The OPM language

States and rules

A state is one situation an object can be in: draft, approved, changes requested, bug. In Spoletta states do the routing: they decide which process runs next.

Adding states

Right-click an object and choose Add state, then type its name. Each state shows as a pill on the object. Double-click a pill to rename it; its × deletes it along with its links. During a run the state the object is in is highlighted, and its subtitle reads In state bug.

What a state on a link means

A link that names a state does one of two things, depending on its direction:

• Into a state (a process yields the object in that state): the process generates the object in it. “Draft” yields “Notes” as “draft”.
• Out of a state (a process takes the object in that state): the process waits for the object to be in it, as an event or as a condition. See Event and condition.

Who can decide a state:

Rules

A state can have a rule saying when an object is in it, set under State rules in the object's settings. When a step generates the object in no state, it comes out in the first of its states, in order, whose rule holds. If none holds, it comes out in no state.

confidence >= 0.8 and kind == "bug"
status != 200
author.email contains "@acme.com"
data contains "urgent"

• Comparisons are joined by and, and all of them must hold.
• Operators: ==, !=, <, <=, >, >= and contains (text in text, or an item in a list).
• The left side is a field path, with dots into parts. An object without attributes holds its value under data.
• The right side is a JSON value; anything that isn't JSON is a string.