Scheduled Deployment in my workflow.

Hi Team,

I want to implement a schduled deployment in my workflow, the schduled date will be choosen by authors in the workflow instantiation screen and am thinking in the below way to implement this.

CGI task ---->Dummy Task ---->timeout link----->Deploy Tassk

CGI task --> to display the message to users that the deployment scheduled at some date

Dummy Tassk and Timeout Link ---> to delay the deployment based on date choosen by user

Deploy Task ---> to start the deployment.

I am new to workflow modeler, can you please provide me your inputs in the above way to implement scheduled deployment in my workflow.

Thanks,

Sekar

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Comments

Adam Stoller

Your general thinking regarding implementation should work, but the CGI Task will have to both prompt for the date / time of the deployment and modify the timeout value associated with the Dummy Task so that it times out at the appropriate time. The mechansim for doing this depends on whether your CGI Task is programmed in Perl, Java, or some other programming language.

There are a number of issues with regard to this kind of implementation though, the primary one is:

Do you allow for the same file to be associated with multple active jobs?
- If so, the files that are part of your delayed deployment job can change - unless you are deploying them from a specific edition (which would then be questionable because you could then end up reverting changes on your web site by deploying older versions of files over newer versions)
- If not, then those files are not able to be submitted until either the delayed deployment job completes, gets cancelled, or the file in question is explicitly removed from it (hamper productivity, "throw the baby out with the bathwater", and/or potentially release incomplete sets of changes)

David Smith

We accomplish this with a MetadataTask and extended attributes. It saves us from having to create a custom UI to gather the information, and it's attached to the files to be used in other places, such as searching and reporting.

Chandra_M

HI Ghoti,

Thanks for the reply.

I tried to implement the above Scheduled Deployment by using Dummy Task and Timeout link. But when the Dummy Task is running(timedelay), the workflow is not accquiring any locks on the attached files, once the time period over and the next task activated then again workflow accquiring locks. Due to this, other users also able to intiate the deployment with same attached files. My requirement is the files should be locked to the worklfow when the Dummy task is running/deployment is schduled so that other users can't be able to intiate the deployment on same files.

Is there any way to accquire the workflow locks on attached files during the Dummy task running so that I will display some message to users that the file is locked and schduled for deployment at so and so date?

Can you please provide any inputs on my above issue?

Thanks,

Sekar

Adam Stoller

Two things come to mind:

Just because a DummyTask cannot explicitly set or transfer locks on files, does not necessarily mean that files which were locked before the workflow transitions to the DummyTask are automatically unlocked. Make sure that the CGITask (or whatever) you have immediately before the DummyTask has the lock attribute set to true and then once it transitions to the DummyTask - check the lock status on the files associated with the job.
Your first task (if not able to properly handle it during instantatiation) should verify that none of the files associated with the current job are already associated with another job (the CLT iwgetfilejobs) can be used (or, I believe, the CSFile getRelatedTaskIds() method, if you're doing Java coding). By checking either during instantiation or as a start task, you can prevent workflows from processing files that are already being processed.

Chandra_M

Hi Ghoti,

Yes, I tried to set lock flag to true for the Task that is immidiate before to the Dummy task and I test it but when the workflow transitions to Dummy task, files are unlocked eventhough the predecessor task has locks on files. And the workflow transitions to next task to Dummy Task again the files are locked by the workflow.

Is this the default behaviour of Dummy task? If so, is there any way that I can forcefully create the locks on the files attached to the workflow when the Dummy task is running?

Thanks,

Sekar

David Smith

It's really quite simple. Use an externaltask before the dummytask to lock the files using CSSDK or CLT commands to lock the files. Another externaltask after the dummytask to unlock the files. This is not a hard problem to solve.

Chandra_M

Hi Smitty,

Thanks for the reply!

If I implement the external task to create locks and unlocks, when the workflow transitions to Dummy task and during the Dummy task running, will the workflow holds locks?

Can you please calrify me the above query?

Thanks, Sekar

David Smith

I don't have the time to implement this for you. Why don't you try it and see if it works for you. I do this all over the place in my workflows - I don't trust the workflow locks, but I don't use dummytasks to set wait times - I use other mechanisms. Try it if you want to or don't.

Adam Stoller

Actually, the answer is much simpler. Create a script that does nothing - use an ExternalTask instead of a DummyTask, and have that ExternalTask execute the script that does nothing.

Because it is an ExternalTask rather than a DummyTask - it can have files associated with it, and can place/preserve locks on files.

You'd still need a task prior to the ExternalTask to set the Timeout transition threshold for it - or you might be able to take care of that completely within the ExternalTask (I cannot remember if active tasks can update their own timeout threshold).

Going a step further, if an active task can reset its own timeout threshold, then you can do all of this within the CGI Task that prompts for when the deployment should occur. I.e.: Present a screen for the user to select the date (and time?) for the deployment, on submit of the form the code would set/reset the timeout threshold, and then close the window and exit - leaving the workflow hung in the CGI Task until the timeout threshold is reached, at which time the workflow would then transition to your deployment task.

Chandra_M

Thanks Ghoti!

I implemented by creating a external task which does nothing and a timeout link between external task and deployment task.

External task ----timeout link ---> deployment task

The above way is working fine and also it holds locks during the time dealy.

Thanks,

Sekar