jbpm5 parallel processing of tasks

[imoraru]

Hello everyone,

I am evaluating jbpm5 to add workflow to my application.

The application requires multiple processes running at the same time. A process can have a forks that require tasks running in parallel.

Based on a small test project that I run I noticed the following:

1. startProces() is synchronous ; it returns when the process is completed. This can be a problem with long running processes.
2. For parallel branches, only one task is executed at a time.

In essence, all the process is running in a single thread.

Is there a way to achieve running the tasks in parallel? Will persistence help in this (I did not use any in my test)?

Can I configure the system to run multiple threads or do I have to implement it (having a pool of threads that process the tasks that are available at a given point in time)?

Can you point me to some examples or documentation?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ion

[bpmn2user]

Did you try 'Multiple Instances' component, i.e., not using forks?

Here is an example:

http://community.jboss.org/people/bpmn2user/blog/2011/03/05/jbpm5--multiple-instances

[imoraru]

Does not work. Still executes in sequence. Even after I have changed the 'Wait for completion' value of the sub-process to false.

Ion

[eaa]

As you realized, startProcess() (and all the api's methods) are synchronous. This is not actually a problem for long running processes because of the persistence mechanism implemented by jbpm5

For multiple processes running at the same time you will need to execute startProcess() in different threads.

JBPM5 doesn't support real parallel (multi-threaded) flow execution. So, every time you use a diverge gateway or a multiple-instance node, flows will be executed one at a time.

Maybe you can share your requisites with us so we can help you in find the best way to fulfill them.   

[jbpm.user]

Hello,

Do you have any issue to this problem ?