Those who work with business rules engines have their own special vocabulary. Here’s a sampling of definitions for frequently used terms BRML (Business Rules Markup Language): Emerging standard for managing rules in an XML formatBRMS (business rules management system): Originally called a rulebase, now has matured to include much better API and GUI debugging capabilities and should include sophisticated tools that allow business users and programmers to fine-tune the final productCLIPS (C Language Interface for Production Systems): Free C/C++ rules-based system that uses the OPS syntax for rules and is available from NASA DAML (Defense Advanced Research Program Administration Agent Markup Language): Emerging standard for managing rules in military applicationsEHS (else hand side): ELSE part of a rule that kicks in if the rule should fail (see LHS, RHS)Jess (Java expert system shell): A BRMS from Sandia National Laboratories, which uses CLIPS/OPS syntax for rules JSR 94 (Java Specification Request 94): Incorporates the javax.rules API to make Java-based BRMSes interoperableKBS (knowledge-based system): Complex project that incorporates a rules-based system, a knowledge base of facts and actions, and an ANN (artificial neural network)LHS (left hand side): IF part of a rule (see RHS, EHS) OPS (Official Production System): System in which a production is a rule; inspired by the early rules-based systems used in psychologyOPSJ (OPS for Java): Developed by Production Systems Technology’s Dr. Charles Forgy, inventor of the Rete AlgorithmRBS (rules-based system): What is known today as a BRMS; isolates logic in a declarative style that’s easy for nonprogrammers to enter and modify Rete Algorithm: Public domain algorithm invented by Dr. Charles Forgy in 1979; minimizes the number of matches in a rules-base system and effectively accelerates program execution by a factor of 3,000Rete 2: Much more advanced Rete algorithm also invented by Dr. Charles Forgy; between 100 and 1,000 times faster than the original Rete algorithmRHS (right hand side): THEN part of a rule (see LHS, EHS) XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation): Way to transform an XML description into almost anything; especially useful for converting a general set of XML rule descriptions into a format consumable by a specific BRMS engine Technology IndustrySoftware DevelopmentDatabases