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Tech Primer
Business Process Execution Language
What is Business Process Execution Language (BPEL)?
BPEL for Web services is an XML-based language that’s designed to enable
task-sharing for a distributed or grid computing environment. This can be across
multiple organisations—using a combination of Web services. It aims to
drive and ensure interoperability of the description and communication of business
processes based on Web services. Written by developers from BEA Systems, IBM,
and Microsoft in August 2002, BPEL combines and replaces IBM’s Web Services
Flow Language (WSFL) and Microsoft’s XLANG specification. In April 2003,
BPEL was submitted to OASIS to gain broader industry acceptance and standardise
the language. Industry analysts say that BPEL is now an undisputed standard.
What are the functions of BPEL?
It allows enterprises to keep internal business protocols separate from cross-enterprise
protocols so that internal processes can be changed without affecting data exchange
between enterprises. A BPEL document tracks all the business processes that
are connected to a transaction and ensures that the processes are executed in
the correct order through automated messages.
A programmer can use BPEL to formally describe a business process across the
Web in such a way that any co-operating entity can perform one or more steps
in the same way. In a supply chain process, a BPEL program might describe a
business protocol that formalises pieces of information that a product order
consists of, and exceptions that may have to be handled. However, the BPEL program
would not specify how a given Web service should process a given order internally.
How does BPEL help in business processes?
Executable business processes model the actual behaviour of a participant in
a business interaction. Business protocols, in contrast, use process descriptions
that specify the mutually visible message exchange behaviour of each of the
parties involved in the protocol, without revealing their internal behaviour.
The process descriptions for business protocols are called abstract processes.
BPEL is meant to be used to model the behaviour of both executable and abstract
processes. BPEL provides a language for the formal specification of business
processes and business interaction protocols. By doing so, it extends the Web
services interaction model and supports business transactions. BPEL defines
an interoperable integration model that facilitates the expansion of automated
process integration in both the intra-corporate and the business-to-business
space. BPEL fits into the core Web service architecture since it is built on
top of XML, XML Schema, WSDL, and UDDI.
Is there a need for BPEL?
Methods for integration and process automation typically involve embedded logic
inside functionality-oriented IT applications, such as ERP, supply chain, or
CRM. The development, testing, and deployment efforts required to change such
applications make integration and process changes costly and complex. To address
these issues, proprietary EAI and BPM products emerged to abstract integration
and process automation into a new layer of software tools.
These software products liberated integration and process tasks from the underlying
functional IT applications so they could be managed more effectively. BPEL and
Web services now provide a standardised integration interface and a standardised
language for integration and process automation. BPEL, in effect, has the potential
to commoditise the capabilities provided by proprietary EAI and BPM solutions.
Which vendors are part of this initiative?
The Business Process Execution Language for Web Services is an initiative of
BEA Systems, IBM, Microsoft, SAP AG and Siebel Systems.
For more information visit: http://www.bpelsource.com/index
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