Re: [Perl-workflow-devel] AutoCommit in workflow

[Jonas B. N. <jo...@gm...>]

Hi Jim,

A branch would be magnificent.

I am getting better and better at merging, I can almost do it with no  
scew-ups. Anyway I need the practice.

The lastest release 0.32_1 (the developer release) could be the point  
you use and we can perhaps create a 0.32_2 prior to 0.32.

Or if you think your contributions in 0.32_1 require more incubation,  
your could branch from the 0.31 release, the latest official release  
and we could merge this branch into 0.32_1 later on.

I am thinking/dreaming about getting started on some of our other  
outstandings on the road map. But I find it hard to find the time with  
my current workload - I would love to get one of my clients hooked on  
workflow so I could get some paid time on Workflow.

 From the road map file:

--
     * Implement dynamically loading of workflows
     * Implement versioning of workflows

There are several feature requests. These have not been inserted into  
the road map yet.

Documentation is getting out of date, this need to be addressed as well.
--

So there should be enough to go around, plus some minor feature  
requests/bugs that we need to get out of the way.

I would also like to consolidate all this information in the Wiki.

jonasbn

On 07/04/2008, at 21.39, Jim Brandt wrote:
>
> Jonas Brømsø Nielsen wrote:
>> Hmmm this might be the actual challenge, from my standpoint; the   
>> workflow engine should keep it own state and transactions. But  
>> getting  this to balance with transactions in applications  
>> utilizing Workflow,  might be a question of discipline and can  
>> prove - difficult.
>
> As far as how it 'should' work, I think the workflow app should  
> commit when a single unit of work (a transaction, which may be  
> multiple executes against the DB) is complete. This can be  
> challenging since you need to then define what this means to workflow.
>
> In practice, it might not be too bad. I looked at the code a bit and  
> all the inserts and updates are in the Persister/DBI module and most  
> actions require just a few inserts updates. It might get tricky with  
> an update to the main workflow table, an update to an optional  
> extra_data table, and the insert of a few history items.
>
> It gets trickier when you think about a passed in DB handle. Without  
> autocommit, the outside app might leave transactions pending. But I  
> think this has to be the user's problem. We could insert a warning,  
> or perhaps commit before we do anything. It would then be workflow's  
> job to make sure there were no exit points where you could return  
> the handle with a pending transaction.
>
> I'd be interested in trying out some options. Should I create a  
> separate branch?
>
> Jim
>
> -- 
> Jim Brandt
> Administrative Computing Services
> University at Buffalo
>