Swamp/Workflow editor

From openSUSE

SWAMP is participating in Google's Summer of Code (http://code.google.com/soc/suse/about.html) with a project that aims to create a GUI editor for the XML workflow definitions. The project is done by Mahmoud Mahran.

Overview:

- GUI Editor with drag&drop capabilities for all workflow elements that are nodes, edges, conditions, actions

- The available properties of each element must be editable

- Editing workflow metadata, roles and the workflows dataset

- Export / Import the internal model to SWAMP compatible XML files

- Create an eclipse plugin, with the graphical editor based on the GEF framework. Similar to the [JBPM process designer]

Source code repository:

https://svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/swamp/editor/

Resources:

Eclipse-based:

- http://www.eclipse.org/gmf/gallery

- http://www.eclipse.org/gef/

- http://www.eclipse.org/proposals/jwt/

- Create an eclipse plugin:
http://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-PDE-does-plugins/PDE-intro.html
http://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-Plug-in-architecture/plugin_architecture.html

Using GEF:
http://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-GEF-diagram-editor/shape.html

http://www.eclipse-wiki.info/GEF

Related projects:

- http://www.enhydra.org/workflow/jawe/index.html

- http://www.scs.carleton.ca/~arpwhite/documents/honoursProjects/tang-mei-summer-2004.pdf

- http://jmettraux.wordpress.com/2006/05/16/lukas-openwfe-ide/

- http://docs.jboss.com/jbpm/v3/gpd/

Project General Structure

New Project wizard

New Project wizard that generates a SWAMP workflow resource consisting of a minimal XML workflow definition, config file and the directory structure for images, notifications.

Graphical Editor

When editing XML process file a multi tab editor will launch, one tab displays graphical interface for the process designer. Second tab displays the generated XML file, third tab displays XML tags as hierarchy.

Design Details

Picture below shows general structure of Eclipse plug-in.

SWAMP Editor view

Here is how to get XML nodes created as a result of dropping nodes?

The answer lay on action listiner who's task is to notify XML edit part to add new node.