BUSINESS RULES MANAGER
First Claim
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1. A computer implemented method for creating, updating, and deleting business rules, comprising:
- a processor accepting a set of defined attributes (input variables), each of which is an enumeration with a set of enumerators (allowable values);
said processor accepting a set of rules tables, each of which contains one or more of the defined attributes;
for each rules table, said processor generating a set of tuples, where each tuple represents one or more attribute value combinations and where no two tuples represent the same attribute value combination;
for each rules table, said processor accepting a set of settings (outcomes or output variables), where the setting is assigned a value for each tuple; and
providing a rules manager with which an application sets each attribute to a value, said rules manager providing the value of a setting requested by the application by using a rules table associated with the setting and looking up the setting value assigned to the tuple whose combination of enumerators matches the current value of the corresponding attributes.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method is provided for creating, updating, and deleting business rules with ease by use of a rule manager. Business rules are represented as tables that map a set of inputs to a set of outputs. Inputs are represented as enumerations with predefined allowable values. All possible unique combinations of values for a given set of inputs are automatically generated, and a business user can then set the outputs for each desired input value combination.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method for creating, updating, and deleting business rules, comprising:
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a processor accepting a set of defined attributes (input variables), each of which is an enumeration with a set of enumerators (allowable values); said processor accepting a set of rules tables, each of which contains one or more of the defined attributes; for each rules table, said processor generating a set of tuples, where each tuple represents one or more attribute value combinations and where no two tuples represent the same attribute value combination; for each rules table, said processor accepting a set of settings (outcomes or output variables), where the setting is assigned a value for each tuple; and providing a rules manager with which an application sets each attribute to a value, said rules manager providing the value of a setting requested by the application by using a rules table associated with the setting and looking up the setting value assigned to the tuple whose combination of enumerators matches the current value of the corresponding attributes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer based rules method, comprising:
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providing a processor configured as a business rules manager, said business rules manager receiving inputs from a business user and any of creating, reading, modifying, and deleting business rules in response thereto; said business rules comprising a set of tuples as input data, each tuple in said set of tuples each comprising a set of attributes as input variables, each attribute having a set of enumerators comprising allowed values for said attribute; and said business rules further comprising a rules table containing said set of tuples and business user setting values (output) for mapping each combination of enumerators for said attributes to said business user setting values to specify an output for each tuple.
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Specification