What Not How: The Business Rules Approach to Application Development

Business rules are transforming the design of enterprise database systems, enabling companies to achieve dramatic benefits in speed, flexibility, productivity, and platform-independence. In What Not How, C. J. Date -- one of the world's leading database experts -- offers the first concise, non-technical introduction to business rules. Date explains how business rules allow applications to be developed declaratively -- by simply stating what needs to be done, rather than exactly how to do it. He introduces presentation, database and application rules; shows how to build data models that incorporate business rules; and offers practical guidance on minimizing the risks associated with the business rules approach. Then, in Part II, Date demonstrates how business rules build on classic relational technology, addressing key technical issues such as views, base tables, stored tables, relationships, and integrity constraints. What Not How is written for managers, database professionals, Web/e-commerce specialists -- and anyone who needs a faster, better way to deliver high-quality enterprise IT systems.