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The Drools and jBPM public API which is backwards compatible between releases.
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/*
 * Copyright 2010 JBoss Inc
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */

package org.drools.runtime.process;

import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Map;

/**
 * The ProcessRuntime is a super-interface for all StatefulKnowledgeSessions.
 * 
 * @see org.drools.core.runtime.StatefulKnowledgeSession
 */
public interface ProcessRuntime {

    /**
     * Start a new process instance.  The process (definition) that should
     * be used is referenced by the given process id.
     *
     * @param processId  The id of the process that should be started
     * @return the ProcessInstance that represents the instance of the process that was started
     */
    ProcessInstance startProcess(String processId);

    /**
     * Start a new process instance.  The process (definition) that should
     * be used is referenced by the given process id.  Parameters can be passed
     * to the process instance (as name-value pairs), and these will be set
     * as variables of the process instance.
     * 
     * @param processId  the id of the process that should be started
     * @param parameters  the process variables that should be set when starting the process instance 
     * @return the ProcessInstance that represents the instance of the process that was started
     */
    ProcessInstance startProcess(String processId,
                                 Map parameters);
    
    /**
     * Creates a new process instance (but does not yet start it).  The process
     * (definition) that should be used is referenced by the given process id.  
     * Parameters can be passed to the process instance (as name-value pairs), 
     * and these will be set as variables of the process instance.  You should only
     * use this method if you need a reference to the process instance before actually
     * starting it.  Otherwise, use startProcess.
     * 
     * @param processId  the id of the process that should be started
     * @param parameters  the process variables that should be set when creating the process instance 
     * @return the ProcessInstance that represents the instance of the process that was created (but not yet started)
     */
    ProcessInstance createProcessInstance(String processId,
                                          Map parameters);

    /**
     * Starts the given process instance (which was created by using createProcesInstance
     * but not yet started).  This method can only be called once for each process
     * instance.  You should only use this method if you need a reference to the 
     * process instance before actually starting it.  Otherwise, use startProcess.
     * 
     * @param processInstanceId  the id of the process instance that needs to be started
     * @return the ProcessInstance that represents the instance of the process that was started
     */
    ProcessInstance startProcessInstance(long processInstanceId);

    /**
     * Signals the engine that an event has occurred. The type parameter defines
     * which type of event and the event parameter can contain additional information
     * related to the event.  All process instances that are listening to this type
     * of (external) event will be notified.  For performance reasons, this type of event
     * signaling should only be used if one process instance should be able to notify
     * other process instances. For internal event within one process instance, use the
     * signalEvent method that also include the processInstanceId of the process instance
     * in question. 
     * 
     * @param type the type of event
     * @param event the data associated with this event
     */
    void signalEvent(String type,
                     Object event);

    /**
     * Signals the process instance that an event has occurred. The type parameter defines
     * which type of event and the event parameter can contain additional information
     * related to the event.  All node instances inside the given process instance that
     * are listening to this type of (internal) event will be notified.  Note that the event
     * will only be processed inside the given process instance.  All other process instances
     * waiting for this type of event will not be notified.
     * 
     * @param type the type of event
     * @param event the data associated with this event
     * @param processInstanceId the id of the process instance that should be signaled
     */
    void signalEvent(String type,
                     Object event,
                     long processInstanceId);

    /**
     * Returns a collection of currently active process instances.  Note that only process
     * instances that are currently loaded and active inside the engine will be returned.
     * When using persistence, it is likely not all running process instances will be loaded
     * as their state will be stored persistently.  It is recommended not to use this
     * method to collect information about the state of your process instances but to use
     * a history log for that purpose.
     * 
     * @return a collection of process instances currently active in the session
     */
    Collection getProcessInstances();

    /**
     * Returns the process instance with the given id.  Note that only active process instances
     * will be returned.  If a process instance has been completed already, this method will return
     * null.
     * 
     * @param id the id of the process instance
     * @return the process instance with the given id or null if it cannot be found
     */
    ProcessInstance getProcessInstance(long processInstanceId);

    /**
	 * Returns the process instance with the given id. Note that only active process instances
	 * will be returned. If a process instance has been completed already, this method will return
	 * null.
	 *
	 * @param id the id of the process instance
	 * @param readonly if this is true and when using persistence, this process instance
	 * will not be tracked and updated by the engine
	 * @return the process instance with the given id or null if it cannot be found
	 */
    ProcessInstance getProcessInstance(long processInstanceId, boolean readonly);

    /**
     * Aborts the process instance with the given id.  If the process instance has been completed
     * (or aborted), or the process instance cannot be found, this method will throw an
     * IllegalArgumentException.
     * 
     * @param id the id of the process instance
     */
    void abortProcessInstance(long processInstanceId);

    /**
     * Returns the WorkItemManager related to this session.  This can be used to
     * register new WorkItemHandlers or to complete (or abort) WorkItems.
     * 
     * @return the WorkItemManager related to this session
     */
    WorkItemManager getWorkItemManager();

}