6 Rules Engine Books That Separate Experts from Amateurs

Paul Browne brings a unique blend of practical experience and technical insight to this book, aimed at Excel power users who face the frustrating limits of complex formulas and outdated sheets. You’ll learn how to elevate your business knowledge by integrating AI-powered business rules with Microsoft 365 tools like Power Automate and Office Script, alongside open-source platforms such as KIE and Drools. The book walks you through creating graphical decision models, deploying these in cloud environments like Azure and OpenShift, and linking these back to Excel for seamless automation. If you use Excel extensively but want to avoid errors and manual processes, this book offers a clear path to scalable, enterprise-grade solutions.

After extensive research in artificial intelligence, Dr. Andrew N Edmonds PhD developed DARL, a simple yet powerful language for encoding knowledge as fuzzy logic rules. This book teaches you how to build expert systems that handle uncertainty, providing detailed guidance on writing rule sets, using online editing and testing tools, and integrating with REST interfaces including Microsoft Azure Logic Apps. You'll also learn to leverage machine learning to create rule sets and deploy DARL as an intelligent forms engine for complex applications. If you're looking to grasp fuzzy logic programming with practical examples, this book offers a clear path, though it's best suited for those comfortable with programming concepts and AI principles.

This tailored book explores the foundational concepts and practical applications of rules engines, focusing on your specific interests and background. It examines core mechanisms for defining, managing, and executing rules within software systems, revealing how these powerful tools drive intelligent decision-making and automation. By aligning with your goals, the text provides a personalized journey through essential topics like rule creation, optimization, and integration. Designed to bridge expert knowledge with your unique learning needs, this book delves into diverse rules engine architectures and the nuances of rule evaluation. Its tailored approach ensures you engage deeply with content that directly supports your mastery of rules engine fundamentals, making the complex accessible and relevant.

When Jewel H. Ward and her colleagues embarked on detailing the integrated Rule-Oriented Data System (iRODS), they addressed a niche yet critical challenge in managing distributed data with precision and policy enforcement. This workbook goes beyond theory, offering a granular look at micro-services within iRODS—detailing input/output parameters and practical examples for each function, which enables you to architect workflows that automate data management tasks reliably. If your work involves data infrastructure that needs to enforce administrative policies programmatically, this book equips you with the technical knowledge to build and maintain such systems effectively. It’s particularly suited for system architects and engineers dealing with complex, distributed storage environments.

Mauricio Salatino and his co-authors approach Drools 6 not just as a tool but as a language for articulating complex business logic within software. You’ll learn how to model and automate real-world decisions—like promotions, fraud detection, and discount policies—using Drools’ full DRL syntax and advanced features such as decision tables and domain-specific languages. The book digs into the PHREAK algorithm behind the engine's decision-making and explores integrations with popular Java frameworks like Spring and Camel. If you’re a Java developer or architect looking to master business rules in your applications, this offers a precise, hands-on guide without unnecessary filler.

After analyzing the evolving JBoss Drools platform, Lucas Amador crafted this collection of over 40 recipes to help you build a robust business rules implementation. Drawing on his extensive experience as a JBoss committer and consultant, the book guides you through practical tasks like integrating Drools with Java frameworks, using the Guvnor rule editor, and implementing complex event processing. You’ll find chapters covering key Drools modules such as Expert, Fusion, Planner, and jBPM5, each explained with focused examples to enhance your project agility. If you’re already familiar with Drools basics and want to deepen your applied skills, this book offers targeted solutions without excess theory.

This tailored book explores the essential concepts and practical steps to rapidly build proficiency with rules engines, focusing on your unique background and learning goals. It covers foundational principles, rule authoring, optimization techniques, and integration approaches, all crafted to match your interests and skill level. By synthesizing collective knowledge on rules engine design and application, this personalized guide reveals how to progress efficiently through focused daily actions. With a clear, step-by-step plan, the book helps you navigate complex topics such as decision modeling, event processing, and system automation, making your learning both engaging and manageable.

Drawing from decades of experience in computer science and artificial intelligence, Dr. Joseph Giarratano and Gary D. Riley present a thoughtful exploration of expert systems theory alongside practical programming techniques. You’ll gain a solid understanding of the foundational concepts behind expert systems and their connection to AI, before diving into the CLIPS tool and its object-oriented language COOL. The book’s structure, especially its problem sets at the end of each chapter, helps you cement the knowledge while getting hands-on with rule-based programming. If you’re seeking to grasp both the principles and applications of expert systems, this book offers a clear path, though it’s best suited for those comfortable with programming fundamentals.