Product Administration Guide > Configuration Rule Assembly Language >

Creating Rules Using the Assisted Advanced Rule Template

A special rule template is provided for creating rules using Rule Assembly Language. This template provides a dialog box for picking components, resources, and links. It also provides a list of RAL operators.

When you create a rule and save it using this template, the Rule Designer displays the rule syntax in the Rule field. The Rule Designer capitalizes the first letter of operator names in the rule for display purposes only. Operator names are case-sensitive, and the Rule Designer stores them in the correct format.

To create a rule using the Assisted Advanced Rule template

1. Navigate to Product Administration.
2. Select and lock the desired customizable product.

   If you omit this step, the most recently released version of the customizable product is loaded in the Rule Designer, and you cannot create rules.

3. Click the Configuration Designer tab.

   The Rule Designer Rules List appears. It lists all the configuration rules that have been created for this customizable product.

4. Click New Rule.

   The "Pick a rule" tab appears and lists the rule templates available for creating rules.

5. Select the Assisted Advanced Rule template in "Pick a rule", and click Continue.

   The Rule Statement and "Insert a" tabs appear.

6. Select operators and arguments from the displayed lists to build a rule.

   The operators list contains all the operators in the Rule Assembly Language. The arguments list changes depending on the operator you select and contains all the items in the customizable product. Use the Compound Field button to create sub-expressions.

7. Click Save Rule to save the rule.

   The Save Rule form appears.

8. Fill out the fields in the Save Rule form. Then click Save. All fields are optional.
   • Name. Enter a name for the rule. Consider using a naming convention that helps you easily identify and sort rules. Rule names must be unique. If you do not enter a name, this field remains blank in the Rule Designer list.
   • Explanation. Enter a description of the rule. The description must contain the operator names used in the rule. If you leave this field blank, the Rule Statement in the form is displayed in this field in the Rule Designer list.
   • Start Date/End Date. Click the Calendar select button and choose the date when you want the rule to become effective (Start Date), the date you want the rule to stop being effective (End Date), or both. Review the section on setting effective dates for rules for more information. Use a consistent approach to setting start and end dates. This makes troubleshooting product behavior problems easier.
   • Inactive. Click the Inactive check box if you want the rule to be inactive. The rule remains part of the product but will not be used to compute solutions. To activate a rule for a product that has been released, you must change the rule's status to active, save the rule, and release the product again. To activate the rule in the current work space, you must change the rule's status to active and save the rule.

     After you click Save, the Rules List appears. The list contains the new rule.

9. Open the Rules List menu and click Validate.

   This starts a configuration session. Verify that the new rule works correctly.