ILOG JRules User Guide > Customizing JRules > Concepts > Business Rule Language Definition Framework

Business Rule Language Definition Framework

Defines the Business Rule Language Definition Framework (BRLDF) for extending a business rule language. The Business Action Language (BAL) is based on the BRLDF.

Parts of a Business Rule Language

In the BRLDF, a business rule language is defined by:

an abstract syntax

The abstract syntax is an XML schema. It defines the structure of the language. For example, the abstract syntax of the BAL specifies that a rule has three parts: definitions, conditions, and actions. The abstract syntax can be shared by all locales.

a concrete syntax

The concrete syntax is a property file. It defines how language elements of the abstract syntax are displayed and edited. For example, the concrete syntax of the BAL specifies that the rule editor display a rule as "if conditions then actions". The concrete syntax is locale-dependent.To localize a business rule language, you create a localized concrete syntax for each locale.

a set of Java classes to handle translation to IRL

Every type in the abstract syntax has a corresponding Java class. The Java class defines how the language element is translated to IRL code, which a rule engine can execute.

a business rule language class

A business rule language must be associated with a dedicated semantic context extension implemented by a Java class which extends IlrBRLSemanticContextExtension.

A business rule language definition is a set of files that is considered as a single business rule language entity. The business rule language definition is what you specify as the language to be used by a type of business rule artifact. The abstract syntax and the concrete syntax files must have the same name. The name you use for these files is the logical name you use to reference the business rule language definition as a whole.

Parsing and Translation to IRL

The BRLDF also provides a parsing and translation framework for business rule languages. The parser uses the business rule language definition to generate an XML representation of a rule, called abstract syntax tree. Then this abstract syntax tree is processed by the translator and transformed into IRL code that can be executed by a rule engine.

You can manipulate the abstract syntax tree by API to refine the translation of the business rule artifacts.

Predefined BRLDF Components

ILOG JRules provides a set of predefined business rule language components that you can use to define your own business rule language. These components define the most basic constructs of a business rule language.

If you have specific rule editing needs, we recommend that you first try extending the BAL. If this is not sufficient, then you can develop your own business rule language with the BRLDF components.