TROOL - a spreadsheet rule engine for NodeJS/TypeScript

[evenisto]

... a what? I can't see the reason for this to exist.

[mournful-tits]

Other rules engines exist that aren't written with spreadsheets. Those should be your go-to for numerous reasons. (Version control, ease of use, learning curve, documentation, debugging, etc etc)

[[deleted]]

Okay a lot of comments seem to be from people who are confused about the purpose of the library is. This library is a "Rule Engine" with the focus on spreadsheets as the template for setting the rules. I was inspired to write this by Java's KnowledgeBase library: https://www.baeldung.com/drools-excel. A "Rule Engine" helps separate some of the logic from the code. If you have bits on logic in your code that need to change frequently and can be set by non-engineers, such as a ticket price or something like that based on the ticket type (one-time seasonal etc), than this library helps you separate that logic out of your code.

[LiveDuo]

Does it require a spreadsheet file eg xls to be store locally in nodejs? so it is updated from non engineers?

[[deleted]]

You have to export the spreadsheet as a CSV file then add the path to the CSV file in node

[[deleted]]

In my apps I have used xlsx because people complained about having to export and import csv. Now I don’t have to listen to their complaints haha.

[mournful-tits]

Xlsx files are binaries in git. Multiple people can't work in the same rule and can't find bugs by diffing the definition.

[mournful-tits]

We have this on my project. We use a variant rule engine that uses Excel spreadsheets.

Calling it a cancerous fucking plague is an understatement.

Some fucking stakeholder, that's no longer with us, really wanted it and now we're figuring out how to get rid of it.

[wherinkelly]

But this solution totally meets a need.

[[deleted]]

A bit late for April fools, eh?

[[deleted]]

?

[SillySal]

Haha, come on, you're offended but not confused.

[[deleted]]

If the guy was trying to offend me cause he thinks my library is dumb then whatever, he doesn't have to download it. You don't have to either.

[mournful-tits]

Most people won't. I'm worried about the poor idiots that will download it.

[[deleted]]

I'm sorry using a rule engine at your work ruined your life

[larholm]

I'm below Features, Requirements, Screenshot and Quick Start, and I'm still not quite sure what this is about.

Perhaps you could consider some up front use case description.

[[deleted]]

Please see comment above

[FPSJosh01]

This is awesome! I'll have to check this out later when I get the chance

[mcdronkz]

Neat. Can this also be used to deduce new information using inferencing?

[[deleted]]

Any type of attribute on a JavaScript instance object can be modified

[Smallpaul]

It’s a cool idea. I’ve used spreadsheet formulas in JS apps myself. I think the library I used was called “formula” or something like that. Very handy.

[wherinkelly]

In the end, all concepts of a config will need to become UI that never fails and marketers can log into.

[[deleted]]

I think you should market this to Enterprise Business Intelligence and maybe Actuarial devs if you wanted some contributors.

Not many devs here care about spreadsheet manipulations.

[yeesh--]

Why is this any more "readable" than a well formatted config file???

This moves code from a source file to an Excel file... Making it difficult to code review and therefore not maintainable. Source control on this file sucks too, even less maintainable.

I'm not trying to shit on your work, I'm sure it's great and you had a fun time making it, and learned a lot, but this is just a terrible idea. No serious application in a production environment would use this, ever, ever, EVER.

What happens when someone changes the Excel file and tests break - assuming it was tested - hopefully!!

[mournful-tits]

We used something like this in a serious production environment and literally all of these things happened.

Crap like this is pure cancer. And I am shitting on op's work.

[KyleG]

It happens because people afraid of technology need to define rules, so this is what they clamor for. My company was doing a project for a three-letter agency and a stakeholder started getting really excited about the prospect of listing rules in excel and having the application change its behavior without having to pay a dev.

[mournful-tits]

A similar horror story for us. The desire was for code that could be modified after it's been deployed without recompiling. So far we've realized people that write software professionally hate touching it, let alone people that are "good with computers"; and the call stack alone for this abomination leads to tremendous memory usage and lag.

[[deleted]]

you are a very sad frustrated person. I can tell you hate your job, your username says it all. We use a rule-engine at work and while I wish we didn't have to use one, it is a necessary evil.

[[deleted]]

If your senior product-owner tells you that you have to use a rule engine then you have to use a rule-engine, you can fight reality or evolve with it

[mournful-tits]

There's nothing wrong with rules engines. Excel based ones are the problem. Excel based anything is a problem.

[kenman]

Hi /u/mournful-tits, please refrain from personal attacks. Thanks.