| The Ruta language is an imperative rule language extended with scripting elements. | |
| A Ruta rule defines a pattern of annotations with additional conditions. If this | |
| pattern applies, then the actions of the rule are performed on the matched annotations. | |
| A rule is composed of a sequence of rule elements and a rule element essentially consists | |
| of four parts: A matching condition, an optional quantifier, a list of conditions and a | |
| list of actions. The matching condition is typically a type of an annotation by which the | |
| rule element matches on the covered text of one of those annotations. The quantifier | |
| specifies, whether it is necessary that the rule element successfully matches and how often | |
| the rule element may match. The list of conditions specifies additional constraints that | |
| the matched text or annotations need to fulfill. The list of actions defines the | |
| consequences of the rule and often creates new annotations or modifies existing annotations. |