Executing Objects

Objects can be executed either manually or automatically (if they are inserted in other objects such as Workflows). As a developer and object designer, after defining an object, you execute it manually to check if it behaves as expected. For this purpose, you have three options:

  • Execute immediately
  • Execute once
  • Execute recurrently

As an operator, you can also execute objects but you only have the option to execute them immediately.

Every time an object is executed, the details of the execution are written to the Executions list. There are various types of execution lists, depending on how the execution of the object has been triggered. For more information, see Execution Data.

Tip: The system provides many way to time and schedule the execution of tasks. Read Timing Task Execution to get acquainted with all the possibilities.

Considerations

  • Tasks are objects that are being or have been executed. Whereas objects are available in the Process Assembly perspective, tasks are visible in the Process Monitoring, Dashboards and My Catalog perspectives, provided you have the necessary rights and your Dashboard or My Catalog is configured accordingly.

  • When you define an object you must decide when it will be generated, whether at activation or at runtime. For more information about the implications of this setting, see Generating at Activation or at Runtime.

  • The terms Parent and Child are commonly used with objects and tasks. Child objects are activated by a superordinate object such as a Schedule or a Workflow.

  • When you execute a Workflow, its children are not affected by the Time Zone defined for the Workflow. They have their own Time Zone definition. In addition, you can specify an extra time zone for a particular task in the Workflow on the Time & Dependencies tab. You access this tab by selecting the task in the Workflow and clicking the Properties button on the toolbar.

  • In the case of Job objects, the status ENDED_OK is set as soon as the execution has ended. Post Processing options do not result in the status of the task changing to ACTIVE.

  • If you log out (or if you close the browser window) while tasks are still executing and in the activation stage, those tasks will abort. This applies to tasks that were started by the user that is currently logged in. Tasks that you have started and that are already in another stage (generation, processing or completion) continue executing. A confirmation dialog prompts you to confirm that you want to log out.

This chapter provides information on the following: