As from the 4.0 release of jBPM, the Graphical Process Designer has been improved in a number of areas. One obvious but nevertheless very helpful feature is the addition of validation of the process definition files. Until now, problems with process definitions could only be captured by writing unit tests and using the process in such a test. The bottom line is that the process had to be deployed before problems with it became apparent.
This way of working has been fixed. A small bug still prevents the validation from being performed in the released 4.0 version, but in the meantime this has been resolved and the feature will be available in the upcoming 4.1 release.
Before validation can be executed, a jBPM runtime needs to be configured. All validation is done using the parser and jBPM classes available for this configured runtime.
Once this is done, the validation is performed automatically each time a process file is saved or manually by selecting 'Validate' from the context menu of the editor.
When the validation result contains errors, all the Eclipse stuff happens as you expect it:- The problem message and line number of the problem are shown as an entry in the Eclipse Problems View.
In the Package Explorer the file is annotated with the error symbol, indicating the problem discovered in the file.
In the source view of the editor the line number is annotated with the error symbol.
As-you-type validation is not yet available. We might add such a feature in the future if compelling reasons should appear. In the meantime we hope you will enjoy the improved validation and problem handling support.
Cheers,
Koen
