Introduction to the Enactor Tools

The Enactor Toolset is an advanced set of visual development tools that enable IT teams easily to visualize, understand, and change the operation of the business and customer processes represented in software that span a commercial enterprise.

Business Processes are conceptualized visually, designed using the tools, and realized as function by translating the design into the software. The tools give great control over the way Business Processes operate and the way they interact with and drive applications. They enable applications to be enhanced or new applications to be built and deployed without months or years of development effort.

Enactor tools work by visually representing application and system components and the Process Flows occurring inside Enactor applications. IT teams can easily isolate the code that is being changed, manipulate pre-packaged elements in the workspace, and link them as a series of actions that produce self-describing processes. Where new function is required, developers can build discrete components using the Enactor wizards and designers or just write new functions in familiar Java code. Software elements are defined and then implemented by the Enactor Runtime Framework. Enactor is platform-independent, supporting the deployment of the same Enactor applications on multiple operating systems and hardware.

Enactor tools are hosted within the Eclipse Java development environment as plugins, or cut down (e.g. read-only) for non-developer users. They utilize the power and flexibility of the Java language and Java technologies but allow developers and technical staff to operate within an application framework where much of what would be coding becomes a visual exercise. Application development changes from being code-focused (e.g. Java classes) to business or application flow focused. Developers and designers can use the same tools to specify, design, and develop applications, and even complex applications become virtually self-documenting.

The tools enable the development of both server-based Business Process Flows (as implemented by BPEL) and user-facing applications. Adding or changing application or server-based processes made using the tools does not make traditional code changes or generate new code, but only affects the flow of the process being changed or enhanced. This means that changes to Enactor applications can be made discreetly, in many cases eliminating the need for regression testing.

The components that are used within processes, such as actions, Web services, screen designs, message translations, and business entities and so on are collated together into the Enactor resource library. This repository is available to developers and designers, providing convenience and encouraging re-use of existing function, whether the functions are written in-house, by Enactor or by third parties. This book is initially concerned with the development of Applications based on the essential Enactor Core elements and independent of the Enactor Retail System. These Core elements are available in the resource library.