Dynamic business rule constructs

A trigger and a target are required constructs for a business rule; a zone, style, and rule group are additional constructs that support rules.

Two constructs make up a dynamic business rule:

Trigger--a set of navigation locations that must exist in a query for a rule to file. A trigger may include dimension values and keywords. When a user's query contains a navigation location that triggers a rule, the MDEX Engine fires the rule and returns a set of records that are candidates for promotion to application users.
Target--specifies which records are eligible for promotion to application users. A target may include dimension values, custom properties, and featured records. For example, dimension values in a trigger are used to identify a set of records that are candidates for promotion to application users.

Three additional constructs support rules:

Zone—specifies a collection of rules to ensure that rule results are produced in case a single rule does not provide a result.
Style—specifies the minimum and maximum number of records a rule can return. A style also specifies any property templates associated with a rule. Rule properties are key/value pairs that are typically used to return supplementary information with promoted record pages. For example, a property key might be set to SpecialOffer and its value set to BannerAd.gif.
Note: A rule's style is passed back along with the rule's results, to the Web application. The Web application uses the style as an indicator for how to render the rule's results. The code to render the rule's results is part of the Web application, not the style itself.
Rule Group—provides a means to logically organize large numbers of rules into categories. This organization facilitates editing by multiple business users.

The core of a dynamic business rule is its trigger values and target values. The target identifies a set of records that are candidates for promotion to application users. The zone and style settings associated with a rule work together to restrict the candidates to a smaller subset of records that the Web application then promotes.