Following the “Spring Boot” section of the Camunda BPM Quick Start/Get Started documentation, I used the Camunda Platform Initializr to create a project with the Webapps, REST API, and Spin.
I followed the documented process except for “deploying” the process definition by adding it to the project. Instead, I was able to deploy it from the Modeler and run it in my Spring Boot project using a REST all from Postman.
I’ve gone through several of the Tutorial Videos and the Introduction, User Guide, and Reference | JavaDoc sections of the Documentation.
Now what?
I urgently need to extend the REST API, but despite the amount of documentation on the parts and pieces of the BPM Platform, I haven’t come across anything that explains how they actually work together.
Is there an explanation of request flow/lifecycle? If I add a REST endpoint to my Spring Boot project (implemented with a controller), what Camunda engine object(s) do I need to instantiate in order to start an instance of a process definition and have access to its resulting variable data? And how should I do that?
What is the Java entry point for a request that comes in from the REST API? In the absence of documentation of request flow/lifecycle, I could trace the execution if I knew this, but it doesn’t seem to be documented either.
Between the vastly simplified Quick Start and the detailed JavaDocs, there seems to be a huge gap in practical, actionable “how does this stuff actually work?” information and examples.
How can I best implement my immediate use case so that I can convince my organization that Camunda is worth seriously evaluating and licensing? And more generally, how does someone go from a beginner to a “combat effective” Camunda developer, especially under time pressure. Help?