Difference between Workflow Template and Workflow Model

gaurav_sapient

Hi

I had gone through the Workflow guides and came across two terms. Workflow Templates (.wft) and workflow models (.ipm). What is the basic difference in both of them ?

Regards
Gaurav

Adam Stoller

Hi I had gone through the Workflow guides and came across two terms. Workflow Templates (.wft) and workflow models (.ipm). What is the basic difference in both of them ? Regards Gaurav

Well, if you'd really spent some time on the manuals and the forums, you'd know that WFTs are Perl-based XML files that are manually written and WFMs (either *.ipm or *.json [as of 7.3.1]) are created through a GUI [browser-based as of 7.3.1, client installation of application prior to 7.3.1].

At that level - they are distinctly different in that there is no automated way to convert from one to the other.

Once the WFT or WFM gets instantiated - they essentially get compiled into Job Specification Files - at this point, it doesn't really matter which one you started with - they are the same from this point on.

So - the difference between WFT and WFM - one can be simpler to code for, and in many respects easier to instantiate from a command line (WFT), the other tends to be easier for [at least] initial layout and some aspects of validation [WFM]. Also - WFM is the "direction" that HP-Autonomy-Interwoven is going in, so more "new features" are likely to show up there, but I don't think WFTs will go away any time soon - at least not until they decide to re-implement the workflow engine underneath (which I haven't heard of any plans to do, but then I'm not sure we hear all that much about any plans these days)