Special Case Rules

For some rules, it may not be possible, or not make sense to store the RLSREF attribute on a given element. Rules that are run without the rule set reference are called Special Case Rules.

If possible, it is preferred to run rules using methods that rely on the rule set reference. Special case rules have drawbacks compared to rules with references:

• Some built-in functions of the Rules Engine are not available without a rule set reference, namely those which search for rules associated with the element and execute them automatically.

• The rule review functionality is not available without a rule set reference.

However, special case rules can be useful in several scenarios. For example:

• The rule is executed as part of an algorithm, and the result is not stored on any one element.

• The rule result is stored as an attribute, but not on the evaluating element.

• The appropriate rule set cannot be selected ahead of time in the catalog.

• The rule requires values to be calculated externally, and without this the rule execution fails.