Business Process Execution Language for Web Services : BPEL and BPEL4WS [Paperback]

Matjaz Juric (Author), Benny Mathew (Author), Poornachandra Sarang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004

This book is a comprehensive guide to the usage and syntax of the Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS). Two major BPEL4WS servers, the Oracle BPEL Process Manager and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 are covered in detail, and an overview of other major BPEL4WS servers is provided. The book contains practical examples on using BPEL4WS.

Web services provide the core functionality for distributed e-business applications using SOAP, WSDL and UDDI. These building blocks can then be orchestrated into a complete business process using BPEL4WS.

Web services provide the basic technical platform required for application interoperability. They do not, however, provide higher level control, such as which web services need to be invoked, which operations should be called and in what sequence. Nor do they provide ways to describe the semantics of interfaces, the workflows, or e-business processes. BPEL is the missing link to assemble and integrate web services into a real business process

BPEL4WS standardizes process automation between web services. This applies both within the enterprise, where BPEL4WS is used to integrate previously isolated systems, and between enterprises, where BPEL4WS enables easier and more effective integration with business partners.

In providing a standard descriptive structure BPEL4WS enables enterprises to define their business processes during the design phase. Wider business benefits can flow from this through business process optimization, reengineering, and the selection of most appropriate processes.

Supported by major vendors — including BEA, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, SAP, Sun, and others — BPEL4WS is becoming the accepted standard for business process management.

This book provides detailed coverage of BPEL4WS, its syntax, and where, and how, it is used. It begins with an overview of web services, showing both the foundation of, and need for, BPEL. The web services orchestration stack is explained, including standards such as WS-Security, WS-Coordination, WS-Transaction, WS-Addressing, and others. The BPEL language itself is explained in detail, with Code snippets and complete examples illustrating both its syntax and typical construction. Having covered BPEL itself, the book then goes on to show BPEL is used in context. by providing an overview of major BPEL4WS servers. It covers the Oracle BPEL Process Manager and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 in detail, and shows how to write BPEL4WS solutions using these servers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The book blends a broad architectural view with the detailed coverage of syntax and practical implementation required for working with BPEL This book covers the BPEL4WS standard and two BPEL4WS servers — the Oracle BPEL4WS Process Manager and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004. It provides comprehensive coverage of the BPEL4WS syntax and shows how to use BPEL4WS by examples. The book prepares for the coverage of the BPEL4WS standard and servers with a chapter on the web services orchestration stack.

This book aimed at technical architects and developers in the technical design phase of advanced e-business solutions dealing with the issues of orchestration, transactions, coordination, and security. The book presumes knowledge of XML and web services (SOAP, WSDL, UDDI), Web services development (either on J2EE or .NET), and Multi-tier architectures.

About the Author

Matjaz B. Juric Matjaz B. Juric holds a Ph.D. in computer and information science. He works for the University of Maribor. He has co-authored Professional J2EE EAI, Professional EJB, J2EE Design Patterns Applied, and VB.NET Serialization Handbook, published by Wrox Press. He has published chapters in the book More Java Gems (Cambridge University Press) and in Technology Supporting Business Solutions (Nova Science Publishers). He has also published in journals and magazines such as Java Developer's Journal, Java Report, Java World, Web Services Journal, eai Journal, ACM journals, and presented at conferences such as OOPSLA, SIGS Java Development, XML Europe, SCI, and others. He is also a reviewer, program committee member, and conference co-organizer. Matjaz has been involved in several large-scale object technology projects. In association with the IBM Java Technology Centre, he worked on performance analysis and optimization in RMI-IIOP development, an integral part of the Java 2 Platform.! He has recently been classified in the Techiindex Evangelist.

Benny Mathew Benny Mathew is a Sr. Software Engineer at Hewlett-Packard (Global Delivery India Center). He holds a Masters degree in Computer Applications. His fascination for computers dates back to high school days and he has been programming with a passion for more than a decade and a half. He has also co-authored Visual Basic .NET Reflection Handbook published by Wrox press. During his free time, Benny likes to write technical articles and help people on the newsgroups relating to .NET technologies and has been awarded Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for two consecutive years now. Before joining Hewlett Packard, he was with companies like Thomson Financials and Delphi Software in Bangalore India. You can reach him at [e-mail].

Poornachandra Sarang Poornachandra Sarang, Ph.D., is CEO of ABCOM Information Systems. He has been a Visiting Professor of Computer Engineering at University of Notre Dame, USA and is currently a visiting professor for Post-Graduate Computer Science courses at University of Mumbai. Dr. Sarang provides consulting services to worldwide clients in architecting and designing IT solutions based on Java, CORBA, and Microsoft platforms. A well known and a highly sought after trainer, Dr. Sarang has conducted several training programs on latest technologies for several top-notch IT companies. He conducts lectures/seminars on emerging technologies across the world and has made several presentations in international conferences. He has authored/co-authored several books on Java, C++, J2EE, e-Commerce, and .NET.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Packt Publishing (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904811183
• ISBN-13: 978-1904811183
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,354,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beats reading the spec, August 28, 2005

By 

Gregor Hohpe "eaiguru" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Business Process Execution Language for Web Services : BPEL and BPEL4WS (Paperback)

This is the first book I have seen on BPEL - the business process execution language. A number of Web services orchestration / process tools are based on BPEL but hide the language behind a drag-and-drop GUI. I found that to effectively use these tools, though, you have to understand the concepts that make up BPEL - scopes, partner links, correlation sets etc. This book likely provides the best introduction to these concepts. Examples are given in "raw" BPEL as well as using Oracle BPEL Manager and Microsoft BizTalk.

I wished for a little more in-depth coverage of advanced topics, such as correlation and convoys, but I think more people have to gain experience using these before we can expect a book to present "best practices".

In summary, if you are interested specifically in BPEL, this is likely the book you want to get.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars bpel by example, April 20, 2005

By 

Jeanne Boyarsky (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business Process Execution Language for Web Services : BPEL and BPEL4WS (Paperback)

"Business Process Execution Language for Web Services" is a good tutorial and reference for BPEL. The authors state that the book is targeted towards current web services developers and architects. Appropriately, the book assumes knowledge of XML, UML, and of course, web services.

The book was written by three authors and the chapters are separated by author. One author wrote chapter one, which includes an overview of BPEL, concrete examples of workflow and how BPEL fits into the big picture. The main author wrote chapters two through four, which flow well and teach BPEL through a running example, along with describing Oracle's BPEL tools. The third author wrote chapter five, which describes Microsoft's BPEL tools. The book ends with a clear, concise syntax reference. While all the chapters provide valuable information, the first and last chapters seem disjointed from the remainder of the book.

There are plenty of diagrams to show architecture and flow, something very important in BPEL. The meat of the book teaches BPEL, something it does very well. The examples in chapters two and three gradually grow in complexity and build on each other. When describing Oracle and Microsoft's tools, appropriate screenshots are provided. I recommend this book for anyone starting out with BPEL or just looking to learn it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro to BPEL - Poor examples, January 1, 2006

By 

Prasad Reddy "Prasad" (Sanjose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business Process Execution Language for Web Services : BPEL and BPEL4WS (Paperback)

The book really did a good job about introducing the BPEL Spec..saves much of your time from Google. Beyond that, the examples using Oracle BPEL Engine are poorly written and too confusing. After the first 3 chapters, the book chapters stretches in different directions and I doubt the editors/authors did a final review together. The code examples are not working ! This means ..I regret to say 60% of book is not worth reading.