Chapter 12. Ruling the business rule engine

 

This chapter covers

  • Introduction to rules and business rule management
  • The BPMN 2.0 business rule task construct
  • Introduction to Drools and Drools Expert
  • Integrating Drools with Activiti
  • Web-based rule editing

Many paths can be taken in the execution of a business process. Often, the path that should be taken in a certain case is determined by specific business decisions. For example, if a customer has spent a certain amount of money in previous purchases, the customer becomes a VIP customer and is routed through the process via an alternative path and rewarded and treated differently. These kinds of flexible decision points in processes are places where business rules can come into play. This chapter is all about how these rules can be applied and integrated with Activiti.

12.1. Introducing business rule management

12.2. Entering the rule world of Drools

12.3. Integrating Drools with Activiti

12.4. Creating a web-based rule editor

12.5. Summary