Workflows

In Concepts, we walked through workflows, actions and hops. Let’s remember:

  • A workflow is by default a sequential process that has a starting point and one or more endpoints.

  • An action is an item of workflow functionality that executes pipelines already implemented or any other element that allows orchestrating the execution of the data integration processes.

  • A hop in a workflow can conditionally connect actions and determine which action the workflow needs to execute next.

Create a Workflow

There are two ways to create a workflow.

  • Click on the New option on the Horizontal toolbar and select the Workflow option.

gs hop gui create workflow 1

  • File → New → Workflow

gs hop gui create workflow 2

gs hop gui create workflow 3

Your new workflow is created, and you’ll see the dialog below.

gs hop gui create workflow 4

Note that when you create a workflow, Apache Hop automatically adds Start action by default.

Add and connect actions

Add Actions

Now you are ready to add the first action. Click anywhere in the workflow canvas, the area where you’ll see the image below.

gs hop gui create workflow 5

After clicking you will see a dialog:

gs hop gui create workflow 6

Just like you did with pipelines, use the search box in this dialog to find the actions you need. Click or use the arrow keys and hit enter to add an action to your workflow.

For now, add a Pipeline action to your workflow.

check the full list of actions. There are over 50 actions available in Hop 0.70, but you’ll soon get to know the most commonly used ones.

Create a hop

Creating a hop is identical to creating a hop in a pipeline:

  • shift-drag: while holding down the shift key on your keyboard. Click on an action, while holding down your primary mouse button, drag to the second action. Release the primary mouse button and the shift key.

  • scroll-drag: scroll-click on an action , while holding down your mouse’s scroll button, drag to the second action. Release the scroll button.

  • click on an action in your pipeline to open the 'click anywhere' dialog. Click the 'Create hop' Create hop button and select the action you want to create the hop to.

gs hop gui create workflow add pipeline action

Save your workflow:

gs hop gui create workflow save

At first, we have the Workflow run configuration session. A Workflow Run Configuration is a metadata object in Apache Hop and defines where the workflow is executed.

Select the 'local' workflow runtime configuration that is available by default in your Hop installation and click 'Launch'.

gs hop gui create workflow run

You’ll now have an execution results pane very similar to the pipeline execution results.