The Drools project, a well-known open source Java business rules engine, will join JBoss.

The Drools project

Drools is a Rules Engine implementation based on Charles Forgy’s Rete algorithm tailored for the Java language. Adapting Rete to an object-oriented interface allows for more natural expression of business rules with regards to business objects. Drools is written in Java, but able to run on Java and .Net.

Drools is designed to allow pluggeable language implementations. Currently rules can be written in Java, Python and Groovy. More importantly, Drools provides for Declarative Programming and is flexible enough to match the semantics of your problem domain with Domain Specific Languages (DSL) via XML using a Schema defined for your problem domain. DSLs consist of XML elements and attributes that represent the problem domain.

The JBoss announcement

The addition of Drools represents another critical step in the evolution of JEMS as the Open Source Platform for SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). With Drools, JBoss is again demonstrating its commitment to bring a cohesive open source middleware platform to the mass market. Incorporation of the Drools rules engine into JEMS will allow organizations to easily customize their products and service offerings using business rules that can be applied across an SOA based on actions, events and historical activities.

Thx Nick ;-)