Workflow message passing - PHP SDK

How to develop with Signals

A Signal is a message sent to a running Workflow Execution.

Signals are defined in your code and handled in your Workflow Definition. Signals can be sent to Workflow Executions from a Temporal Client or from another Workflow Execution.

How to define a Signal

A Signal has a name and can have arguments.

The name, also called a Signal type, is a string.
The arguments must be serializable.

Workflows can answer synchronous Queries and receive Signals.

All interface methods must have one of the following annotations:

#[WorkflowMethod] indicates an entry point to a Workflow. It contains parameters that specify timeouts and a Task Queue name. Required parameters (such as executionStartToCloseTimeoutSeconds) that are not specified through the annotation must be provided at runtime.
#[SignalMethod] indicates a method that reacts to external signals. It must have a void return type.
#[QueryMethod] indicates a method that reacts to synchronous query requests. It must have a non void return type.

It is possible (though not recommended for usability reasons) to annotate concrete class implementation.

You can have more than one method with the same annotation (except #[WorkflowMethod]).

For example:

use Temporal\Workflow\WorkflowInterface;
use Temporal\Workflow\WorkflowMethod;
use Temporal\Workflow\SignalMethod;
use Temporal\Workflow\QueryMethod;

#[WorkflowInterface]
interface FileProcessingWorkflow
{
    #[WorkflowMethod]
    public function processFile(Argument $args);

    #[QueryMethod("history")]
    public function getHistory(): array;

    #[QueryMethod("status")]
    public function getStatus(): string;

    #[SignalMethod]
    public function retryNow(): void;

    #[SignalMethod]
    public function abandon(): void;
}

Note that name parameter of Workflow method annotations can be used to specify name of Workflow, Signal and Query types. If name is not specified the short name of the Workflow interface is used.

In the above code the #[WorkflowMethod(name)] is not specified, thus the Workflow Type defaults to "FileProcessingWorkflow".

How to handle a Signal

Workflows listen for Signals by the Signal's name.

Use the #[SignalMethod] annotation to handle Signals in the Workflow interface:

use Temporal\Workflow;

#[Workflow\WorkflowInterface]
class YourWorkflow
{
    private bool $value;

    #[Workflow\WorkflowMethod]
    public function run()
    {
        yield Workflow::await(fn()=> $this->value);
        return 'OK';
    }

    #[Workflow\SignalMethod]
    public function setValue(bool $value)
    {
        $this->value = $value;
    }
}

In the preceding example, the Workflow updates the protected value. The main Workflow coroutine waits for the value to change by using the Workflow::await() function.

How to send a Signal from a Temporal Client

When a Signal is sent successfully from the Temporal Client, the WorkflowExecutionSignaled Event appears in the Event History of the Workflow that receives the Signal.

To send a Signal to a Workflow Execution from a Client, call the Signal method, annotated with #[SignalMethod] in the Workflow interface, from the Client code.

To send a Signal to a Workflow, use WorkflowClient->newWorkflowStub or WorkflowClient->newUntypedWorkflowStub:

$workflow = $workflowClient->newWorkflowStub(YourWorkflow::class);

$run = $workflowClient->start($workflow);

// do something

$workflow->setValue(true);

assert($run->getValue() === true);

Use WorkflowClient->newRunningWorkflowStub or WorkflowClient->newUntypedRunningWorkflowStub with Workflow Id to send Signals to already running Workflows.

$workflow = $workflowClient->newRunningWorkflowStub(YourWorkflow::class, 'workflowID');
$workflow->setValue(true);

See Handle Signal for details on how to handle Signals in a Workflow.

How to send a Signal from a Workflow

A Workflow can send a Signal to another Workflow, in which case it's called an External Signal.

When an External Signal is sent:

A SignalExternalWorkflowExecutionInitiated Event appears in the sender's Event History.
A WorkflowExecutionSignaled Event appears in the recipient's Event History.

To send Signal to a Workflow use WorkflowClient->newWorkflowStub or WorkflowClient->newUntypedWorkflowStub:

$workflow = $workflowClient->newWorkflowStub(YourWorkflow::class);

$run = $workflowClient->start($workflow);

// do something

$workflow->setValue(true);

assert($run->getValue() === true);

Use WorkflowClient->newRunningWorkflowStub or WorkflowClient->newUntypedRunningWorkflowStub with Workflow Id to send Signals to a running Workflow.

$workflow = $workflowClient->newRunningWorkflowStub(YourWorkflow::class, 'workflowID');
$workflow->setValue(true);

How to Signal-With-Start

Signal-With-Start is used from the Client. It takes a Workflow Id, Workflow arguments, a Signal name, and Signal arguments.

If there's a Workflow running with the given Workflow Id, it will be signaled. If there isn't, a new Workflow will be started and immediately signaled.

In cases where you may not know if a Workflow is running, and want to send a Signal to it, use startwithSignal. If a running Workflow exists, the startwithSignal API sends the Signal. If there is no running Workflow, the API starts a new Workflow Run and delivers the Signal to it.

$workflow = $workflowClient->newWorkflowStub(YourWorkflow::class);

$run = $workflowClient->startWithSignal(
    $workflow,
    'setValue',
    [true], // signal arguments
    [] // start arguments
);

How to develop with Queries

A Query is a synchronous operation that is used to get the state of a Workflow Execution.

How to define a Query

A Query has a name and can have arguments.

The name, also called a Query type, is a string.
The arguments must be serializable.

Workflows can answer synchronous Queries and receive Signals.

All interface methods must have one of the following annotations:

#[WorkflowMethod] indicates an entry point to a Workflow. It contains parameters that specify timeouts and a Task Queue name. Required parameters (such as executionStartToCloseTimeoutSeconds) that are not specified through the annotation must be provided at runtime.
#[SignalMethod] indicates a method that reacts to external signals. It must have a void return type.
#[QueryMethod] indicates a method that reacts to synchronous query requests. It must have a non void return type.

It is possible (though not recommended for usability reasons) to annotate concrete class implementation.

You can have more than one method with the same annotation (except #[WorkflowMethod]).

For example:

use Temporal\Workflow\WorkflowInterface;
use Temporal\Workflow\WorkflowMethod;
use Temporal\Workflow\SignalMethod;
use Temporal\Workflow\QueryMethod;

#[WorkflowInterface]
interface FileProcessingWorkflow
{
    #[WorkflowMethod]
    public function processFile(Argument $args);

    #[QueryMethod("history")]
    public function getHistory(): array;

    #[QueryMethod("status")]
    public function getStatus(): string;

    #[SignalMethod]
    public function retryNow(): void;

    #[SignalMethod]
    public function abandon(): void;
}

Note that name parameter of Workflow method annotations can be used to specify name of Workflow, Signal and Query types. If name is not specified the short name of the Workflow interface is used.

In the above code the #[WorkflowMethod(name)] is not specified, thus the Workflow Type defaults to "FileProcessingWorkflow".

How to handle a Query

Queries are handled by your Workflow.

Don't include any logic that causes Command generation within a Query handler (such as executing Activities). Including such logic causes unexpected behavior.

You can add custom Query types to handle Queries such as Querying the current state of a Workflow, or Querying how many Activities the Workflow has completed. To do this, you need to set up a Query handler using method attribute QueryMethod or Workflow::registerQueryHandler.

#[Workflow\WorkflowInterface]
class YourWorkflow
{
    #[Workflow\QueryMethod]
    public function getValue()
    {
        return 42;
    }

    #[Workflow\WorkflowMethod]
    public function run()
    {
        // workflow code
    }

}

The handler function can receive any number of input parameters, but all input parameters must be serializable. The following sample code sets up a Query handler that handles the Query type of currentState:

#[Workflow\WorkflowInterface]
class YourWorkflow
{
    private string $currentState;

    #[Workflow\QueryMethod('current_state')]
    public function getCurrentState(): string
    {
        return $this->currentState;
    }

    #[Workflow\WorkflowMethod]
    public function run()
    {
        // Your normal Workflow code begins here, and you update the currentState
        // as the code makes progress.
        $this->currentState = 'waiting timer';
        try{
            yield Workflow::timer(DateInterval::createFromDateString('1 hour'));
        } catch (\Throwable $e) {
            $this->currentState = 'timer failed';
            throw $e;
        }

        $yourActivity = Workflow::newActivityStub(
            YourActivityInterface::class,
            ActivityOptions::new()->withScheduleToStartTimeout(60)
        );

        $this->currentState = 'waiting activity';
        try{
            yield $yourActivity->doSomething('some input');
        } catch (\Throwable $e) {
            $this->currentState = 'activity failed';
            throw $e;
        }

        $this->currentState = 'done';

        return null;
    }
}

You can also issue a Query from code using the QueryWorkflow() API on a Temporal Client object.

Use WorkflowStub to Query Workflow instances from your Client code (can be applied to both running and closed Workflows):

$workflow = $workflowClient->newWorkflowStub(
    YourWorkflow::class,
    WorkflowOptions::new()
);

$workflowClient->start($workflow);

var_dump($workflow->getCurrentState());
sleep(60);
var_dump($workflow->getCurrentState());

How to send a Query

Queries are sent from a Temporal Client.

How to develop with Updates

An Update is an operation that can mutate the state of a Workflow Execution and return a response.

How to define an Update

Workflow Updates handlers are methods in your Workflow Definition designed to handle updates. These updates can be triggered during the lifecycle of a Workflow Execution.

An Update handler has a name, arguments, response, and an optional validator.

The name, also called an Update type, is a string.
The arguments and response must be serializable.

The #[UpdateMethod] attribute indicates that the method is used to handle and respond to update requests. The Updates type defaults to the name of the method. To overwrite this default naming and assign a custom Update type, use the #[UpdateMethod] attribute with the name argument.

#[UpdateMethod(name: 'my_update')]
public function myUpdate(string $signalName);

How to handle Updates in a Workflow

Workflows listen for Update by the Update's name.

The handler method can accept multiple serializable input parameters, but it's recommended using only a single parameter. The function can return a serializable value or void.

#[WorkflowInterface]
interface FileProcessingWorkflow {
    #[WorkflowMethod]
    public function processFiles(FileList $files);

    #[UpdateMethod(name: 'pause')]
    public function pauseProcessing(): void;

    #[UpdateMethod]
    #[ReturnType(AddResult::class)]
    public function addFile(FileInfo $file);
}

Update handlers, unlike Query handlers, can change Workflow state.

How to validate an Update in a Workflow

Validate certain aspects of the data sent to the Workflow using an Update Validator method. For instance, a counter Workflow might never want to accept a non-positive number. Use the #[UpdateValidatorMethod] attribute and set the forUpdate argument to the name of your Update handler. Your Update Validator should accept the same input parameters as your Update Handler and return void.

#[WorkflowInterface]
interface GreetingWorkflow {
    #[WorkflowMethod]
    public function getGreetings(): array;

    #[UpdateMethod]
    public function addGreeting(string $name): int;

    #[UpdateValidatorMethod(forUpdate: 'addGreeting')]
    public function addGreetingValidator(string $name): void;
}

How to send an Update from a Temporal Client

To send an Update to a Workflow Execution from a Client, call the Update method, annotated with #[UpdateMethod] in the Workflow interface, from the Client code.

In the following Client code example, start the Workflow getGreetings and call the Update method addGreeting that is handled in the Workflow.

// Create a typed Workflow stub for GreetingsWorkflow
$workflow = $workflowClient->newWorkflowStub(GreetingWorkflow::class, $workflowOptions);

// Start the Workflow
$run = $workflowClient->start($workflow);

// Send an update to the Workflow. addGreeting returns
// the number of greetings our workflow has received.
$count = $workflow->addGreeting("World");

Async accept

In Workflow Update methods, all Workflow features are available, such as executing Activities and child Workflows, and waiting on timers/conditions. In cases where it's known that the update will take a long time to execute, or you are not interested in the outcome of its execution, you can use the stub method startUpdate and move on immediately after receiving the validation result. Note that the processing Workflow Worker must be available. Otherwise, the request may block indefinitely or fail due to a timeout.

use Ramsey\Uuid\UuidInterface;
use Temporal\Client\Update\UpdateOptions;
use Temporal\Client\Update\WaitPolicy;
use Temporal\Client\Update\LifecycleStage;

// Create an untyped Workflow stub for GreetingsWorkflow
$stub = $client->newUntypedWorkflowStub('GreetingWorkflow', $workflowOptions);

// Start the Workflow
$run = $client->start($stub);

// Send an Update to the Workflow. UpdateHandle returns
$handle = $stub->startUpdate('addGreeting', 'World');

// Use the UpdateHandle to get the Update result with timeout 2.5 seconds
$result = $handle->getResult(timeout: 2.5);

// You can get more control using UpdateOptions
$resultUuid = $stub->startUpdate(
    UpdateOptions::new('storeGreetings', LifecycleStage::StageCompleted)
        ->withResultType(UuidInterface::class)
 )->getResult();

How to develop with Signals​

How to define a Signal​

How to handle a Signal​

How to send a Signal from a Temporal Client​

How to send a Signal from a Workflow​

How to Signal-With-Start​

How to develop with Queries​

How to define a Query​

How to handle a Query​

How to send a Query​

How to develop with Updates​

How to define an Update​

How to handle Updates in a Workflow​

How to validate an Update in a Workflow​

How to send an Update from a Temporal Client​