Jose,

Thanks for the kind words. I've really received some terrific responses, which was just what I was hoping for. So before I go any further, thanks to everyone, but especially Garrett and Arnon (for reminding me of something I'd forgotten), John (who saw what I was after better than I :-)), and particularly Kamal, who really got the "wheels" turning.

Which brings me to my point. It's occurred to me that the placement or "linkage" of the business object is strictly dependent on its nature. For example, if the rules principally are connected with the way the data is stored, then, at the very least, it should be very strongly connected with the data. If, however, they more strong impact the output, then that's where the connection is. Further, there are situations where the rules impact both almost equally. In this case, it would seem to call for an independent object.

Since I've personally designed and implemented solutions for all three cases, I'd be extremely hesitant to commit to one approach over another.

Thanks for your input.