Portable data management using rule definitions

• US 9,256,827 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2012
• Issued: 02/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Meeks, David T., Saillet, Yannick
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, ALAN S
• Application Number:
  US13/417,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20120197836A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,432 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/025 Extracting rules from data

Abstract

Embodiments for methods, systems, and computer program products for creating and managing a portable data rule using an electronic computing device are presented including: causing the electronic computing device to create a rule definition including, defining an expression by a user, where the expression defines a logic of a rule, causing the electronic computing device to parse the expression into a logical variable associated with the expression, causing the electronic computing device to identify the logical variable, and causing the electronic computing device to store the rule definition, where the rule definition includes the expression and the logical variable. In some embodiments, the causing the electronic computing device to identify the logical variable includes: causing the electronic computing device to return a name of the logical variable; and causing the electronic computing device to return an expected type of the logical variable.

Claims

1. A method for creating and managing a portable data rule using an electronic computing device, the method comprising:

causing the electronic computing device to create a rule definition, the causing the electronic computing device to create the rule definition includes;

defining an expression by a user, wherein the expression defines a logic of a rule;

causing the electronic computing device to parse the expression into at least one logical variable associated with the expression;

causing the electronic computing device to identify the at least one logical variable;

causing the electronic computing device to store the rule definition, wherein the rule definition includes at least the expression and the at least one logical variable; and

before the causing the electronic computing device to store the rule definition, validating the rule definition, the validating the rule definition including;

creating a temporary rule executable;

executing the temporary rule executable; and

if the executing the temporary rule executable is not valid, returning to the defining the expression by the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the electronic computing device to identify the at least one logical variable comprising:

causing the electronic computing device to return a name of the at least one logical variable; and

causing the electronic computing device to return an expected type of the at least one logical variable.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the identifying the at least one logical variable further comprises:

causing the electronic computing device to return a default binding target.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the binding target is selected from the group consisting of:

a physical column, a physical table, a constant, a project variable, and a system variable.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporary rule executable comprises:

a reference to at least one rule definition;

a temporary binding list, wherein the temporary binding list includes;

a temporary name of the at least one logical variable;

a temporary type of the at least one logical variable; and

a temporary binding target of the at least one logical variable.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the expression is selected from the group consisting of:

a logical expression, a model, and a matrix.

7. A method for creating and managing a portable data rule using an electronic computing device, the method comprising:

causing the electronic computing device to create a rule definition, the causing the electronic computing device to create the rule definition includes;

defining an expression by a user, wherein the expression defines a logic of a rule;

causing the electronic computing device to parse the expression into at least one logical variable associated with the expression;

causing the electronic computing device to identify the at least one logical variable;

causing the electronic computing device to store the rule definition, wherein the rule definition includes at least the expression and the at least one logical variable;

selecting a stored rule definition;

causing the electronic device to extract the at least one logical variable associated with the expression;

causing the electronic device to bind the at least one logical variable with a target;

causing the electronic device to generate a rule executable, wherein the rule executable is a physical implementation of the rule definition; and

causing the electronic device to execute the rule executable;

wherein the causing the electronic device to bind the at least one logical variable with a target is bound by a method selected from the group consisting of;

creating a new target binding, selecting a default target binding, and modifying an existing target binding.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the rule executable comprises:

a reference to at least one rule definition; and

a binding list, wherein the binding list includes;

the name of the at least one logical variable;

a type of the at least one logical variable; and

a binding target for the at least one logical variable.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the rule executable further comprises:

an output specification for determining how an output is presented;

a join condition for presenting how the binding target is utilized to join a table during the executing of the rule executable;

a runtime settings for determining how the rule executable will access the data store; and

an execution history for logging statistics of the executing of the rule executable.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the statistics are selected from the group consisting of:

a run number, a run start date, a run start time, a run row information, a run row pass percentage, a run ID, a user name, a run duration, a total number of analyzed rows, a variance to a predefined benchmark, a rule set record pass percentage, a rule set row pass percentage, a rule set standard deviation, a rule set row per rule pass percentage, a rule set row rule fail rate, and a rule set row detail result.