baas

BaaS - Business Logic As A Service

BaaS provides an explainable, low-code decision engine equipped with an API and a built-in user interface, empowering developers to manage business rules, workflows, and AI guardrails effectively. This open-source tool fosters clarity, control, and auditability, overcoming common limitations associated with traditional rule engines.

Background

Many existing rule engines face challenges such as cost, complexity, and lack of flexibility, hampering their adoption. BaaS addresses these issues by offering:

• A cost-effective, open-source solution
• Compatibility with various technology stacks
• Support for low-code functionality
• A user-friendly web interface
• Decision tracing for enhanced transparency
• Simplicity in integrating AI contexts

Key Features

• Deterministic rule evaluation: Ensures consistent outputs based on predefined rules.
• Explainable decision traces: Provides insights into how decisions are reached.
• API-first design: Facilitates easy integration with other services.
• Interactive sandbox: Allows users to test rules in real-time.
• Docker-ready setup: Simplifies deployment with containerization.
• Sample rules: Comes with predefined rules to help users get started quickly.

Overview of the Core Process

1. Create a ruleset to group related rules.
2. Add rules through:
   • Web UI
   • Copying from other rulesets
   • The REST API for advanced users
3. Update the ruleset as needed.
4. Modify the execution order of rules using drag-and-drop functionality.
5. Test run the ruleset and review the responses that include:
   • Derived results
   • Explanation of decisions made through the evaluation process.

Quick Start Guide

For fast setup using Docker:

docker run -p 3000:3000 zeguru/baas:latest

Access the app through:

• API: http://localhost:3000/baas
• Editor UI: http://localhost:3000/baas/editor
• OpenAPI: http://localhost:3000/baas/docs

Language Support

BaaS supports a Domain-Specific Language (DSL) for defining rule conditions. Here are some supported operators:

• always
• isDefined
• lessThan
• greaterThan
• equal
• among many others

Example Usage

Evaluate Business Logic: Calculate Net Pay To calculate net pay, send a POST request to baas/calculator/sample-netpay-calc/compute with the following JSON:

{
  "grossPay": "150000"
}

The response includes:

• baseFacts: Original input data.
• derivedFacts: Computed values including net pay calculations.
• breakdown: An object detailing which rules were triggered during evaluation.

Enhanced Explainability

Every evaluation provides a breakdown showing:

• The evaluated rules
• The order of execution
• The results yielded at each step, enabling better understanding and debugging.

Use Cases

BaaS is applicable in various scenarios including:

• Pricing calculators
• Product logic management
• Quote generation
• User session management
• Educational use
• Configuring AI guardrails for deterministic operations.

Getting Involved

Contributions are encouraged, particularly in areas such as documentation enhancement, bug fixing, and UI improvements. The project aims to maintain simplicity and efficiency in usage for developers.

Future Developments

The roadmap includes support for rule versioning, extended database compatibility, and various performance enhancements. Feedback and suggestions are highly valued, and users are invited to contribute ideas and report issues.