External task

"External task, when activated , runs an external program."
What is meant by external program ?
CGI task also runs program, which is on webserver, isnt that an external program ?
Can anyone pls explain working of external task, how to activate, when to use, where to use ?
I tried to go through manual , but got confused.

Thanks

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Agarwal

"External task, when activated , runs an external program."
What is meant by external program ?
CGI task also runs program, which is on webserver, isnt that an external program ?
Can anyone pls explain working of external task, how to activate, when to use, where to use ?
I tried to go through manual , but got confused.

Thanks

Hi,

External task means that the user intervention is not required in the execution. When the control reaches to the external task, the execution takes place and with proper callback you can come back to the next task in the workflow. External task can call your perl script(.ipl), java code.
However, CGI task is used when you want to render the html on the browser as part of your perl script. CGI in nothing but html embedded in the perl.
So if you want to render an html page as part of your workflow you can make use of the CGI task. If you just want to execute some external code, make use of the external task.
hope that will clear your confusion.

Thanks
Akshat Agarwal

kaalraa

"External task, when activated , runs an external program."
What is meant by external program ?
CGI task also runs program, which is on webserver, isnt that an external program ?
Can anyone pls explain working of external task, how to activate, when to use, where to use ?
I tried to go through manual , but got confused.

Thanks

A CGI file can also be used as an external task with condition if it does not require any user intervention. As an external task, you can run any script or system command or a batch job etc.

niniti

That does help remove some confusion.
When, the job reaches to external task, does it go to some user in the flow or is it automatically activated ? If it is automatically activated, then it will produce some results. This outcome of execution reaches next user in the workflow with a callback. Is this callback programmed in Perl ? Where in the task do we mention this callback ?
Thanks,
Jignesh

ISCBorisB

That does help remove some confusion.
When, the job reaches to external task, does it go to some user in the flow or is it automatically activated ? If it is automatically activated, then it will produce some results. This outcome of execution reaches next user in the workflow with a callback. Is this callback programmed in Perl ? Where in the task do we mention this callback ?
Thanks,
Jignesh

WF Engine activates external task automatically when the flow transitions to it.
CallBack is the method of TeamSite::WFtask Class, run perldoc TeamSite::WFtask for details.
See rudimentary usage sample [post=100487]here[/post]