Jess in Action

Jess in Action

by Ernest Friedman-Hill
Released June 2003
Publisher(s): Manning Publications
ISBN: 9781930110892

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Book description

Imagine a different way to program in which you specify rules and facts instead of the usual linear set of instructions. That's the idea behind rule-based programming. A rule engine automatically decides how to apply the rules to your facts and hands you the result. This approach is ideal for expressing business rules and is increasingly used in enterprise computing.

Jess is a popular rule engine written in Java. It's supported by Sandia Labs and has an active online community. If you have a problem that can be solved with rules, Jess in Action will show you how. (If you are not sure, read chapter 2.) Written by the creator of Jess, this book is an accessible and practical guide to rule-based system development in Java.



About the Technology


About the Book

Jess in Action first introduces rule programming concepts and teaches you the Jess language. Armed with this knowledge, you then progress through a series of fully-developed applications chosen to expose you to practical rule-based development. The book shows you how you can add power and intelligence to your Java software.



What's Inside
  • Introduction to rule-based thinking
  • Jess language tutorial
  • Complete examples of ...
    • Tax forms advisor
    • Diagnostic assistant
    • Fuzzy logic controller
    • Web agent
    • J2EE apps


About the Reader


About the Author

Dr. Friedman-Hill is a Principal Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California. He is the developer of Jess, the Java rule engine. He has taught Java programming to over 3,000 students for the University of California Extensions in Berkeley, in San Diego, and online. Dr. Friedman-Hill's current work at Sandia includes the development of software for mechanical design and analysis. He lives in Gaithersburg, MD.

Ernest Friedman-Hill Interview

Read Jason Morris's interview with the author of Jess in Action.



Quotes
...clear, crisp, well-focused...the organization is smooth, well-thought-out,...this book rocks.
- Ted Neward, Author of "Server-Based Java Programming"

...the Jess book. A nice balance between an introduction and a reference...
- John D. Mitchell, Coauthor of "Making Sense of Java"

Friedman-Hill writes clearly. The topic is complicated, and he does an excellent job explaining it...I recommend this book.
- Roedy Green, Author of "The Java Glossary"

---intuitive and clever examples that show the reader how to build intelligent Java applications with Jess.
- Robert B. Trelease, Ph.D., UCLA Brain Research Institute

Publisher resources

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Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Dedication
  3. Brief Table of Contents
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. About this Book
  8. Author Online
  9. About the Title
  10. About the Cover Illustration
  11. Part 1. Introducing rule-based systems
  12. Chapter 1. Rules to the rescue
  13. Chapter 2. What are rule-based systems?
  14. Part 2. Jess: A rule-based programming environment
  15. Chapter 3. Introducing Jess
  16. Chapter 4. Getting started with the Jess language
  17. Chapter 5. Scripting Java with Jess
  18. Chapter 6. Representing facts in Jess
  19. Chapter 7. Writing rules in Jess
  20. Chapter 8. Under the hood: how Jess works
  21. Part 3. Creating your first rule-based application: the Tax Forms Advisor
  22. Chapter 9. Collecting the knowledge
  23. Chapter 10. Designing the application
  24. Chapter 11. Writing the application
  25. Part 4. Writing a diagnostic application: the PC Repair Assistant
  26. Chapter 12. Writing the PC Repair Assistant
  27. Chapter 13. Adding a graphical interface
  28. Part 5. Reasoning about reality: the HVAC Controller
  29. Chapter 14. The reality connection
  30. Chapter 15. Extending the Jess language
  31. Chapter 16. Writing the rules
  32. Part 6. TekMart.com: rule-based applications for the Web
  33. Chapter 17. Jess on the Web
  34. Chapter 18. Embedding Jess in Java applications
  35. Chapter 19. Deploying web-based applications
  36. Part 7. Enterprise systems
  37. Chapter 20. Jess, XML, and the enterprise
  38. Chapter 21. Jess in the J2EE environment
  39. Appendix A. Jess functions
  40. Appendix B. Abridged Java API for Jess
  41. Appendix C. An automated testing framework
  42. Index
  43. List of Figures
  44. List of Tables
  45. List of Listings

Product information

  • Title: Jess in Action
  • Author(s): Ernest Friedman-Hill
  • Release date: June 2003
  • Publisher(s): Manning Publications
  • ISBN: 9781930110892