Orchestration Capabilities#

FlexiRule is more than a simple automation engine; it is a Visual Orchestration Layer that allows for the coordination of complex business processes across multiple DocTypes and systems.

Key Orchestration Patterns#

1. Sequential & Parallel Logic#

While the engine executes nodes sequentially, the graph structure allows for complex logical paths.

• Conditional Branching: Use the Condition node to create If/Else paths.
• Switch Logic: Dispatch execution to different paths based on a variable’s value (e.g., routing a document based on its “Status”).

2. Iterative Orchestration (Loop)#

The Loop action allows you to orchestrate logic over collections of data.

• Child Table Processing: Iterate over items in a Sales Invoice to apply line-by-line calculations or validations.
• Batch Processing: Process results from a Query Records action in a loop.
• Scoped Context: Each iteration has its own item alias, ensuring clean data separation.

3. Modular Reusability (Sub-Rule)#

Complex workflows can be decomposed into smaller, manageable sub-rules.

• Callable Rules: Define a rule once and mark it as Exposed as Sub-Rule.
• Context Merging: Sub-rules inherit context from the caller, allowing for seamless data transfer between the main orchestration and utility routines.
• Separation of Concerns: Keep your main flow high-level and offload detailed technical logic to sub-rules.

4. Lifecycle Orchestration (Document Action)#

FlexiRule can orchestrate the entire lifecycle of records in Frappe.

• Chained Transactions: A single rule on Sales Order can automatically create a Production Plan, multiple Work Orders, and send a Notification to the warehouse manager.
• Reference Updates: Update related documents (e.g., updating a Customer record based on a Payment Entry) as part of a larger flow.

5. Error & Recovery Orchestration#

Orchestration includes managing what happens when things go wrong.

• Self-Healing Flows: Use the Retry policy with exponential backoff for transient failures (e.g., external API calls).
• Graceful Degradation: Use the Continue policy to skip non-critical steps if they fail.
• Atomic Rollbacks: Use savepoints to ensure that if a specific step in a complex orchestration fails, only that step is reverted, maintaining the integrity of the overall process.

6. Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Execution#

• Sync: For real-time validations and blocking logic.
• Async: For long-running orchestrations (e.g., generating 100+ documents) that should not block the user’s browser. The engine automatically handles the offloading to background workers.

Technical Implementation#

Orchestration is achieved through the Strategy Pattern implemented in the RuleEngine. By decoupling the execution logic (Handlers) from the traversal logic (Engine), FlexiRule provides a robust and extensible framework for any business orchestration need.