Validating updated business rules

• US 7,953,651 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2006
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Krishna, Vikas, Cheng, Isaac Kam-Chak, Holmes, Scott Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Colbert; Ella
• Application Number:
  US11/362,681
• Publication Number:
  US 20070239570A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,919 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/1.1, 705/53
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for validating updated business rules. A first set of documents utilized to validate a first set of business rules is provided. A second set of business rules generated from an update of the first set of business rules is received. Each business rule includes input parameters. A second set of documents is received. A template file includes the input parameters and corresponding path expressions. An augmented set of documents includes the first and second sets of documents. The second set of business rules is automatically semantically validated against the augmented set of documents. The semantic validation includes executing the second set of business rules with each document of the augmented set. The executing includes binding, via the path expressions, the input parameters to values included in a document of the augmented set.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of validating business rules, comprising:

validating, by a computing system, a first set of one or more business rules based on a first set of one or more documents;

executing, by a production area of said computing system, subsequent to said validating said first set of one or more business rules, and during a runtime of said computing system, a set of business processes based on said first set of one or more business rules;

receiving, by a staging area of said computing system and subsequent to said validating said first set of one or more business rules, a second set of one or more business rules to be validated, said second set of one or more business rules generated from an update of said first set of one or more business rules, wherein a business rule of said second set of one or more business rules includes a Boolean expression that includes one or more input parameters, and wherein said staging area is different from said production area;

receiving, by said staging area and subsequent to said validating said first set of one or more business rules, a second set of one or more documents;

providing, by said computing system, a template file that includes one or more path expressions and said one or more input parameters, wherein said one or more path expressions are associated with said one or more input parameters in a one-to-one correspondence;

augmenting, by said computing system and subsequent to said receiving said second set of one or more documents, said first set of one or more documents with said second set of one or more documents, wherein a result of said augmenting is an augmented set of documents; and

automatically validating, by said computing system and subsequent to said augmenting, said second set of one or more business rules, said validating performed against said augmented set of documents or against a subset of said augmented set of documents, wherein said automatically validating comprises;

semantically validating said second set of one or more business rules, wherein a result of said semantically validating is a set of one or more outcomes based on at least one business rule of said second set of one or more business rules, wherein said semantically validating includes executing said second set of one or more business rules or a subset of said second set of one or more business rules with each document of said augmented set of documents, wherein said executing includes binding, via said one or more path expressions, said one or more input parameters to one or more values included in a document of said augmented set of documents;

wherein said executing further includes evaluating, responsive to said binding, said Boolean expression with said one or more values, and wherein said semantically validating further includes determining that no outcome of said set of one or more outcomes violates a predefined assertion of a plurality of predefined assertions based on said set of business processes, deploying said second set of one or more business rules into said production area of said computing system, replacing, in a data storage unit, said first set of one or more business rules with said second set of one or more business rules, and changing, during said runtime of said computing system and without interrupting an availability of said computing system, said executing said set of business processes based on said first set of one or more business rules to executing said set of business processes based on said second set of one or more business rules.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating said second set of one or more business rules by a user utilizing a spreadsheet tool, wherein said generating said second set of one or more business rules does not include writing a computer program, macro or script to generate said update of said first set of one or more business rules.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said generating said second set of one or more business rules includes updating, by said spreadsheet tool, a comma-separated value file that includes said first set of business rules.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said automatically validating further comprises syntactically validating said second set of one or more business rules.

5. A computer-implemented method of invalidating an updated business rule, said method comprising:

validating, by a middleware component of a computing system, a set of one or more business rules, wherein said validating said set of one or more business rules is performed against a first set of one or more documents;

executing, by a production area of said middleware component, subsequent to said validating said set of one or more business rules, and during a runtime of said computing system, a set of business processes based on said set of one or more business rules;

receiving, by a staging area of said middleware component and subsequent to said validating said set of one or more business rules, a set of one or more updated business rules, wherein said set of one or more updated business rules is an update of said set of one or more business rules;

determining, by said middleware component and subsequent to said receiving said set of one or more updated business rules, that said set of one or more updated business rules is syntactically valid;

receiving, by said staging area of said middleware component and subsequent to said determining that said set of one or more updated business rules is syntactically valid, a second set of one or more documents;

augmenting, by said middleware component and subsequent to said receiving said second set of one or more documents, said first set of one or more documents with said second set of one or more documents, wherein a result of said augmenting is an augmented set of documents;

applying, by said middleware component and subsequent to said augmenting, said set of one or more updated business rules to each document of said augmented set of documents, wherein a result of said applying is an outcome of an updated business rule of said one or more updated business rules;

determining, by said middleware component and subsequent to said applying, that said outcome violates a predefined assertion of a plurality of predefined assertions associated with said set of business processes; and

identifying, by said middleware component, in response to said determining that said outcome violates said predefined assertion, and during said runtime of said computing system, said updated business rule as an invalid business rule, wherein a result of said identifying that said outcome violates said predefined assertion is that an availability of said computing system during said runtime of said computing system is not changed and said executing said set of business processes based on said set of one or more business rules is not changed to executing said set of business processes based on a group of business rules that includes said updated business rule.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said identifying said updated business rule as said invalid business rule includes sending a notification that said updated business rule includes a semantic error, wherein said notification includes an identification of said predefined assertion, an identification of said updated business rule, and a set of metadata included in said document of said augmented set of documents.