Rule IDs

All rules automatically receive internally unique IDs (identification numbers, rule-ID, rule ID)

  • Each rule ID is assigned only once within a decision table and identifies exactly one rule.

  • As long as a rule is not changed, it keeps its ID.

  • If a rule is changed (that is, condition or action values are added or removed), then for that rule, just the rule ID is initially reset to zero.

  • Only when the decision table is saved or when program code is ge­ne­ra­ted are new rule IDs created for all rules whose rule ID has the value zero.

  • The most recently assigned (highest) rule ID is also stored internally (LastRuleID).

Hint: The most recently issued rule ID can be used very well as the technical version number of the decision table. It increases only when rules have actually changed.

  • In the tool tip of the rule identifiers, the rule IDs are displayed along with the last assigned (i.e. highest) rule ID:
    numbers 01

  • The rule IDs can also be displayed in the rule identifiers, in addition to the rule numbers:
    numbers 02

The display of the rule IDs can be switched on and off in the menu bar with the menu item ‘Window > Display IDs’ or in the rule identifier context menu with the menu item ‘Rules > Display IDs’. The selected setting is retained for the user even after LF‑ET is terminated.

  • The rules can also be sorted in an ascending or descending order ac­cor­ding to the rule IDs.

These sort orders can be found in the rule identifier context menu under Rules > Sort rules and are applicable when the rule IDs are displayed.

Rule IDs are 'long-term stable' and therefore support a clear and secure communication better than rule numbers. In addition, they enable statistical analyses over longer periods of time, as e.g.:

  • How many times has a particular rule been run in the last quarter?

  • Which rules were not run at all in the last financial year?