Next Generation Application Integration: From Simple Information to Web Services

Data Handling

Within BPEL4WS the maintenance of the state of the business process requires the use of a state variable known as containers. The data from the state is extracted and combined in interesting ways to manage the process behavior requiring data expression. BPEL4WS uses XML data types and WSDL messages as an enabling mechanism for data handling, as do traditional Web services.

The difference between abstract and executable processes is in the way data is handled within a process. Abstract processes don't have the same capabilities to manipulate the values contained in message properties, which are limited to the use of a nondeterministic value to reflect outcomes of private behavior. In contrast, executable processes are permitted to ...