orbase

Orbase is a hypothetical open-source software framework designed for building and deploying rule-based knowledge bases and decision engines. It provides a core reasoning engine, a modular plugin system, and a web-based administration interface. The framework combines relational data capabilities with forward-chaining rule evaluation, enabling queries that mix SQL-like access with logic rules. Orbase supports pluggable storage backends (in-memory, SQLite, PostgreSQL) and exposes REST and GraphQL APIs for integration with external applications. Data models are defined in a simple schema language, and functionality can be extended via plugins that implement custom functions, data adapters, or visualization components. A key feature is versioned knowledge bases, which track changes to rules and facts, support auditing, and allow rollback to prior states.

The project originated in a collaborative community in the mid-2010s and has evolved through successive releases, emphasizing portability and interoperability. Its architecture emphasizes modularity: a rule compiler translates high-level policies into executable plans, an execution engine applies them against stored data, and a query layer coordinates data access with rule evaluation. Orbase is used in educational settings to teach knowledge representation, and in small-scale automation tasks such as incident response and data integration pilots. The project remains community-driven, with governance by maintainers and contributing developers. While not a universal standard, orbase aims to provide a lightweight, extensible platform for experimenting with hybrid data-and-rule systems.

See also knowledge base, rule engine, ontology, and semantic web technologies.