Project Screen

The Project Screen helps you group your Rules, Facts, Atoms and XML Reference files for editing in the Rules Designer. The screen includes the Project Management console (the upper section) and the File Management console (the lower section). With the File commands, you can create/manage the RuleLab.Net XML files and add them to the current Project using the arrow buttons. With the Project commands, you can name the currently open file set or load one of the existing sets. Note that the Project is only intended for organizing your XML files online rather than to submit files to the BRE. The result of your work in the online Rules Designer is a set of the XML files – Rules, Facts, Atoms and References.

File Management

All your RuleLab.Net XML files are stored in the online database. You have an option of encrypting the files. You can download the files for a backup, for making offline XML changes or for offline BRE integration. If you upload them back, you will overwrite the database file copy if one exists. File names should be unique within your account and the file extension must always be .xml.

To initiate Rules, Atoms, Facts, or References online XML document, you must first create a file for the corresponding entity. To add a new file, click the “New” button and enter the File name. Once a file is created you can copy the file name into the currently selected Project by clicking the arrow button above the file listbox. To actually load the selected files into the Project specified in the “Project Name”, click the “Open” button. It will load the selected files into the corresponding screens of the Rules Designer. Note that this button is labeled “Reload” if the selected projected is currently loaded into the Rules Designer. To click the Reload button to replace the currently loaded XML documents with the selected file documents.

You can also Copy, Rename and Delete a file from the online database using the corresponding buttons of the file listbox.

For backup and offline XML editing you have an option of downloading individual files or all 4 at once via the Project download button. Files will be saved to your hard drive. If you run into an issue with your online content, such as incorrect update by another user, you can upload the XML file right back into the database using the “Upload” button.

Project Management

RuleLab.Net Projects help you organize your data online. With the ability to download/upload files and the integration flexibility that the RuleLab.Net offers there is no restriction on which files you add to your project. It is up to you to keep track of files that logically belong together. Normally, that would be the files that have originated from the same project and were validated in the Rules Designer. Note that every Atom file depends on the XML References, a Fact files depends on the Atoms files and a Rules file depends on the Facts and Atoms files. If the RuleLab.Net detects an inconsistency between the files loaded into the Rules Designer it will return an error.

It is up to you to decide how many files in each category to create. You may have a single set of the XML References, Atoms, and Fact files but multiple Rule files referencing the base file set. In that case you will need to create a project for each Rules file. You might come up with the more complex scenarios where multiple XML References, Atoms or Fact files will be created. Remember, however, that the RuleLab.Net BRE is designed to work with a single set of files at a time therefore multiple file sets should be treated as separate application tasks.

The RuleLab.Net BRE and the Rules Designer Test screen support the Rule File Includes – common XML Rule files that can be merged with the main XML Rules document at runtime. The Project screen does not capture the Includes. If you would like to build a set of common Rule files please create a project for each file and/or validate it against the same set of Facts, Atoms and XML References. You can test the File Includes in the Test Screen.

Using the Projects

Before you can navigate to other RuleLab.Net screens you must create and open a Project. Creating a Project simply adds a record to our database linking your files together under the Project name.

If you are creating your very first Project please follow these steps:

1. Click the “New Project” and enter the Project name
2. Create new XML files by clicking the corresponding “New” button. You don’t have to create all 4 at once but you must create XML References file before creating Atoms, create Atoms before creating Facts or Rules
3. Copy the file names from File pane into the Project pane using the Arrow button
4. Click the “Open” button
5. Now you can navigate to the Rules, Facts and other screens according to the file types that you have added to the project so far
6. You can always go back to the Project screen and add another file to the Project. If you do, please save all changes and click the “Reload” button to reload the Project.

There is no explicit closing of the Project. Each Project file is saved into the database via a “Save” button on the corresponding screen. It is recommended to return back to your project screen before logging out and download the Project files to your local drive.

To work with an existing Project, select it from the dropdown list and click the “Open” button. Your XML References, Atoms, Facts and Rule screens will be populated with data from the Project files stored in the database. You can now click the screen tabs to navigate between them.

You have an ability to Rename and Copy your Project. Note that these commands do not affect the XML files, only the Project record itself. Deleting a Project will remove the project record while leaving the actual online files intact.

If you wish to upload previously saved file and reload it into the Project, simply click the Upload button and once the file is uploaded click the “Open” project button.

RuleLab.Net remembers the project that was accessed last. When you login, it will pull and open it automatically.

Deploying the File Changes

Using the RuleLab.Net for deploying your XML file changes to the production environment is necessary when your application is integrated via the Web Service. A business user may have to change Rules and Facts files that are being actively utilized by an application. It is important to commit all tested changes at the same time with a single click. To accomplish it, the Project screen has the “Deploy” button. It is available to anyone who is making changes to the RuleLab.Net online content.

There is no explicit definition of the production file set in the RuleLab.Net. If you are integrating via the BRE component then you may not even have an online production file set. Or, depending on your model, you might have several. The deployment function basically offers copying of multiple files at the same time.

Important! Do not edit a file that is part of a live application integrated with the BRE Web Service. If you save changes that have not been validated the Web Service may error out which may in turn break your application. Instead, always make a copy of the target file and copy it back into the production target only upon testing and validating.

To modify the Rules/Facts etc and deploy your changes please do the following:

1. Create copies of the files you want to change. Use the “copy” buttons on the corresponding file listbox. You only need to copy the files that will change. If you are only changing the Rules, you don’t need to copy Facts, Atoms or References.
2. Load the editable file set into a Project different from your “production” Project.
3. Update the files and test all changes in the Rules Designer.
4. Click the “Deploy” button on the Project screen.
5. Select the target files that the production application is using. Target files must be different from your currently loaded files.
6. Click the “Copy Files” button to commit changes into your production environment.

If your application is not using the BRE Web Service, then timing of changes deployment is less critical. However, the offline implementation might still be using the RuleLab.Net Web Service for synchronizing the RuleLab.Net XML online files with the corresponding offline file versions. In any event, if there is more than one person utilizing your RuleLab.Net based system, it is a good idea to use the “Deploy” function suggested above. That way you will not be taking any risks of having mismatched files in the production.