Imixs Workflow is an
Open-Source-Project, providing technologies for building
Business Process Management solutions. The project focus on human based workflows used to execute and control workflows in organisations and enterprises. In difference to task-oriented workflow engines, which focus on automated program flow control (tasks), Imixs Workflow is a representative of an event-based workflow engine. Here, the engine controls the status of a process instance within a defined
state-diagram. By entering an event, the state of a process instance can be abandoned or changed. In human-centric workflow engines, events usually occur by an interaction of the actor with the system, for example by approving or rejecting a business transaction. They can also be triggered by scheduled events. An example of this is an escalation of an unfinished task.
The goal of the open source project is to reduce the complexity of business applications by providing a flexible framework to implement business logic based on the BPMN 2.0 standard.
Naming
The name Imixs is derived from the word Imix.
Imix means the first day in the so-called
Tzolkin calendar from
Aztecs and
Mayas.
In this respect the word Imix is also used for the terms Earth, abundance,
water lily and
alligator
An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
.
Project Structure
The open source project provides a framework for various aspects of workflow technology. It aims to provide a flexible architecture for the general requirements of
workflow management system A workflow management system (WfMS or WFMS) provides an infrastructure for the set-up, performance and monitoring of a defined sequence of tasks, arranged as a workflow application.
International standards
There are several international standards ...
s. Overall the project is separated into the following areas:
* imixs-core – a java API to manage dataobjects and workflow models, supporting BPMN 2.0
* imixs-engine – a
Workflow-Engine based on the
Java-Enterprise-Technology JEE
* imixs-jax-rs – a
WebService API for platform independent integration into external IT systems
* imixs-faces – a JSF component library for web applications
* imixs-bpmn - a
BPMN
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is a graphical representation for specifying business processes in a business process model.
Originally developed by the Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI), BPMN has been maintained by the ...
modelling tool based on
Eclipse
The project uses the configuration and build framework
Apache Maven
Maven is a build automation tool used primarily for Java projects. Maven can also be used to build and manage projects written in C#, Ruby, Scala, and other languages. The Maven project is hosted by the Apache Software Foundation, where it was ...
and publishes all artifacts into the Central ''Maven repository''.
Technology
The project is based on the
Java Enterprise Architecture (JEE) and represents a scalable and transactional framework for workflow management solutions. A major goal of the technology is to simplify the software build process in modern business applications. The project takes advantage of the JEE component model, and allows to reuse all components without limiting the capabilities of the Java EE architecture.
The technologies used includes:
*
EJB 3.1 – technology for a transactional business process management
*
Java Persistence API
Jakarta Persistence (JPA; formerly Java Persistence API) is a Jakarta EE application programming interface specification that describes the management of relational data in enterprise Java applications.
Persistence in this context covers three ...
vendor independent database access
*
Java Authentication and Authorization Service
Java Authentication and Authorization Service, or JAAS, pronounced "Jazz", is the Java implementation of the standard Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) information security framework.
JAAS was introduced as an extension library to the Java Pl ...
for security
*
BPMN 2.0 for modelling business workflows.
The reference implementation is based on the
GlassFish
GlassFish is an open-source Jakarta EE platform application server project started by Sun Microsystems, then sponsored by Oracle Corporation, and now living at the Eclipse Foundation and supported by Payara, Oracle and Red Hat. The supported v ...
application server.
JBoss
WildFly, formerly known as JBoss AS, or simply JBoss, is an application server written by JBoss, now developed by Red Hat. WildFly is written in Java and implements the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) specification. It runs on mul ...
and
WildFly
WildFly, formerly known as JBoss AS, or simply JBoss, is an application server written by JBoss, now developed by Red Hat. WildFly is written in Java and implements the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) specification. It runs on mul ...
application servers are supported. By Using the Java Persistence API (JPA), the workflow engine is database independent and can be used with any relational SQL database.
Philosophy
The Imixs-Workflow project focuses on Human task-centric workflows. This means that a business process is typically controlled by the user (actor). Imixs-Workflow manages the state of business objects and provides the user with information during a business process. For Example:
* The current Status and Process Owner for each business object
* A Process History & Documentation for each business object
* Read- and Write Access (ACL) for each business object
A Human task-centric workflow system assists users in starting a new process, finding and processing open tasks and helps users to complete current jobs in the defined way. The Workflow Engine automatically routes processed tasks to the next actor and notifies users about new tasks depending on the current process definition. The following illustration demonstrates the typical flow of a document or datasheet from one user to another controlled by a Workflow Management System.
Licence
Imixs-Workflow provides the results of the project under the
GPL
The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general u ...
with a dual-license model, to meet the usage and distribution requirements of different types of users.
History
The Imxis workflow project was founded in 2005 by Imixs software solutions GmbH.
In the year 2016 the open source BPM platform Imixs-Office-Workflow was published. The project sources are hosted on GitHub.
Imixs-Office-Workflow on Github
6.
References
{{reflist
External links
Project-Website
Code Repository – GitHub
Imixs BPMN – Eclipse Plugin
Imixs Modeler – Eclipse Plugin
Imixs-Office-Worklfow - Open Source BPM Platform
How to Model Business Rules
You Shouldn’t Manage Your Business Processes With Excel
Don't Model Business Behavior in Objects!
Workflow applications
Enterprise architecture
Free and open-source software