Variables

Variables are placeholders for values in your process. Each variable has a name, description, type and value. Oracle BPM provides different classes of variables based on the scope and context where they are used.

Order of Precedence within a PBL method

Variable names are resolved in the following order of precedence:

Local
Argument
Instance

When accessing variables within a method, you should be aware of the order of precedence among different types of variables. This is important if you have variables of different types that have identical names.

To explicitly state the scope of a variable, use the following prefix keywords:

Keyword	Description
this.	Explicitly specifies an instance variable, including project and predefined variables.
arg.	Explicitly specifies an argument variable.

Creating Project and Instance Variables
Outlines procedures for creating and editing Variables.
Instance Variables
Instance Variables are custom variables whose scope is contained within a process. Instance Variables contain information that flows through the process from the Begin to the End activities. The value of each variable is stored independently for each process instance.
Predefined Variables
Predefined variables are special instance variables that are always defined for all BPM processes. All processes include these predefined variables and cannot be removed. The value of some predefined variables cannot me modified by the process logic.
Project Variables
Project variables are special instance variables that are declared at the project level and appear in all processes of the project. Unlike regular instance variables, end users can see project variables in work list columns of the WorkSpace and use project variables in search conditions.
Local Variables
Local Variables store information that is used only inside the scope of a single PBL method. The scope and lifetime of a local variable is within method itself. Once the method has been executed, the information stored in a local variable is lost.

Parent topic: Working with Studio