# Common Rule Features All rule types share a set of fundamental properties and features that define their behavior, lifecycle, and execution. Understanding these common elements helps ensure consistency when managing and configuring rules across different spaces. Key shared properties include the **rule alias**, which provides a unique identifier for a rule, and **versioning**, allowing you to track and manage different iterations of a rule. The **test bench** enables testing rules in isolation before deployment, while the **rule status** determines whether a rule is active, inactive, or in draft mode. **Rule variables** allow dynamic data handling within rules, and the **execution strategy** defines how rules are evaluated. Additionally, the **rule comparison** feature helps analyse differences between rule versions, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. Finally, rules interact with data through the **input and output model**, defining the structure of the data processed during execution. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.decisionrules.io/doc/rules/common-rule-features.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.