I was just talking to about the diff

Question

I was just talking to < enough analyst 54434> about the difference between a `RootRule` and a ` rule` with an empty dependency list

witty-crayon-22786 · Answer

a RootRule is something that you are declaring can come in via a `product request` ie at the root of the graph

witty-crayon-22786 · Answer

that means it can change per call to the engine in particular over the course of a pantsd s lifecycle

witty-crayon-22786 · Answer

whereas an ` rule` with no arguments is created once at pants d start time it s a singleton

witty-crayon-22786 · Answer

there is a bit more about RootRule here <https github com pantsbuild pants blob f9bb8d6cf172df3e8f68b091614e9fdb6dbc37dc src python pants engine README md registering rules>