Date). In addition, while defining the default value of this variable, we are given the option to choose it from a date picker that displays the date and time in a grid fashion.

Figure 2.2: The date variable wizard

Also, the default value can be set to Now, which takes the date and time at execution. This feature is useful in most scenarios when we want to display the default date and time as the time when the end user comes across this variable.

The attachment variable


The attachment variable is used to store any file attachment in Bonita. As the attachment is internally stored in the database as Binary Large Object (BLOB), this gives the flexibility to store any kind of file attachment, regardless of the extension.

The maximum size of the attachment can be 15 MB. The attachment variable is primarily used in the file widget while creating web forms. Whenever the user clicks on any file object from his system, it is uploaded into the Bonita database and stored as an attachment variable.XML Variable.

Another way we can represent data in Bonita Studio is to use an XML variable to store data in the XML format. Relevant data can be represented in a concise way using XML. For creating this variable in Bonita, simply select the data type as XML. Here, we have to choose the XML namespace and element for the data. We can also add a new schema by importing an XSD file.

The Java variable


This variable is the most useful custom variable that Bonita provides. We have the ability to create Java classes and export them into a jar file from any IDE or Java command line. This jar file can be added to the classpath of Bonita. Thereafter, we can create a new Java object of the type of the class that we have created. Let us see how to do this:

  1. Open up an IDE, such as IntelliJIdea or Eclipse. Create a new Java project and a package inside src. Here, we will name it com.rohitbhat.examplepackage. Inside this package, create a new class named TestClass. Enter the following code in it:

    public class TestClass {
      private String testString;
      private int testInt;
    
      public TestClass() {
        this.testString = "";
        this.testInt = 0;
      }
    
      public String getTestString() {
        return testString;
      }
    
      public void setTestString(String testString) {
        this.testString = testString;
      }
    
      public int getTestInt() {
        return testInt;
      }
    
      public void setTestInt(int testInt...

Summary


We have looked through the various types of variables that are available for use in Bonita Studio. We now also know how to initialize these different kinds of variables, and also which variable to use in a particular context. Any kind of information that has to be saved in the workflow can be saved in different kinds of variables. In the next chapter, we will use these variables to create web forms.

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Key benefits

  • Design exhaustive workflows with ease using the Bonita Studio
  • Learn how to create customizable and intuitive web forms with a drag-and-drop interface
  • A plethora of diagrams, illustrations, tips, and hands-on examples to augment your learning

Description

Creating delightful web-based applications backed by complex business logic and intricate workflows is just one of the many things you can easily achieve by leveraging Bonita Open Solution. It is a highly customizable and efficient tool for business process modeling. Bonita Open Solution is a one-stop solution for developing scalable applications with a nifty user management system and easy deployment. This pragmatic, hands-on guide to developing complex applications is packed with succinct tips and demonstrations of the various aspects of Bonita Open Solution. This book will show you how to make the best use of the Bonita BPM tool, leverage its powerful backend engine, and design business application workflows with ease. By the end of this book, you will be able to develop a complete business process application. Right from designing web forms to integrating business logic to finally deploying the application on a server, this book takes you through the entire development cycle of an application created using Bonita Open Solution. You will learn about modeling business processes in Bonita, creating customizable web forms, and using connectors, contingencies, and transitions to move forward in the workflow. It also highlights the various page flows available, as well as the ease of use of the drag-and-drop, widget-based modular design of Bonita Studio. After developing the application, you will also learn about the various options for deployment, and the different environments on which it can be deployed.

Who is this book for?

If you are a business application developer looking forward to model business processes intuitively in a workflow, with various conditions and transitions then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of Java or Groovy is necessary to help you develop these applications. Knowledge of HTML and JavaScript/JQuery will be helpful but not mandatory.

What you will learn

  • Set up Bonita and explore the various user management options
  • Create and customize web forms with different widgets using a drop-and-drop interface
  • Explore different conditions, contingencies, and transitions of the workflow developed in Bonita Studio
  • Configure different kinds of connectors in Bonita for exporting and importing data
  • Deploy the application on a Linux or Windows-based server, with connections to external databases
  • Set up the page flow for the web forms, explore the User Experience, and learn about different options available for customization
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Table of Contents

7 Chapters
Installing and Getting Started with Bonita Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Variable Types and Scope Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating and Customizing Web Forms Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Conditions, Contingencies, and Transitions Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Adding Connectors Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Configuring the Page Flow Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Customizing Look and Feel Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.8
(4 Ratings)
5 star 25%
4 star 50%
3 star 0%
2 star 25%
1 star 0%
FarnboroughDad Feb 10, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Bonitasoft make a decent product, and a lot can be picked up by just installing the package and trying stuff out. However there were gaps in my knowledge, and I needed help. I managed to read most of the book in one sitting, and whilst it didn't have every answer I was looking for, the knowledge gained was enough to make it worth the price.If you are starting out with Bonitasoft this is more at the 'for Dummies' end of knowledge transfer than the 'Bible' type books - enough to get you heading in the right direct.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
W Boudville Jan 31, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Bonita means 'pretty' in Spanish and the back cover of this book refers to 'creating delightful [sic] web-based applications'. Well, ahem, I am not sure about whether the package can make pretty or delightful solutions but maybe you might differ. It sits within the overall context of Business Intelligence. The problem and promise of the latter phrase is that it is so open ended. It can mean infinitely complex and dare we say wise applications?But be clear on this. Bonita really is about laying out a workflow logic, as opposed to being a deep level of Business Intelligence. Bonita does indeed have a nice user friendly GUI that as much as possible lets you easily lay out that workflow. In an intuitive manner. But there is no Business Intelligence or Artificial Intelligence involved. While you do not have to see the source code behind Bonita, it is not in those realms. The truly hard stuff is in your head. The logic of the workflow that you are instantiating in a visual manner via the steps in this book.You probably and should already know the basics of Boolean logic. Bonita has easy ways for you to define logic gates - XOR and AND. So you can compound steps into far more intricate logic structures. And do this in a visual layout that lets you and perhaps more importantly, others, see the flow of the tasks. So that the dependencies are made visually explicit.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
viniciusbenone Jan 02, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Quero destacar esta publicação sobre um BPMS baseado em software livre, que é uma coisa rara ver tal tipo de livro. Devido esta carência no mercado para a aquisição deste tipo de livro sobre o Bonitasoft, sempre esperamos algo mais, eles podiam dar mais ênfase em recursos básicos do software, assim como na automatização de processos.Espero novas publicações sobre o Bonitasoft.Um abraço,Vinicius Benone
Amazon Verified review Amazon
W. Wood Aug 04, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2
Not really what I was expecting. There's some good examples but since there isn't much out there on Bonita BPM yet, you'll have to leverage their online resources if you want to get deep with it.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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