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About Compatibility Rules

Compatibility rules state that products require or exclude other products. You can create rules for products, product lines, and product classes.

As a simple example, assume that customers who buy a computer must buy a monitor, and there are only two monitors available. The Turbo computer supports the Standard monitor but not the Flat-screen monitor. Then you would create two different rules:

• Turbo computer requires Standard monitor.
• Turbo computer excludes Flat-screen monitor.

The Subject and Object of Compatibility Rules

As you can see in this example, compatibility rules consist of:

• Subject. The product that requires or excludes another product. In the examples, the computer is the subject.
• Type of Rule. The type is either requires or excludes.
• Object. The product that is required or excluded. In the examples, the monitor is the object.

Requires rules apply in only one direction. If the subject requires the object, the object does not necessarily require the subject. For example, the Turbo computer requires a Standard monitor. However, the Standard monitor does not necessarily require the Turbo computer; it can also be used with other computers.

Excludes rules apply in both directions. If the subject excludes the object, the object necessarily excludes the subject. For example, the Turbo computer does not work with the Flat-screen monitor, and that necessarily means that the Flat-screen monitor does not work with the Turbo computer.

Subject Compatibility Rules and Object Compatibility Rules

For product compatibility:

• When you create a subject compatibility rule, you choose a product as the subject of the rule, and you can choose either a product, product line, or product class as the object of the rule.
• When you create an object compatibility rule, you choose a product as the object of the rule, and you can choose either a product, product line, or product class as the subject of the rule.

For product line compatibility:

• When you create a subject compatibility rule, you choose a product line as the subject of the rule, and you can choose either a product, product line, or product class as the object of the rule.
• When you create an object compatibility rule, you choose a product line as the object of the rule, and you can choose either a product, product line, or product class as the subject of the rule.