System and method for a rules based engine
First Claim
1. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:
- defining one or more rules for acting on items which may be of different application data types, each rule comprising at least one event, condition and action; and
implementing each rule such that when a specified event occurs which satisfies the specified condition, the specified action is performed.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for a rules based engine which allows a user to act on and set rules with regard to data items. Known rules engines have typically only been applied to single item types (e.g., e-mail). The rules engine of the present invention provides a user with a way to build up sets of items from within a common store of items, and to develop common actions on items conforming to the sets. The common store of items may include different types of items, such as e-mails, documents, items constructed for arbitrary business workflow, etc. The invention allows a user to automate business practices or work flows (e.g., “notify me when items like this appear” and/or “automatically back up these types of items to my server”).
71 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:
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defining one or more rules for acting on items which may be of different application data types, each rule comprising at least one event, condition and action; and
implementing each rule such that when a specified event occurs which satisfies the specified condition, the specified action is performed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:
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defining parameters for building up a set of items from a common store of items which may include different item types; and
defining one or more rules for acting on items conforming to the set of items. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for operating a rules engine in a computer system, comprising:
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forming a common store of items which includes different types of items, wherein the different types of items may include both e-mails and documents; and
creating rules for acting on items, each rule specifying which items the rule will be applied to, the rule being applicable to all items regardless of whether the items are of different types. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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31. A computer system comprising:
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a common store of items which includes items of different application data types; and
a rules engine for creating rules to act on items from the common store of items, each rule being applied to each item meeting the requirements of the rule regardless of the item'"'"'s application data type. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:
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defining one or more rules for acting with regard to items, each rule having selected criteria for the items that it will act in regard to; and
applying a rule with regard to an item once the item is determined to meet the criteria of the rule. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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Specification