Lenhard, J.: A Pattern-based Analysis of WS-BPEL and Windows Workflow
Bamberger Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsinformatik und Angewandten Informatik Nr. 88, Bamberg University, March 2011. ISSN 0937-3349. Download
(2.5 MB, 145 Seiten)

Abstract — Orchestration languages are of paramount importance for building composite services in service-oriented architectures. Pattern-based analysis is a method that allows to determine the expressiveness of existing process languages and serves as a means of comparison between different languages. The aim of this study is the analysis and comparison of important languages for building Web Services-based orchestrations, as well as the improvement of the method of pattern-based analysis. The predominant orchestration language today is the Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) 2.0. This language is a standard that has been implemented by several companies and projects, such as the OpenESB BPEL Service Engine. An additional language is Windows Workflow 4 that is shipped by Microsoft as part of the .NET framework. There are various aspects, represented by pattern catalogs, for which existing languages can be analyzed. This study suggests a methodology for ordering existing pattern catalogs according to their importance for a selected problem domain which is Business-to-Business Integration. It furthermore presents an extensive evaluation of the languages at hand and assesses the degree of support they provide for several of the most important pattern catalogs. These catalogs are the workflow control-flow patterns, the service interaction patterns, the change patterns and the time patterns.

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