Rule Engine
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
A Rule Engine is a software component that executes business rules through rule evaluation, inference mechanisms, and action execution.
- AKA: Business Rule Engine, Rules Processing Engine, Inference Engine, Production Rule System, Rule-Based System.
- Context:
- It can typically store Business Rules through rule repositorys and rule databases.
- It can typically evaluate Rule Conditions through pattern matching algorithms and boolean logic evaluations.
- It can typically execute Rule Actions through consequence triggerings and effect implementations.
- It can typically manage Rule Lifecycle through rule versioning systems and rule deployment mechanisms.
- It can typically process Rule Chains through forward chaining inferences and backward chaining inferences.
- ...
- It can often support Complex Rule Logic through nested conditions and compound expressions.
- It can often enable Rule Conflict Resolution through priority mechanisms and specificity orderings.
- It can often provide Rule Explanation through execution traces and decision justifications.
- It can often integrate External Data Sources through fact loaders and data adapters.
- It can often optimize Rule Performance through Rete algorithms and rule indexings.
- ...
- It can range from being a Simple Rule Engine to being a Complex Rule Engine, depending on its rule processing sophistication.
- It can range from being a Forward-Chaining Rule Engine to being a Backward-Chaining Rule Engine, depending on its inference direction.
- It can range from being a Stateless Rule Engine to being a Stateful Rule Engine, depending on its working memory management.
- It can range from being a Domain-Specific Rule Engine to being a General-Purpose Rule Engine, depending on its application scope.
- ...
- It can integrate with Workflow Engines for business process automation.
- It can connect to AI Models for intelligent decision enhancement.
- It can interface with Financial Trading Systems for trading rule execution.
- It can communicate with Contract Management Systems for contract rule processing.
- It can synchronize with Software Business Layers for business logic separation.
- ...
- Example(s):
- Expert System Shells, such as:
- Commercial Rule Engines, such as:
- Specialized Rule Engines, such as:
- AI-Integrated Rule Engines, such as:
- Domain-Specific Rule Engines, such as:
- ...
- Counter-Example(s):
- Script Interpreter, which executes sequential code rather than declarative rules.
- Database Query Engine, which retrieves data rather than executing business logic rules.
- Template Engine, which generates output from templates rather than evaluating logical rules.
- Calculation Engine, which performs mathematical computations without rule-based reasoning.
- State Machine, which manages state transitions through predefined paths rather than rule evaluations.
- See: Compliance Rule Engine, Workflow Engine, Expert System, Business Logic Engine, Inference System, Production System, Contract-Related Issue-Spotting Rule System, AI Model.