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Jadex Rules is a small lightweight rule engine, which currently employs the well-known Rete algorithm for highly efficient rule matching. Jadex rules is therefore similar to other rule engines like JESS and Drools. Despite the similarities there are also important differences between these systems: * Jadex Rules is very small and intended to be used as component of other software. Even though rules can be specified in a Java dialect as well as (a small variation of) the CLIPS language its primary usage is on the API level. Jadex Rules is currently the core component of the Jadex BDI reasoning engine. * Jadex Rules cleanly separates between state and rule representation. This allows the state implementation as well as the matcher to be flexibly exchanged. Some experiments have e.g. been conducted with a Jena representation. Regarding the matcher, it is planned to support also the Treat algorithm, which has a lower memory footprint than Rete. * Jadex Rules pays close attention to rule debugging. The state as well as the rete engine can be observed at runtime. The rule debugger provides functionalities to execute a rule program stepwise and also use rule breakpoints to stop the execution at those points.

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package jadex.rules.rulesystem.rete.nodes;


import jadex.rules.rulesystem.AbstractAgenda;
import jadex.rules.rulesystem.rete.extractors.AttributeSet;
import jadex.rules.state.IOAVState;
import jadex.rules.state.OAVAttributeType;

import java.util.Collection;

/**
 *  Basic interface for all nodes.
 */
public interface INode extends Cloneable
{
	/**
	 *  Get the nodeid.
	 *  @return The nodeid.
	 */
	public int getNodeId();

	/**
	 *  Get the use count.
	 *  @return The number of rules that use this node.
	 */
	//public int getUseCount();
	
	/**
	 *  Increment use count.
	 */
	//public void incrementUseCount();
	
	/**
	 *  Decrement use count.
	 */
	//public void decrementUseCount();
	
	/**
	 *  Get the set of relevant attribute types.
	 */
	public AttributeSet getRelevantAttributes();
	
	/**
	 *  Get the set of indirect attribute types.
	 *  I.e. attributes of objects, which are not part of an object conditions
	 *  (e.g. for chained extractors) 
	 *  @return The relevant attribute types.
	 */
	public AttributeSet getIndirectAttributes();

	/**
	 *  Create the node memory.
	 *  @param state	The state.
	 *  @return The node memory.
	 */
	public Object createNodeMemory(IOAVState state);
	
	/**
	 *  Get the memory for this node.
	 *  @return The memory.
	 */
	public Collection getNodeMemory(ReteMemory mem);
	
	/**
	 *  Propagate an indirect object change to this node.
	 *  @param object The changed object.
	 */
	public void modifyIndirectObject(Object object, OAVAttributeType type, Object oldvalue, Object newvalue, IOAVState state, ReteMemory mem, AbstractAgenda agenda);

	//-------- cloneable --------
	
	/**
	 *  Clone this object.
	 *  @return A clone of this object.
	 */
	public Object clone();

	//-------- debugging --------

	/**
	 *  Check the consistency of the node.
	 */
	public boolean	checkNodeConsistency(ReteMemory mem);
}