9.4.6. Performing a task

To begin work on a task, we use either @StartTask or @BeginTask on the listener method:

@StartTask public String start() { ... }

Alternatively, we can begin work on a task with pages.xml:

<page>
  <start-task />
</page>

These annotations begin a special kind of conversation that is significant in terms of the overarching business process. Work done by this conversation has access to state held in the business process context.

If we end the conversation with @EndTask, Seam signals the completion of the task:

@EndTask(transition="completed") 
public String completed() { ... }

Alternatively, we can use pages.xml:

<page>
  <end-task transition="completed" />
</page>

You can also use EL to specify the transition in pages.xml.

At this point, jBPM will continue to execute the business process definition. (In more complex processes, several tasks may need to be completed before process execution can resume.)

Please refer to the jBPM documentation for a more thorough overview of the sophisticated features that jBPM provides for managing complex business processes.