JXPL: an XML-based scripting language for workflow execution in a grid environment

JXPL is a new functional scripting language that uses XML syntax. JXPL is intended to be a workflow language that easily interacts with web and grid services. There are built in web and grid clients that can communicate with a variety of services. This facilitates the creation of workflow editors and other applications designed for grid environments and leaves application developers free to concentrate on the implementation of the user interface. In this paper, we give our motivation for JXPL and describe JXPL so that others may use the language. To aid our discussion, we introduce the grammar for JXPL using the extended Backus Naur form (EBNF). We also include examples and detail predefined functions. We conclude with current and future work.