Page "Rete algorithm" Paragraph 52

The Rete algorithm is orientated to scenarios where forward chaining and " inferencing " is used to calculate new facts from existing facts, or to filter and discard facts in order to arrive at some conclusion.

It is also exploited as a reasonably efficient mechanism for performing highly combinatorial evaluations of facts where large numbers of joins must be performed between fact tuples.

Other approaches to performing rule evaluation, such as the use of decision trees, or the implementation of sequential engines, may be more appropriate for simple scenarios, and should be considered as possible alternatives.