Get started as Automation Engineer
When you need to automate a scenario of high complexity, make your automation robust, and allow it to run unattended, you have to dive into Automation Engineering. Intelligent Automation Cloud Developer offers Automation Engineers a set of tools to write, test and deploy a code that can run on a server installation of Intelligent Automation Cloud Enterprise unattended. To see an overview of components included in the Intelligent Automation Cloud Developer installation, go to Get to know IA Cloud Developer | Components.
Step 1: Run Workfusion Studio in Code perspective
Start by running WorkFusion Studio, an Eclipse-based IDE suitable for enterprise-grade software development (including Automation Engineering). Its Code perspective is explicitly designed for Automation Engineering. To switch to the Code perspective, either click the Code button at the top right corner of the WorkFusion Studio window, or, in the Quick Access field, enter "Code", and press Enter.
Step 2: Set up environment
Automate the business operations to increase employee productivity. The development operations environment we offer is based on a technology stack that includes Git, Maven, Nexus, and Jenkins, which are pretty often used in enterprise software development. We use a Maven-centric ecosystem of build tools to enable CI/CD practices.
You may use a toolset different from the above-recommended tools. Then, it is your call to wire them together to establish an automated CI/CD process. Even if you are fine with starting doing operations manually to understand the platform better, you will need to perform some setup. To set up the local development environment, refer to Code perspective | Set up environment.
Step 3: Create first project
WorkFusion offers Open Development Framework 2 as a backbone for the creation of your automation code.
To learn about the benefits your organization can achieve by adopting ODF 2, read Why adopt ODF 2.
To create a new project in WorkFusion Studio, follow the Start new project guide.
Step 4: Develop and debug automation code
Being a common-purpose IDE, WorkFusion Studio provides a coding experience that is not different from any other IDE. However, specific automation needs require code interaction with a user interface of different applications. For that purpose, WorkFusion Studio has a built-in object Inspector that simplifies exploring user interface elements' values and properties. When it comes to debugging, you may debug single Bot Tasks or entire orchestration of Bot and Manual Tasks into a Business Process. For debugging a single Bot task, see Debug Bot Task.
To create a Manual Task or orchestrate several Bot and Manual Tasks into a Business Process, you need to start a local Control Tower, one of the server components. See how to manage the server components in IA Cloud Developer. After you start Control Tower, you can use its capabilities to create a Business Process, export it, and add the Business Process package into your project structure.
Step 5: Deploy your automation to environment
Deployment of the automation created with ODF 2 to the local environment of IA Cloud Developer or the remote environment of IA Cloud Enterprise happens pretty similarly using Maven. For more details, refer to Deploy Asset Bundle.
Step 6: Set up CI/CD process
After you mastered the Automation Engineering operations in IA Cloud Developer, it's high time to think about automating them. For instructions on a basic CI/CD setup, see the guide.