Chapter 14. Using JBoss Developer Studio to Create and Test Processes

The JBoss BPM Suite plug-in provides you with an environment to edit and test processes, and integrate it deeply with your applications. It provides the following features:
  • Wizards for creating:
    • a JBoss BPM Suite project
    • a BPMN2 process
  • JBoss BPM Suite perspective showing the most commonly used views in a predefined layout

14.1. JBoss BPM Suite Runtime

14.1.1. JBoss BPM Suite Runtime

A JBoss BPM Suite runtime is a collection of JAR files that represent one specific release of the JBoss BPM Suite project JARs. To create a runtime, download the binary distribution of the version of JBoss BPM Suite you want to use and unzip on your local file system. You must then point the JBoss Developer Studio to the release of your choice by selecting the folder where these JARs are located. If you want to create a new runtime based on the latest jBPM project JARs included in the plugin itself, you can also easily do that. You are required to specify a default JBoss BPM Suite runtime for your JBoss Developer Studio workspace, but each individual project can override the default and select the appropriate runtime for that project specifically.

14.1.2. Setting the JBoss BPM Suite Runtime

In order to use the JBoss BPM Suite plug-in with Red Hat JBoss Developer Studio, it is necessary to set up the runtime.
A runtime is a collection of jar files that represent a specific release of the software.
If you have previously downloaded the JBoss BPM Suite Generic Deployable zip archive from Red Hat Customer Portal, the jar files that make up the runtime are located in the jboss-bpms-engine.zip archive.

Procedure 14.1. Configure jBPM Runtime

  1. From the JBoss Developer Studio menu, select Window and click Preferences.
  2. Select jBPM → Installed jBPM Runtimes.
  3. Click Add...; provide a name for the new runtime, and click Browse to navigate to the directory where the runtime is located.
  4. Click OK, select the new runtime and click OK again. If you have existing projects, a dialog box will indicate that you have to restart JBoss Developer Studio to update the Runtime.

14.1.3. Configuring the JBoss BPM Suite Server

JBoss Developer Studio can be configured to run the Red Hat JBoss BPM Suite Server.

Procedure 14.2. Configure the JBoss BPM Suite Server

  1. Open the jBPM view by selecting Window → Open Perspective → Other and select jBPM and click OK.
  2. Add the server view by selecting Window → Show View → Other... and select Server → Servers.
  3. Open the server menu by right clicking the Servers panel and select New → Server.
  4. Define the server by selecting JBoss Enterprise Middleware → JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.1+ and clicking Next.
  5. Set the home directory by clicking the Browse button. Navigate to and select the installation directory for JBoss EAP which has JBoss BPM Suite installed.
  6. Provide a name for the server in the Name field, ensure that the configuration file is set, and click Finish.