Summary

If you are creating a business application that is heavily laden with complex business logic, consider using ABLE. Like other expert system tools, such as CLIPS and JESS, ABLE is a powerful rules engine, but unlike those tools (a) you don't have to know Lisp just to get started, and (b) you get access to a wealth of other pluggable rules engines. With ABLE you can code in an environment that is extremely Java-like, and it makes it feel like you never really have to leave the comfort of Java-land.

Beyond that, extracting these complex business rules out of your Java code really simplifies your core application. It separates the object-oriented code you want to create from the `` if-then rules'' the business world requires. It's also extremely helpful to be able to modify your business rules without touching your primary application. Follow this up with some unit tests, and this nice separation of concerns might even help you sleep better at night. :)