Out now: Flows for APEX 22.1!
We are proud to announce the general availability of Flows for APEX 22.1. You can download a free copy of this open source software at https://flowsforapex.org.
Major new features of 22.1 include:
- declaratively sending an e-mail using the service task in BPMN
- support for repeating timers for non-interrupting boundary events
- timers supporting the Oracle date/interval format during modeling
- to prevent lost updates, we have introduced a "step key"
- the modeler having the Monaco text editor integrated
- APEX metadata being leveraged by the properties panel in the modeler
- support for a business rule task in BPMN
- an enhanced sample app "Expense Claims" to reflect most features of Flows for APEX 22.1
Have a look at the readme file in the software distribution to see a complete list of all enhancements.
To give you an overview of what is new in Flows for APEX 22.1 and how the upgrade path looks like, we invite everybody to join one of the following online sessions:
15-FEB 2022 15:00-16:30 SGT / 08:00-09:30 CET (EMEA/Asia Pacific area)
15-FEB 2022 12:00-13:30 EST / 18:00-19:30 CET (EMEA/America area)
You can register for these free sessions here:
EMEA/Asia Pacific area: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpdeivqDwoHtIIgAlf45zN8Gzy2u5YAfaa
EMEA/America area: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqf-qorj4jH9Xi52zSpQHSZzZvZB7f3lIf
Yours truly,
The Flows for APEX team
https://flowsforapex.org
I have a question. I am thinking of implementing flow for asset's life cycle process, but trying to find our what is the benefit of having flows over the procedure base process.
ReplyDeleteAsset's life cycle involve manual, automatic and api process to go through various stages. e.g procurement is the 1st stage then inspection, from here it could go as rejected or approved, approved one will be taken by technician for installation (data transferred via api) , then installation (receive data via api from mobile device field service ). from here the device can stay there for as long as it is working. once it is removed then will waiting for to received at warehouse, next receive at warehouse, send for refurbish if the age of the asset is less then 5years else write-off send the financial details.
All this process is happening through various screens and api. What benefit will I get by adding flows to it except it shows a graphical representation.
Need your input for this.
This is a great question! Thanks for asking. There are multiple benefits for using Flows for APEX in your use case.
DeleteFirst of all, you get a live documentation. Normally you would write your documentation inline in your code and maybe in some document next to it. With Flows for APEX, your documentation is ALWAYS in sync with what you are running in production. Optionally, you can show the current step together with all historical steps to your end users.
Secondly, with Flows for APEX you can monitor all running instances. A process administrator can take corrective actions like rerunning a step after fixing it (a web service might not be available). Also, you can see if your business process runs smoothly. Maybe it takes too much time at a certain step and with Flows for APEX we can keep track of how long each step takes.
You also get certain flexibility when changing the business process. When each step is completely independant from all other steps, you could visually re-arrange your steps in the diagram without breaking the app. When you put your new version of the diagram into production, all current instances will still use the previous version and new ones automatically use the new diagram.
Lastly, a business process normally spans several days, an APEX session several hours. This means that you need to keep track of certain process variables yourself. Flows for APEX provides process variables out-of-the-box, with the possibility to define/set these for each step during modelling.
Thank you for your prompt response. This is one of the functionality I was waiting for long time but trying to get some confident about the product.
DeleteCan I request you one thing, when you do a demo next time can you please demonstrate the different version that work independently. Also is it possible to migrate the previous instance to the new version instance. Hope I am not asking lots of changes in the design of flows.
Can we also give a new name to this instant of Flows for APEX.
Sure, I will publish more videos over time on our YouTube channel.
DeleteThank you for such excellent, and highly important work.
ReplyDeleteA developer might want to provide the end-user with the a flow modeler, that is based on the application logic and terminology, using a set of predefined templates.
For example: In an HR app, the end-user wants to create a new diagram based on a "Leave Request" diagram template. The template will have a pre-defined "Start" that triggers programmatically whenever a "Leave Request" is created, and will allow the end-user to build the diagram by choosing predefined blocks, that displays predefined attributes and properties.
I think to have this, the flow modeler should enable the developer to override its' toolset.
Thanks in advance.
In my opinion, I don't think this is a good idea. The flow modeler is more something for developers and process engineers. Also, be aware that you allow the execution of any given PL/SQL by an end-user if you would allow this. That said, Flows for APEX is open source, so feel free to do whatever you would like to do with it (if you accept the fact that our upgrade scripts might not work anymore). :)
Delete