Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Using a Free Graphical Designer to Create BPEL
Processes
Problem
You want to create your BPEL processes quickly and easily using a graphical notation, but
you don't want to pay for expensive commercial tools.
Solution
Get the BPEL designer plug-in for NetBeans 6.X.
Discussion
BPEL is XML-based, and because it is a structured procedural language (meaning it contains
constructs such as if/then, while, sequences, and so on), it is not difficult to write. However,
there are times when it is easier to use a graphical tool to generate the XML for you by just
dragging and dropping items onto a process page. You can then switch to the XML source
view as necessary to tweak various aspects of your process. Using the NetBeans or Active
Endpoints graphical designers can give you a jump start as you are learning BPEL.
The NetBeans plug-in offers a rich set of constructs and activities to work with in various
palettes. It is fairly intuitive to use, and, with the exception of default namespaces, it does not
add proprietary hooks into your process source. Because BPEL is a standard, you can still use
the BPEL processes you design with the NetBeans BPEL plug-in with BPEL engines other
than the one that comes with OpenESB.
Figure 9-2
shows the NetBeans 6.1 BPEL editor, loaded with one of the sample processes that
ships with the IDE.
