Changes to a Deployment Descriptor file or any of the Ruleflows it references do not require restarting the application server. A maintenance thread in the Corticon Server watches for additions, deletions, and changes and updates appropriately. A Ruleflow can be modified in Corticon Studio even while it is also simultaneously deployed as a Decision Service and involved in a transaction - Corticon Server can be configured to update the Decision Service dynamically for the very next transaction.

Dynamic updating of deployed Ruleflows is not normally used in production environments because standard IT change control processes require a more disciplined and controlled deployment process. But in development or testing environments, it can be convenient to allow dynamic updates so that Ruleflow changes can be deployed more quickly.

Having selected No for the Dynamic Reload setting earlier, our tutorial_example Decision Service will not update automatically when the .erf file is changed. To enable this automatic refresh, choose Yes for the Dynamic Reload setting.