camunda.cfg.xml vs. applicationContext.xml

[roleba...@gmail.com]

What is the difference between camunda.cfg.xml and applicationContext.xml and why is only the file camunda.cfg.xml mentioned in the docs https://docs.camunda.org/manual/7.4/user-guide/process-engine/process-engine-bootstrapping/#configure-process-engine-using-spring-xml?

[Christian Lipphardt]

Hi,

The difference between 'camunda.cfg.xml' and 'applicationContext.xml' is that 'camunda.cfg.xml' is proprietary to Camunda and is only using beans/xml part of spring for configuring the process engine, while 'applicationContext.xml' is normally the file used to bootstrap a whole spring application.

But you are right, you can do the same stuff with the 'applicationContext.xml' but not the other way around.

When you have a look at the docs[1], there is also a link how the integration of the spring framework is configured [2].

There are also some ongoing discussions to remove the support for the 'camunda.cfg.xml' and use the 'bpm-platform.xml' or 'processes.xml' for configuration, see 

Cheers,

Christian

[1]: https://docs.camunda.org/manual/7.4/user-guide/process-engine/process-engine-bootstrapping/#application-managed-process-engine

[2]: https://docs.camunda.org/manual/7.4/user-guide/spring-framework-integration/