Abstract:
A rules editor for creating rules for a software application. The editor is suitable for running on a computing device having at least a processor, a memory, a display device and an input device. The editor includes a graphical editor for: retrieving from the memory and displaying on the display device one or more graphical icons; and enabling a user to select and arrange at least some of the icons on the display device using the input device so as to form a graphical representation of a rule to be processed by the software application. The editor includes a spreadsheet editor for displaying on the display device one or more spreadsheets forming a spreadsheet representation of rules to be processed by the software application, and enabling the user to edit the spreadsheet representation. The processor is arranged to automatically maintain the graphical and spreadsheet representations synchronized following amendment of the graphical representation in the graphical editor or amendment of the spreadsheet representation in the spreadsheet editor.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority to United Kingdom Application No. 1412927.4 filed on Jul. 21, 2014 and UK Application No. 1412926.6 filed on Jul. 21, 2014. The entire contents of both of these applications are incorporated by reference herein. 
       FIELD 
       [0002]    The invention relates to improvements in editors for creating software applications. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The present specification describes features which build on the applicant&#39;s earlier Microgen Aptitude products. For example features of Microgen Aptitude are described in the following U.S. patent application publications and issued patents, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference: US-2006-0247805-A1 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,392,013; US-2011-0161941-A1 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,464,229; US-2011-0161733-A1 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,140,894; US-2011-0161916-A1 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,438,534; US-2011-0161917-A1; US-2011-0161918-A1; US-2011-0161946-A1 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,549,353; US-2011-0161886-A1; US-2011-0161371-A1; US-2012-0059863-A1 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,392,473; and US-2013-0205275-A1. 
         [0004]    It should be understood that the invention and the embodiments described below may incorporate features of any earlier Microgen Aptitude product, and any of the features described in the applications and/or patents mentioned above. 
         [0005]    Aptitude is a program with a graphical interface which allows users to create complex applications without knowledge of traditional programming languages. Graphical elements, also referred to as icons, can be connected together using graphical links in order to create graphical models of processes and rules which are later converted into computer instructions. The graphical models can be complex or composite, as they may contain many graphical elements. 
         [0006]    Conventionally, computer programs are written in a programming language such as Cobol, Pascal, C++ or Java. The programs so produced consist of a set of files containing “source code” which is simply text written using the lexicon and obeying the syntax of the language. The source code is then compiled or translated into machine code and executed. The development environment for producing, managing and compiling these programs is called an “IDE” or Integrated Development Environment; “Integrated” because it normally comprises a set of tools such as compilers, linkers, debuggers, etc. 
         [0007]    Microgen Aptitude comprises a graphical editor. The graphical models that are produced are diagrams comprising graphical elements (icons), and may for example represent processes and rules used in the Aptitude software. The graphical models that are produced may be combined and translated into intermediate code or “p-code”, which is not human readable but is interpreted by an execution engine, so automating the business model. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    The invention in one case provides a rules editor, method and computer-readable medium as set out in the accompanying claims. Any features of the rules editor described herein may also be used in the method. 
         [0009]    Embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  shows an example of a real life rule used in Microgen Aptitude; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows an example of a screenshot from an Adaptive Editor; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows an example of code generation in the Adaptive Editor of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  shows an example of code generation in the Adaptive Editor; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates the generation of a code block corresponding to unrecognized code in the Adaptive Editor; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  shows the use of an abstract region organizing the code in the graphical representation of the Adaptive Editor; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  shows a computing device, which may for example be a personal computer (PC), suitable for implementing the Adaptive Editor, and on which methods described herein can be carried out; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  shows a Business Object which provides the format of input data used in an example rule; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  shows a rules editor; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  shows the rules editor in operation; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  shows how the user may enter formulae in the spreadsheet editor; 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  shows a drag and drop operation from the spreadsheet editor to the graphical editor; 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  shows the renaming of cells, icons and sheets; 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  shows the use of specialized “cell regions” containing formulas where each type of region has its own particular format; 
           [0024]      FIG. 15  shows a LOOP region, which can be used for iterations; 
           [0025]      FIG. 16  shows a TABLE region for tables of values entered by the user manually into the spreadsheet; 
           [0026]      FIG. 17  shows a TABLE AS SELECT region for creating tables in runtime; 
           [0027]      FIG. 18  shows a TABLE AS REDUCE region for creating tables in runtime; 
           [0028]      FIG. 19  shows a FUNCTION region for defining reusable, parameterized portions of logic; 
           [0029]      FIG. 20  shows a CASE region for implementing routing functionality; 
           [0030]      FIG. 21  shows an INSERT INTO region, to populate a Rule&#39;s outputs; 
           [0031]      FIG. 22  shows the use of an Accumulate statement; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 23  shows an Enterprise Rules Debugger. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]    Each feature disclosed or illustrated in the present specification may be incorporated in the invention or system, whether alone or in any appropriate combination with any other feature disclosed or illustrated herein. 
         [0034]    Aptitude is sometimes criticized for a lack of clarity about who is the target audience for some of its tools. In particular, while the Business Rules were originally designed for business users, the demands for increased functionality and performance have caused them to become more technical. 
         [0035]    Another criticism has been that strict adherence to a graphical and data flow interface has caused problems implementing some seemingly simple pieces of functionality and the transparency of the rules is lost. Some rules could be implemented in a simpler and clearer manner using a textual/control flow approach. 
         [0036]    We propose the addition of control flow functionality and the use of “Adaptive Editors”. 
         [0037]    Pictures are easier to deal with for those with limited experience of programming code. Pictures also assist in the understanding of code generated by others. Pictures are “self-documenting”, and allow a user to shape an algorithm before going into the details of the algorithm. However, drawings can also be slower to use for programmers who are used to working with text. 
         [0038]    On the other hand, programmers like to work with text editors, because these allow a fast and efficient workflow for programmers who have a substantial body of knowledge relating to programming. Over the last decade code editors have evolved to deliver higher productivity through various additional features in the code editor, such as automatic syntax highlighting, automatic code analysis help, and code snippets/templates. 
         [0039]    In order to deal with these different requirements, the applicant has developed an Integrated Development Environment which we refer to as an “Adaptive Editor”. An example of a screenshot from an Adaptive Editor is shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 2  shows an Adaptive Editor  2  in which a graphical editor  4  is shown on the left and a text editor  6  is shown simultaneously on the right. In the example of  FIG. 2 , the left hand side of a window  8  on a display device shows a graphical representation  10  of a rule for calculating a salary bonus, and the right hand side of the window  8  shows a textual representation  12  of code which describes the same rule. 
         [0041]    The window  8  contains a divider bar  14 , which divides the window  8  into the graphical representation  10  and the textual representation  12 . The user may change the position of the divider bar  14 , for example by dragging it to the left or right, in order to change the proportion of the window  8  used to display the graphical representation  10  or the textual representation  12 . 
         [0042]    In the Adaptive Editor  2  of  FIG. 2 , the graphical representation  10  and the textual representation  12  are automatically maintained in synchronization with each other. This means that any changes made by a user to the graphical representation  10  in the graphical editor  4  are automatically and immediately reflected in corresponding changes in the textual representation  12  in the text editor  6 , and vice versa. In  FIG. 2  this is represented by a code generator arrow  16 , which indicates the operation of a code generator which automatically generates code in the text editor  6  corresponding to changes made in the graphical representation  10 , and by a round trip arrow  18 , which indicates that changes made in the text editor  6  are automatically reflected in the corresponding graphical representation  10 . 
         [0043]    The Adaptive Editor  2  of  FIG. 2  can be used for a wide range of different graphical and textual representations. The graphical representation  10  may be a graphical representation, for example, of any of the following: 
         [0044]    Aptitude Control Flow, Rules and Microflows 
         [0045]    Web Application Control Flow 
         [0046]    SQL Procedure 
         [0047]    SQL Rule 
         [0048]    WYSIWYG Form Designer 
         [0049]    The text editor  6  may be used, for example, with any of the following languages: 
         [0050]    Japti (Microgen&#39;s own language) 
         [0051]    Java 
         [0052]    Database Stored Procedure 
         [0053]    SQL statements 
         [0054]    Form Layouts 
         [0055]    The left and right positions of the graphical and text editors  4  and  6  can be swapped by the user if necessary. For example, a user focusing primarily on the text editor  6  may prefer to position this on the left side of the window  8 , with the graphical editor  4  on the right. 
         [0056]    It will be appreciated that the Adaptive Editor  2  allows great flexibility. For example a business analyst, having no knowledge of programming code, can remove the text editor  6  from the window  8  (for example by dragging the divider bar  14  completely to one side of the window  8 ), thus allowing the business analyst to work exclusively on the graphical representation  10 . A consultant may prefer to work with both the graphical and text editors  4  and  6  at the same time. A programmer may choose to position the text editor  6  on the left of window  8 , and to make the text editor  6  larger than the graphical editor  4 . 
         [0057]      FIG. 3  shows an example of code generation in the Adaptive Editor  2 .  FIG. 3  shows the upper part of window  8 , and the graphical editor  4  is provided with a palette  20  of icons  22  which the user can drag and drop onto the graphical representation  10 .  FIG. 3  shows that when decision icon  24  is placed into the graphical representation  10  a corresponding block  26  of code is automatically generated in the textual representation  12 , and the block  26  of code is automatically highlighted, for example using background highlighting  28  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0058]      FIG. 4  shows an example of code generation in the Adaptive Editor  2 .  FIG. 4  illustrates how a code block  30  is automatically generated in a graphical representation  10  in the graphical editor  4  when a user types some code  32  in the textual representation  12  in the text editor  6 . 
         [0059]      FIG. 5  illustrates the generation of a code block corresponding to unrecognized code in the Adaptive Editor  2 . In  FIG. 5  a user types some unrecognized code  34  into the textual representation  12 , and the Adaptive Editor  2  automatically creates a code block  36  containing the unrecognized code. The user can click on the code block  36  and the unrecognized code  34  is then highlighted in the textual representation  12 . 
         [0060]      FIG. 6  shows the use of an abstract region  38  organizing the code in the graphical representation  10  of the Adaptive Editor  2 . The abstract region  38  corresponds to a code region  40  in the textual representation  12 . The Abstract Region (or Code Region)  38  represents code that the user does not want to convert into blocks in the graphical representation  10 . This functionality helps to maintain the legibility of the diagram in the graphical representation  10  by controlling the number of the visible details. We assume that the diagram represents an algorithm and some details may be irrelevant for its analysis. The user can click on the Abstract Region  38  in order to expand the details of the corresponding code. The Abstract Region  38  is different from a Code Block  30  (see  FIG. 4 ), and it represents code that can be converted to code blocks but the user has decided not to do so. 
         [0061]    It will therefore be appreciated that the Adaptive Editor  2  provides diagrams which increase the productivity of business users and consultants, whilst at the same time providing a code interface which increases the productivity of programmers. 
         [0062]    The code/text editor  6  is provided with all of the development tools which are present in modern code/text editors. The code/text editor  6  is also contrained in one case always to generate a valid diagram in the graphical representation  10 . This ensures that it is not possible for a programmer, working in the code/text editor  6 , to produce an invalid diagram in the graphical representation  10 . 
         [0063]    The graphical representation  10  is in one case always maintained in sync with the textual representation  12 . Alternatively, the graphical representation  10  may be automatically generated whenever the textual representation  12  is saved by a user. 
         [0064]    The Adaptive Editor  2  is a multi-format editor in the sense that it allows editing of both graphical and textual formats. 
         [0065]      FIG. 7  shows a computing device  60 , which may for example be a personal computer (PC), suitable for implementing the Adaptive Editor  2 , and on which methods described herein can be carried out. The computing device  60  comprises a display  62  for displaying information, a processor  64 , a memory  68  and an input device  70  for allowing information to be input to the computing device. The input device  70  may for example include a connection to other computers or to computer readable media, and may also include a mouse or keyboard for allowing a user to enter information. These elements are connected by a bus  72  via which information is exchanged between the components. 
         [0066]    The Business Rules in Microgen Aptitude are probably the most criticized area where strict adherence to the graphic/data flow model has led to some loss of transparency and criticism by IT professionals. 
         [0067]    We will now describe what we refer to as a rules editor which employs the Adaptive Editor methodology and exploits the wide-spread knowledge of spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel. 
         [0068]    We consider an example rule to demonstrate the rules editor. 
         [0069]    Example Rule 
         [0070]    In the example rule we want to implement the following calculation: 
         [0071]    1. At the end of the year, we calculate an employee&#39;s average salary. 
         [0072]    2. If the average is lower than £1200, the employee receives a 2% rise in January. 
         [0073]    3. Additionally, 22% of the salary is calculated as the employee&#39;s tax value for January. 
         [0074]    The format of the input data is shown in the form of a Microgen Aptitude Business Object in  FIG. 8 . It comprises the employee&#39;s name and a collection of salaries for that employee. 
         [0075]      FIG. 9  shows a new rules editor  72  which comprises a window  74  divided by a movable vertical divider bar  76  into a graphical editor  78  on the left and a spreadsheet editor  80  containing a spreadsheet on the right. The spreadsheet editor  80  is divided into cells arranged in columns referenced by letters at the top and in rows referenced by numbers along the left side, as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0076]    As shown in  FIG. 9 , when a user places an employee icon  82  in the graphical editor  78  a corresponding employee sheet  84  is automatically created in the spreadsheet editor  80 . The employee sheet  84  contains a table  86  containing the data contained in the Business Object of  FIG. 8 . 
         [0077]    Referring to  FIG. 10 , when the user adds a new block icon  88  (named Block_ 00 ) to the graphical editor  78 , a new second sheet  90  is added to the spreadsheet editor  80 . When the new sheet  90  is populated with data from the employee icon  82  (in this case employee salaries  92 ) a link  94  is automatically drawn between the employee icon  82  and block icon  88 . 
         [0078]    A user can type, for example “1” and “2”, into two cells, then select those cells and expand the selection downwards and the editor will generate a sequence of e.g. “1,2,3,4, 5 . . . ”. The spreadsheet editor  80  will also recognize a pattern, e.g. “= . . . [*]”, and populate the expanded selection with e.g. “= . . . [3]”, “= . . . [4]”, “= . . . [5]” . . . “= . . . [ 12 ]”. 
         [0079]      FIG. 11  shows how the user may enter formulae in the spreadsheet editor  80  so that the sum of salaries is calculated in cell B 14 , the average salary is calculated in cell B 15 , the new salary is calculated in cell B 16  depending on whether the average salary exceeds 1200, and the employee&#39;s tax is calculated in cell B 17 . These formulae are also implemented in the corresponding block icon  88 . 
         [0080]    In  FIG. 12  it should first be noted that the second sheet  90  and block icon  88  have both been renamed “salaries”, thus becoming a salaries sheet  90  and a salaries icon  88 . In the new rules editor  72  this is an automatic process where if a user renames a sheet the corresponding icon is automatically renamed, and vice versa. 
         [0081]    In  FIG. 12  the user has made a selection  92  of three formulae in cells B 15  to B 17  in the salaries sheet  90 , and has dragged and dropped this selection  92  into the graphical editor  78 . As a result a new block icon  94  (named Block_ 01 ) is automatically created in the graphical editor  78 , and a corresponding new sheet  90  (also named Block_ 01 ) is created in the spreadsheet editor  80 . 
         [0082]    The top part of new sheet  96  is shown in  FIG. 12 , from which it can be seen that cells B 2  to B 4  contain the three formulae which were dragged and dropped into the graphical editor  78 , and in these cells references to other cells are automatically updated to refer to cells in the salaries sheet  90  where necessary. For example, in cell B 2  of new sheet  96  the reference to cell B 14  is automatically replaced by “salaries.B 14 ” indicating that this refers to a cell in the salaries sheet  90 . 
         [0083]    The dragging and dropping of cells from the spreadsheet editor  80  into the graphical editor  78  results in the transformation of a range of spreadsheet cells into a new block. This is a reversible operation—i.e. the user can pick a block and drag &amp; drop it from the graphical editor  78  onto a spreadsheet in the spreadsheet editor  80 . In this case the dragged block (and its corresponding sheet) are removed, and the formulae contained in the block are placed into the spreadsheet on which the block is dropped. 
         [0084]      FIG. 13  shows how cells can be given names  98 . In this example cells B 13  and B 14  are named “current” and “sum” respectively. The spreadsheet editor  80  allows a user to select the named cells, right click, and then select a “Refactor” command. When the user clicks on “Refactor” the spreadsheet editor  80  automatically finds all formulae that refer to cells B 13  and B 14  and replaces all references to B 13  and B 14  in these formulae by references to the names “current” and “sum” respectively. 
         [0085]    In  FIG. 13  the new block icon  94  and the new sheet  90  have both been renamed “sal_calc”. 
         [0086]    The sheets  84 ,  90  and  96  described above are spreadsheets, in which the user can make changes. However, the user does not have to start with the spreadsheet editor  80 . The user can start with the graphical editor  78 , for example making changes to the blocks first and filling in the spreadsheets later. Changes made in the spreadsheet editor  80  are automatically made in the graphical editor  78 , and vice versa. 
         [0087]    The complexity of block diagrams in the graphical editor  78  is determined by the user and all the links between blocks/icons are drawn automatically. 
         [0088]    In the block diagrams of the graphical editor there are no thick links (i.e. all links between blocks/icons are the same), nested rules, hierarchical data handling or profusions of linkages. 
         [0089]    Formerly, a lot of the specification was within the blocks and presented as dialogs which differed between blocks. It is now presented explicitly. 
         [0090]    The Enterprise Business Rules are translated to Japti and consequently can call any services including Control Flows, Hierarchy Transformations, Targets, Reference Objects etc. The new rules editor may be provided with a spreadsheet debugger, which may be based on the Japti debugger. 
         [0091]    Spreadsheets are sometimes unable to provide all the functionality needed, and to overcome this we extend the spreadsheet paradigm or applications such as Microsoft Excel® as follows:
       1. A single cell value can be of a complex data type—in particular, these types can contain collections of values or hierarchical data.   2. We add our own, complex formulas (with our own syntax) to express programming constructs not available in applications such as Microsoft Excel®, such as routing, iteration, aggregation for example. These formulas are not represented in a textual form. Instead, as shown in  FIG. 14 , we use “cell regions”  100 , where each type of region  100  has its own particular format (such as color, cell layout, cell borders etc.) to express clearly the functionality the region  100  stands for. In some cases a single region can embed other regions.   3. A single cell, containing for example data or a formula, can have a name, but in the new Rules Editor this name is displayed in one of the neighboring cells, so it can be seen at a glance.       
 
         [0095]    The rules editor  72  uses the following types of cell regions in the spreadsheet used in spreadsheet editor  80 : 
         [0096]      FIG. 15  shows a LOOP region  102 , which can be used for iterations. The LOOP region  102  is defined by a border  104 , which is thicker than the cell division lines  106  and which extends around the LOOP region  102 . The details of the loop execution control are placed in sub-region  106 . 
         [0097]      FIG. 16  shows a TABLE region  108  for tables of values entered by the user manually into the spreadsheet, where a single cell can contain data, a formula or a nested TABLE region. The TABLE region  108  is defined by border regions  110  and  112  which extend along the top and left edges of the region  108  respectively, and which are provided with a distinctive visual appearance, such as being shaded in a distinctive color. 
         [0098]      FIG. 17  shows a TABLE AS SELECT region  114  for creating tables in runtime, being the result of loading, filtering and/or reformatting data from external sources (including e.g. databases) or other TABLE regions, or “ TABLE AS . . . ” regions, or simply cells that hold collections. 
         [0099]      FIG. 18  shows a TABLE AS REDUCE region  116  for creating tables in runtime, being the result of loading, filtering and/or reformatting data in addition to grouping and aggregating data. 
         [0100]      FIG. 19  shows a FUNCTION region  118  for defining reusable, parameterized portions of logic. 
         [0101]      FIG. 20  shows a CASE region  120 , which can, but does not have to, include or “dock” FUNCTION regions to implement the routing functionality of different cases. In the example shown in  FIG. 20  there are four different cases, and the CASE region  120  contains two FUNCTION regions  122  and  124 . 
         [0102]      FIG. 21  shows an INSERT INTO region  126 , to populate a Rule&#39;s outputs (which are defined in output blocks). 
         [0103]    In a simple version of the rules editor there are  5  kinds of blocks in the graphical Rule diagram in the graphical editor  78 , which provides the graphical part of a rule definition, as follows: 
         [0104]    1. input blocks—to define the Rule&#39;s inputs 
         [0105]    2. output blocks—to define the Rule&#39;s outputs 
         [0106]    3. documentary blocks—to keep documentation with references to the new Rules&#39; blocks and locations in the spreadsheet. 
         [0107]    4. spreadsheet blocks 
         [0108]    5. library blocks, which are spreadsheets that can contain FUNCTION regions only. 
         [0109]    Users of the Rules Editor can “elevate” some of the functionalities from cell regions  100  to the diagram level, so that they&#39;ll be available not only as cell regions  100 , but also as specialized blocks. When a user selects one or a few cell regions and drags them to the diagram, a new block is created in the diagram, containing the selected cell region(s), and at the same time the selected cell regions are moved from their original sheet to a new sheet in the spreadsheet; this new sheet contains the selected cell regions and it corresponds to the newly created block in the diagram. This process can also be done by the user in the reverse direction i.e. it is possible to move the contents of a block in a graphical diagram to one of the existing sheets in the spreadsheets; in such a case the block is removed from the graphical diagram, the sheet describing block&#39;s contents is removed from the spreadsheet and the cell regions from the removed sheet are added to another sheet selected by the user. In this way, the user can control the number of blocks in the graphical diagram and the number of corresponding sheets in the spreadsheet, as a consequence modifying the complexity of operations defined in the blocks and sheets, selecting the abstraction level which is best suited to describe the particular processing algorithm. After moving the cell regions between the sheets, and blocks in the diagram, all references between the cells (from all sheets) and blocks in the diagram are refreshed (with a proper modification of their fully qualified names, which may contain the sheet name, cell region name and cell name) such that they point to the regions in the proper sheet or proper blocks in the diagram. 
         [0110]    For example, those functionalities may include:
       iteration and reduction (accumulation), as shown in  FIG. 22  by the black collapsible frame  128  and the block  130  (named Block_ 02 ) respectively; and   routing block  132  in  FIG. 23 .       
 
         [0113]    The above features of the rules editor provide the following functionality which is not present or difficult to achieve with conventional spreadsheets:
       1. The creation and handling of collections: in Aptitude, this was handled by the Output Block of a child rule. An example is the “TABLE AS REDUCE” region  116  shown in  FIG. 18  and the “COLLECT” aggregation function   2. Iterations—especially iterations over collections the size of which is unknown at design time. In Aptitude these were handled by Reference Access Block and child Rules. An example is the “LOOP” region  102  shown in  FIG. 15 .   3. Accumulation over iterations: in Aptitude, this was handled by the Reduction Block.
 
An example is the “TABLE AS REDUCE” region  116  shown in  FIG. 18 .
   4. Conditional execution of a large portion of logic: in Aptitude, this was handled by the Case Block. In conventional spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel®, the users have only the “IF” function at their disposal, which means that if they want to execute many expressions (i.e. cells) under a single condition, they have to duplicate the “ IF” function and the condition for each of the aforementioned expressions/cells. An example is the “CASE” region  120  shown in  FIG. 20 .   5. Handling complex data structures: in Aptitude Rules, this was handled by hierarchical Data Objects and Complex Rules.       
 
         [0119]    These issues may be handled using the same Adaptive Rule approach of the Adaptive Editor described above, but where the right hand panel has the requisite functionality and syntax. 
         [0120]      FIG. 22  shows the use of an Accumulate statement. The black collapsible frame  128  shows that we apply the logic in that frame to every employee (represented by “Emp”) within the department (represented by “Dept”). On the right hand-side, there are properties of the reduction/accumulation block  130 . 
         [0121]      FIG. 23  shows an Enterprise Rules Debugger. 
         [0122]    When debugging: 
         [0123]    A DEVELOPMENT VIEW window  136  simply shows the spreadsheet (but in read-only mode). The current debugging step is highlighted by a red frame  138 . 
         [0124]    A RUNNING VALUE VIEW window  140  shows the spreadsheet, but what is displayed is the running values of the cells rather than the formulas. The current debugging step is highlighted by a red frame  142  too. Obviously, the current debugging step frames  138  and  142  from the two views are synchronized. 
         [0125]    A CUSTOM WATCH VIEW window  144  shows a selection of values chosen by a user. When debugging, the user often wants to monitor some selection of values only, which can be located in distant places, in various spreadsheets. In the CUSTOM WATCH VIEW, the user can choose those values and have them handy, in one place, seeing the changes instantly—without having to jump to various locations. 
         [0126]    Enhancements of the new rules editor compared to standard spreadsheets include the following: 
         [0127]    The block diagram, where: 
         [0128]    users can group calculations in the way they see them, and 
         [0129]    input and output blocks show clearly where, in terms of the data flow, the calculations start and where they end. 
         [0130]    Values in cells can be of complex data types (e.g. hierarchical). 
         [0131]    Programming constructs that are not available in standard spreadsheets—e.g. CASE, SELECT or LOOP. 
         [0132]    Cell regions to express the aforementioned programing constructs. The regions can be recursively nested. 
         [0133]    Named cells, where the names are displayed in the spreadsheet next to the formulas they describe. 
         [0134]    In this specification the words “icon” and “block” are used interchangeably. 
         [0135]    Having described the invention in detail and by reference to the various embodiments, it should be understood that modifications and variations thereof are possible without departing from the scope of the claims of the present application.