Business Rules on the Web

Web applications are not something new. Since the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, many different types of technology and languages have emerged, each with ways of developing applications for the Web. But whatever your choice of platform, technology and language, at the end of the day, the client in a Web browser will most likely use JavaScript and HTML to render the UI. So, the business rule Web components must allow integration into the JavaScript/HTML based user interface.
When it comes to the marrying of Web and business rules, we look at it from two different perspectives:

• Modeling of business rules
• Execution of business rules

Modeling on the Web

There are different ways to model your business rules. The common approaches use either Domain Specific Language (what we call Natural Language), Decision Table or Flow.
All of the business rule Web components should allow you to load existing business rules and present them on the Web page as well as allowing you to create a new one.

Natural Language

Web editor in Natural Language allows you to write your business rules in the same way you would talk about them in your spoken language.

When you are creating business rules in Domain Specific Language form you need:

• A text editor that simplifies the reading of rules, and the ability to differentiate between different values, terms and expression visually
• The capability to work with different types of simple and composite expressions: values, computational expressions, object properties and methods
• A simple way of extending the Domain Specific Language, ideally with no coding involved, as well as the ability to define and reuse new logic with or without parameters
• The provision of a mechanism to suggest or list what you can write: An ‘intellisense’ like popup list to provide suggestions
• The ability to write blocks of reusable logic and to reuse these indefinitely.

Flow: RuleFlow, DecisionFlow and WorkFlow

The flow editor component on the Web allows you to model different flows and workflows. Those flows can orchestrate handling an execution sequence of multiple rulesets (i.e., a group of business rules) or group of simple rules. Also, when it comes business logic, Workflow is important, so it allows you to model this as well.

The flow editor component allows:

• Toolbox: Drag and Drop items to a canvas to build flow and workflow
• Flexible API to retrieve nodes and manipulate properties
• Support for nested node (i.e., Scope, Transaction, etc.)
• Resizing and Moving of nodes
• Adding text/label to nodes and transitions

Decision Table

The decision table Web editor simply allows you to build a set of business rules in a tabular form so that they can share conditions and actions. It seamlessly integrates with business glossary to provide hints and options on filling the business rules.

The decision table Web editor can:

• Provide hints and options on business rules entry
• Change the order of conditions and actions with a simple drag and drop
• Change the order of rules with a simple drag and drop.

Execution of Business Rules

Once you use any of these Web-based components to model your business rules, the components will generate the model behind your rules definition, which can then be stored via your application interface. Once you have the generated the business rules definition, you can execute them using JavaScript REST API client or you can use your own integration with a business rule engine for execution purposes.

Web Components API

Please have a look at https://resource.flexrule.com/article-categories/rule-editors/ to learn more about their API.