Micro Focus Enterprise Developer 2.3 for Eclipse > General Reference > Application Workflow Manager > Workflow Manager Modeling Guide > About This Guide > Overview

Overview

AWM is a framework based on EMF which lets you create a model to support the application development process within an Eclipse-based environment.

The original aim of AWM was to support the development process on a z/OS mainframe. Over the years, the mainframe development tools have frequently been increasingly adapted to the needs of the developer. Home-grown user interfaces, as well as complex compile and release procedures, mean that the change to a modern development framework based on Eclipse has become an extensive project.

AWM's aim has now been extended to support the creation of models for any Eclipse-based application development process.

With AWM, the effort of integrating existing remote and local development tools in Eclipse, and the future maintenance of the tool integration is considerably simplified. AWM has been designed so that, where required, the existing development procedures and tools can be integrated in Eclipse with minimum effort. The tool attachment is based on a model-driven approach. With the help of an AWM model editor, an XML file will be edited by an administrator. At run time, the AWM model will be dynamically integrated under Eclipse, and that supports both the modeled user interface and the modeled tool attachment.

AWM uses the following general expressions to describe the tool integration as flexibly as possible:

Expression	Description
Element	An Element usually describes an object that is managed in the tool that is to be integrated in the AWM model. A file or a database record is usually connected to it, and there are tools processing the elements. Example: COBOL program TEST4711 Project: PRJ4711
Element list	An element list is a list of elements with defined properties that is drawn up according to specific criteria. An element list is presented in the form of a table. The structure of the table can be a flat table or a tree table.
Container	A Container is a specific element which contains or references other elements, directly or indirectly. Containers can also include other containers. The Container structure is presented in the form of a tree view. Example: PDS file: USER01.TEST.COBOL (contains PDS members) Project: PRJ4711 (contains applications) Order: CHG4711 (contains sources connected to this change record)
Filter	A Filter describes criteria from which a list of elements can be determined. Example: All PDS members in USER01.TEST.COBOL, whose names begin with TEST.
Action	An Action is an integrally closed function that can be triggered in the user interface, e.g. a function in the context menu of an element or a container. An Action can be made up of several working steps (tools), e.g. an input dialog, processing on the mainframe, any subsequent processing on the client, and an output dialog. Example: Compile (in the context menu for Element TEST4711)
Tool	A tool is the smallest processing step that can be described in the AWM model, and generally processes inputs and creates outputs. Example: The REX1234 procedure for executing a Compile The input dialog to enter compile parameters
Property	Properties are the characteristics of objects. Properties occur with different meanings, e.g. as the property of an element or container, as filter criterion, as the input or output parameter of a tool, as the input or output field in a dialog window.
Resource	A Resource is an object that can be selected in the application user interface, that usually has properties, and on which actions can be carried out. Resources in the sense of this definition are, for example, elements, containers and filters.
Function Package	Bundle of specific functions which can be used within a model. Function packages can also be defined by third-party developers, effectively extending modeling capabilities and functions. Examples: ISPF function package Provides ISPF tools like “Execute ISPF Command”. Eclipse function package Provides standard Eclipse tools to be used in a model. Provides automatic synchronization between Eclipse workspace files and modeled AWM elements.

A complete Eclipse-based user interface for the integration of tools can be described with the help of the AWM model editor and the expressions defined above.

Example

Several Elements can be identified in an SCM system. Elements can either represent the files managed by the SCM system or Containers in which the files are structured, such as projects, stages, and folders.

All elements have Properties. A property is an attribute of a type and is assigned a value at run time, for example file name.

Tools, on the other hand, use properties as input parameters and assign properties to their output parameters. Tools are components of Actions to which elements can be assigned. Examples include Check-out, Edit, Compile, Delete.

A Delete tool, for example, requires the file name of the file to be deleted as an input parameter. The file exists as an Element, and has the property “File name”. The tool is modeled in the AWM model so that it uses the “File name” property as an input parameter. Used on an element, its file name will be transferred to the tool, and the file will be deleted.

You can define the elements that he would currently like to work with, using Filter at run time. The criteria by which elements can be searched can be entered in the filter. The corresponding elements can be returned via an action. Returned elements are managed in element lists.

All the object types are shown below:

Major Data model objects and relationships (simplified)