Transporting a workflow in 4.6c

[Michael Marten]

Hello wf,
just a brainstorming..is it not better to use the "versioning" of workflow
templates in a controlled manner?
 
create initial version 0000 => transport to test
  etc.
change        version 0000 => transport to test
change        version 0000 => transport to test
                                                 => if accepted: transport
to production
create  new   version 0001 => transport to test
  etc.
change           version 0001 => transport to test
                                                    => if accepted:
transport to production
 
Then you always know which functionality is used in which version in which
system(!), or not?
 
Side effect::
    you can teach the people to describe in detail what they want in
version 0000 and what to change from version 000x to version 000(x+1)
...and put that into the documentation ;-)
.. and you know what to test in version 0008   but production has the
functionality of version 007
... and you know in production the functionality of still existing wf's
instances in version 0015,0016 but also for  last week  transported
version 017
... and....
 
Is this possible and feasible?
We are on 4.6.b
 
Michael
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alon Raskin <araskin at 3i-consulting.com>
Sent by:
SAP Workflow <Owner-SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
01.12.2004 14:39
Please respond to "SAP Workflow Users' Group"
 
 
        To:     SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
        cc:     (bcc: Michael Marten/HBG/LIGHTING/PHILIPS)
        Subject:        Re: Transporting a workflow in 4.6c
        Classification:
 
 
 
 
OK  here goes...
 
Version 9999 is the version that SAP creates when transporting your
workflow. Lets say you are transporting workflow A to system JQ1. This
system target has versions 0000, 0001 and 0002 (the currently active
version). When you transport your workflow, your version automatically
becomes version 9999. When you display or kick off your WF, the workflow
sub system detects that there is a more recent version of your workflow
and it copies version 9999 into version 0003 or version 0002 depending on
whether there are any active instances of version 0002. Whats really
amasing (though I am sure there is a good reason) but a new version is not
created when you transport. Only when you 'access' the workflow is a new
version created.
 
The nightmare begins when you are transporting and there are errors in the
transport. In our 4.6c system, we transport WF A from DV1 to JQ1. In DV1
we have 5 version of our workflow (bad idea i know) and In JQ1 we have 12
versions (where version 12 is the currently active version). Say during
the transport, the workflow could not be activated (syntax error in the WF
container due to missing data dictionary definition).. I would expect that
the WF version would simply remain at the last active version (in our case
v12). Incorrect. What our SAP system did was to simply make version 5 the
currently active version!!!! Basically, it took the number from JD1 and
made it the active version number in JQ1. Needless to say this caused an
amasing amount of problems for us. We did log it with SAP but they took to
long to investigate and get back to us (and we couldn't wait) so we simply
hacked the appropriate tables ourselves to make the workflow 'point' to
the correct version. See tables HRS1205 and SWDHRS1205.
 
Have fun!
 
Alon Raskin
e: araskin at 3i-consulting.com <mailto:araskin at 3i-consulting.com>
w: http://www.3i-consulting.com
 
________________________________
 
From: SAP Workflow on behalf of Thomas Verhulst
Sent: Wed 12/1/2004 07:23
To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: Transporting a workflow in 4.6c
 
 
 
Hi Andy,
 
I can't help you on the v9999 thing, but what I know is that it is
sometimes helpful to refresh the buffer after a strange behaviour
following a transport. Try SWU_OBUF.
 
Let me know.
 
Regards,
 
Thomas Verhulst
 
        -----Original Message-----
        From: Andy Curtis [mailto:abcurtis at gmail.com]
        Sent: Wed 01/12/2004 12:47
        To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
        Cc:
        Subject: Transporting a workflow in 4.6c
 
 
 
        Someone might just be able to save my bacon.  I have changed a
        workflow and transported it through tst to prd.  When I syntax
check
        in prd I get errors, for a missing container element.  The
container
        element is not a new one, and its present in dev and tst.  Its
also
        present in the current/active version in prd thats being executed
        (version 5).  The new version v6 is the one being displayed in the
wf
        builder and the one that errors.
 
        If I look in SWDSWFCONT I can see v5 has the container element, v6
        does not, but v9999 does.
 
        Can someone explain what v999 is?  I am hoping that it will become
        part of V6 after midnight, but don't know.
 
        Any help would be great
 
        Thanks ...Andy Curtis
        (e) abcurtis at gmail.com