What does DROOLS mean?

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Tihamer Toth

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Nov 16, 2016, 11:31:07 AM11/16/16
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I just started getting familiar with DROOLS in preparation for a project.
What is the history about the name "Drools"?
(I've read the history of the project in the docs, and coincidentally was working at Ford Aerospace on Object-Oriented rule-based systems at the time).
Drools is not related to DROOL (Dave's Recycled Object Oriented Language).
It's not an acronym, though R can stand for rules, while OOL can stand for Object Oriented Language (the ReteOO algorithm and the Java Classes which represent facts in the facts Working Memory). S can be system, naturally.
But what is D?
It's not Data-driven because Drools can also do goal-driven backward chaining.
Then again, IIRC, it was data-driven before backward chaining was introduced.
So maybe Drools means: Data-driven Rule and Object Oriented Language System?
Does anyone have any authoritative answer to my question?

-Tee



Mark Proctor

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Nov 16, 2016, 9:13:02 PM11/16/16
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It doesn’t mean anything, it’s literally just a “funny world” that sounds like rules. Blame it on Bob McWhirter, who coined the name :)

Others have however tried to come up with some acronymous, choose which one you like best. Such as:
“Drools *Dynamic Rules Object-Oriented Language System”

Mark
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Tihamer Toth

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Nov 17, 2016, 11:25:25 AM11/17/16
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I was afraid of that!
:-)
Thanks for the quick and authoritative reply!
-Tee
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