Action Variable

When a PBL-Method is executed, multiple outcomes can result from the execution. PBL-Method execution status is indicated by the value of the predefined action variable.

Depending on the value of action, the Engine responds accordingly and saves or undoes (commit or rollback) the changes made to any variable when the PBL-Method is executed. The following table lists the valid values for the Action Variable:

action =	Description	Result
OK NONE	Indicates that PBL-Method execution was successful. This is the default value.	PBL-Method changes to "completed" status. If the activity is marked as auto-complete, the instance flows to the next activity according to transition rules.
FAIL	Indicates that the PBL-Method has failed its execution. The PBL-Method must be executed again.	If a rollback PBL-Method is included, it is executed. The Engine retries the original PBL-Method until it succeeds or reaches the maximum number of retry times. In the latter case, the instance is routed to an Exception handling activity. The effect of FAIL is equivalent to that of a System Exception.
CANCEL	PBL-Method execution is aborted.	The instance state is rolled back to the point before PBL-Method execution. No trace of the PBL-Method failure or execution appears in the audit trail. CANCEL is only relevant on interactive executions.
REPEAT	Indicates that the PBL-Method execution is successful, but not recorded as completed.	REPEAT is only relevant on interactive executions. The transaction is committed. However, the task's status remains in a pending state and the task should be executed again. REPEAT indicates that, although the task was successfully executed, it remains pending. Therefore, if the task is mandatory, the participant has to execute it again.
RELEASE	Ends the PBL-Method execution and releases the instance from this activity.	The transaction is committed. The instance is released to the next activity without processing any of the PBL-Methods in the current activity, even if they are marked mandatory. RELEASE is only relevant on interactive executions and on Join activities.
ABORT	Ends PBL-Method execution and aborts the entire process instance.	The instance is not processed and is sent directly to the End activity. CAUTION: Instances that are aborted cannot be recovered.
BACK	Ends PBL-Method execution and sends the instance back to the activity where the exception (or interruption) occurred.	The transaction is committed. Used in an exception handling flow (or notification flow) to send the instance back to the activity where the exception (or interruption) occurred.
SKIP	Ends PBL-Method execution and sends the instance back to the activity where the exception (or interruption) occurred and skips it.	The transaction is committed. Used in an exception handling flow (or notification flow) to send an instance back to an activity in the process and skips its execution. The instance goes back to originating activity and is released to the next activity, without re-executing the activity that caused the failure.

Action Variable Example

The following PBL-Method example shows how you can manually set the action variable if a Boolean expression evaluates to true.

	if selectedButton == "Yes" then
	action = OK
	
	elseif selectedButton == "Abort" then
	action = ABORT
	
	else
	action = BACK