Rules base systems and methods with circumstance translation

• US 8,073,802 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2009
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pegasystems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Pegasystems Incorporated
• Inventors: Trefler, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): FERNANDEZ RIVAS, OMAR F
• Application Number:
  US12/619,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20100088266A1
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/025 Extracting rules from data

Abstract

The invention provides, in one aspect, a method of finding a rule in a rules base that includes a plurality of rule entries, each having a rule and an associated objective and one or more associated circumstances. A rule finder accesses the rules base in response to a request, with a specified objective and with specified circumstances, by searching the rules base for a matching entry. Where the search fails, the rule finder searches one or more translation tables for entries having first circumstances matching those specified in the request that resulted in the failure. If found, the rule finder repeats the search of the rules base with the specified objective and with a second (or “map-to”) circumstances from matching entries in the translation tables. The rule finder can return, e.g., to an application program that issued the request, a rule found during that repeat search of the rules base.

Claims

1. A method of searching for a rule-related entry in response to a request having a plurality of specified values, including:

executing on one or more digital processors the steps of;

(A) responding to the request by searching a rules base for a rule-related entry that corresponds to a plurality of associated values that match the plurality of specified values;

(B) responding to a failed search in step (A) by searching a translation table using one of the plurality of specified values to identify an evaluatable expression which can be used to identify an alternative value based on the one of the plurality of specified values;

(C) identifying the alternative value based on the evaluatable expression;

(D) searching the rules base for a rule-related entry that corresponds to (i) one of the plurality of associated values that matches an additional one of the plurality of specified values, and (ii) the alternative value identified by the evaluatable expression in step (C); and

(E) identifying a result of the searching in step (D).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the rules base comprises any of a table, a database, a linked list and a struct.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the result is at least one of:

(i) a rule related to the rule-related entry found in step (D),

(ii) a value related to the rule-related entry found in step (D),

(iii) a location related to the rule-related entry found in step (D),

(iv) an indication of whether the search of the rules base performed in step (D) was successful, and

(v) an indication whether the search of the rules base performed in step (D) was unsuccessful.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein (i) the one of the plurality of associated values that matches the additional one of the plurality of specified values is an objective and (ii) the one of the plurality associated values used to identify the evaluatable expression in step (B) is a circumstance.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein (i) the one of the plurality of associated values that matches the additional one of the plurality of specified values is a circumstance and (ii) the one of the plurality associated values used to identify the evaluatable expression in step (B) is an additional circumstance.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (B) includes searching a plurality of translation tables to identify the evaluatable expression.

7. A method of searching for a rule-related entry corresponding to a specified value, including:

executing on one or more digital processors the steps of;

(A) identifying a rules base that does not contain a rule-related entry associated with a specified value;

(B) using the specified value to search a translation table to identify an evaluatable expression which can be used to identify an alternative value based on the specified values;

(C) identifying the alternative value based on the evaluatable expression;

(D) using the alternative value identify by a successful search in step (C) to search the rules base for a rule-related entry associated with the alternative value; and

(E) returning a response related to a result of the search in step (D).

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the rules base and the translation table each respectively comprise any of a table, a database, a linked list and a struct.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the specified value is a circumstance and the alternative value is another circumstance.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the rules base contains the alternative value and an additional value;

and wherein the step (D) includes using the alternative value and the additional value to search the rules base for a rule-related entry associated with the alternative value and the additional value.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the additional value is an objective.

12. The method of claim 7, further including, identifying the translation table amongst a plurality of translation tables.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the identifying of the translation table includes using an identifier to identify the translation table.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the rule-related entry directly stores a rule.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the objective is related to loan rates, the alternative value is related to a locale and the rule-related entry is related to a specific loan rate.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the result is a rule associated with the rule-related entry found in step (D).

17. The method of claim 7, wherein the result is a value associated with the rule-related entry found in step (D).

18. The method of claim 7, wherein the result is a location associated with the rule-related entry found in step (C).

19. A method of finding a rule-related entry for a program, including:

executing on one or more digital processors the steps of;

(A) determining that the rule-related entry is unlocatable in a rules base by using a specified value;

(B) searching at least one translation table for an evaluatable expression which can be used to identify an alternative value based on the specified value;

(C) identifying the alternative value based on the evaluatable expression;

(D) using the alternative value to locate the rules-related entry in the rules base; and

(E) returning to the program a response associated with the rules-related entry located in step (D).