Returns mappings that determine the values of action properties and flow
context variables at runtime. The sources for these runtime data mappings
include flow context variables and runtime configuration properties. The
targets for these runtime data mappings include flow context variables and
action properties.
By default, each action has a set of properties that are determined when a
flow chart is created. However, some flow charts require an action property
to be set at runtime, using data that is generated or acquired dynamically.
A runtime data mapping from a flow context variable to an action property
provides the necessary functionality to set an action property at runtime
using data generated or acquired at runtime.
For example, suppose a FileExistTrigger monitors *.txt files. When that
trigger fires, the name of the file that it discovered needs to be passed
into a subsequent action for processing. The name of this file is not known
until runtime. In this case, a runtime property mapping must be set.
Similarly, some action properties should be stored in a central location. A
central storage location allows a property that exists in many actions to
be updated globally in one step. For example, if many jobs each contain an
EjbSessionAction with a common PROVIDER_URL property, that PROVIDER_URL
property can be updated in all jobs in a single step, if that property is
stored in a central location, such as the runtime configuration tree.
Furthermore, some flow context variables need to be copied to other flow
context variables. For example, if two actions flow into a third action and
a join point exists at that third action, the flow context result variables
can be copied into new locations in the joined flow context. This runtime
data mapping provides this functionality and makes it possible to condense
flow context data from multiple sources into a joined flow context.