Method, system, and program for defining and managing complex contingent rules, and exceptions thereto, in a rule-based computer system
First Claim
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1. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon elements of a system for the creation and/or execution of workorders, comprising:
- a plurality of functional software objects;
tables of rule information, such rule information comprising;
existential rules that declare the existence of each and every organizational entity known to said system, which rules contain only a declaration of each entity'"'"'s identifier and metadata, said metadata comprising;
a Pin Flag to specify whether the rule can safely be changed at will;
a Research Flag to indicate whether the rule requires further research on the part of a rule-maker; and
the date of the latest update to the rule;
protocol rules defining certain conditions under which actions are to be carried out, as well as certain metadata;
meta-protocol rules defining rules for creating masks, and mask sequences, for determining which of said protocol rules to follow, as well as certain metadata;
attribute rules for defining the attributes, categories, and relationships of entities known to said system, as well as certain metadata;
a mechanism and interface permitting existential rules, the protocol rules, the meta-protocol rules, or the attribute rules, or some combination of said rules, to be modified directly by an administrator without recourse to further software programming; and
wherein said existential rules, said protocol rules, said meta-protocol rules, or said attribute rules, or some combination of said rules are used by said functional software objects to govern either the creation or execution of a workorder or both the creation and execution of a workorder.
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Abstract
An apparatus for storage, selective inspection, and execution of complex, contingent rules, comprises a computer having one or more central processing units, a user interface, and magnetic, optical, or other media for data and program storage and retrieval. Rules are defined partly as programs and partly as data. Access procedures for selecting certain appropriate rules under the defined conditions. A display or other output procedures for conveying the results of the rule selections to people, to the computer executing the rules, and to other computers.
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Citations
4 Claims
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1. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon elements of a system for the creation and/or execution of workorders, comprising:
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a plurality of functional software objects; tables of rule information, such rule information comprising; existential rules that declare the existence of each and every organizational entity known to said system, which rules contain only a declaration of each entity'"'"'s identifier and metadata, said metadata comprising; a Pin Flag to specify whether the rule can safely be changed at will; a Research Flag to indicate whether the rule requires further research on the part of a rule-maker; and the date of the latest update to the rule; protocol rules defining certain conditions under which actions are to be carried out, as well as certain metadata; meta-protocol rules defining rules for creating masks, and mask sequences, for determining which of said protocol rules to follow, as well as certain metadata; attribute rules for defining the attributes, categories, and relationships of entities known to said system, as well as certain metadata; a mechanism and interface permitting existential rules, the protocol rules, the meta-protocol rules, or the attribute rules, or some combination of said rules, to be modified directly by an administrator without recourse to further software programming; and wherein said existential rules, said protocol rules, said meta-protocol rules, or said attribute rules, or some combination of said rules are used by said functional software objects to govern either the creation or execution of a workorder or both the creation and execution of a workorder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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Specification