Setting Up and Developing for Java

Process API classes (on the web server, the Process Engine, the client, and if used, FileNet Functional Expansions, such as the Process Analyzer and Process Simulator) enable Process applications to access the Process Engine services. Process APIs are native Java public classes. Therefore, you must configure your development setup to provide the appropriate Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

The runtime Process Java API classes are provided in the pw.jar file (also contains the Process client classes, Task Manager classes, third party classes [e.g., for Xerces], etc.); the pw.jar file should reside on the Process Engine (if there is more than Process Engine server, pw.jar should reside on every Process Engine in your environment), each client, and also, if used, each Process Analyzer, Process Simulator, etc.) in your development setup. The pw.jar file is included with the Process Development Environment.

Note If you are using FileNet Workplace as your web application and you are developing customized Java workflow processing applications (such as Step Processors, Work Performers, etc.) for deployment on a client workstation, both the eProcess.jar file, which contains the runtime Process Java API classes, and the wcm.jar file, which contains the Content Engine APIs, must reside on each client system. As part of the development process, the client workstation must also include any custom classes that a customized workflow processing application requires to run. Typically, you create a single Java ARchive (JAR) file that contains all your custom classes.

Setting up for Java development requires two basic steps:

  1. Configuring the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) on your development setup. See this topic for information on which JDK(s) to use, how to configure the JRE for Process development, and how to handle a known CLASSPATH issue. If you intend to use the JMS Service Adapter of the Component Integrator feature ( available only for FileNet Workplace), this topic also describes how to configure the Process Task Manager on the Application Engine to use the JVM of the application server (for either Tomcat or WebSphere).
  2. Starting an instance of a local Process Engine router on your development system. See this topic for information on starting a local router for RMI communication between your development system and a Process Engine server.

Note The Process Engine requires that the Remote Method Invocation (RMI) mechanism be built-in to the Java environment. If you develop with Microsoft Visual J++™, install the Microsoft RMI patch before compiling your application code.