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Designing a decision service using guided rules

Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.2

Red Hat Customer Content Services

Abstract

This document describes how to design a decision service using guided rules in Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.2.

Preface

As a business analyst or business rules developer, you can define business rules using the guided rules designer in Business Central. These guided rules are compiled into Drools Rule Language (DRL) and form the core of the decision service for your project.

Prerequisite

The team and project for the guided rules have been created in Business Central. Each asset is associated with a project assigned to a team. For details, see Getting started with decision services.

Chapter 1. Rule-authoring assets in Red Hat Process Automation Manager

Red Hat Process Automation Manager provides several assets that you can use to create business rules for your decision service. Each rule-authoring asset has different advantages, and you might prefer to use one or a combination of multiple assets depending on your goals and needs.

The following table highlights each rule-authoring asset in Business Central to help you decide or confirm the best method for creating rules in your decision service.

Table 1.1. Rule-authoring assets in Business Central

AssetHighlightsDocumentation

Guided decision tables

  • Are tables of rules that you create in a UI-based table designer in Business Central
  • Are a wizard-led alternative to uploaded decision table spreadsheets
  • Provide fields and options for acceptable input
  • Support template keys and values for creating rule templates
  • Support hit policies, real-time validation, and other additional features not supported in other assets
  • Are optimal for creating rules in a controlled tabular format to minimize compilation errors

Designing a decision service using guided decision tables

Uploaded decision tables

  • Are XLS or XLSX decision table spreadsheets that you upload into Business Central
  • Support template keys and values for creating rule templates
  • Are optimal for creating rules in decision tables already managed outside of Business Central
  • Have strict syntax requirements for rules to be compiled properly when uploaded

Designing a decision service using uploaded decision tables

Guided rules

  • Are individual rules that you create in a UI-based rule designer in Business Central
  • Provide fields and options for acceptable input
  • Are optimal for creating single rules in a controlled format to minimize compilation errors

Designing a decision service using guided rules

Guided rule templates

  • Are reusable rule structures that you create in a UI-based template designer in Business Central
  • Provide fields and options for acceptable input
  • Support template keys and values for creating rule templates (fundamental to the purpose of this asset)
  • Are optimal for creating many rules with the same rule structure but with different defined field values

Designing a decision service using guided rule templates

DRL rules

  • Are individual rules that you define directly in .drl text files
  • Provide the most flexibility for defining rules and other technicalities of rule behavior
  • Can be created in certain standalone environments and integrated with Red Hat Process Automation Manager
  • Are optimal for creating rules that require advanced DRL options
  • Have strict syntax requirements for rules to be compiled properly

Designing a decision service using DRL rules

Chapter 2. Guided rules

Guided rules are business rules that you create in a UI-based guided rules designer in Business Central that leads you through the rule-creation process. The guided rules designer provides fields and options for acceptable input based on the data objects for the rule being defined. The guided rules that you define are compiled into Drools Rule Language (DRL) rules as with all other rule assets.

All data objects related to a guided rule must be in the same project package as the guided rule. Assets in the same package are imported by default. After you create the necessary data objects and the guided rule, you can use the Data Objects tab of the guided rules designer to verify that all required data objects are listed or to import other existing data objects by adding a New item.

Chapter 3. Data objects

Data objects are the building blocks for the rule assets that you create. Data objects are custom data types implemented as Java objects in specified packages of your project. For example, you might create a Person object with data fields Name, Address, and DateOfBirth to specify personal details for loan application rules. These custom data types determine what data your assets and your decision services are based on.

3.1. Creating data objects

The following procedure is a generic overview of creating data objects. It is not specific to a particular business process.

Procedure

  1. In Business Central, go to MenuDesignProjects and click the project name.
  2. Click Add AssetData Object.
  3. Enter a unique Data Object name and select the Package where you want the data object to be available for other rule assets. Data objects with the same name cannot exist in the same package. In the specified DRL file, you can import a data object from any package.

    Importing data objects from other packages

    You can import an existing data object from another package directly into the asset designer. Select the relevant rule asset within the project and in the asset designer, go to Data Objects → New item to select the object to be imported.

  4. To make your data object persistable, select the Persistable checkbox. Persistable data objects are able to be stored in a database according to the JPA specification. The default JPA is Hibernate.
  5. Click Ok.
  6. In the data object designer, click add field to add a field to the object with the attributes Id, Label, and Type. Required attributes are marked with an asterisk (*).

    • Id: Enter the unique ID of the field.
    • Label: (Optional) Enter a label for the field.
    • Type: Enter the data type of the field.
    • List: Select this check box to enable the field to hold multiple items for the specified type.

      Figure 3.1. Add data fields to a data object

      Add data fields to a data object
  7. Click Create to add the new field, or click Create and continue to add the new field and continue adding other fields.

    Note

    To edit a field, select the field row and use the general properties on the right side of the screen.

Chapter 4. Creating guided rules

Guided rules enable you to define business rules in a structured format, based on the data objects associated with the rules. You can create and define guided rules individually for your project.

Procedure

  1. In Business Central, go to MenuDesignProjects and click the project name.
  2. Click Add AssetGuided Rule.
  3. Enter an informative Guided Rule name and select the appropriate Package. The package that you specify must be the same package where the required data objects have been assigned or will be assigned.

    You can also select Show declared DSL sentences if any domain specific language (DSL) assets have been defined in your project. These DSL assets will then become usable objects for conditions and actions that you define in the guided rules designer.

  4. Click Ok to create the rule asset.

    The new guided rule is now listed in the Guided Rules panel of the Project Explorer, or in the Guided Rules (with DSL) panel if you selected the Show declared DSL sentences option.

  5. Click the Data Objects tab and confirm that all data objects required for your rules are listed. If not, click New item to import data objects from other packages, or create data objects within your package.
  6. After all data objects are in place, return to the Model tab of the guided rules designer and use the buttons on the right side of the window to add and define the WHEN (condition) and THEN (action) sections of the rule, based on the available data objects.

    Figure 4.1. The guided rules designer

    The guided rules designer

    The WHEN part of the rule contains the conditions that must be met to execute an action. For example, if a bank requires loan applicants to have over 21 years of age, then the WHEN condition of an Underage rule would be Age | less than | 21.

    The THEN part of the rule contains the actions to be performed when the conditional part of the rule has been met. For example, when the loan applicant is under 21 years old, the THEN action would set approved to false, declining the loan because the applicant is under age.

    You can also specify exceptions for more complex rules, such as if a bank may approve of an under-aged applicant when a guarantor is involved. In that case, you would create or import a guarantor data object and then add the field to the guided rule.

  7. After you define all components of the rule, click Validate in the upper-right toolbar of the guided rules designer to validate the guided rule. If the rule validation fails, address any problems described in the error message, review all components in the rule, and try again to validate the rule until the rule passes.
  8. Click Save in the guided rules designer to save your work.

4.1. Adding WHEN conditions in guided rules

The WHEN part of the rule contains the conditions that must be met to execute an action. For example, if a bank requires loan applicants to have over 21 years of age, then the WHEN condition of an Underage rule would be Age | less than | 21. You can set simple or complex conditions to determine how and when your rules are applied.

Prerequisite

All data objects required for your rules have been created or imported and are listed in the Data Objects tab of the guided rules designer.

Procedure

  1. In the guided rules designer, click the plus icon ( 5686 ) on the right side of the WHEN section.

    The Add a condition to the rule window with the available condition elements opens.

    Figure 4.2. Add a condition to the rule

    Add a condition to the rule

    The list includes the data objects from the Data Objects tab of the guided rules designer, any DSL objects defined for the package (if you selected Show declared DSL sentences when you created this guided rule), and the following standard options:

    • The following does not exist: Use this to specify facts and constraints that must not exist.
    • The following exists: Use this to specify facts and constraints that must exist. This option is triggered on only the first match, not subsequent matches.
    • Any of the following are true: Use this to list any facts or constraints that must be true.
    • From: Use this to define a From conditional element for the rule.
    • From Accumulate: Use this to define an Accumulate conditional element for the rule.
    • From Collect: Use this to define a Collect conditional element for the rule.
    • From Entry Point: Use this to define an Entry Point for the pattern.
    • Free form DRL: Use this to insert a free-form DRL field where you can define condition elements freely, without the guided rules designer.
  2. Choose a condition element (for example, LoanApplication) and click Ok.
  3. Click the condition element in the guided rules designer and use the Modify constraints for LoanApplication window to add a restriction on a field, apply multiple field constraints, add a new formula style expression, apply an expression editor, or set a variable name.

    Figure 4.3. Modify a condition

    Modifying a condition
    Note

    A variable name enables you to identify a fact or field in other constructs within the guided rule. For example, you could set the variable of LoanApplication to a and then reference a in a separate Bankruptcy constraint that specifies which application the bankruptcy is based on.

    a : LoanApplication()
    Bankruptcy( application == a ).

    After you select a constraint, the window closes automatically.

  4. Choose an operator for the restriction (for example, greater than) from the drop-down menu next to the added restriction.
  5. Click the edit icon ( 6191 ) to define the field value. The field value can be a literal value, a formula, or a full MVEL expression.
  6. To apply multiple field constraints, click the condition and in the Modify constraints for LoanApplication window, select All of(And) or Any of(Or) from the Multiple field constraint drop-down menu.

    Figure 4.4. Add multiple field constraints

    Modifying a condition
  7. Click the constraint in the guided rules designer and further define the field value.
  8. After you define all condition components of the rule, click Validate in the upper-right toolbar of the guided rules designer to validate the guided rule conditions. If the rule validation fails, address any problems described in the error message, review all components in the rule, and try again to validate the rule until the rule passes.
  9. Click Save in the guided rules designer to save your work.

4.2. Adding THEN actions in guided rules

The THEN part of the rule contains the actions to be performed when the WHEN condition of the rule has been met. For example, when a loan applicant is under 21 years old, the THEN action might set approved to false, declining the loan because the applicant is under age. You can set simple or complex actions to determine how and when your rules are applied.

Prerequisite

All data objects required for your rules have been created or imported and are listed in the Data Objects tab of the guided rules designer.

Procedure

  1. In the guided rules designer, click the plus icon ( 5686 ) on the right side of the THEN section.

    The Add a new action window with the available action elements opens.

    Figure 4.5. Add a new action to the rule

    Add a new action to the rule

    The list includes insertion and modification options based on the data objects in the Data Objects tab of the guided rules designer, and on any DSL objects defined for the package (if you selected Show declared DSL sentences when you created this guided rule):

    • Change field values of: Use this to set the value of fields on a fact (such as LoanApplication) without notifying the process engine of the change.
    • Delete: Use this to delete a fact.
    • Modify: Use this to specify fields to be modified for a fact and to notify the process engine of the change.
    • Insert fact: Use this to insert a fact and define resulting fields and values for the fact.
    • Logically Insert fact: Use this to insert a fact logically into the process engine and define resulting fields and values for the fact. The Red Hat Process Automation Manager process engine is responsible for logical decisions on insertions and retractions of facts. After regular or stated insertions, facts have to be retracted explicitly. After logical insertions, facts are automatically retracted when the conditions that originally asserted the facts are no longer true.
    • Add free form DRL: Use this to insert a free-form DRL field where you can define condition elements freely, without the guided rules designer.
    • Call method on: Use this to invoke a method from another fact.
  2. Choose an action element (for example, Modify) and click Ok.
  3. Click the action element in the guided rules designer and use the Add a field window to select a field.

    Figure 4.6. Add a field

    Add a field

    After you select a field, the window closes automatically.

  4. Click the edit icon ( 6191 ) to define the field value. The field value can be a literal value or a formula.
  5. After you define all action components of the rule, click Validate in the upper-right toolbar of the guided rules designer to validate the guided rule actions. If the rule validation fails, address any problems described in the error message, review all components in the rule, and try again to validate the rule until the rule passes.
  6. Click Save in the guided rules designer to save your work.

4.3. Adding other rule options

You can also use the rule designer to add metadata within a rule, define additional rule attributes (such as salience and no-loop), and freeze areas of the rule to restrict modifications to conditions or actions.

Procedure

  1. In the rule designer, click (show options…​) under the THEN section.
  2. Click the plus icon ( 5686 ) on the right side of the window to add options.
  3. Select an option to be added to the rule:

    • Metadata: Enter a metadata label and click the plus icon ( 5686 ). Then enter any needed data in the field provided in the rule designer.
    • Attribute: Select from the list of rule attributes. Then further define the value in the field or option displayed in the rule designer.
    • Freeze areas for editing: Select Conditions or Actions to restrict the area from being modified in the rule designer.

      Figure 4.7. Rule options

      Additional rule options
  4. Click Save in the rule designer to save your work.

4.3.1. Rule attributes

Rule attributes are additional specifications that you can add to business rules to modify rule behavior. The following table lists the names and supported values of the attributes that you can assign to rules:

Table 4.1. Rule attributes

AttributeValue

salience

An integer defining the priority of the rule. Rules with a higher salience value are given higher priority when ordered in the activation queue.

Example: salience 10

enabled

A Boolean value. When the option is selected, the rule is enabled. When the option is not selected, the rule is disabled.

Example: enabled true

date-effective

A string containing a date and time definition. The rule can be activated only if the current date and time is after a date-effective attribute.

Example: date-effective "4-Sep-2018"

date-expires

A string containing a date and time definition. The rule cannot be activated if the current date and time is after the date-expires attribute.

Example: date-expires "4-Oct-2018"

no-loop

A Boolean value. When the option is selected, the rule cannot be reactivated (looped) if a consequence of the rule re-triggers a previously met condition. When the condition is not selected, the rule can be looped in these circumstances.

Example: no-loop true

agenda-group

A string identifying an agenda group to which you want to assign the rule. Agenda groups allow you to partition the agenda to provide more execution control over groups of rules. Only rules in an agenda group that has acquired a focus are able to be activated.

Example: agenda-group "GroupName"

activation-group

A string identifying an activation (or XOR) group to which you want to assign the rule. In activation groups, only one rule can be activated. The first rule to fire will cancel all pending activations of all rules in the activation group.

Example: activation-group "GroupName"

duration

A long integer value defining the duration of time in milliseconds after which the rule can be activated, if the rule conditions are still met.

Example: duration 10000

timer

A string identifying either int (interval) or cron timer definition for scheduling the rule.

Example: timer "*/5 * * * *" (every 5 minutes)

calendar

A Quartz calendar definition for scheduling the rule.

Example: calendars "* * 0-7,18-23 ? * *" (exclude non-business hours)

auto-focus

A Boolean value, applicable only to rules within agenda groups. When the option is selected, the next time the rule is activated, a focus is automatically given to the agenda group to which the rule is assigned.

Example: auto-focus true

lock-on-active

A Boolean value, applicable only to rules within rule flow groups or agenda groups. When the option is selected, the next time the ruleflow group for the rule becomes active or the agenda group for the rule receives a focus, the rule cannot be activated again until the ruleflow group is no longer active or the agenda group loses the focus. This is a stronger version of the no-loop attribute, because the activation of a matching rule is discarded regardless of the origin of the update (not only by the rule itself). This attribute is ideal for calculation rules where you have a number of rules that modify a fact and you do not want any rule re-matching and firing again.

Example: lock-on-active true

ruleflow-group

A string identifying a rule flow group. In rule flow groups, rules can fire only when the group is activated by the associated rule flow.

Example: ruleflow-group "GroupName"

dialect

A string identifying either JAVA or MVEL as the language to be used for code expressions in the rule. By default, the rule uses the dialect specified at the package level. Any dialect specified here overrides the package dialect setting for the rule.

Example: dialect "JAVA"

Chapter 5. Executing rules

After you identify example rules or create your own rules in Business Central, you can build and deploy the associated project and execute rules locally or on Process Server to test the rules.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In Business Central, go to MenuDesignProjects and click the project name.
  2. In the upper-right corner of the project Assets page, click Deploy to build the project and deploy it to Process Server. If the build fails, address any problems described in the Alerts panel at the bottom of the screen.

    For more information about deploying projects, see Packaging and deploying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager project.

  3. Create a Maven or Java project outside of Business Central, if not created already, that you can use for executing rules locally or that you can use as a client application for executing rules on Process Server. The project must contain a pom.xml file and any other required components for executing the project resources.

    For example test projects, see "Other methods for creating and executing DRL rules".

  4. Open the pom.xml file of your test project or client application and add the following dependencies, if not added already:

    • kie-ci: Enables your client application to load Business Central project data locally using ReleaseId
    • kie-server-client: Enables your client application to interact remotely with assets on Process Server
    • slf4j: (Optional) Enables your client application to use Simple Logging Facade for Java (SLF4J) to return debug logging information after you interact with Process Server

    Example dependencies for Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.2 in a client application pom.xml file:

    <!-- For local execution -->
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.kie</groupId>
      <artifactId>kie-ci</artifactId>
      <version>7.14.0.Final-redhat-00002</version>
    </dependency>
    
    <!-- For remote execution on Process Server -->
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.kie.server</groupId>
      <artifactId>kie-server-client</artifactId>
      <version>7.14.0.Final-redhat-00002</version>
    </dependency>
    
    <!-- For debug logging (optional) -->
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
      <artifactId>slf4j-simple</artifactId>
      <version>1.7.25</version>
    </dependency>

    For available versions of these artifacts, search the group ID and artifact ID in the Nexus Repository Manager online.

    Note

    Instead of specifying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager <version> for individual dependencies, consider adding the Red Hat Business Automation bill of materials (BOM) dependency to your project pom.xml file. The Red Hat Business Automation BOM applies to both Red Hat Decision Manager and Red Hat Process Automation Manager. When you add the BOM files, the correct versions of transitive dependencies from the provided Maven repositories are included in the project.

    Example BOM dependency:

    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.redhat.ba</groupId>
      <artifactId>ba-platform-bom</artifactId>
      <version>7.2.0.GA-redhat-00002</version>
      <scope>import</scope>
      <type>pom</type>
    </dependency>

    For more information about the Red Hat Business Automation BOM, see What is the mapping between Red Hat Process Automation Manager and the Maven library version?.

  5. Ensure that the dependencies for artifacts containing model classes are defined in the client application pom.xml file exactly as they appear in the pom.xml file of the deployed project. If dependencies for model classes differ between the client application and your projects, execution errors can occur.

    To access the project pom.xml file in Business Central, select any existing asset in the project and then in the Project Explorer menu on the left side of the screen, click the Customize View gear icon and select Repository Viewpom.xml.

    For example, the following Person class dependency appears in both the client and deployed project pom.xml files:

    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.sample</groupId>
      <artifactId>Person</artifactId>
      <version>1.0.0</version>
    </dependency>
  6. If you added the slf4j dependency to the client application pom.xml file for debug logging, create a simplelogger.properties file on the relevant classpath (for example, in src/main/resources/META-INF in Maven) with the following content:

    org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=debug
  7. In your client application, create a .java main class containing the necessary imports and a main() method to load the KIE base, insert facts, and execute the rules.

    For example, a Person object in a project contains getter and setter methods to set and retrieve the first name, last name, hourly rate, and the wage of a person. The following Wage rule in a project calculates the wage and hourly rate values and displays a message based on the result:

    package com.sample;
    
    import com.sample.Person;
    
    dialect "java"
    
    rule "Wage"
      when
        Person(hourlyRate * wage > 100)
        Person(name : firstName, surname : lastName)
      then
        System.out.println("Hello" + " " + name + " " + surname + "!");
        System.out.println("You are rich!");
    end

    To test this rule locally outside of Process Server (if desired), configure the .java class to import KIE services, a KIE container, and a KIE session, and then use the main() method to fire all rules against a defined fact model:

    Executing rules locally

    import org.kie.api.KieServices;
    import org.kie.api.runtime.KieContainer;
    import org.kie.api.runtime.KieSession;
    
    public class RulesTest {
    
      public static final void main(String[] args) {
        try {
          // Identify the project in the local repository:
          ReleaseId rid = new ReleaseId();
          rid.setGroupId("com.myspace");
          rid.setArtifactId("MyProject");
          rid.setVersion("1.0.0");
    
          // Load the KIE base:
          KieServices ks = KieServices.Factory.get();
          KieContainer kContainer = ks.newKieContainer(rid);
          KieSession kSession = kContainer.newKieSession();
    
          // Set up the fact model:
          Person p = new Person();
          p.setWage(12);
          p.setFirstName("Tom");
          p.setLastName("Summers");
          p.setHourlyRate(10);
    
          // Insert the person into the session:
          kSession.insert(p);
    
          // Fire all rules:
          kSession.fireAllRules();
          kSession.dispose();
        }
    
        catch (Throwable t) {
          t.printStackTrace();
        }
      }
    }

    To test this rule on Process Server, configure the .java class with the imports and rule execution information similarly to the local example, and additionally specify KIE services configuration and KIE services client details:

    Executing rules on Process Server

    package com.sample;
    
    import java.util.ArrayList;
    import java.util.HashSet;
    import java.util.List;
    import java.util.Set;
    
    import org.kie.api.command.BatchExecutionCommand;
    import org.kie.api.command.Command;
    import org.kie.api.KieServices;
    import org.kie.api.runtime.ExecutionResults;
    import org.kie.api.runtime.KieContainer;
    import org.kie.api.runtime.KieSession;
    import org.kie.server.api.marshalling.MarshallingFormat;
    import org.kie.server.api.model.ServiceResponse;
    import org.kie.server.client.KieServicesClient;
    import org.kie.server.client.KieServicesConfiguration;
    import org.kie.server.client.KieServicesFactory;
    import org.kie.server.client.RuleServicesClient;
    
    import com.sample.Person;
    
    public class RulesTest {
    
      private static final String containerName = "testProject";
      private static final String sessionName = "myStatelessSession";
    
      public static final void main(String[] args) {
        try {
          // Define KIE services configuration and client:
          Set<Class<?>> allClasses = new HashSet<Class<?>>();
          allClasses.add(Person.class);
          String serverUrl = "http://$HOST:$PORT/kie-server/services/rest/server";
          String username = "$USERNAME";
          String password = "$PASSWORD";
          KieServicesConfiguration config =
            KieServicesFactory.newRestConfiguration(serverUrl,
                                                    username,
                                                    password);
          config.setMarshallingFormat(MarshallingFormat.JAXB);
          config.addExtraClasses(allClasses);
          KieServicesClient kieServicesClient =
            KieServicesFactory.newKieServicesClient(config);
    
          // Set up the fact model:
          Person p = new Person();
          p.setWage(12);
          p.setFirstName("Tom");
          p.setLastName("Summers");
          p.setHourlyRate(10);
    
          // Insert Person into the session:
          KieCommands kieCommands = KieServices.Factory.get().getCommands();
          List<Command> commandList = new ArrayList<Command>();
          commandList.add(kieCommands.newInsert(p, "personReturnId"));
    
          // Fire all rules:
          commandList.add(kieCommands.newFireAllRules("numberOfFiredRules"));
          BatchExecutionCommand batch = kieCommands.newBatchExecution(commandList, sessionName);
    
          // Use rule services client to send request:
          RuleServicesClient ruleClient = kieServicesClient.getServicesClient(RuleServicesClient.class);
          ServiceResponse<ExecutionResults> executeResponse = ruleClient.executeCommandsWithResults(containerName, batch);
          System.out.println("number of fired rules:" + executeResponse.getResult().getValue("numberOfFiredRules"));
        }
    
        catch (Throwable t) {
          t.printStackTrace();
        }
      }
    }

  8. Run the configured .java class from your project directory. You can run the file in your development platform (such as Red Hat JBoss Developer Studio) or in the command line.

    Example Maven execution (within project directory):

    mvn clean install exec:java -Dexec.mainClass="com.sample.app.RulesTest"

    Example Java execution (within project directory)

    javac -classpath "./$DEPENDENCIES/*:." RulesTest.java
    java -classpath "./$DEPENDENCIES/*:." RulesTest
  9. Review the rule execution status in the command line and in the server log. If any rules do not execute as expected, review the configured rules in the project and the main class configuration to validate the data provided.

5.1. Executable rule models

Executable rule models are embeddable models that provide a Java-based representation of a rule set for execution at build time. The executable model is a more efficient alternative to the standard asset packaging in Red Hat Process Automation Manager and enables KIE containers and KIE bases to be created more quickly, especially when you have large lists of DRL (Drools Rule Language) files and other Red Hat Process Automation Manager assets. The model is low level and enables you to provide all necessary execution information, such as the lambda expressions for the index evaluation.

Executable rule models provide the following specific advantages for your projects:

  • Compile time: Traditionally, a packaged Red Hat Process Automation Manager project (KJAR) contains a list of DRL files and other Red Hat Process Automation Manager artifacts that define the rule base together with some pre-generated classes implementing the constraints and the consequences. Those DRL files must be parsed and compiled when the KJAR is downloaded from the Maven repository and installed in a KIE container. This process can be slow, especially for large rule sets. With an executable model, you can package within the project KJAR the Java classes that implement the executable model of the project rule base and re-create the KIE container and its KIE bases out of it in a much faster way. In Maven projects, you use the kie-maven-plugin to automatically generate the executable model sources from the DRL files during the compilation process.
  • Run time: In an executable model, all constraints are defined as Java lambda expressions. The same lambda expressions are also used for constraints evaluation, so you no longer need to use mvel expressions for interpreted evaluation nor the just-in-time (JIT) process to transform the mvel-based constraints into bytecode. This creates a quicker and more efficient run time.
  • Development time: An executable model enables you to develop and experiment with new features of the process engine without needing to encode elements directly in the DRL format or modify the DRL parser to support them.
Note

For query definitions in executable rule models, you can use up to 10 arguments only.

For variables within rule consequences in executable rule models, you can use up to 12 bound variables only (including the built-in drools variable). For example, the following rule consequence uses more than 12 bound variables and creates a compilation error:

...
then
  $input.setNo13Count(functions.sumOf(new Object[]{$no1Count_1, $no2Count_1, $no3Count_1, ..., $no13Count_1}).intValue());
  $input.getFirings().add("fired");
  update($input);

5.1.1. Embedding an executable rule model in a Maven project

You can embed an executable rule model in your Maven project to compile your rule assets more efficiently at build time.

Prerequisite

You have a Mavenized project that contains Red Hat Process Automation Manager business assets.

Procedure

  1. In the pom.xml file of your Maven project, ensure that the packaging type is set to kjar and add the kie-maven-plugin build component:

    <packaging>kjar</packaging>
    ...
    <build>
      <plugins>
        <plugin>
          <groupId>org.kie</groupId>
          <artifactId>kie-maven-plugin</artifactId>
          <version>${rhpam.version}</version>
          <extensions>true</extensions>
        </plugin>
      </plugins>
    </build>

    The kjar packaging type activates the kie-maven-plugin component to validate and pre-compile artifact resources. The <version> is the Maven artifact version for Red Hat Process Automation Manager currently used in your project (for example, 7.14.0.Final-redhat-00002). These settings are required to properly package the Maven project.

    Note

    Instead of specifying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager <version> for individual dependencies, consider adding the Red Hat Business Automation bill of materials (BOM) dependency to your project pom.xml file. The Red Hat Business Automation BOM applies to both Red Hat Decision Manager and Red Hat Process Automation Manager. When you add the BOM files, the correct versions of transitive dependencies from the provided Maven repositories are included in the project.

    Example BOM dependency:

    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.redhat.ba</groupId>
      <artifactId>ba-platform-bom</artifactId>
      <version>7.2.0.GA-redhat-00002</version>
      <scope>import</scope>
      <type>pom</type>
    </dependency>

    For more information about the Red Hat Business Automation BOM, see What is the mapping between RHPAM product and maven library version?.

  2. Add the following dependencies to the pom.xml file to enable rule assets to be built from an executable model:

    • drools-canonical-model: Enables an executable canonical representation of a rule set model that is independent from Red Hat Process Automation Manager
    • drools-model-compiler: Compiles the executable model into Red Hat Process Automation Manager internal data structures so that it can be executed by the process engine
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.drools</groupId>
      <artifactId>drools-canonical-model</artifactId>
      <version>${rhpam.version}</version>
    </dependency>
    
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.drools</groupId>
      <artifactId>drools-model-compiler</artifactId>
      <version>${rhpam.version}</version>
    </dependency>
  3. In a command terminal, navigate to your Maven project directory and run the following command to build the project from an executable model:

    mvn clean install -DgenerateModel=<VALUE>

    The -DgenerateModel=<VALUE> property enables the project to be built as a model-based KJAR instead of a DRL-based KJAR.

    Replace <VALUE> with one of three values:

    • YES: Generates the executable model corresponding to the DRL files in the original project and excludes the DRL files from the generated KJAR.
    • WITHDRL: Generates the executable model corresponding to the DRL files in the original project and also adds the DRL files to the generated KJAR for documentation purposes (the KIE base is built from the executable model regardless).
    • NO: Does not generate the executable model.

    Example build command:

    mvn clean install -DgenerateModel=YES

For more information about packaging Maven projects, see Packaging and deploying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager project.

5.1.2. Embedding an executable rule model in a Java application

You can embed an executable rule model programmatically within your Java application to compile your rule assets more efficiently at build time.

Prerequisite

You have a Java application that contains Red Hat Process Automation Manager business assets.

Procedure

  1. Add the following dependencies to the relevant classpath for your Java project:

    • drools-canonical-model: Enables an executable canonical representation of a rule set model that is independent from Red Hat Process Automation Manager
    • drools-model-compiler: Compiles the executable model into Red Hat Process Automation Manager internal data structures so that it can be executed by the process engine
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.drools</groupId>
      <artifactId>drools-canonical-model</artifactId>
      <version>${rhpam.version}</version>
    </dependency>
    
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.drools</groupId>
      <artifactId>drools-model-compiler</artifactId>
      <version>${rhpam.version}</version>
    </dependency>

    The <version> is the Maven artifact version for Red Hat Process Automation Manager currently used in your project (for example, 7.14.0.Final-redhat-00002).

    Note

    Instead of specifying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager <version> for individual dependencies, consider adding the Red Hat Business Automation bill of materials (BOM) dependency to your project pom.xml file. The Red Hat Business Automation BOM applies to both Red Hat Decision Manager and Red Hat Process Automation Manager. When you add the BOM files, the correct versions of transitive dependencies from the provided Maven repositories are included in the project.

    Example BOM dependency:

    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.redhat.ba</groupId>
      <artifactId>ba-platform-bom</artifactId>
      <version>7.2.0.GA-redhat-00002</version>
      <scope>import</scope>
      <type>pom</type>
    </dependency>

    For more information about the Red Hat Business Automation BOM, see What is the mapping between RHPAM product and maven library version?.

  2. Add rule assets to the KIE virtual file system KieFileSystem and use KieBuilder with buildAll( ExecutableModelProject.class ) specified to build the assets from an executable model:

    import org.kie.api.KieServices;
    import org.kie.api.builder.KieFileSystem;
    import org.kie.api.builder.KieBuilder;
    
      KieServices ks = KieServices.Factory.get();
      KieFileSystem kfs = ks.newKieFileSystem()
      kfs.write("src/main/resources/KBase1/ruleSet1.drl", stringContainingAValidDRL)
      .write("src/main/resources/dtable.xls",
        kieServices.getResources().newInputStreamResource(dtableFileStream));
    
      KieBuilder kieBuilder = ks.newKieBuilder( kfs );
      // Build from an executable model
      kieBuilder.buildAll( ExecutableModelProject.class )
      assertEquals(0, kieBuilder.getResults().getMessages(Message.Level.ERROR).size());

    After KieFileSystem is built from the executable model, the resulting KieSession uses constraints based on lambda expressions instead of less-efficient mvel expressions. If buildAll() contains no arguments, the project is built in the standard method without an executable model.

    As a more manual alternative to using KieFileSystem for creating executable models, you can define a Model with a fluent API and create a KieBase from it:

    Model model = new ModelImpl().addRule( rule );
    KieBase kieBase = KieBaseBuilder.createKieBaseFromModel( model );

For more information about packaging projects programmatically within a Java application, see Packaging and deploying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager project.

Chapter 6. Next steps

Appendix A. Versioning information

Documentation last updated on Tuesday, May 28, 2019.

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