Published Release Notes

End of support for form-based rule forms in Pega 7.1.9

Rule forms that are configured to render as forms are no longer supported in Designer Studio or end-user applications. Form-based configurations are found on custom rule types that were created in earlier versions of Pega 7 and are characterized by pop-up windows that are rendered externally from Designer Studio.

Reconfigure Pega 7 applications that use such rule forms by using standard harnesses and sections.

1. Open the class form.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Select Harness from the Rule formmenu.
4. Create a new harness and new sections that implement the logic of the custom rule, using standard user interface layouts and controls.

Migrating custom rule forms to harnesses and sections offers the following benefits:

• User interfaces become HTML5 WC3 compatible and responsive to different screen sizes.
• User interfaces become cross-browser compatible, rendered consistently in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and recent versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• Rendering performance on modern browsers is dramatically improved.
• User interface pop-up behavior is eliminated; all windows are rendered inside Designer Studio and end-user applications.

End of support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and quirks mode applications in Pega 7.1.9

In accordance with Microsoft’s announcement to discontinue support for Internet Explorer 8 in January 2016, Pega 7.1.9 does not support Internet Explorer 8, nor does it support non-HTML5 standard user interfaces.

You must upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 or later or use Google Chrome, Apple Safari, or Mozilla Firefox. If you are using Internet Explorer 9 or later, you must turn off compatibility mode by accessing the Compatibility View settings.

Note the following:

• Pega 7.1.9 does not support user interface rules that are not based on HTML5 standards (rules in quirks mode).
• If you use applications that are rendered in quirks mode, which enables Pega 7 to correctly display and render non-HTML5 standard user interfaces, you must update them to standards-based HTML5 user interfaces when you upgrade to Pega 7.1.9 or later. Pega 7 provides automated tools to help you migrate your applications.
• Pegasystems Global Customer Support will not investigate or fix any Pega 7.1.9 bugs or support requests that are exclusive to Internet Explorer 8 or quirks mode user interfaces.

You can quickly identify which components of your application user interface are not HTML5 standards-based by clicking Designer Studio > User Interface > HTML5 Application Readiness.

Upgrading to Pega 7.1.9 and a newer browser offers the following benefits:

• These browsers are HTML5 and CSS3 compliant.
• New features are supported and existing features work as intended.
• The Pega 7 Platform user interface is displayed and rendered as intended.
• Browser security is enhanced.

If you have additional questions about browser support, see the Platform Support Guide or contact Pegasystems Global Customer Support.

Real-time pulse processing for multinode systems

Multinode development environments now use real-time pulse processing. Previously, when a change was made on one node, the pulse processing interval could take a minute or more for that change to be reflected on another node. Now, when a rule is changed on one node, that change is immediately reflected on all the other nodes in the cluster. This change helps to ensure that users are running a rule on the same node as where the rule was changed.

Verifying that a Pega 7 Platform instance is running

You can verify whether a Pega 7 Platform instance is up and running by entering this URL: http://<<hostName:port/contextName>>/PRRestService/monitor/pingservice/ping

The Pega 7 Platform Engine responds with HTTP Response Code 200 if the instance is available. The response contains JSON text in the format { "duration":"<time in milliseconds>" }. Any other response codes or timeout indicate that the instance is unavailable.

Updated default system pulse processing settings

The default settings for system pulse processing have been updated in this release.

Upgrades to Pega 7.1.9 from a previous version of the Pega 7 Platform use database pulse by default. Database pulse synchronizes rule changes at a periodic interval across all nodes in a system.

New installations of Pega 7.1.9 use cluster-based pulse by default. Cluster-based pulse immediately updates rule changes across all nodes in a system after the changes are saved.

You can change the database pulse setting to the cluster-based pulse setting by updating the value attribute for initialization/pulse/transport to "cluster" in the prconfig.xml file or in the Dynamic System Settings. Changing from database pulse to cluster-based pulse requires a full cluster restart after the changes are made.

For more information, see Pega-RULES agents.

Database storage used for passivation in High Availability mode

When an application is running in High Availability mode, the value attribute for initialization/​persistrequestor/storage in the prconfig.xml file or the Dynamic System Settings​ now defaults to "database."

Previously, applications running in High Availability mode required shared passivation, where either initialization/​persistrequestor/storage was set to “OnTimeout” or a custom passivation mechanism was used. The change to using database by default provides persistent storage for passivation, and provides control for the landing page for High Availability.

For more information, see Understanding passivation and requestor timeouts and the High Availability Administration Guide.

Pega 7 Express is available on-premises

You can now experience Pega 7 Express by switching your enterprise application from Designer Studio to express mode. By default, users with access to the Developer portal can switch between these two development environments. You can also create an express application to work in express mode exclusively.

Trial versions of Pega 7 Express continue to be available on the cloud. To view the documentation for both the cloud and on-premises environments, see Getting started with Pega 7 Express.

Access to Pega 7 Express from within Designer Studio is not supported on mobile devices.

Context-specific documentation is not available in express mode

Help topics that are opened from express mode display content that is specific to Designer Studio.

If your system is dedicated to applications that are developed in express mode exclusively, and you do not need Designer Studio help topics, you can set the Online Help URL field on the System Settings landing page to: https://pdn.pega.com/sites/default/files/help_p7e/procomhelpmain.htm. Alternatively, you can view the contextual help system for Pega 7 Express in a separate browser tab.

Design-time limitations in express mode

Some limitations apply when you develop an enterprise application in express mode. At design time, some features are disabled or have limited options when you configure them in Designer Studio and switch to express mode. The use of these features does not restrict the run-time behavior of your application; however, you cannot change the configuration of these features unless you switch from express mode to Designer Studio.

For more information about each limitation and the recommended action to take, see the following information:

• Pega 7.2.2 Design-time limitations in express mode
• Pega 7.2.1 Design-time limitations in express mode
• Pega 7.2 Design-time limitations in express mode
• Pega 7.1.9 Design-time limitations in express mode

PegaDISTRIBUTION Manager (PDM) is no longer available

The PegaDISTRIBUTION Manager (PDM) is no longer available in the Pega 7 Platform. The related PDN articles and help topics have been archived.