It was many years ago but I was trained and worked in data system analysis and design and a basic function of that job is to decide your desired outcome and then accomplish it with no loose ends in your design. Another basic function is to document everything. A designer should attempt to consider all possible circumstances and control all possible outcomes. It's not always possible but you try.
When I sat down and started planning my Elk rules I quickly learned that I did not have the information that I needed to plan anything. The first question that came to my mind is exactly how and when do rules execute. The first thing I did was to search the internet and I came up empty. Next I inquired at Elk tech support and have received no reply. Eventually I resorted to just jumping in and learning the hard way....trial and error. After hours of trial and error I have some idea of how the system works now but still do not have the information and foresight that I need to design rules without resorting to trial and error.
A programmer can learn to code in a particular language but the knowledge is useless until they learn exactly how the environment that they are programming in will treat their code. I haven't written code in years but I know that programming in a windows environment is not the same as programming in an IMS or IOS environment even though you can use the same programming language in all three. The same goes for writing rules to the Elk environment. Knowing how the operating system is going to treat your rues should be a given, not a curiosity.
Elk does not even document the simple fact that a "whenever" clause evaluates a change of state while the "and" clause evaluates existing states. I came to this conclusion on my own by trial and error. That really seems unnecessary to me when just a clue could have saved me hours.
I love the Elk system and the rules language is very powerful and I am not complaining about the system. I just would like to take full advantage of the rules language. Where is the documentation?
Mike.
When I sat down and started planning my Elk rules I quickly learned that I did not have the information that I needed to plan anything. The first question that came to my mind is exactly how and when do rules execute. The first thing I did was to search the internet and I came up empty. Next I inquired at Elk tech support and have received no reply. Eventually I resorted to just jumping in and learning the hard way....trial and error. After hours of trial and error I have some idea of how the system works now but still do not have the information and foresight that I need to design rules without resorting to trial and error.
A programmer can learn to code in a particular language but the knowledge is useless until they learn exactly how the environment that they are programming in will treat their code. I haven't written code in years but I know that programming in a windows environment is not the same as programming in an IMS or IOS environment even though you can use the same programming language in all three. The same goes for writing rules to the Elk environment. Knowing how the operating system is going to treat your rues should be a given, not a curiosity.
Elk does not even document the simple fact that a "whenever" clause evaluates a change of state while the "and" clause evaluates existing states. I came to this conclusion on my own by trial and error. That really seems unnecessary to me when just a clue could have saved me hours.
I love the Elk system and the rules language is very powerful and I am not complaining about the system. I just would like to take full advantage of the rules language. Where is the documentation?
Mike.
