Business Rules 10.11 | webMethods Business Rules Web Help | webMethods Rules Development Help | Working with Decision Tables | Creating a Decision Table
 
Creating a Decision Table
You can create an empty decision table using the New Decision Table wizard.
*To create a decision table:
1. Open the New Decision Table wizard as described in Accessing the Decision Table Wizard.
2. On the Decision Table page, type a name for the decision table in the Decision table name field.
3. Select a rule project from the drop down list in the Rule project field.
*If you opened the wizard from a specific rule project in the Solutions view or from the Rules Explorer view, the name of this rule project appears in the Rule project field.
*You can select any other rule project from the drop down list.
*To create a new rule project, click New and create the new rule project as described in Creating a Rule Project.
4. Select a rule set in the Rule sets field (optional).
*The master rule set check box is always selected and cannot be cleared.
*To create a new rule set, click New and create the new rule set as described in Creating a Rule Set.
5. Select a processing mode in the Processing mode field. The default is Inferential. For more information about processing modes, see About Decision Table Processing Modes.
6. Click the Process aware check box if you want to invoke a user task from the decision table, see Invoking a User Task. Selecting the check box adds a ProcessData data model that was created from the ProcessData document type in pub.prt:ProcessData as an input parameter to the decision table (optional). This enables you to associate the ProcessData parameter to a process action input as described in Adding an Action Result.
7. Type a description of the decision table in the Description field (optional). After you click Finish, the description appears in an expandable field in the upper left corner of the editor area.
8. Click Next.
9. On the Decision Table Parameters page, select a data model. Hold down SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple data models.
10. Move the selected data model to the right side by double click, by drag and drop, or click The move right icon.
11. To remove a data model from the Selected parameters list, select it and click The remove icon, or press DEL. Hold down SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple data models.
12. Modify the required parameter info as explained in the following table:
Note:
You cannot modify any info of a ProcessData parameter.
For this field
You can do this
Name
Click the name value to modify the parameter name (optional).
Note:
Each parameter name must be unique.
Type
This value cannot be modified.
I/O
Click the I/O value to specify the input/output type as described in Working with Data Models and Parameters.
Note:
You must specify at least one Input and one Output parameter, or a Both parameter.
Any
Specify the matching type as described in Working with Data Models and Parameters.
13. Click Next.
14. On the Decision Table Conditions page, select a parameter element. Hold down SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple parameter elements.
Note:
For a list of supported data types, see About Data Types.
15. Assign the selected parameter element to a condition by double click, by drag and drop, or click The move right icon.
16. To remove a parameter element from the Selected parameter elements list, select it and click The delete icon, or press DEL. Hold down SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple parameter elements.
17. Modify the required parameter element info as explained in the following table:
For this field
You can do this
Label
Click the label value to modify the parameter element name (optional). This name is used as the condition column header.
Note:
Each parameter element name for a condition column must be unique.
Conditions
This value cannot be modified.
18. To change the order in the Selected parameter elements list, click The move up icon and The move down icon in the wizard toolbar. The initial condition column order of the decision table in the editor area corresponds to the order of the parameter elements within the wizard.
19. Click Next.
20. On the Decision Table Assignment Results page, select a parameter element. Hold down SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple parameter elements.
Note:
For a list of supported data types, see About Data Types.
21. Assign the selected parameter element to an assignment result by double click, by drag and drop, or click The move right icon.
22. To remove a parameter element from the Selected parameter elements list, select it and click The delete icon, or press DEL. Hold down SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple parameter elements.
23. Modify the required parameter element info as explained in the following table:
For this field
You can do this
Label
Click the label value to modify the parameter element name (optional). This name is used as the result column header.
Note:
Each parameter element name for an assignment result must be unique.
Results
This value cannot be modified.
24. To change the order in the Selected parameter elements list, click The move up icon and The move down icon in the wizard toolbar. The initial assignment result column order of the decision table in the editor area corresponds to the order of the parameter elements within the wizard.
25. On the Decision Table Action Results page, select an action. Hold down SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple actions.
26. Assign the selected action to an action result by double click, by drag and drop, or click The move right icon.
27. To remove an action from the Selected actions list, select it and click The delete icon, or press DEL. Hold down SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple actions.
28. Modify the required action info as explained in the following table:
For this field
You can do this
Label
Click the label value to modify the action name (optional). This name is used as the action result column header.
Note:
Each name for an action result must be unique.
Action
Click the action name, then click the pencil button to specify action inputs as described in Adding an Action Result, Step 5.
Status
Click the current symbol to switch between active and inactive.
29. To change the order in the Selected actions list, click The move up icon and The move down icon in the wizard toolbar. The initial action result column order of the decision table in the editor area corresponds to the order of the actions within the wizard.
30. Click Finish.
A decision table with filled in condition and result column headers is created and saved to your workspace. It appears in the editor area and under Decision table icon Decision Tables > Decision table file icon [DecisionTableName] in the Rules Explorer view. The selected parameters appear under Decision table icon Decision Tables > Decision table file icon [DecisionTableName] > Parameter icon [ParameterName] in the Rules Explorer view.
Note:
The order of columns and rows in a decision table does not imply order of evaluation and execution.