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Chapter 24. Fibonacci Example

24.1. Fibonacci Example: The Class

public static class Fibonacci {
    private int  sequence;
    private long value;

    public Fibonacci( final int sequence ) {
        this.sequence = sequence;
        this.value = -1;
    }

    ... setters and getters go here...
}
  • The sequence field is used to indicate the position of the object in the Fibonacci number sequence.
  • The value field shows the value of that Fibonacci object for that sequence position, using -1 to indicate a value that still needs to be computed.

24.2. Fibonacci Example: Execution

Procedure 24.1. Task

  1. Launch the Eclipse IED.
  2. Open the class org.drools.examples.fibonacci.FibonacciExample.
  3. Right-click the class and select Run as... and then Java application.
Result

Eclipse shows the following output in its console window (with "...snip..." indicating lines that were removed to save space): 

recurse for 50
recurse for 49
recurse for 48
recurse for 47
...snip...
recurse for 5
recurse for 4
recurse for 3
recurse for 2
1 == 1
2 == 1
3 == 2
4 == 3
5 == 5
6 == 8
...snip...
47 == 2971215073
48 == 4807526976
49 == 7778742049
50 == 12586269025

24.3. Fibonacci Example: Execution Details

ksession.insert( new Fibonacci( 50 ) );
ksession.fireAllRules();
  • To use this with Java, a single Fibonacci object is inserted with a sequence field of 50.
  • A recursive rule is used to insert the other 49 Fibonacci objects.
  • This example uses the MVEL dialect. This means you can use the modify keyword, which allows a block setter action which also notifies the engine of changes.

24.4. Fibonacci Example: Recurse Rule

rule Recurse
    salience 10
    when
        f : Fibonacci ( value == -1 )
        not ( Fibonacci ( sequence == 1 ) )
    then
        insert( new Fibonacci( f.sequence - 1 ) );
        System.out.println( "recurse for " + f.sequence );
end
  • The Recurse rule matches each asserted Fibonacci object with a value of -1, creating and asserting a new Fibonacci object with a sequence of one less than the currently matched object.
  • Each time a Fibonacci object is added while the one with a sequence field equal to 1 does not exist, the rule re-matches and fires again.
  • The not conditional element is used to stop the rule's matching once we have all 50 Fibonacci objects in memory.
  • The Recurse rule has a salience value so all 50 Fibonacci objects are asserted before the Bootstrap rule is executed.
  • You can switch to the Audit view to show the original assertion of the Fibonacci object with a sequence field of 50, done with Java code. From there on, the Audit view shows the continual recursion of the rule, where each asserted Fibonacci object causes the Recurse rule to become activated and to fire again.

24.5. Fibonacci Example: Bootstrap Rule

rule Bootstrap
    when
        f : Fibonacci( sequence == 1 || == 2, value == -1 ) // multi-restriction
    then 
        modify ( f ){ value = 1 };
        System.out.println( f.sequence + " == " + f.value );
end
  • When a Fibonacci object with a sequence field of 2 is asserted the Bootstrap rule is matched and activated along with the Recurse rule.
  • Note the multi-restriction on field sequence, testing for equality with 1 or 2.
  • When a Fibonacci object with a sequence of 1 is asserted the Bootstrap rule is matched again, causing two activations for this rule. The Recurse rule does not match and activate because the not conditional element stops the rule's matching as soon as a Fibonacci object with a sequence of 1 exists.

24.6. Fibonacci Example: Calculate Rule

rule Calculate
    when
        // Bind f1 and s1
        f1 : Fibonacci( s1 : sequence, value != -1 )
        // Bind f2 and v2; refer to bound variable s1
        f2 : Fibonacci( sequence == (s1 + 1), v2 : value != -1 )
        // Bind f3 and s3; alternative reference of f2.sequence
        f3 : Fibonacci( s3 : sequence == (f2.sequence + 1 ), value == -1 )      
    then
        // Note the various referencing techniques.
        modify ( f3 ) { value = f1.value + v2 };
        System.out.println( s3 + " == " + f3.value );
end
  • When there are two Fibonacci objects with values not equal to -1, the Calculate rule is able to match them.
  • There are 50 Fibonacci objects in the Working Memory. A suitable triple should be selected to calculate each of value in turn.
  • Using three Fibonacci patterns in a rule without field constraints to confine the possible cross products would result in many incorrect rule firings. The Calculate rule uses field constraints to correctly constraint the Fibonacci patterns in the correct order. This technique is called cross product matching.
  • The first pattern finds any Fibonacci with a value != -1 and binds both the pattern and the field. The second Fibonacci does this too, but it adds an additional field constraint to ensure that its sequence is greater by one than the Fibonacci bound to f1. When this rule fires for the first time, the two constraints ensure that f1 references sequence 1 and f2 references sequence 2. The final pattern finds the Fibonacci with a value equal to -1 and with a sequence one greater than f2.
  • There are three Fibonacci objects correctly selected from the available cross products. You can calculate the value for the third Fibonacci object that's bound to f3.
  • The modify statement updates the value of the Fibonacci object bound to f3. This means there is now another new Fibonacci object with a value not equal to -1, which allows the Calculate rule to rematch and calculate the next Fibonacci number.
  • Switching to the Audit view will show how the firing of the last Bootstrap modifies the Fibonacci object, enabling the "Calculate" rule to match. This then modifies another Fibonacci object allowing the Calculate rule to match again. This continues till the value is set for all Fibonacci objects.