Graphical modeling languages and tools (UML, ER, ORM, for example) are not sufficiently precise for specifications. Additional constraints on the objects in the model must also be defined. While natural languages are easily used by individuals without a programming background, they are often ambiguous. On the other hand, formal programming languages are precise, but not easily used by business analysts and other non-programmers.

The Corticon Rule Language has been developed to resolve this dilemma. Based on the Object Constraint Language (OCL, an extension of the Universal Modeling Language specification 1.1), the Corticon Rule Language (CRL) is designed to enable non-programmers to express rules clearly and precisely without the use of procedural programming languages. More information on OCL may be found at www.uml.org.

Note: A preferred user language might use different separator symbols than those documented for decimal values, list ranges, and dates.