Apache ODE

Apache ODE (Apache Orchestration Director Engine) executes one or more business processes which have been expressed in the Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL). It principally communicates with one or more Web services, sending and receiving messages, manipulating data and handling exceptions (errors) as defined by any given process. The engine is capable of running both long and short living processes to coordinate all the services that make up a service or application (orchestration).

WS-BPEL itself is based upon the XML language and includes a number of ways in which business processes can be expressed. These include conditional clauses, repeating loops, calls to web services and the exchange of messages. Where interfaces with web services are required, it makes use of Web Services Description Language (WSDL) to express them. Messages can be handled in a flexible way by reading either part or all of the message into variables, which can then be used for onward communication.

The engine has two communication layers, with which it interacts with the outside world:

Apache ODE is embedded and an important part of the Jboss projects RiftSaw (WS-BPEL 2.0 engine) and also in the follow-up Switchyard, which is a service delivery framework for service-oriented applications.