Data Object Create
Introduction
Data objects are a way to reference data stored separately. The data might be either stored in the database in a separate table or connected through a REST service.
This task creates a new instance of the associated data object with the associated service.
The data object how-to explains data objects in details.
Properties
General
| Attribute | Type | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Id | Text | Model Id identifies the element within the process model. | The model id, name and documentation properties can be found on any element. They are used respectively to uniquely identify the data object create task, to give it a user-friendly name and to add a free-form description. |
| Name | Text | The name of the element. This is the name displayed in the diagram. | |
| Documentation | Multiline Text | A free-form text that can be used to explain details about the particular element. | |
| Data object configuration | Data Object Configuration | Configures which data object model to use and how instance data is used to create a new data object instance. | A data object model defines the structure of 'business data', from which data objects can be created, using a service registry model linked to the data object model, that abstracts the data handling details away from the BPMN or CMMN model Thus, once the data object model is selected, a create operation needs to be chosen and its parameters need to be configured. Note that in the mappings an expression is needed to resolve to the value of a variable, e.g. ${myVariable}. The Copy from field takes the name of an existing variable that either is a data object or a JSON variable. If set, the values of this variable which match the operation field names are copied and used as operation parameter values. It is possible to combine the use of a variable with the mappings: first the values from the variable are copied and then the mapping values are applied. |
| Output variable | Text | The variable name that stores the result of executing this service task. | Output variable: this is the name of the variable which should hold the newly created data object. Mark the variable as transient if the variable should be non-persisted. Check the Store a copy to indicate whether the data object should be stored as an untracked copy in the process / case instance. Untracked meaning here that changes to it will not be propagated to the actual data object and will only be stored if an explicit task (such as update data object) is used. |
| Save output variables as transient variable | Boolean | Stores all variables created by invoking this service task as transient. | |
| Store a copy | Boolean | Whether the data object should be stored as an untracked copy in the process / case (untracked means that changes to it will not be propagated to the actual Data Object and will only be stored if an explicit Task is used) |
Multi Instance
Multi instance
| Attribute | Type | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi instance type | Selection:
| The type of multi-instance: default is 'None' meaning a single instance is created at runtime. Select either 'Parallel' or 'Sequential' if you want multiple instances to be created. | Multi-instance is used to define the repetition of this data object create task at runtime. Making this task multi-instance will cause multiple data objects to be created, either sequentially after each other or in parallel. For example, when referencing a collection one data object could be created for each element of that collection. |
| Collection | Text | References a collection variable (for example a JSON array variable) by its name or using an expression that resolves to a collection. | |
| Element variable | Text | The name of the variable where the currently processed element from the multi-instance collection configured above will be stored (for example, 'invoicePosition'). The element can then be accessed through an expression, e.g., ${invoicePosition}. | |
| Element index variable | Text | The name of the variable where the index of the currently processed item from the multi-instance collection will be stored, for example, 'itemIndex'. The index is a number starting with 0 which is increased with every element that is being created. The index can then be accessed through an expression, e.g., ${itemIndex} further on in the process. | |
| Cardinality | Text | A fixed number or an expression that resolved to an integer that controls the number of instances that will be created. This is typically used when there is no collection available or needed. | |
| Completion condition | Text | An expression that should resolve to a boolean value. When evaluating to true, the remaining activity instances will be removed and the process instance will continue. |
Variable aggregation
| Attribute | Type | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable Aggregations | List | Define an aggregation. Each element in this list will result in one aggregation variable. | When having multiple instances of this data object create task, there could be a need to create an aggregation of the data object variables. With variable aggregation, a JSON variable can be merged that after all instances have been completed contains the summary of all the used variables. This is needed because typically variables are persisted locally, to avoid clashes on the process instance level. Alternatively, an 'overview' variable can be merged while the instances are still unfinished. Each aggregation consists of one or multiple definitions that map instance variables of one instance to the single aggregation variable. |
Advanced
| Attribute | Type | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optimize for only automatic steps | Boolean | (Advanced setting, only check it if you understand the implications) If checked, this instructs the Flowable engine that the multi-instance only contains automatic tasks and no wait states. In this situation, an asynchronous job is created when the multi-instance activity is entered that keeps checking if all instances are completed and completes the multi-instance. The benefit of this approach is that it is light on resources versus alternatives and doesn't lead to optimistic locking exceptions. |
Advanced
Execution
| Attribute | Type | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skip expression | Text | If the Skip expression evaluates to true, the flow is taken regardless of any condition. It is required to opt-in to this feature by setting a variable _FLOWABLE_SKIP_EXPRESSION_ENABLED with the Boolean value true on the process instance. | When the Skip expression resolves to true, this data object create task will not be executed at runtime. The Include in history flag can be used to store the historical entry of this data object create task when running with a history level that normally would not store the execution of the data object create task. Note that this flag has no effect when running with history level 'none'. |
| Include in history | Boolean | When the history level is set to "instance" or "task" level with this property it can be configured if this activity instance should be included in the historic activity data. | |
| Is for compensation | Boolean | Determines whether the activity can serve as a compensation for another activity. | A BPMN transaction is a set of activities that logically belongs together. Transactions can be cancelled through the Cancel End Event and handled through the Cancel Intermediate Boundary Event. The Is for compensation field can be used to indicate that the data object create task is meant as compensation steps for another activity. |
| Asynchronous | Boolean | When enabled, the activity will be started as an asynchronous job. The process state is persisted before this element is executed. Then, the process execution will be resumed asynchroneously. This can be used when the execution an activity takes a long time to return the UI to the user quicker in case the user does not need to see the next step immediately. However, if an error occurs before the following wait state, there will be no direct user feedback. Please refer to the documentation for more details. | When making a data object create task asynchronous, the creation of the data object is done in the background. This is useful for example to not block the UI of a user, if a slow external service is used behind the scenes to store the data for the data object. Choose exclusive to avoid other asynchronous steps of this process instance to run at the same time. When Leave asynchronously is enabled, the activity will be left as an asynchronous job. This means that the activity is ended asynchronously. |
| Exclusive | Boolean | Determines whether the activity or process is run as an exclusive job. An exclusive job makes sure that no other asynchronous exclusive activities within the same process are performed at the same time. This helps to prevent failing jobs in concurrent scenarios. | |
| Leave asynchronously | Boolean | When enabled, the activity will be left as an asynchronous job. This means that the activity is ended asynchronously, including end execution listeners. Please refer to the documentation for more details. | |
| Leave exclusive | Boolean | Determines whether the activity should leave as an exclusive job. An exclusive job makes sure that no other asynchronous exclusive activities within the same process are performed at the same time. This helps to prevent failing jobs in concurrent scenarios. | |
| Job Category | Text | When set, the underlying generated job will have a Job Category, which will be executed only by Application Servers, where the Process Engine has enabledJobCategories set to this category. |
Advanced options
| Attribute | Type | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exception Mappings | List | Define one or more exception mappings to map a technical Java exception to a BPMN error code. | Map technical java exceptions to BPMN error codes that can be caught with a boundary error event. |
| Failed job retry time cycle | ComplexTrigger | Service task logic defined with a failed job retry time cycle |
Listeners
| Attribute | Type | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Execution listeners | List | Allows invoking custom after certain lifecycle events. Start: Executes after the activity has been started. End: Executes after the activity was completed. Transition: When defined on a sequence flow, executes once the flow is transition is taken. | Execution listeners are used to add logic on certain lifecycle events. Typically it is used to add extra technical logic which shouldn't be visible in the BPMN process model. |
Visual
| Attribute | Type | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background color | Color | The background color of the element in the diagram. | Visual properties that determine how the data object create task is shown in the diagram. This has no impact on the runtime execution. |
| Font size | Selection:
| Font size. | |
| Font weight | Selection:
| Select the style between bold and normal. | |
| Font style | Selection:
| Select the style between italic and normal. | |
| Font color | Color | Select a font color. | |
| Border color | Color | The border color of the element in the diagram. |
List Attribute Details
Variable Aggregations
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Target (Variable / Expression) | Text | The name of the target variable or an expression that gives the variable name |
| Type | Selection:
| The type of aggregation. Use 'default' to use the standard behavior of creating an aggregation JSON variable. Use 'custom' to define a delegate expression that will handle the aggregation. Please see the documentation for more information. |
| Delegate Expression | Text | Define a delegateExpression that will resolve to an instance of VariableAggregator (for BPMN) or PlanItemVariableAggregator (for CMMN). This instance will then be responsible for aggregating the variables. |
| Class | String | A class that implements VariableAggregator (for BPMN) or PlanItemVariableAggregator (for CMMN). This instance will then be responsible for aggregating the variables. |
| Target variable creation | Selection:
| Configures the way the aggregation variable is created. The 'Default' option creates the aggregation variable when all instances of the multi-instance have been completed. Use 'Create overview variable' to create a variable at the start of the multi-instance and keep it up to date during multi-instance exeution. Once all the instances are completed it will create a JSON variable in the same way as for Default target variable creation. Use the 'Store as transient variable' option to have the default behavior, but store the resulting aggregation variable transiently. |
| Variable Definitions | BasicFormList | property.loopVariableAggregation.definitions.description |
Variable Definitions
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Source (Variable / Expression) | Text | The name of the source variable or an expression that provides the value |
| Target (Variable / Expression) | Text | The name of the aggregation variable or an expression that resolves to a variable name. |
Exception Mappings
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Error code | Text | The code of an error definition. |
| Exception class name | Text | |
| Root cause | Text | |
| Include child exceptions | Boolean |
Failed job retry time cycle
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Time cycle | Text |
Execution listeners
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Event | Selection:
| The lifecycle event. The 'Take' event is only available for sequence flow. |
| Class | Text | Fully qualified classname of a class to be invoked when executing the task. The class must implement either JavaDelegate or ActivityBehavior. |
| Expression | Text | JUEL Expression to be executed when the task is started. Expressions allow you to interact with the backend by calling services, making calculations etc. You can find more information about expressions in the documentation. |
| Delegate expression | Text | Delegate Expression to be executed when the task is started. A delegate expression must resolve to a Java object, for instance a Spring bean. The object's class must implement either JavaDelegate or ActivityBehavior. |
| Fields | List |
Fields
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Text | The name of the element. This is the name displayed in the diagram. |
| String value | Text | |
| Expression | Text | JUEL Expression to be executed when the task is started. Expressions allow you to interact with the backend by calling services, making calculations etc. You can find more information about expressions in the documentation. |
| String | Text |