A variable is a data area that is based on a WSDL message definition (called a message type) or on an XML Schema element or type. In many cases, a variable is complex, not merely an integer or a string.
Listing 7.4: Sample variable declarations
<variables> <variable name="quoteRequest" messageType="placeQuoteRequestMsg" /> <variable name="theAddress" type="xsd:string"> <from> variable="quoteRequest" property="emailAddr" /> </from> </variable> <variable name="theAddress02" type="xsd:string"> <from> variable="quoteRequest" part="placeQuoteParameters"> <query> /quoteInformation/applicantEmailAddr </query> </from> </variable> <variable name="currentStatus" type="xsd:string"> <from> <literal>approved</literal> </from> </variable> <variable name="myRequestID" element="placeQuote"/> </variables>
You initialize a variable by including a from element in the declaration. A variable is initialized when the scope begins or, for global variables, when the process begins.
The sources of data are the same as the sources in an assign activity, which we describe later.