Invoke flow flow-node
3 minute read
Overview
The Invoke Flow flow-node is part of the Invoke Flow plugin, @axway/api-builder-plugin-invoke-flow. The plugin also contains the Flow Listener flow-trigger, and the Flow Listener Response flow-node, and all work together to enable one flow to invoke a different flow. It is a mechanism that can be used to create reusable flows. It can be used to invoke a flow once or multiple times, looping over an array of items. The Invoke Flow flow-node will use an existing unique Flow Listener ID, previously configured with a Flow Listener flow-trigger, to identify the flow to invoke. It supports two methods Invoke Flow, which is a single invoke, and Invoke Flow (for-each), which will invoke a flow for each item in an array.
To install the plugin, execute the following command:
npm install @axway/api-builder-plugin-invoke-flow
For additional getting started information, refer to the Getting Started With API Builder.
Methods
The following sections provide details of the available Invoke Flow flow-node methods.
Invoke Flow
Invokes a flow identified by Flow Listener ID with the parameter Data, if provided. When the flow is invoked, the value of Data will be provided as $.request (it will be undefined if not provided).
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description | Configuration selection | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flow Listener ID | string | A unique identifier previously set on a Flow Listener flow-trigger. This value is case-sensitive. | Selector, String | Yes |
| Data | any | The data to send to the flow. | Any | No |
Outputs
| Output | Type | Description | Save output value as: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next | any | The data returned by the flow. | $.flowResponse |
| Error | any | The flow did not respond successfully. | $.error |
Invoke Flow (for-each)
Invokes a flow identified by Flow Listener ID for each item in the Items array. If the Items array is empty, the Next output will be triggered with an empty array. If any error is encountered, the Error output will be triggered. If Break on error is true, array execution will stop on the first error encountered, and the Error output will be triggered.
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description | Configuration selection | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flow Listener ID | string | A unique identifier previously set on a Flow Listener flow-trigger. | Selector, String | Yes |
| Items | any | The data to send to the flow. | Any | Yes |
| Break on error | boolean | If true, this will break out of the flow invocation loop when the first error occurs. When using Concurrency mode, all remaining requests currently being executed will be processed before breaking. | Selector, Boolean | No |
| Concurrency | integer | By default, items in the Items array are processed concurrently in chunks of 10. This value can be set to 0 to process all items in Items concurrently, or set to 1 to disable concurrency, or set to a value greater-than 1 to provide a throttling mechanism so as to not overwhelm a backend. | Selector, Integer | No |
Outputs
| Output | Type | Description | Save output value as: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next | any | The data returned by the flow. | $.flowResponse |
| Error | any | The flow did not respond successfully. | $.error |
How to use the plugin
See Flow Listener flow-trigger for an example on how to use the plugin.