Overview

OpenBP is an open-source workflow and process engine.
Its strenghts are its high performance, low database footprint and high-class modeling tool.
It provides a variety of features often unseen in commercial products.
OpenBP is licensed under the business-friendly Apache 2.0 license.

OpenBP allows for structuring software around a graphically modeled business process that is understandable to both business process specialists as well as developers.
The sequence of processing steps is defined by the process. The details of each step are encapsulated by the process elements, which refer to reusable blocks of Java code (handlers or hooks) or built-in functionality such as control structures such as branches or sub process calls.
At runtime, the process model is executed (interpreted) by the OpenBP engine, which in turn calls the user Java code to perform business functions.
A running process can be stopped and persisted to a database at particular points, thus adding interruptability of a process to the Java language.

Fields of Use

• Process control
  Execution of a graphically defined business process, adding process suspension features to the Java language.
• Workflow processing
  Coordinates workflows between individuals and systems.
• Page flow control
  Can be used to define page flows in dialog (Web, Swing, SWT) applications.
• Process modeling
  Using a customizable generator mechanism, the graphical modeler can be used to generate any kind of code or process model (apart from the 'native' OpenBP models).
  This allows for using the modeling environment as graphical front-end for other (e. g. more specialized than OpenBP) workflow dialects.

Modeling Tool Screenshots

   

User Guide

You may download the OpenBP user guide from OpenBP User Guide.

Why OpenBP?

Flexibility

• Easily embeddable in any J2SE or J2EE application (requires J2SE 1.6).
• Based on standard technology: Spring 3.0 for wiring, SLF4F for logging.
• Various persistence layers supported (JPA, pure Hibernate, Cayenne, in-memory); fine-granular control over database save actions and transaction handling.
• Customizable on different levels through custom code connectors and general hooks.
• Integrated scripting support using the Bean Shell Java interpreter.
• Process definitions can be stored in XML files (convenient for development), databases (available to all machines of a cluster and good for ad-hoc workflows) or Jar archives (for easy classpath-based deployment).

Scalbility & Performance

• In-memory process model, single table model access
  Most workflow and BPM engines like e. g. JBoss JBPM distribute their process models across a set of relational database tables due to simplicity reasons and to use the relational principle to guarantee the integrity of the process model. This often results in joins across a dozend or more tables, providing very poor performance when loading process models or retrieving information from workflow task tables.
  OpenBP keeps the process model in XML form in a single table and caches it in memory. The model integrity is ensured by the save and load mechanisms, which convert the XML to an in-memory process model.
• Unlimited process duration
  Some workflow engines use the chain-of-command-pattern to determine the flow of control within the process. For processes having a long duration (i. e. many processing steps due to loops or such), this may result in a Java stack overflow.
  In OpenBP, each Java action may set the next node to execute instead of calling the next action itself. The framework will take care of the rest, thus preventing deep call stacks.
• Native data types
  OpenBP is designed for high-speed process execution. It is not one of the rather slow enterprise application integration products. So the parameters passed into OpenBP processes and between the Java actions of the process can be arbitrary Java objects and do not need to be XML data (though it can be, of course).

Tool Support

• Highly sophisticated graphical modeling tool.
• Customizable presentation, e. g. UML activity diagrams or flowcharts.
• Intelligent graphical process diagram layout using self-adopting splines.
• Comfortable editing include pan, zoom, drag/dop, copy/paste etc.
• Visual process debugging - follow the process as it executes and live inspect the process data directly in the modeling tool.
  Even modify the process during debugging and immediately see the effect!
• Code generator for Java actions.

Documentation

Download the OpenBP User Guide (PDF).

In addition, OpenBP features comprehensive Javadoc API documentation (download the javadoc jars together with binary and source jars form the Maven repository).