GO
The simplest kind of branch is GO. It appears on AutoStep, ActivityStep and MessageStep. There can be a single
GO branch or a list of
multiple GO branches.
If there is a single GO branch, then
you need only specify the To
field and any optional Gosu code. The workflow takes this GO branch immediately as it checks
its branches.
The Workflows
editor indicates a GO
branch with an arrow icon superimposed on the line that links the two
steps. (That is, the initial From
step and the To step to which the
workflow goes if the GO
condition evaluates to true.)
To access the dialog that defines the
GO branch, right-click
the starting step—in this case, CheckOnOrder—and
select New GO from the
menu. (Studio only displays those choices that are appropriate for that
step.) This dialog contains the following fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
Branch ID |
ID of the branch to create |
From |
ID of the step on the which the GO branch starts. |
To |
ID of the step on the which the GO branch starts. |
It is not necessary to enter a branch
ID. However, if you create multiple GO
branches from a step, then you must enter a unique ID for each branch.
After you create the GO branch, click on the link (line)
that runs between the two steps. You will see a dialog that contains
the following fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
Branch ID |
Automatically generated. |
From |
Automatically generated. Workflow step ID of the beginning point of the branch. |
To |
Workflow step ID of the ending point of the branch. |
Arrow Visible |
Show an arrow head on the branch line to indicate direction. |
Description |
Description of this branch. |
Condition |
Must evaluate to either
|
Execution |
Gosu code to execute if the workflow takes this branch. |
Notice that this branch definition sets a condition. The From and To fields set the end-points for the branch.
If there are multiple GO branches, all the GO branches except one must define
a condition that evaluates to either Boolean true or false. The workflow decides which
GO branch to take by evaluating
the GO branches from top
to bottom (within the XML step definition). It selects the first one
whose condition evaluates to true.
If none of the conditions evaluate to true, then the workflow uses the
GO branch that does not
have a condition. A list of GO
branches is thus like a switch
programming block or a series of if...else...
statements, with the default case at the bottom of the list.
Infinite Loops
Beware of infinite, immediately-executing cycles in your workflow scripts. For example:
From |
To |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
If the steps revolve in an infinite loop, PolicyCenter catches this only after 500 steps. This can cause other problems to occur.