Rules and simulation
Rules and simulation are where the ontology starts behaving like an operational decision system rather than a passive metadata layer.
Repository signals
The current ontology-service already exposes a surprisingly rich surface here:
/api/v1/ontology/rules/api/v1/ontology/rules/{id}/simulate/api/v1/ontology/rules/{id}/apply/api/v1/ontology/types/{type_id}/rules/api/v1/ontology/objects/{obj_id}/rule-runs- machinery queue and insights endpoints
The route wiring lives in services/ontology-service/src/main.rs, and the domain/handler split is visible in:
services/ontology-service/src/domain/rules.rsservices/ontology-service/src/handlers/rules.rs
Why this matters
Rules sit at the boundary between:
- semantic state
- operational policy
- workflow automation
- human decisions
Simulation is what makes those rules safe to evolve. It lets teams test the effect of a rule before applying it to live operational objects.
Design implications
This area is a natural convergence point for:
- ontology modeling
- workflow orchestration
- notifications
- auditability
- AI-assisted recommendations