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Chapter 3: Approval Workflow Engine
The following code listing contains declarations for the common event handler methods. For
a complete list, use App Designer to open the PTAF_CORE:ApprovalEventHandler
application class’s PeopleCode editor.
method OnProcessLaunch(&appInst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:AppInst);
method OnStepComplete(&stepinst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:StepInst);
method OnStepPushback(&userinst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:UserStepInst);
method OnStepReactivate(&stepinst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:StepInst);
method OnFinalHeaderDeny(&appinst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:AppInst);
method OnHeaderDeny(&userinst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:UserStepInst);
method OnHeaderApprove(&appinst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:AppInst);
Notice that each of these event handlers has some type of instance parameter. The type of
instance depends on the type of event. An approval event, for example, will receive an approval
instance. A step event, which occurs when an approval moves from one step to the next in the
approval chain, will receive an approval step instance. The instance parameter contains
properties and methods allowing you access to relevant AWE and transaction information. For
example, each of the instance classes has a thread property. The thread property corresponds to
the cross-reference record we created earlier. Since the cross-reference record contains
transaction header key values, event handlers have full access to the underlying transaction.
In our example, we will implement approve and deny handlers. These handlers will update
the status of a web asset. A web asset should not be available for use unless it is in approved
status. Since AWE maintains approval history, it isn’t necessary to maintain a transaction-specific
approved or denied flag. Nevertheless, I recommend maintaining an approval flag for
convenience. Whether you are writing reports, processes, or integration points, you may not want
to join your transactions to the AWE tables just to determine the approval state of a transaction.
The only accurate way to maintain an approval flag is through an approval event handler. In
this chapter, we will use the OnHeaderApprove and OnHeaderDeny event handler methods to
maintain the transaction record’s approval flag. This event-driven design contrasts with the legacy
workflow strategy, which involved updating the approval flag within an approval component. A
key difference between AWE and legacy workflow is that AWE does not require a component,
whereas the legacy workflow engine required a component to update workflow transactions.
Let’s create our web asset event handler. We’ll need a new application package, as discussed
in Chapter 1. Select File | New from the App Designer menu bar. When prompted for a definition
type, select Application Package. Save this new application package with the name APT_WA_AWE.
This new package will contain event handlers, user lists, criteria definitions, and many other
AWE-related application classes. After saving the new application package, add a new class
named WebAssetAppr_EventHandler. Add the following PeopleCode to this new class:
import PTAF_CORE:ApprovalEventHandler;
import PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:AppInst;
import PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:UserStepInst;
import PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:Thread;
class WebAssetAppr_EventHandler extends PTAF_CORE:ApprovalEventHandler
method OnHeaderApprove(&appinst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:AppInst);
method OnHeaderDeny(&userinst As PTAF_CORE:ENGINE:UserStepInst);
private
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