WFT to WFM

Can we use wft files as ipm files with some configurations or we have to re-develop the workflow?
If yes then plz provide me some pointer.

Thanks in advance.

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Adam Stoller

Can we use wft files as ipm files with some configurations or we have to re-develop the workflow?
If yes then plz provide me some pointer.

Thanks in advance.

There is no automated way to convert from WFT to WFM (IPM) - you have to re-create the workflow from scratch (though you can reuse externaltask and cgitask scripts if you don't want to re-develop those in Java)

Rinku4TS

Which one is better WFT or WFM?

Will WFT not come with new version and WFM will be used?

Migrateduser

Sometimes WFT is better. Sometimes WFM is better. Depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

A vague question earns a vague answer.

Rinku4TS

Sometimes WFT is better. Sometimes WFM is better.

When which one is better?
what is the future of WFT in coming versions?

Migrateduser

I don't have my crystal ball handy, so I have no idea what the future holds for any functionality in TeamSite. And you will get 10 different answers from 10 different people on which is a better development utility for workflow. My take is if you love perl and hate Java, use WFT. If you love Java and hate perl, use WFM. Do whichever makes the most sense for your company's needs. Have you taken any training in workflow? Have you read the documentation? If you are starting from scratch, WFT is not trivial to learn on your own. Not that WFM is any easier, but it's GUI so some of the development is easier in a sense. Any custom code is going to take some understanding of the tool. I recommend some kind of training. I think Nipper is available. ;o)

Rinku4TS

Thanks Smitty77,

I will prefer WFM as it is GUI based.

Adam Stoller

Thanks Smitty77,

I will prefer WFM as it is GUI based.

The GUI is just a tool - it doesn't take the place of knowing what you're doing.

It makes it relatively easy to layout the tasks of a workflow and set up the transitions, but you still need to populate a bunch of information for all the tasks and at least some of the transitions in order for it to be functional.

If your workflow is complex - or adheres to best practices of having timeout and error handling tasks - the GUI becomes cumbersome very quickly.

I personally prefer WFTs coded with TeamSite::WFconstructor - but then I've also been doing this for a while, long before WFM came into being.

As for WFTs going away... I don't see it happening any time soon, though it is always a possibility. Right now WFTs and WFMs both get resolved into job specifications and then get processed by the same underlying engine. The Perl modules associated with many WFTs may not get updated if/when new functionality is added to the modeler and/or underlying engine - but I think it would pose a significant impact on too many customers for AIWOV to get rid of WFTs without at least a year's advance notice (two or three years would probably be better) - and I've yet to see such notification.

If you like the GUI - great - use it. But make sure you understand what you're doing - just because it looks like a point-and-click interface doesn't mean that you'll get anything useful out of it by just pointing and clicking.

Rinku4TS

Thanks Ghoti for your suggestions.