You are viewing the documentation for Blueriq 15. Documentation for other versions is available in our documentation directory.


Introduction

This page describes the mechanism of loading the right case with the right application in Blueriq so that it is possible to:

  1. Deploy from different branches without breaking the runtime application.
  2. Have lists that show cases and tasks from different projects.

Processes are made unique in Blueriq by a so called application ID. This ID is an aggregation of the project name and the branch version. For example:

export-TestProject:1.0-Trunk

where export-TestProject  is the project name and 1.0-Trunk  is the branch version.

In this article we will use the notation a:1  in the schema of <name>:<version>  . This ID is used to make sure to always address the correct case from a case list or work list. The same behavior applies to message events.

So having a unique identity is a good thing, but it also limits the way of deploying models and expanding an application using more than one project. 

By controlling the application ID behavior we are able to fulfil the following requirements:

As business I want to be able to deploy from different branches without breaking the process, so that it is easier to manage my deployment strategy.

As business I want to be able to have a single dashboard over projects so that all cases and tasks are shown in one list.

Loading an application

A case that has to be started triggers the application(s) that is/are needed to be able to run. Note that this implies that if there are a large number of applications available, it can take some time to determine which application is relevant.

Without options

Without any options the name and version of a case will be matched against the list of all applications. When there is an exact match, that application will be picked.

Settings

No additional settings are set.

Example

Cases
ApplicationsComments
a:1


d:1

case a:1 will trigger:

  • application a:1, because they match exactly both on name and on version.
b:1b:1
c:1a:1

Ignore Options

You can configure an application to ignore certain parts of the application ID. You do this to be able to show cases from different applications in one list, or to be able to deploy an application from different branches.

The following ignore options will influence the behavior of matching applications with an application ID.

Ignore setting

Ignore settingDescriptionMatch onComment
noneThe default behavior. The full application ID is used by lists and messages.name and version
projectIgnores the project name part of the application ID. This can be used when multiple projects on the same branch share the same process model.only versionThis setting was introduced in Blueriq 9.8.5.
versionIgnores the version part of the application Id. This can be used when models are deployed from different branches.only nameTypically for deploying from hot fix branches and different deployment strategies.
allIgnores version and project name from the application Id. This can be used when there are pages that wants to collect information from different projects.nothingTypically used in a dashboard for DCM applications.

Example

In the following example we use all different kinds of settings to illustrate what their effect is.

Cases
ApplicationsIgnoreComments
a:1



d:2all

case a:1 will trigger:

  • application d:2, because nothing has to be matched: all versions of d will be taken.
  • application a:3, because with ignoring the version the name has to match.
  • application e:1, because with ignoring the project name only the version has to match.

note that application b:1 will not be triggered, because they don't match on name and on version.

b:1b:1none
c:1a:3version
d:1e:1project

Applying the options

The options can be applied on different levels, as well as different components. They are specified in the application.properties for the Runtime. 

Levels

LevelDescriptionComment
GlobalThe settings apply to all applicationsDefault for all applications
ProjectThe settings apply to a specific projectThese settings override the global setting

It is possible to mix these settings, so a global setting and project settings. If for a project a project setting is defined, that one applies, otherwise the global applies.

Components

ComponentDescriptionComment
Process engineControls which part of the application ID is ignored by the process engine when handling message events.
Process listControls which part of the application ID is ignored when displaying cases and tasks in lists (AQ_CaseList, AQ_WorkList, AQ_Timeline). For backward compatibility, when process list settings are not configured, the process engine settings apply.This component was introduced in Blueriq 9.8.5.

Rules for process engine

When handling message events, the Process Engine of an application A uses the following rules to determine which part of the application Id should be ignored:

  1. check the process engine setting for application A; if not configured then...
  2. check the global process engine setting; if not configured then...
  3. use none as default

Rules for process list

When displaying cases and tasks in the AQ_CaseList and AQ_WorkList containers, the Runtime uses the following rules to decide which part of the application Id should be ignored in an application A:
  1. check the process list setting for application A; if not configured then...
  2. check the global process list setting; if not configured then...
  3. check the process engine setting for application A; if not configured then...
  4. check the global process engine setting; if not configured then...
  5. use none as default

Warning

If there is a deployment from a different version which is missing models compared to the current application, there is a possibility functionality won't work anymore. So ignoring versions can complicate things. For example a work list shows all tasks within a case ignoring version. But a task definition has been deleted and is not deployed from a new version. The task is still part of the process database, so it will show up in the work list because the version is ignored. Starting the task from the list will result in an error, because it cannot find its model definition.

Configuration

The configuration for the Runtime is applied to application.properties:

#global setting for the process engine, accepted values = none, project, version, all
blueriq.processengine.default-app-id-ignore-mode = none

#per-application setting for the process engine;  format = blueriq.processengine.app-id-ignore-modes.<application name> = none | project | version | all
blueriq.processengine.app-id-ignore-modes.studio-RepositoryName1-ProjectName1 = project
blueriq.processengine.app-id-ignore-modes.studio-RepositoryName2-ProjectName2 = version
blueriq.processengine.app-id-ignore-modes.studio-RepositoryName3-ProjectName3 = all

 
#global setting for process lists, accepted values = none, project, version, all
blueriq.processlist.default-app-id-ignore-mode = none
 
#per-application setting for process lists; format = processlist.app-id-ignore-modes.<application name> = none | project | version | all
blueriq.processlist.app-id-ignore-modes.studio-RepositoryName1-ProjectName1 = project
blueriq.processlist.app-id-ignore-modes.studio-RepositoryName2-ProjectName2 = version
blueriq.processlist.app-id-ignore-modes.studio-RepositoryName3-ProjectName3 = all


Example

Below an overview is given of the interaction between the different components.

DCM 2.0

The ignore modes are also used in DCM 2.0, but they work slightly different from DCM 1.0 as described above. The reason for this is that in DCM 2.0, the runtime and the case engine (which contains the process engine) are separate components. The process engine settings therefore apply to the case engine (process engine) and the process list settings apply to the runtime, which contains the DCM_CaseList and the DCM_WorkList. Where the process list settings have a fallback to the process engine settings in DCM 1.0, this is no longer possible in DCM 2.0 since the process engine is no longer available in the runtime. So, for DCM 2.0 the rules for process lists are:

  1. check the process list setting for application A; if not configured then...
  2. check the global process list setting; if not configured then...
  3. use none as default

Apart from this everything else described above also applies to DCM 2.0.