4.11. The Difference Between Rules and Methods

  • Methods are called directly.
  • Specific instances are passed.
  • One call results in a single execution.
  • Rules execute by matching against any data as long it is inserted into the engine.
  • Rules can never be called directly.
  • Specific instances cannot be passed to a rule.
  • Depending on the matches, a rule may fire once or several times, or not at all.