Rules bases and methods of access thereof

• US 5,826,250 A
• Filed: 06/19/1996
• Issued: 10/20/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pegasystems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Pegasystems Incorporated
• Inventors: Trefler, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Downs, Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US08/666,165
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: 395/615, 395/614, 395/62, 395/54, 707/103, 707/101, 707/2
• US Class Current: 706/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing

Abstract

A rules base according to the invention comprises multiple entries encoded in a storage medium, e.g., optical disk, magnetic disk, or read-only memory or random access memory. Each entry is encoded to include, or is otherwise associated with, an objective and with a circumstance. Each entry is also marked to reflect its respective status, e.g., via status fields encoded in the records. These statuses include, inter alia, "valid," reflecting that information encoded in, or otherwise associated with, the entry corresponds to a rule for corresponding objective/circumstance; "inheritance," reflecting that the rule for the corresponding objective/circumstance is to be sought elsewhere, e.g., in another entry in the rules base; and "invalid," reflecting that the corresponding combination of objective and circumstance is invalid. The rules base also includes an "inheritance" structure that, too, is encoded in a storage medium. A method for determining a rule for a designated objective and circumstance responds to identification, e.g., via a search of the rules base, of a valid entry that is associated with the designated objective/circumstance for generating a rule based on information associated with that entry. The method also responds to (i) the identification of an entry that is marked for inheritance and is associated that objective/circumstance, or (ii) the failure to identify an entry associated with that objective/circumstance, for generating a rule based on information associated with another an entry in the rules base--particularly, an entry that is an associated with the same objective and with an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance. The method constructs a rule from data elements collected from ancestor entries.

Claims

1. A method of determining a rule for a designated objective and circumstance, the method comprising the steps of

A. any of creating and accessing a rules base that includes

i. a plurality of rule entries, each associated with an objective and with a circumstance, at least one of which entries has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to one or more rules for that objective and circumstance, and at least another of which entries has a status indicating that one or more rules for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

ii. a structure that defines an ancestral relationship of circumstances,

B. responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to one or more rules for that objective and circumstance, for generating those rules based on information associated with that entry,

C. responding to any of

i. absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, and

ii. an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that one or more rules for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere, for generating those rules based on information associated with an entry that is associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein step (B) includes the step of searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and circumstance.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein step (C) includes the steps of responding to any of

absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, and

an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that one or more rules for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

for (i) determining, from the structure, an immediate ancestor of the designated circumstance, that immediate ancestor being termed a first ancestor circumstance, (ii) searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and with that first ancestor circumstance.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein step (C) includes the steps of responding to any of

absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and the first ancestor circumstance, and

an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and the first ancestor circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that one or more rules for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

for (i) determining, from the structure, an immediate ancestor to the first ancestor circumstance, that immediate ancestor being termed a second ancestor circumstance, and (ii) searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and with that second ancestor circumstance.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein step (C) includes the step of responding to any of

absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and the second ancestor circumstance, and

an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and the second ancestor circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that one or more rules for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

for (i) determining, from the structure, a third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, (ii) searching in the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and that third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, and (iii) generating those rules based on information associated with one or more entries associated with the designated objective and with the third or subsequent ancestor circumstance.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base that comprises multiple rule collections, each defining an ancestral relationship of circumstances for a respective set of one or more objectives, and

step (C) includes the step of determining an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance from the collection for the designated objective, or moving in an ordered fashion between collections if a designated objective appears in more than one collection of circumstances.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry has a characteristic identifying a condition necessary to determine whether information associated with that entry or with another entry corresponds to one or more rules for the associated objective and circumstance,

step (B) includes the additional step of determining whether the condition is satisfied before generating those rules based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and circumstance, and

step (C) includes the additional step of responding to failure of satisfaction of the condition for generating those rules based on information associated with one or more entries associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein step (B) includes the step of involving a call-back software module to obtain information necessary to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein step (B) includes the step of querying any of an operator, another system, a database, and another rule base for information necessary to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

10. A method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of

generating a request in an applications program software module for determination of a rule for a designated objective and circumstance, and

responding to that request with a rule finder software module that executes steps (A)-(C).

11. A method according to claim 1, including the step of generating, in an SQL format, the request for determination of a rule for an objective and circumstance.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry is associated with a multipart objective,

step (B) includes responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to one or more rules for the associated objective and circumstance, for generating, based on information associated with that entry, a next objective candidate rule key for use in defining a subsequent objective for which one or more rules is to be determined,

step (C) includes responding to any of

(i) absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, and

(ii) an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that one or more rules for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

for generating, based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance, a next objective candidate rule key for use in defining a subsequent objective for which one or more rules are to be determined.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one of the entries has a status indicating that the associated objective and circumstance are invalid, and

step (B) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the associated objective and circumstance are invalid for generating any of a message and a return status reflective thereof.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein

step (A) further includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry is associated with multiple statuses and with multiple corresponding rule elements for the objective and circumstance associated with that entry, each status indicating any of (i) that information corresponding to the respective rule element is associated with that element, and (ii) that the respective rule should be sought elsewhere,

step (B) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has one or more statuses indicating that information corresponding to one or more respective rule elements is associated with that element, for generating rules corresponding to those statuses from information associated with that element, and

step (C) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has one or more statuses indicating that the respective rule elements should be sought elsewhere, for generating rules corresponding to those statuses from information associated with one or more entries that are associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

15. A method according to claim 1 for validating designated information, comprising the step of comparing such designated information with the rule generated in any of steps (B) and (C).

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base storing information indicating a structure of the rule base, that information including whether each of one or more entries are any of (i) associated with a characteristic identifying a condition necessary to determine whether information associated with that entry or with another entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance, (ii) associated with a multipart objective, (iii) associated with a next objective candidate rule key for use in defining a subsequent objective for which a rule is to be determined, (iv) associated with any of multiple rules or statuses.

17. A method of determining a sequence of rules for a designated objective, rule identifier and circumstance, the method comprising

A. accessing a rules base that includes

i. a plurality of entries, each associated with an objective, a current rule identifier and a circumstance, at least one of which entries has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to a rule for that objective, current rule identifier and circumstance, and at least another of which entries has a status indicating that the rule for that objective, current rule identifier and circumstance corresponds to information associated with an another entry,

ii. a structure that defines an ancestral relationship of circumstances,

B. responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier, and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to the rule for that objective, current rule identifier and circumstance, for generating a rule in the sequence based on information in that entry and for at least one of (i) storing and (ii) generating an identifier for a next rule in the sequence, and

C. responding to any of

(i) absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance, and

(ii) an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, rule identifier and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the rule for the associated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

for generating a rule in the sequence based on information associated with an entry that is associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance, and for at least one of (i) storing and (ii) generating an identifier of a next rule in the sequence.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein step (B) includes the step of searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance.

19. A method according to claim 17, wherein step (C) includes the steps of responding to any of

absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance, and

an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the rule for that objective, current rule identifier and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

for (i) determining, from the structure, an immediate ancestor of the designated circumstance, that immediate ancestor being termed a first ancestor circumstance, (ii) searching in the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier, and with that first ancestor circumstance.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein step (C) includes the steps of responding to any of

absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier, and the first ancestor circumstance, and

an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier, and the first ancestor circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the rule for that objective, current rule identifier, and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

for (i) determining, from the structure, an immediate ancestor to the first ancestor circumstance, that immediate ancestor being termed a second ancestor circumstance, and (ii) searching in the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier, and with that second ancestor circumstance.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein step (C) includes the step of responding to any of

absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier, and the second ancestor circumstance, and

an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier, and the second ancestor circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the rule for that objective, current rule identifier, and circumstance should be sought elsewhere,

for (i) determining, from the structure, a third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, (ii) searching in the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier, and that third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, and (iii) generating a rule in the sequence based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with the third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, and at least one of (i) storing and (ii) generating an identifier for a next rule in the sequence.

22. A method according to claim 17, wherein step (B) includes the step of invoking a call-back software module to obtain information necessary to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

23. A method according to claim 22 wherein step (B) includes the step of querying any of an operator, another system, a database, and another rule base for information necessary to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

24. A method according to claim 17 comprising the steps of

generating a request in an applications program software module for determination of a rule for a designated objective and circumstance, and

responding to that request with a rule finder software module that executes steps (A)-(C).

25. A method according to claim 24 wherein

steps (B)-(C) includes the step of responding to a first request from the applications program software module for determination of a rule for a designated objective and circumstance for generating a rule in the sequence for the designated objective, a first rule identifier and the designated circumstance, and for storing a next rule identifier, and

steps (B)-(C) includes the step of responding to a subsequent request from the applications program software module for determination of a rule for a designated objective and circumstance for generating a rule in the sequence for the designated objective, the next rule identifier, and the designated circumstance.

26. A method according to claim 17, including the step of generating, in the SQL format, the request for determination of a rule for a designated objective and circumstance.

27. A method according to claim 17, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one of the entries has a status indicating that the associated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance are invalid, and

step (B) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the associated objective and circumstance are invalid for generating any of a message and a return status reflective thereof.

28. A method according to claim 17, wherein

step (A) further includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry is associated with multiple statuses and with multiple corresponding rules for the objective, current rule identifier and circumstance associated with that entry, each status indicating any of (i) that information corresponding to the respective rule is associated with the entry, and (ii) that the respective rule should be sought elsewhere,

step (B) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance, which entry has one or more statuses indicating that information corresponding to one or more respective rules is associated with the entry, for generating rules corresponding to those statuses from information associated with the entry, and

step (C) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective, current rule identifier and circumstance, which entry has one or more statuses indicating that the respective rules should be sought elsewhere, for generating rules corresponding to those statuses from information associated with one or more entries that are associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

29. A method according to claim 17 wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base storing information indicating a structure of the rules base, that information including whether each of one or more entries are any of (i) associated with a characteristic identifying a condition necessary to determine whether information associated with that entry or with another entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance, (ii) associated with a multipart objective, (iii) associated with a next objective candidate rule key for use in defining a subsequent objective for which a rule is to be determined, (iv) associated with any of multiple rules or statuses.

30. A method of determining a rule for a designated objective and circumstance, the method comprising the steps of

A. accessing a rules base that includes (i) a plurality of entries, each associated with an objective and with a circumstance, and (ii) a structure defining an ancestral relationship of circumstances,

B. responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance for generating a rule based on information associated with that entry, and

C. responding to an absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance for generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

31. A method according to claim 30, wherein step (B) includes the step of searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and circumstance.

32. A method according to claim 30, wherein step (C) includes the steps of (i) responding to an absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance determining from the structure an immediate ancestor of the designated circumstance, that immediate ancestor being termed a first ancestor circumstance, (ii) searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and that first ancestor circumstance.

33. A method according to claim 32, wherein step (C) includes the step of responding to an absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and the first ancestor circumstance for (i) determing from the structure an immediate ancestor to the first ancestor circumstance, that immediate ancestor being termed a second ancestor circumstance, and (ii) searching in the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and that second ancestor circumstance.

34. A method according to claim 33, wherein step (C) includes the step of responding to an absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and the second ancestor circumstance for (i) determining from the structure a third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, (ii) searching in the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and that third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, and (iii) generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with that third or subsequent ancestor circumstance.

35. A method according to claim 30, wherein step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base wherein, additionally, at least one of which entries has a status indicating that the rule for the associated objective and circumstance corresponds to information associated with an another entry.

36. A method according to claim 30, wherein step (B) includes responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the rule for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere, for generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

37. A method according to claim 30, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base that comprises multiple structures, each defining an ancestral relationship of circumstances for a respective set of one or more objectives, and

step (C) includes the step of determining an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance from one or more collections for the designated objective.

38. A method according to claim 30, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry has a characteristic identifying a condition necessary to determine whether information associated with that entry or with another entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance,

step (B) includes the additional step of determining whether the condition is satisfied before generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and circumstance, and

step (C) includes the additional step of responding to failure of satisfaction of the condition for generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

39. A method according to claim 38, wherein step (B) includes the step of invoking a call-back software module to obtain information necessary to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

40. A method according to claim 39, wherein step (B) includes the step of querying any of an operator, another system, a database, and another rule base for information necessary to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

41. A method according to claim 30, comprising the steps of

generating a request in an applications program software module for determination of a rule for a designated objective and circumstance, and

responding to that request with a rule finder software module that executes steps (A)-(C).

42. A method according to claim 41, including the step of generating, in an SQL format, the request for determination of a rule for a designated objective.

43. A method according to claim 30, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry is associated with a multipart objective,

step (B) includes responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance, for generating, based on information associated with that entry, a next objective candidate rule key for use in defining a subsequent objective for which a rule is to be determined,

step (C) includes responding to absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance for generating, based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance, a next objective candidate rule key for use in defining a subsequent objective for which a rule is to be determined.

44. A method according to claim 30, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one of the entries has a status indicating that the associated objective and circumstance are invalid, and

step (B) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the associated objective and circumstance are invalid for generating any of a message and a return status reflective thereof.

45. A method according to claim 30 for validating designated information as a factor in determining the applicability of the rule, comprising the step of comparing such designated information with the rule generated in any of steps (B) and (C).

46. A method according to claim 30, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base storing information indicating a structure of the rules base, that information including whether each of one or more entries are any of (i) associated with a characteristic identifying a condition necessary to determine whether information associated with that entry or with another entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance, (ii) associated with a multipart objective, (iii) associated with a next objective candidate rule key for use in defining a subsequent objective for which a rule is to be determined, (iv) associated with any of multiple rules or statuses.

47. A method of determining a rule for a designated objective and circumstance, the method comprising the steps of

A. accessing a rules base that includes

i. a plurality of entries, each associated with an objective and with a circumstance at least one of which entries has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance, and at least another of which entries has a status indicating that the rule for that objective and circumstance corresponds to information associated with an another entry,

ii. a structure that defines an ancestral relationship of circumstances,

B. responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to the rule for that objective and circumstance, for generating a rule based on information associated with that entry,

C. responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that information for the associated objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere, for generating a rule based on information associated with an entry that is associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

48. A method according to claim 47, wherein step (B) includes the step of searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and circumstance.

49. A method according to claim 47, wherein step (C) includes the steps of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that information for the associated objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere, for (i) determining, from the structure, an immediate ancestor of the designated circumstance, that immediate ancestor being termed a first ancestor circumstance, (ii) searching in the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and that first ancestor circumstance.

50. A method according to claim 49, wherein step (C) includes the steps of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and the first ancestor circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the rule for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere, for (i) determining from the structure an immediate ancestor to the first ancestor circumstance, that immediate ancestor being termed a second ancestor circumstance, and (ii) searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and that second ancestor circumstance.

51. A method according to claim 50, wherein step (C) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and the second circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the rule for that objective and circumstance corresponds associated with another entry, for (i) determining from the structure a third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, (ii) searching the rules base for an entry, if any, associated with the designated objective and that third or subsequent ancestor circumstance, and (iii) generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with that third or subsequent ancestor circumstance.

52. A method according to claim 47, wherein step (B) includes the step of responding to an absence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance for generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

53. A method according to claim 47, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base that comprises multiple structures, each defining an ancestral relationship of circumstances for a respective set of one or more objectives, and

step (C) includes the step of determining an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance from the structure for the designated objective.

54. A method according to claim 47, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry has a characteristic identifying a condition necessary to determine whether information associated with that entry or with another entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance,

step (B) includes the additional step of determining whether the condition is satisfied before generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and circumstance, and

step (C) includes the additional step of responding to failure of satisfaction of the condition for generating a rule based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

55. A method according to claim 54, wherein step (B) includes the step of invoking a call-back software module to obtain information necessary to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

56. A method according to claim 55, wherein step (B) includes the step of querying any of an operator, another system, a database and a rule base for information necessary to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

57. A method according to claim 47, comprising the steps of

generating a request in an applications program software module for determination of a rule for a designated objective and circumstance, and

responding to that request with a rule finder software module that executes steps (A)-(C).

58. A method according to claim 47, including the step of generating, in an SQL format, the request for determination of a rule for a designated objective.

59. A method according to claim 47, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry is associated with a multipart objective,

step (B) includes responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance, for generating a part of a next objective for which a rule is to be determined in the database based on information associated with that entry,

step (C) includes responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the rule for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere for generating a part of a next objective for which a rule is to be determined in the database based on information associated with an entry associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

60. A method according to claim 47, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one of the entries has a status indicating that the associated objective and circumstance are invalid, and

step (B) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has a status indicating that the associated objective and circumstance are invalid for generating any of a message and a return status reflective thereof.

61. A method according to claim 47, wherein

step (A) further includes the step of accessing a rules base in which at least one entry is associated with multiple statuses and with multiple corresponding rule elements for the objective and circumstance associated with that entry, each status indicating any of (i) that information corresponding to the respective rule element is associated with that element, and (ii) that the respective rule element should be sought elsewhere,

step (B) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has one or more statuses indicating that information corresponding to one or more respective rule elements is associated with that element, for generating rules corresponding to those statuses from information associated with that element, and

step (C) includes the step of responding to existence of an entry in the rules base associated with the designated objective and circumstance, which entry has one or more statuses indicating that the respective rule elements should be sought elsewhere, for generating rules corresponding to those statuses from information associated with one or more entries that are associated with the designated objective and with a circumstance that is any of an immediate or prior ancestor of the designated circumstance.

62. A method according to claim 47 for validating designated information, comprising the step of comparing such designated information with the rule generated in any of steps (B) and (C).

63. A method according to claim 47, wherein

step (A) includes the step of accessing a rules base storing information indicating a structure of the rules base, that information including whether each of one or more entries are any of (i) associated with a characteristic identifying a condition necessary to determine whether information associated with that entry or with another entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance, (ii) associated with a multipart objective, (iii) associated with a next objective candidate rule key for use in defining a subsequent objective for which a rule is to be determined, (iv) associated with any of multiple rules or statuses.

64. A digital data processor storage medium storing a rules base comprising

A. a plurality of entries, each associated with an objective and with a circumstance, at least one of which entries has a status indicating that information associated with the entry corresponds to the rule for that objective and circumstance, and at least another of which entries has a status indicating that the rule for that objective and circumstance should be sought elsewhere;

B. a structure that defines an ancestral relationship of circumstances.

65. A digital data processor storage medium storing a rules base according to claim 64, comprising multiple structures, each defining an ancestral relationship of circumstances for a respective set of one or more objectives.

66. A digital data processor storage medium storing a rules base according to claim 64, in which there may exist at least one entry which has a characteristic identifying a condition necessary to determine whether information associated with that entry or with another entry corresponds to the rule for the associated objective and circumstance.

67. A digital data processor storage medium storing a rules base according to claim 64, in which at least one entry has a multipart objective.

68. A digital data processor storage medium storing a rules base according to claim 64, in which at least one entry exists indicating that the associated objective and circumstance are invalid.

69. A digital data processor storage medium storing a rules base according to claim 64, in which at least one entry has multiple statuses and multiple corresponding rules for the objective and circumstance associated with that entry, each status indicating any of (i) that information corresponding to the respective rule is associated with the entry, and (ii) that the respective rule should be sought elsewhere.