Words Used in This Guide
The Rule Repository and this guide use a few words in a precise sense. This page explains each one in a line or two, roughly in the order you meet them, with a link to the page that covers it.
Source object
The data a rule looks at, such as an order, a customer or an application form. Its fields, in-rule methods and actions are what the Rule Editor offers you. Your application brings source objects into the repository; you cannot create one there. See Source Objects.
Field, in-rule method, action
The parts of a source object. A field holds a value, such as an amount or a date. An in-rule method works a value out when the rule runs, such as a total. An action is something an execution rule can make happen, such as sending a notice. See Browsing Fields.
Enumeration, data source
Lists of values a field can take. An enumeration is a fixed list that is part of the source object. A data source is a list your application supplies when it is needed, so it can change at any time. See Browsing Fields.
Source version
One definition of a source object at one point in time. When the source object changes in a way that could change what a rule decides, it gets a new version and the older ones stay. See Source Versions.
Rule
A business rule with a name, written against one source object. An evaluation rule answers yes or no; an execution rule sets values and runs actions. A rule's type cannot change once it is created. See Rules and Rule Versions.
Rule version
One saved form of a rule. A rule version never changes after it is saved; to change a rule, you save a new version. Only its name and description can be edited. See Rule Versions.
Reusable rule, inline rule
A reusable rule is an evaluation rule that other rules can use as a condition. An inline rule is an execution rule that other rules can run as one of their actions. See Reusable and Inline Rules.
Live
The version your application uses. A rule has at most one live version, and so does a source object. You make a version live with Go Live and take it out of use with Take Offline. See Going Live.
Approval
A request that someone who may make versions live reviews a version and approves or declines it. See Approvals.
Draft
A rule, or a new version of one, that is not finished. You can save a draft as often as you like and turn it into a version when it is ready. Your application never runs a draft. See Drafts.
Test
A run of a rule on sample values that you enter, to see what it decides. An Exploration test shows what the rule does; an Expectation test also states the result you expect and says Passed or Failed. See Testing Rules.
Value template
A saved set of test values for a source object, so you can start a test from it instead of typing the values again. See Value Templates.
Evaluation
One time your application ran a live rule on real data. Where your application records evaluations, they are listed on the Live Evaluations tab with what the rule read and what it decided. See Audit.
Audit
The part of the Rule Repository that records evaluations. See Audit.
AI Assistant, AI Rule Editor
The repository's own AI features, where your application offers them: a conversation about your rules, and a tab where the AI writes a rule from your description. See The AI Assistant.
AI agent, MCP server
An AI agent is an AI program outside the repository, such as Claude, that works with your rules on your behalf. The MCP server is the part of the Rule Repository that lets it do so. See The MCP Server.
Dialog
A window that opens over the grid: a record's dialog, such as the Rule Version dialog, or a step-by-step one, such as the New Rule dialog. See Record Dialogs.
Confirmation
A question the repository asks before it does something, inside the dialog it concerns. Some, such as Pay Attention before going live, ask you to type a word to go on.
Notification
A short message about what just happened: green when something succeeded, amber when the repository could not do what you asked, red when something went wrong on the server.
Description, internal note
A record's description says in a sentence what the record is; it shows in tooltips and the AI reads it. An internal note is a working comment kept on the record's Internal Notes tab. See Notes and Descriptions.
User activity
The record of who did what and when, on the User Activity tab. See User Activity.
Permission
What your application allows you to do in the repository, such as making versions live or seeing tests. See Permissions.