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Understanding the Travel Reservation Service

Maintained by: Anastasia Koval

Last Updated: November 2008
This publication is applicable to NetBeans IDE 6.1 and 6.5.

Contents

Tutorial Requirements Configuring and Starting the GlassFish Application Server Creating Travel Reservation Service Sample Project Deploying the Partner Web Services Project Deploying the Composite Application Project to the Application Server Debugging the Travel Reservation Service Process

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The tutorial explores the Travel Reservation Service sample project starting from creation to deployment and test run of the project.

The process assumes that a client initiates the process by sending a message that contains a partial travel itinerary document. The client's travel itinerary can have:

No pre-existing reservations, or A combination of pre-existing airline, vehicle and/or hotel reservations.

The Travel Reservation Service examines the incoming client itinerary and processes the itinerary to completion. If the client itinerary does not contain a pre-existing airline reservation, the Travel Reservation Service passes the itinerary on to its partner service, the Airline Reservation Service, to add the airline reservation. The Airline Reservation Service passes back the modified itinerary to the Travel Reservation Service. The Travel Reservation Service conducts similar logic for both vehicle and hotel reservations. In each case it will delegate the actual provisioning of the reservation to the Vehicle Reservation Service and the Hotel Reservation Service. Finally, the Travel Reservation Service passes the completed itinerary back to the original client, completing the process.

Expected duration: 60 minutes

Tutorial Requirements

Before you proceed, make sure you review the requirements in this section.

Prerequisites

This tutorial assumes that you have some basic knowledge of, or programming experience with, the BPEL language and the NetBeans IDE.

To complete this tutorial, you need the following software and resources.

Software or Resource Version Required

NetBeans IDE Version 6.5 or
version 6.1 "All"

Java Development Kit (JDK) Version 6 or
version 5

GlassFish Application Server V2

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Configuring and Starting the GlassFish Application Server

When you install full NetBeans IDE download, it includes the GlassFish application server. The NetBeans IDE will automatically start the application server when needed.

To start the GlassFish application server:

If the Services window is not visible, choose Window > Services. In the Services window, expand the Servers node.
The Servers node should contain the GlassFish application server subnode. If the GlassFish application server node does not appear, go to To configure the GlassFish Application Server.

[image]

Right-click the GlassFish application server node and select Start.
The Output window displays logging information about the application startup. If the Output window is not visible, choose Window > Output > Output.

When the message Application server startup complete appears in the Output window, the application server is running.
Note: If a green arrow badge appears on the GlassFish application server node, the server is running.

Note: Deploying an application to the GlassFish application server will automatically start the server. When deploying a project, you do not have to manually start the application server.

Note: The following procedure shows how to configure the IDE to use an alternate version of the GlassFish V2 application server.

Note: Expanding JBI node of the GlassFish V2 server may take some time (1-2 minutes)

To configure the GlassFish V2 application server:

You might want to use a different version of the application server than the one provided with the IDE. For example, you might want to download and install a more current version of the GlassFish V2 application server from the GlassFish Community site.

The following procedure shows how to configure the NetBeans IDE to use an alternate version of the GlassFish V2 application server. It assumes that you have downloaded and installed the alternate version of the application server.

In the Services window, right-click the Servers node and choose Add Server from the pop-up menu.
The Add Server Instance dialog box opens. In the Choose Server page, select GlassFish V2 from the list. Click Next.
The Platform Folder Location page opens. In the Platform Location field, use the Browse button to navigate to and select the installation location of the application server.

If you installed the GlassFish application server in the default location, use Table 1 as a guide for locating the installation. Otherwise, navigate to the location where you installed the GlassFish V2 application server.

Table 1: Default Application Server Installation Directory

Platform Installing As... SOA Installation Tools Bundle Installation

Solaris OS
Linux root /opt/glassfish-v2 /opt/SUNWappserver

Solaris OS
Linux user ~/glassfish-v2 ~/SUNWappserver

Mac OS X N/A /Applications/NetBeans/glassfish-v2b58g /Applications/NetBeans/NetBeans 6.5

Windows N/A C:\Program Files\glassfish-v2-b58g C:\Sun\AppServer

Select the Register Local Default Domain radio button and click Next. Enter the user name and password for the domain's administrator.
If you accepted the default values during the installation, the user name is admin and the password is adminadmin. Click Finish.

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Creating a Travel Reservation Service Sample Project

From the IDE's main menu, choose File > New Project. Under Categories select Samples > SOA. Under Projects, select Travel Reservation Service and click Next.

New Project

Accept the default values or type a project name and location of your choice.
Note that in this document, the project name is TravelReservationService. Click Finish.
The Projects window now contains three project nodes: one for TravelReservationService, a BPEL module, one for TravelReservationServiceApplication, a Composite Application project, and one for ReservationPartnerServices, a bundled EJB project.

Two Projects

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Deploying the Partner Web Services Project

The Travel Reservation Service communicates with its partner services via their public interfaces. These interfaces are defined in partner-specific WSDL files.

The IDE includes a bundled EJB project called ReservationPartnerServices. The ReservationPartnerServices project contains a basic EJB and JMS based implementation of the three partner services. These partner services are Hotel Reservation Service, Vehicle Reservation Service and Airline Reservation Service. These partner web services must be deployed to the bundled GlassFish application server before you can test run the Travel Reservation Service process.

This implementation is only meant to serve as a test harness for the Travel Reservation Service process. The implementation of the partner services should not be of any interest to the BPEL developer. They are merely prerequisites to the testability of the Travel Reservation Service.

To deploy the ReservationPartnerServices project:

In the Projects window, right-click the ReservationPartnerServices node and choose Undeply and Deploy. This deploys the ReservationPartnerServices. Verify that the ReservationPartnerServices application was successfully deployed by performing the following steps:

Switch to the Services window and expand the GlassFish V2 node. Expand the Applications node and then expand the EJB Modules node.

Partner Services Deployed

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Deploying the Composite Application Project to the Application Server

The TravelReservationServiceApplication project already contains a BPEL project as a JBI module (see the TravelReservationServiceApplication > JBI Modules > TravelReservationService.jar node). Deploy the TravelReservationServiceApplication Composite Application to make the service assembly available to the application server, thus allowing its service units to be run.

In the Projects window, right-click the TravelReservationServiceApplication project's node, and choose Deploy from the pop-up menu. In the Warning dialog box, make sure GlassFish V2 is selected and click OK.
The deployment succeeded if you see the following message in the Output window:

Build Successful

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Performing a Test Run of the Travel Reservation Service Process

The test-run feature enables business process developers to perform test runs of their processes. BPEL processes are deployed to the BPEL runtime, which manages the process lifecycle. A BPEL process starts with a Receive or Pick activity responsible for initiating the process.

A BPEL process is also a web service. Like any web service, a BPEL process has a companion WSDL file that describes its public interface. This interface in turn describes the operations and messages that clients can target in order to create the process instance. Upon the receipt of a message targeted at one of these receive activities, the BPEL runtime will create a BPEL process instance and hand the message to the process instance for processing.

For example, in the case of the TravelReservationService.wsdl there is an operation called buildItinerary. This is the operation that TravelReservationService clients will call in order to initiate a conversation with the TravelReservationService.

<portType name="TravelReservationPortType">
         <operation name="buildItinerary">
                 <input message="tns:ItineraryIn"/>
                 <output message="tns:ItineraryOut"/>
                 <fault name="itineraryProblem" message="tns:ItineraryFault"/>
         </operation>
      </portType>

So, to test a BPEL process, you must send the BPEL runtime a message targeted at one of the process receive activities.

This version of the BPEL Designer contains features to make testing a point-and-click experience. Specifically, with the TravelReservationService sample project, you can send buildItinerary requests to the deployed TravelReservationService.

To test run TravelReservationService:

Expand the TravelReservationServiceApplication > Test nodes.
There are 4 subnodes:

HasAirline - a test itinerary with a pre-existing airline reservation HasHotel - a test itinerary with a pre-existing airline, vehicle and hotel reservations HasNoReservations - a test itinerary with no reservations HasVehicle - a test itinerary with pre-existing airline and vehicle reservations

These test nodes are actually XML files that contain SOAP message data. Each one represents a different case that can be used to test the TravelReservationService in order to exercise the process in slightly different ways. Right-click the HasNoReservations node and choose Run from the pop-up menu.
Once you select the Run action, the IDE sends the HasNoReservations SOAP message to the BPEL runtime. The IDE will indicate if the test is successful. You can see the test results in JUnit Test Results window. If the window is not visible, choose Windows > Output > JUnit Test Results.

Test Passed

Notes:

If you perform a Test Run on one of the Test Scenarios before having added the JBI module or deployed the project, the test run will fail. To resolve an issue with service endpoints when performing a test run, refer to the Ports section of the Developer Guide to the BPEL Designer: Troubleshooting for instructions.

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Debugging the Travel Reservation Service Process

You can use the IDE to debug your sample BPEL application.

General Debugging Steps

In the Projects window, under the TravelReservationService > Process Files node, double-click the TravelReservationService.bpel file. Switch to the Source View (Alt-O) and in the Source Editor, set breakpoints in your source code by clicking the line number of the element you want to place a breakpoint for. We will use the HasNoReservations test, so we will place breakpoints on activities invoking all three partner services.

Place a breakpoint on the ReceiveItinerary receive activity (lines 163-169). This is the activity that initiates the process. If line numbers are not visible, choose View > Show Line Numbers from the main menu.

Set a Breakpoint in the BPEL Source

You can also set breakpoints on the diagram. To do so, switch to the Design view, right-click the element and choose Toggle Breakpoint from the pop-up menu.

Set a Breakpoint on the Diagram

A red box appears at the top of the element with a breakpoint.

A Breakpoint on the Diagram

The Toggle Breakpoint pop-up menu command is also available for the elements in the Navigator BPEL Logical View. If the Navigator window is not open, choose Window > Navigating > Navigator from the main menu. For the elements with breakpoints, the Navigator shows a small red box like the one in the following image (ReceiveItinerary):

A Breakpoint in the Navigator

Place breakpoints on the ReserveAirline (line 218-226), ReserveVehicle (lines 304-312) and ReserveHotel (lines 362-370) Invoke activities.

Now add watches to your project:

If the Watches window is not visible, choose Window > Debugging > Watches from the main menu. In the Source view, go to line 210 and copy the XPath expression:

 not($ItineraryIn.itinerary/ota:ItineraryInfo/ota:ReservationItems/ota:Item/ota:Air)

Alternatively, select the HasAirline If element on the diagram and copy the XPath expression from the Condition row in the Properties window. If the Properties window is not visible, choose Window > Properties from the main menu.

Copy XPath Expression from the Properties Window

Right-click inside the Watches window and choose New Watch. In the New watch dialog box, paste the XPath expression into the Watch Expression field and click OK. Add two more watches for expressions at lines 301 and 359. Your Watches window should now have three items:

Watches window

In the Projects window, right-click the TravelReservationServiceApplication node, and choose Debug (BPEL). Wait until the BUILD SUCCESSFUL message appears in the Output window. Switch to the BPEL Debugger Console window to ensure the Debug session started message appeared. Ensure you have the following windows open:

Local Variables; choose Window > Debugging > Local Variables from the main menu if it is not open. BPEL Process Instances; choose Window > Debugging > BPEL Process Instances from the main menu if it is not open. BPEL Process Execution; choose Window > Debugging > BPEL Process Execution from the main menu if it is not open. BPEL Partner Links; choose Window > Debugging > BPEL Partner Links from the main menu if it is not open.

In the Projects window, right-click HasNoReservations under the Test node under TraveReservationServiceApplication and choose Run to start the test. When the process reaches the first breakpoint, observe the following windows:

Local Variables window.
It shows the structure of local variables and their values for the current process instance and the position where the current process instance became suspended.
Notice that you can access and modify the XML portion that pertains to a particular variable in the Value dialog box provided its value is XML. To display the dialog box, press the ellipsis (...) button at the end of the row in the Local Variables window. BPEL Process Instances window.
It lists all BPEL process instances running on the BPEL Service Engine within the current debugging session.
The numbered TravelReservationService instance should be in the Suspended state. BPEL Process Execution window.
It graphically represents the progress of executing the current BPEL process instance in the BPEL Debugger.
The ReceiveItinerary activity should be highlighted with green, which means it is being executed at the moment.
The rest of the activities are gray since they have not been executed yet. BPEL Partner Links Window.
The Partner Links window lists the all the partner links defined in the BPEL Process. Watches window.
It should contain the <Cannot evaluate the expression> string in the Value column for all three expressions. This is because the process has stopped at the start of the very first receive activity and the ItineraryIn message has not arrived yet.

Click Continue button on the Debugging toolbar (F5). The process stops at the second breakpoint. By this time the ItineraryIn message has arrived and the conditions in the watches have been evaluated. The value of all the three expressions should be set to true.

Note: Expressions return true if the message does not contain a corresponding reservation item. If you run the HasAirline test, the value of the not($ItineraryIn.itinerary/ItineraryInfo/ReservationItems/Item/Air) expression, which checks whether the incoming message does not contain the Airline reservation item, will be set to false.

Click Continue.
On the completion of the process the HasNoReservations test passes successfully. Select Run > Finish Debugger Session from the main menu.

Debug Actions at a Breakpoint

Once a process instance is suspended you can perform any of the following conventional Debug toolbar actions (if the Debug toolbar is not visible, choose View > Toolbars > Debug):

Finish Debugger Session (Shift-F5). End the current debug session. Pause. Once the user activates this action, the process will continue till it reaches the first element on which it can stop. If there is no current process instance, the debugger will wait for the first execution event from any process instance. Continue (F5). Once the process has reached the breakpoint or is paused you can choose Continue. This action causes the current process instance to run until it encounters the next breakpoint or until the instance completes. The state of the instance changes to Running. Step Into (F7). Steps to the next BPEL activity. As you step, the current line indicator advances, the current position is highlighted on the diagram, and the contents of the BPEL Debugger windows change accordingly. If the current activity has any enclosed elements, the process will step to the first enclosed element. Sometimes it is not visible on the diagram but is reflected in the BPEL Process Execution window. For example, if an Assign activity has <copy> element inside it, from the Assign the process will step to Copy. Step Over (F8). Steps to the next BPEL activity of the same level as the current activity. If the current activity has any enclosed elements, they all are executed without suspension. Step Out (Ctrl-F7). Steps to the next higher level activity of the process. For example, an Assign activity has several Copy elements inside. If one of the Copy elements is the current activity, performing Step Out will move you to the next activity of the Assign level and you will not have to step through all the Copy elements. Run to Cursor (F4). Runs the BPEL process to the position selected in the Navigator window (BPEL Logical View), on the diagram (in the Design view) or to the cursor location in the Source view. When the location of the cursor is reached, the process instance becomes suspended.

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