Introducing the USoft Rules Engine

In USoft solutions, the Rules Engine is a software layer that connects to business data in an RDBMS on behalf of client applications. It is responsible for enforcing business rules. It does this by enforcing a high level of data integrity.

IMPORTANT: The help topics in this Rules Engine Guide are not for novice users and give no practical instructions. They help you understand how the runtime behavior of a USoft Rules Engine is implemented. For basic concepts and for more practical help on how to REALISE a Rules Engine, please refer to the Model and Rules Guide instead.

Together with the USoft layer that checks authorization rules, the Rules Engine is the most characteristic part of any USoft solution. Regardless of application functionality and technical details of the architecture, a Rules Engine is ALWAYS interposed between the application and the data.

The Rules Engine takes data query and data manipulation requests in SQL form from USoft and non-USoft applications in the form of SQL, as if it were itself the RDBMS. It then passes these requests to the RDBMS on behalf of the client applications, but in the process, transforms and adds SQL so that RDBMS data are guaranteed to comply with all the business rules known to the Rules Engine.

In a USoft solution, the only way to access and manipulate data is through the Rules Engine. In turn, the only way the Rules Engine can reach the database is by being checked by an authorization layer also developed in USoft. If you have defined authorization rules that go against what the Rules Engine attempts to do on behalf of its clients, processing will be unsuccessful.

The Rules Engine layer is developed in USoft Definer and the authorization layer in USoft Authorizer: