In-Memory Workflow Engine for Real-Time Execution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial workflow products are not designed for high-performance, short-duration workflows, particularly in real-time systems, due to overhead from components like database engines and message servers, which limits their ability to scale down to very short time frames, leading to potential system failures and decreased service quality.
Innovation Solution
A workflow system utilizing a Petri net domain model with a workflow engine module that includes token, place, arc, transition, trigger, and guard objects, along with abstraction layer components to delegate tasks to the operating system, enabling high-performance execution of workflows through concurrency management and external resource communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If commercial workflow products use database engines and message servers for workflow execution, then workflow management and enforcement capabilities are improved, but execution time increases and cannot scale down to very short time frames
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes heavy database engines and message servers from the workflow execution environment, replacing them with an in-memory execution model. This extraction eliminates the overhead of persistent storage and complex messaging infrastructure, enabling workflows to execute in milliseconds while maintaining management capabilities through simplified in-memory data structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs temporary in-memory data structures and lightweight objects that are created and discarded rapidly during workflow execution. These short-living objects replace persistent database records, allowing the system to handle high-throughput workflows with millisecond durations without the overhead of database I/O operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If commercial workflow products include comprehensive components like database engines and message servers, then workflow orchestration capability is improved, but the system cannot handle high-throughput real-time requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes mechanical I/O-based systems (databases and message servers) with an in-memory execution model. This substitution replaces physical disk I/O and network messaging with volatile memory operations, dramatically increasing throughput capability while maintaining orchestration versatility through programmatic control of workflow state in memory.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of data persistence from persistent (database) to volatile (in-memory). This parameter change enables the system to handle high-throughput real-time workflows by eliminating I/O wait times, while versatility is maintained through software-based workflow management that can dynamically adjust to different workflow patterns.
3Stability of the object's composition
If workflow systems use traditional commercial products with overhead components, then workflow enforcement consistency is improved, but execution speed decreases and cannot meet real-time constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates in-memory copies of workflow data and state that can be manipulated rapidly without affecting persistent storage. These copies allow the system to enforce workflow consistency rules at memory speed, maintaining enforcement stability while achieving execution speeds measured in milliseconds rather than seconds or minutes.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for enabling design, generation, and execution of real-time workflows. Such embodiments provide a graphical designer including a plurality of shapes representing the various objects of a workflow that are used to model the workflow. In addition, various embodiments of the graphical designer provide shapes to model aspects of the workflow not found in previous graphical designers. Various embodiments also provide a code generator that converts the representation of the workflow into executable code for multiple target languages. Various embodiments also provide a workflow engine based on a Petri net model responsible for executing the workflow and for delegating tasks to be performed for the workflow to an operating system. In various embodiments, the workflow engine further includes a platform abstraction layer that provides a transition layer from the Petri net language to the operating system language.