Executing Workflows
Workflows may be executed from within a LiveCompare workspace to obtain retrieval, comparison or analysis results. When a workflow is executed, the actions in the workflow are run in a sequence determined by their action properties. As a result, datasets in the workflow may be populated with objects, reports may be generated, or data may be written to an external source. Executing workflows or workflow actions requires LiveCompare Editor privileges.
Note that at points where more than one workflow action is eligible to be run, LiveCompare runs the actions in left to right, then top to bottom order. This means that in some cases, the position of workflow actions in a diagram may affect their order of execution.
- To execute a workflow, click
the
toolbar button, or choose ‘Run Now’ from workflow’s context
menu. - To execute a workflow action, select an action node (blue rectangle) in a workflow diagram and choose ‘Run This Only’ from the context menu. The workflow is saved first.
- To execute a workflow from the node marked with an arrow up to (but not including) the current workflow action, choose ‘Run To Here’ from the workflow action’s context menu. The workflow is saved first.
The workflow's execution status is displayed in its title bar. The Component Palette and Property Editor are disabled while a workflow or workflow action is running.
Each workflow is displayed and executed using a separate process on the LiveCompare server. If a workflow generates an exception, this allows its process to terminate without affecting the LiveCompare Application Server.
If necessary, LiveCompare saves a workflow automatically before running any of its actions. While a workflow is running, action nodes in the workflow diagram are marked as follows to indicate their execution status:
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
|
The workflow action is currently running. If a workflow has been reset, the arrow marks the next action to be executed. |
|
The workflow action completed successfully. |
|
An error occurred while executing the workflow action. double-click the action node, to display the associated error string, or choose ‘View Details’ from the node’s context menu. |
|
This is shown for Run Workflow actions if an error occurred in the called workflow. |
|
This is shown for Run Workflow actions if a breakpoint was encountered in the called workflow. |
|
|
This is shown for Run Workflow actions if a breakpoint was encountered in the called workflow. |
The , , and action icons display a tool tip which indicates
the status of the action. Tool tips shown for the icon display the error string returned by
the associated action.
Dataset objects in a workflow are represented as green list objects. If an action property populates a dataset, the number of result sets or table rows it contains is shown above the dataset node.
- To abort a workflow that is currently running choose ‘Abort Run’ from the workflow diagram’s context menu. Alternatively, choose ‘Abort Run’ from the workflow object’s hierarchy context menu.
- To reset a workflow and delete any result sets that have been generated, choose ‘Reset’ from the workflow diagram or workflow object’s context menu.
Debugging Workflows
To set a breakpoint for a workflow action,
choose ‘Toggle Breakpoint’ from the action’s context menu. When a breakpoint
it is set, the workflow action is marked with 
. When a workflow is executed, it runs up
to (but not including) the first node marked with a breakpoint.
- To pause execution of a workflow after the currently running workflow action, choose ‘Break’ from the workflow diagram’s context menu.
- To continue execution of a workflow following a pause or a breakpoint, choose ‘Continue’ from the workflow diagram’s context menu.
To execute a workflow one action at a time, choose ‘Step’ from the workflow diagram’s context menu or use the F10 key.
Queued Workflows
To avoid performance problems, LiveCompare sets a limit on the number of workflows that are allowed to run at the same time (by all the users that are logged into LiveCompare). If this limit has been reached and a user tries to run a workflow or workflow action, the workflow will be queued for execution. As the running workflows complete (bringing the number of running workflows to below the limit), workflows from the queue are executed in sequence.
Running workflows include workflows that are invoked from Apps, and workflows that are executed as Web Services.
By default, LiveCompare is configured to be able to run up to three workflows at the same time. However, if you have LiveCompare Administrator privileges, this setting may be changed by selecting the Configuration/General folder in the LiveCompare hierarchy. In the Configuration - General screen, enter a positive value in the ‘MaxConcurrentProcesses’ field. It is recommended that no more than two workflows are run concurrently for each GB of memory on the LiveCompare server.