Natural language enhanced user interface in a business rule management system

• US 8,364,469 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2007
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Neale, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): COLUCCI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US11/986,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20090138258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,891 Days
• Field of Search: 709/232, 709/206, 715/234, 715/866, 717/106, 704/9, 704/10, 704/275, 704/7, 379/88.01
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing

Abstract

Some embodiments of a natural language enhanced user interface in a business rule management system have been presented. In one embodiment, one or more rule templates in a natural language are generated from one or more prefabricated sentences. Then a user interface is created using the one or more rule templates to allow a user to compose rules for a business rule management system.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by an application server computing machine, text composed and submitted by an end user, wherein the text is written by the end user in a natural language without use of a template;

generating, by the application server computing machine, a rule template in the natural language from the received text, wherein the generating the rule template further comprises;

parsing the received text to determine a structure of the text;

creating the rule template by reproducing the determined structure in the rule template; and

inserting fields into the rule template to enable the end user to modify the rule template; and

creating, by the application server computing machine, a user interface using the rule template to allow a user of the application server computing machine to compose rules for a business rule management system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fields allow the user to enter a string of alphanumeric characters, wherein positions of the fields in the rule template corresponds to positions of nouns in the text.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the fields allow the user to enter a numeric value, wherein positions of the fields in the rule template corresponds to positions of numerical values in the text.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the rule template comprises:

inserting a list of one or more predetermined operators in the rule template, wherein a position of the list in the rule template corresponds to a position of an operator in the text ; and

providing a user interface control in the user interface to allow the user to select an operator from the list of one or more predetermined operators.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the rule template comprises:

creating a field associated with the rule template to allow the end user to enter a numeric value, wherein the numeric value is indicative of a property of a rule composed using the rule template.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the natural language is English.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a model-driven editor in the user interface.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

a processing device to execute a business rule management system (BRMS) application from the memory, the BRMS application operable to receive text composed and submitted by an end user, wherein the text is written by the end user in a natural language without the use of a template, wherein the BRMS application further comprising;

a rule template generator to generate a rule template in the natural language from the text , wherein the rule template generator is further configured to;

parse the received text to determine a structure of the text;

create the rule template by reproducing the determined structure in the rule template; and

insert fields into the rule template to enable the end user to modify the rule template; and

a user interface module coupled to the rule template generator, the user interface module configured to create a user interface using the rule template allow at least one of the end user or another user to compose rules for the BRMS application.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the fields allow the user to enter a string of alphanumeric characters, wherein positions of the fields in the rule template corresponds to positions of nouns in the text.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the fields allow the user to enter a numeric value, wherein positions of the fields in the rule template corresponds to positions of numerical values in the text.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the rule template generator is operable to insert a list of one or more predetermined operators in the rule template, wherein a position of the list in the rule template corresponds to a position of an operator in the text , and wherein the user interface module is operable to create a user interface control in the user interface to allow the user to select an operator from the text.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the rule template generator is operable to create a field associated with rule template to allow users to enter a numeric value, wherein the numeric value is indicative of a property of a rule composed using the rule template.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the natural language is English.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the user interface module is further operable to generate a model-driven editor in the user interface.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the BRMS application further comprises:

a rule repository to store the rules composed using the user interface; and

a rule engine coupled to the rule repository, to evaluate and execute the rules.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a processing device, will cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by an application server computing machine including the processing device, text composed and submitted by an end user, wherein the text is written by the end user in a natural language without use of a template;

generating, by the application server computing machine, a rule template in the natural language from the received text , wherein the generating the rule template further comprises;

parsing the received text to determine a structure of the text;

creating the rule template by reproducing the determined structure in the rule template; and

inserting fields into the rule template to enable the end user to modify the rule template; and

creating, by the application server computing machine, a user interface using the rule template to allow a user of the application server computing machine to compose rules for a business rule management system.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the fields allow the user to enter a string of alphanumeric characters, wherein positions of the fields in the rule template corresponds to positions of nouns in the text.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the fields allow the user to enter a numeric value, wherein positions of the fields in the rule template corresponds to positions of numerical values in the text.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein generating the rule template comprises:

inserting a list of one or more predetermined operators in the rule template, wherein a position of the list in the rule template corresponds to a position of an operator in the text ; and

providing a user interface control in the user interface to allow the user to select an operator from the list of one or more predetermined operators.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein generating the rule template comprises:

creating a field associated with the rule template to allow the end user to enter a numeric value, wherein the numeric value is indicative of a property of a rule composed using the rule template.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the natural language is English.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating a model-driven editor in the user interface.