Rule Builder > Managing Decision Tables > Action Column Editing Operations > Editing an Action Column

Double-clicking on the column header or using the Edit Action Column menu item opens the Action Column Editor, shown in Figure 12.43.

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Figure 12.43    The Action Column Editor

This section has the following subsections:

Editing Titles of Columns and Subcolumns

The Title text field allows you to specify a title for the column.

If the action member used for this column takes more than one argument, a subpanel is displayed to enter a specific title for each subcolumn, corresponding to each argument of the action member. The subpanel is shown in Figure 12.44.

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Figure 12.44    Subpanel for Action Subcolumn Titles

Editing the Column Action Expression

To be valid, an action column must be assigned an action expression. This action expression must be a Void method of the BOM, applied to a variable bound to a condition column, to a previous action column, or to a new variable. The action expression can also be the assignment of an attribute of an object bound to a variable. An example is shown in Figure 12.45.

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Figure 12.45    Selecting an Action Expression

You can build this action expression using the Rule Editor and the BAL rule language, according to the BOM assigned to the current library, see Figure 12.46.

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Figure 12.46    Building an Action Expression

Cells of the corresponding column provide arguments of the selected action member to constitute an action.

For example, if the first cell is 5, the full action will be:

  • if ... then Apply 5 discount to the shoppingCart
  • Depending on the Binding Mode of the class involved in the action expression, you may need to select an existing variable or create a new variable for the selected object. All variables declared in previous condition columns, action columns, and in guard conditions are available in the Rule Editor.

    If the variable is omitted, the Rule Editor displays an error when validating the dialog box.

    Default Value

    Arguments of the selected action method may have a default value. This value is automatically set as soon as the action is created when there is at least one condition column.

    Setting the Action Column as Invisible

    The action column can be set as invisible by clearing the checkbox at top-right of the Action Column Editor. This means that the user will not see it unless "Show Hidden Columns" in the Decision Table Properties dialog box is checked (which overrides this property). By default, this property is true when the decision table is a template and false otherwise.
    Note
    A hidden column should have a default value.


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