Regelsets

A regelset, or rule set, is a collection of rules used to govern decisions and actions within a software system, policy framework, or automated process. Each rule expresses a condition and a corresponding action, typically in the form: if the condition is met, then perform the action. Together, the rules form a rule base that a rule engine evaluates against current data to determine what actions to take.

Key components include the rule itself (condition and action), metadata such as priority or applicability window, and sometimes provenance information. Rule engines often support forward chaining, where applicable rules trigger actions as data is processed, and sometimes backward chaining, where specified goals drive checks. When multiple rules fire for the same input, conflict resolution strategies—such as priority, specificity, or user-defined policies—are used to determine the resulting behavior.

regelsets are used across domains, including business rule management for policy and decision logic, access control policies that grant or restrict permissions, firewall and network security configurations, and rule-based game or simulation logic. They are also used to automate workflows, enforce compliance, and support decision-making in larger systems.

Lifecycle practices for regelsets emphasize governance and maintainability: authoring and testing rules, versioning, staging or simulation, deployment, and ongoing auditing with traceability of which rules produced which decisions. Formats and implementation approaches vary, ranging from domain-specific languages to general-purpose languages and standardized rule representations such as RuleML or SWRL. Rule engines, both open-source and commercial, provide the runtime environment for rule sets across programming languages.