bpe
An Erlang-based Business Process Engine implementing BPMN 2.0 (ISO 19510) for workflow orchestration and rule-based production systems.
What is bpe?
BPE (Business Process Engine) is an open-source implementation of the BPMN 2.0 standard (ISO 19510) in Erlang. It provides a robust infrastructure for defining workflows, orchestrating processes, and managing distributed storage with a focus on reliability and scalability. It maps BPMN processes one-to-one to Erlang processes for native concurrency and fault tolerance.
Erlang developers and enterprises needing enterprise-grade workflow automation and process orchestration within the Erlang ecosystem. It is suited for teams building systems that require standardized business process modeling, persistent execution, and distributed storage.
Developers choose BPE for its full BPMN 2.0 compliance, which brings a standardized workflow automation specification to Erlang. Its unique selling point is the one-to-one mapping of BPMN processes to Erlang processes, leveraging Erlang's native concurrency, fault tolerance, and persistent storage for reliable and scalable process execution.
Overview
BPMN: Business Process Model Notation ISO 19510:2015
Use Cases
Best For
- Implementing BPMN 2.0 compliant business process automation in Erlang applications.
- Building workflow systems that require persistent execution with restorable and reproducible process steps.
- Orchestrating distributed processes with event-driven architecture handling both deterministic tasks and non-deterministic events.
- Developing rule-based production systems with support for various gateways (exclusive, parallel, inclusive, complex, event-based) for non-linear execution.
- Managing document flows and process instances with configurable tasks, sequence flows, and roles.
- Integrating workflow automation into Erlang-based enterprise systems that need reliability and scalability.
Not Ideal For
- Teams not already committed to or familiar with the Erlang/OTP ecosystem
- Projects needing out-of-the-box graphical BPMN editors for business user collaboration
- Environments where lightweight, non-standard workflow engines without full BPMN 2.0 compliance are sufficient
Pros & Cons
Pros
Implements the complete BPMN 2.0 standard (ISO 19510), enabling standardized business process modeling and interoperability with other BPMN tools.
Maps BPMN processes one-to-one to Erlang processes, leveraging Erlang's built-in concurrency and fault tolerance for scalable, reliable execution.
All process steps are written to persistent storage via KVS, ensuring execution is restorable and reproducible, as demonstrated in the sample history records.
Supports both deterministic tasks and non-deterministic events like message and boundary events, allowing flexible, event-driven workflow orchestration.
Cons
Deeply tied to Erlang and its toolchain, requiring significant expertise in Erlang/OTP for effective use, which limits accessibility for teams using other languages.
Lacks visual BPMN editors; processes must be defined programmatically in Erlang or via XML, making it less user-friendly for non-technical stakeholders.
The README is technical and assumes Erlang knowledge, with limited tutorials or third-party resources compared to mainstream BPMN engines in Java or .NET.
Open Source Alternative To
bpe is an open-source alternative to the following products:
Frequently Asked Questions
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