IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Developing business processes > Building business state machines > Create a business state machine

Adding a variable to a business state machine

Variables store the data used by a business state machine.

To create an additional variable, proceed as follows:

Procedure

1. In the tray, click the plus icon () to the right of Variables.

2. In the Add Variable wizard, browse to the appropriate data type or business object or click New to create one.

3. When you are done, the newly created variable will appear in the tray. You can change the name of the variable by clicking it and typing a new one.

Results

You have successfully created a variable.

1. If you want to rename the variable later, you will have to update its occurrences in the Java™ and visual snippets with the new name.
2. Variable names cannot contain the strings "_Input_" or "_Output_" or end with the string "TimerValue". In addition, the following names are reserved:

   • ActState
   • DisplayState
   • NxtState
   • NxtTrans
   • SkipEntry

   • InstanceInitialize
   • GuardValue
   • TransitionFailure

   • RuntimeFailureData

   • ActTrans
   • NxtDisplayState

• Typing fault variables
  A fault variable stores data in the event of a standard or a system fault.
• Declaring a query property for a variable
  A query property determines which parts of a global variable are accessible in the runtime environment with the query() API function.

BPEL process editor

Defining BPEL process logic

Create a business state machine

Related concepts:
The building blocks of the BPEL process editor
Dealing with faults in your BPEL process
Work with XPath in the BPEL process editor
Work with micropatterns
Locked activities

Related tasks:
Adding an interface or a reference to a business state machine
Adding a process application as an activity
Adding an activity to a BPEL process
Defining transactional behavior
Defining timer-driven behavior in a BPEL process
Enabling SCA events to be emitted
Calling other BPEL processes
Calling business services

Related reference:
Description tab: business state machine editor