Package javax.faces.flow.builder

Class FlowBuilder

java.lang.Object
javax.faces.flow.builder.FlowBuilder
public abstract class FlowBuilder extends Object

A Java language API for building Flows. This API is semantically identical to the <flow-definition> element in the Application Configuration Resources XML Schema Definition.

Usage example:

public class FlowA implements Serializable {
    
    @Produces FlowDefinition
    public Flow buildMyFlow(@FlowBuilderParameter FlowBuilder flowBuilder) {
        String flowId = "flow-a";
        flowBuilder.id("unique", flowId);
        flowBuilder.returnNode("taskFlowReturn1").
                fromOutcome("#{flow_a_Bean.returnValue}");
        flowBuilder.inboundParameter("param1FromFlowB", "#{flowScope.param1Value}");
        flowBuilder.inboundParameter("param2FromFlowB", "#{flowScope.param2Value}");
        flowBuilder.flowCallNode("callB").flowReference("", "flow-b").
                outboundParameter("param1FromFlowA", "param1Value").
                outboundParameter("param2FromFlowA", "param2Value");
        
        return flowBuilder.getFlow();
    }
}

The runtime must discover all such methods at startup time and ensure that the returned flows are added to the FlowHandler using the FlowHandler.addFlow(javax.faces.context.FacesContext, javax.faces.flow.Flow) method.

Since:
2.2

  • Constructor Details

    • FlowBuilder

      public FlowBuilder()

  • Method Details

    • id

      public abstract FlowBuilder id(String definingDocumentId, String id)

      Set the defining document id and flow id of this flow.

      Parameters:
      definingDocumentId - The defining document id of this flow, or the empty string if this flow does not need a defining document id.
      id - the id of the flow
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • viewNode

      public abstract ViewBuilder viewNode(String viewNodeId, String vdlDocumentId)

      Define a view node in a flow graph.

      Parameters:
      viewNodeId - Within the flow graph, the id of this view node. Must be unique among all nodes in this flow graph.
      vdlDocumentId - The fully qualified path to the view node within this flow.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • switchNode

      public abstract SwitchBuilder switchNode(String switchNodeId)

      Define a particular list of cases that will be inspected in the order they are defined to determine where to go next in the flow graph. If none of the cases match, the outcome from the default case is chosen.

      Parameters:
      switchNodeId - Within the flow graph, the id of this switch node. Must be unique among all nodes in this flow graph.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • returnNode

      public abstract ReturnBuilder returnNode(String returnNodeId)

      Define a return node. This node will cause the specified outcome to be returned to the calling flow.

      Parameters:
      returnNodeId - Within the flow graph, the id of this return node. Must be unique among all nodes in this flow graph.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • methodCallNode

      public abstract MethodCallBuilder methodCallNode(String methodCallNodeId)

      Define a method call node. This node will cause the specified method to be invoked, passing parameters if necessary. The return from the method is used as the outcome for where to go next in the flow. If the method is a void method, the default outcome is used.

      Parameters:
      methodCallNodeId - Within the flow graph, the id of this method call node. Must be unique among all nodes in this flow graph.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • flowCallNode

      public abstract FlowCallBuilder flowCallNode(String flowCallNodeId)

      Define a flow call node. This node will cause the specified flow to be called, passing parameters if necessary.

      Parameters:
      flowCallNodeId - Within the flow graph, the id of this return node. Must be unique among all nodes in this flow graph.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • initializer

      public abstract FlowBuilder initializer(MethodExpression methodExpression)

      A MethodExpression that will be invoked when the flow is entered.

      Parameters:
      methodExpression - the expression to invoke, must reference a zero-argument method.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • initializer

      public abstract FlowBuilder initializer(String methodExpression)

      A MethodExpression that will be invoked when the flow is entered.

      Parameters:
      methodExpression - the expression to invoke, must reference a zero-argument method.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • finalizer

      public abstract FlowBuilder finalizer(MethodExpression methodExpression)

      A MethodExpression that will be invoked when the flow is exited.

      Parameters:
      methodExpression - the expression to invoke, must reference a zero-argument method.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • finalizer

      public abstract FlowBuilder finalizer(String methodExpression)

      A MethodExpression that will be invoked when the flow is exited.

      Parameters:
      methodExpression - the expression to invoke, must reference a zero-argument method.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • inboundParameter

      public abstract FlowBuilder inboundParameter(String name, ValueExpression expression)

      A parameter that will be populated with the value from a correspondingly named outbound parameter from another flow when this flow is entered from that flow.

      Parameters:
      name - the parameter name
      expression - the ValueExpression to populate with the inbound value when the flow is called.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • inboundParameter

      public abstract FlowBuilder inboundParameter(String name, String expression)

      A parameter that will be populated with the value from a correspondingly named outbound parameter from another flow when this flow is entered from that flow.

      Parameters:
      name - the parameter name
      expression - the ValueExpression String to populate with the inbound value when the flow is called.
      Returns:
      the builder instance
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - if any of the parameters are null
      Since:
      2.2

    • getFlow

      public abstract Flow getFlow()

      Called as the last step in flow definition, this method must perform any implementation specific initialization and return the built Flow. If called more than one time during a given flow building process, the second and subsequent invocations must take no action and return the built flow.

      Returns:
      the completely built Flow
      Throws:
      IllegalStateException - if the id(java.lang.String, java.lang.String) method had not been called prior to this method being called.
      Since:
      2.2