IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Developing business processes > Building BPEL processes > Defining BPEL process logic > Adding an activity to a BPEL process > Work with basic activities

Configure the wait activity

The wait activity stops the process for a period of time that you specify. You configure this activity either by telling it how long it should pause the process, or by specifying a date and time when the process should restart.

Your BPEL process might reach a point where it is necessary to pause before continuing. An example would be a process which needs a part to be delivered by a third-party before any further action can be taken. In such a scenario you can use a wait activity to pause the process for a set period of time, or until a certain date and time.

To create and configure a wait activity, proceed as follows:


Procedure

  1. Drop a wait activity from the palette on to the canvas.

  2. In the Properties area, click the Details tab.

  3. To create an expiration condition using the process' default expression language, click Create a New Condition. Otherwise, choose an appropriate language from the drop down menu.

    You will have the following choices:
    Option Description
    Java™ If you choose this, then you will be able to compose the expiration expression in the Java programming language using either the visual snippet editor, or a text editor. With this option, you will be able to configure either a date or a duration expression.
    No Expression This is the default, empty setting.
    Same as Process This is automatically set to be the same as the programming language that is being used by the BPEL process.
    Timeout If you choose this, then you will be able to simply enter a duration value, and expiration will occur the moment this period has passed.
    XPath 1.0 Choose this to compose the expressions in the XPath 1.0 programming language, using either the XPath Expression Builder, or a text editor. With this option, you will be able to configure either a date or a duration expression.

  4. If you choose Timeout, you will have the following options to configure the period of time that the activity should hold.
    Option Description
    Simple This is, as the name suggests, a simple arithmetic calendar. Use the Timeout Duration fields to select the amount of time that this activity should wait for an action to occur before it expires.
    WebSphere CRON This is a built-in calendar that uses a list of term expressions representing elements of time to calculate the interval. Examples of this type of calendar can be found in the Related Information section below.
    User-defined Use this option to select a calendar other than those provided.

    You can use the fields to name the calendar, and point to a valid Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) location.

    New Business Calendar There will be more than three options in the Calendar Type field if a business calendar is available. A business calendar can be used to model duration values for time-sensitive aspects of your BPEL process in order to account for such variables as regular working hours, weekends, and holidays. See Use business calendars within a BPEL process for more information.

  5. For all other expression language choices, you will be presented with the following two options:
    Option Description
    Date Choose this when you want the expiration to occur when a specific time and date has been reached.
    Duration Choose this when you want expiration to occur after a certain period of time has elapsed.
  6. Depending on the expression language that you are using, you can choose from any of the following expression types:
    Option Description
    Visual Choose this to use the visual snippet editor to graphically compose Java code.
    Java Choose this to write a Java expression yourself.
    Literal Choose this to enter the required values directly into customized fields. Calendar values are represented in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
    Text Choose this to compose an XPath expression.

Work with basic activities

Building BPEL processes


Related tasks:
Defining timer-driven behavior in a BPEL process
Setting duration values for your human task
Use business calendars within a BPEL process


Related reference:
Expiration tab: BPEL process editor


Related information:

Interface UserCalendar
Interface UserCalendar