With the new master project Imixs-Data, we are extending the technology stack of the Imixs Workflow Engine with a powerful new feature block. Imixs-Data provides functionality to view, group, and manage business process data. In the near future, the existing modules Imixs-Archive-Importer, Imixs-Archive-Exporter and Imixs-Archive-Documents will be migrated into this new master project.
Why a New Module?
The main motivation behind Imixs-Data is to separate the management of internal and external business data into a clean and reusable library. Especially with regard to the new AI functions of Imixs-Workflow, data and its clear grouping by business processes are becoming increasingly important.
Business data can either be generated directly by the Imixs Workflow Engine or provided by external data sources. Such data is typically required to run business processes efficiently and to provide users with relevant information.
Imixs-Data introduces four core capabilities:
- Data Views – Display business data in a table or export it into a spreadsheet
- Data Groups – Organize processes into main and sub-processes
- Data Import – Import data from external sources (e.g. email, CSV, APIs)
- Data Export – Export business data and documents into external storage
Data Views
Data Views provide a convenient way to select work items via queries and display the results in a list. A data view defines both the selector (e.g. a Lucene query or a reference to an internal/external data source) and the columns with their content.
In addition, data views allow you to configure columns, labels, and sorting options. They can also include custom search forms and spreadsheet exports, enabling flexible integration of individual business views.
Data Groups
Data Groups are a new pattern for organizing and linking business processes. A Data Group is itself a process that can be referenced by other processes within the same instance.
For example, you might want to:
- Consolidate all payment transactions of a customer into a single Statement of Account
- Group all invoices that need to be exported into an external IT system within a dedicated Export Process
Referencing a Data Group is done via a single process property, making it easy to access them through the Imixs Workflow API. This offers a smart and elegant way to handle complex relationships between business processes.
Data Import
The Imixs-Data Importer module provides a generic service to import documents from various external sources into the Workflow Engine. Sources can include an FTP server, an IMAP mailbox, or other structured data feeds.
The importer is built on top of the Imixs Scheduler API, enabling scheduled imports. The scheduler publishes CDI events that can be processed by specific importer implementations. This design makes the Importer highly extensible and adaptable to custom requirements.
Currently supported sources include:
- IMAP – Import emails via IMAP
- FTP – Import files from an FTP server
- CSV – Import CSV files from local or remote locations
Custom import agents can also be implemented to handle additional data types.
Imixs-Archive-Exporter
The Imixs-Archive-Exporter is a microservice that exports documents from an Imixs Workflow instance into external storage systems, such as a local file system or an FTP server.
The service is fully decoupled from the workflow engine and can run independently – for example, on separate hardware or within an external cluster.
The Exporter processes EventLog entries created by the Workflow Instance and stores related file attachments in the defined target system. This architecture provides a scalable and flexible approach to managing long-term document storage.
Learn more about the possibilities of the Imixs Data function as well as its use in Imixs-Office-Workflow!