Bringing .Net rules to light

InfoWorld - Ideal for complex applications with frequently changing rules, business rule management systems give business people and programmers a shared language that helps them implement changes quickly. Two companies, Fair Isaac Corp. and ILog Inc., make enterprise-class rules management systems for Java applications. Both recently announced that they are bringing their premier products to .Net apps, and I've had a chance to see ILog's new Rules for .Net in action.

ILog's product combines a rules engine that runs on .Net, a shared rules repository accessible via Windows SharePoint Services, and sets of plug-ins for Visual Studio .Net and Microsoft Word. Programmers create rules in Visual Studio and export them as XML-based "RuleDocs," and business analysts edit them using Word. Giving business people the ability to maintain rules in Word (using ILog's English-like Business Action Language) is a big step forward, far preferable to using ILog's own GUI or spreadsheet-like Decision Tables. ILog says plug-ins for Excel and the ability to create rules for BizTalk Server are on the road map.

For developers, Rules for .Net provides total access to rules, objects and classes from Visual Studio .Net. As in JRules, developers can add virtual classes to extend the object model quickly and easily. Rules are contained in Visual Studio and Word documents, but Rules for .Net provides the same debugging capabilities as ILog's JRules and Rules for C/C++. The product supports a document-centric rules management process, but it lacks a true rules repository as found in JRules and Fair Isaac's Blaze Advisor. Nevertheless, Rules for .Net could be a clear winner for Microsoft shops needing a first-class business rule management system.

Rules for .Net, ILog

Cost: Starts at $2,000 per development seat; $20,000 per processor for engine deployment; and $20,000 per processor for rule management

Availability: Dec. 3

James Owen, senior knowledge base consultant at Knowledgebased Systems, has worked with expert systems since 1989.