Overview of Spring Boot Activiti and RuoYi‑Vue Flowable Workflow Projects

The author, a self‑described architect, recommends two Spring Boot workflow projects, providing open‑source repositories, deployment documentation, and core table structure explanations to help readers grasp workflow principles similar to those used in large enterprises.

1. Spring‑boot‑activiti integrates the Activiti engine into a Spring Boot application and demonstrates two complete workflows: a simple leave‑request OA process and a more complex procurement process. It replaces Activiti's built‑in user/role management with a custom three‑level hierarchy (users‑roles‑permissions) implemented via MyBatis collection and association tags. After logging in with the default credentials (username xiaomi, password 1234), users can view and interact with the deployed processes, which include tasks, exclusive gateways, start/end events, exception end events, sub‑processes, and boundary events. Both workflows support task claim, progress tracking (highlighted in red on the diagram), and history viewing. Business data is linked to process data through a businessKey, and all forms are ordinary HTML forms rather than Activiti dynamic forms, allowing separate storage of business and process data. The front‑end uses a Bootstrap‑based template (devoops). Startup steps include compiling with Maven ( mvn clean install), accessing Swagger at http://localhost:8888/swagger-ui.html, and using the Activiti Explorer (Tomcat 8.5, login kermit/kermit) for model design and export.

2. RuoYi‑vue 4.x + Flowable combines the RuoYi‑vue admin framework with Flowable 6.5 to provide a full‑stack workflow management system. The author highlights personal learning experience with Flowable and thanks the Flowable beginner manual. A live demo is available at http://139.155.16.243/ with documentation at https://www.yuque.com/u1024153/icipor. The system includes built‑in features such as process design, form configuration, process initiation, task handling, and reference documentation. The technology stack comprises Vue and Element UI for the front‑end, Spring Boot, Spring Security, Redis, and JWT for the back‑end, supporting multi‑terminal authentication and dynamic permission menus. Code generation tools enable one‑click creation of front‑ and back‑end code.

Project repositories: • https://gitee.com/shenzhanwang/Spring-activiti • https://gitee.com/tony2y/RuoYi-flowable

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