Published Release Notes

Descendant class instances now included in reports

The Report on descendant class instances option on the Data Access tab of the Report Definition rule has a new option to now include data from all descendant classes of the report's primary class. If descendant classes are mapped to multiple class tables, the generated SQL query performs UNIONs to include this data. Previously, only a single class was included in the report.

You can select a subset of descendant classes to include or exclude by adding a filter condition on pxObjClass.

Existing reports retain the older behavior for this option after an upgrade or update. To use the new option, you must set it for each existing report. New reports created in Designer Studio and out-of-the-box Pega 7 Platform template reports from which new reports are created in the Report Browser (pyDefaultReport and pyDefaultSummaryReport) default to the new option. If you have created custom template reports for some application classes, you must change them to enable the new option in reports that are created in the Report Browser for these classes.

See Reporting on data in multiple class tables.

Report Definition query filters can search embedded properties

Filter conditions on Report Definition rules that query the Elasticsearch indexes can now reference embedded properties. Previously, filter conditions could reference only the top-level properties of a class. To reference an embedded property within a filter condition, specify indexes for embedded page lists and page groups, for example, Customers(1).Addresses(1).City = Boston OR Customers(1).Addresses(1).State = MA.

These indexes are ignored in the generated query, and so can potentially match any value in a page list or group. However, filter conditions that reference multiple embedded properties in the same page list or page group, as displayed above, might not be satisfied on the same page.

BIX extracts can be scheduled and run from the Pega 7 Platform by using agents

You can create an agent that periodically invokes the new pxExtractDataWithArgs activity to run a BIX Extract rule. The activity takes the class and extract rule name, as well as an additional input string with a list of BIX command-line parameters, as input parameters to use for the run.

Discontinued support for list view and summary view rules

The list view rule and the summary view rule are deprecated, and support for these rules has been discontinued. Existing list view and summary view reports will continue to work on supported browsers. However, the last version of Internet Explorer that list view and summary view rules support is Internet Explorer 11.

You cannot create new list view or summary view reports. Instead, create list reports and summarized reports by using the report definition rule. To prevent display issues, re-create the custom list view and summary view reports that you need as report definition reports.

Report Definitions can query tables in multiple schemas

You can create a Report Definition that queries class tables in multiple schemas in the same database. Previously, queries on tables that were mapped to PegaRULES and PegaDATA schemas could not include tables that were mapped to other schemas, because other schemas were assumed to be in a different database. The schemas to which queried class tables belong are no longer validated when you save the Report Definition, so you can now query tables in schemas other than PegaRULES and PegaDATA. However, Report Definitions that query tables that are in more than one database fail when run.

Java injection vulnerability check

Pega Platform™ now notifies you of Java injection vulnerabilities in activities, functions, and stream rules at design time and at run time.  You can customize Pega Platform to check for additional vulnerabilities to ensure that your application runs without problems.

For more information, see Configuring the Java injection check.

Usability improvements to Admin Studio

Admin Studio offers a variety of usability enhancements, including:

• New access groups to differentiate between full and read-only access to Admin Studio
• A Java class lookup utility
• A requestor list for the logged-on operator
• The ability to display system node type in the logs

Also, if your environment uses Predictive Diagnostic Cloud (PDC), the Admin Studio overview page now includes a link to PDC.

For more information, see Managing requestors.

Simple associations for quickly joining classes

Associations now have a simple mode. Use a simple association to quickly and easily join a class to another class. The simple association defines a left join, using a foreign key in the source class and the class key in the target class. Use an advanced association for all other conditions. In addition, simple associations are drawn in the Visual data model reporting mode to visualize the relationships that are available for reporting.

Upgrade impact

The new simple mode draws a map of where all the classes defined in the application rule are drawn as nodes. Relationships between the nodes that are defined by relevant properties are drawn as lines linking the two classes. This feature only includes Case and Data classes that are defined on the Application rule form's Cases and Data tab. It also only includes relevant fields for those classes in order to define the relationships from one class to another.

What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?

After a successful upgrade, add the data and case type classes to the application rule in Dev Studio to have the selected classes appear as a node. In addition, if you want a relationship to display as relevant, set the properties (of the class that defines that relationship) as relevant.

For more information, see Exploring the data model.

Association changes after upgrade

Associations now have a simple mode. Simple associations are those that join to only one class, use a left join, and have one filter condition to a class key in the target class. Existing associations that define a simple foreign key relationship are upgraded to simple associations when opened; all others are treated as advanced associations. All associations continue to work in reporting.

Making an association simple changes only one piece of metadata; all other data on the association rule is not affected.

Upgrade impact

The new simple mode draws a map of where all the classes defined in the application rule are drawn as nodes. Relationships between the nodes that are defined by relevant properties are drawn as lines linking the two classes. This feature only includes Case and Data classes that are defined on the Application rule form's Cases and Data tab. It also only includes relevant fields for those classes in order to define the relationships from one class to another. 

What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?

After a successful upgrade, add the data and case type classes to the application rule in Dev Studio to have the selected classes appear as a node. In addition, if you want a relationship to display as relevant, set the properties (of the class that defines that relationship) as relevant.

For more information, see Associations.

Case-insensitive filtering in reports

Filtering in reports is now case-insensitive, improving the reporting and searching experience. You can turn off case-insensitive filtering, for example, by using an activity. You might want to do this if your index is too big or if the length of time it takes for indexing impacts performance.

For more information on report filtering, see Editing filter conditions.