Hybrid use of rule and constraint engines
US6856980B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 13, 2001 |
| Grant date | Feb 15, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 21, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q99/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus that allow business users to dynamically add, modify, and delete business rules and associated constraints, and then to apply these changes in a very efficient manner without needing to recompile and/or restart e-business applications, is disclosed. According to one embodiment, hybrid use of the business rules and constraints with multiple decision-support engines provides the practical solution for the described problems. Rules are used to define the generic search space only, without needing to describe all special cases. Then an optimization (not rule-based) engine can automatically create and analyze all possible branches of the tree specified by the rules to select the best one. Because one universal rule engine is not sufficient to handle online decision support, in one embodiment there is a family of intelligent engines (including the rule engine) that can resolve the optimization problem generated automatically based on the applicable dynamic rules.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.