Published Release Notes

Use Page-Change-Class method to change a Page class

With the release of Pega Platform™ 8.3, using the Property-Set method to change the Page class shows a guardrail warning. Use the Page-Change-Class method to change the Page class instead.

For more information about the Page-Change-Class method, see Changing the class of a page and Page-Change-Class method.

Automatic retries for the SAVE operation on records

Batch and real-time data flow runs now automatically retry the SAVE operation on records when an error occurs because of resource unavailability. This functionality ensures that the records are eventually saved if the target data set is only temporarily unavailable, for example, because of load or network issues.

You can configure the default number of retries for the entire system in a dynamic system setting. To adjust the setting to different resource allocations and operating environments, you can update that number for each data flow run.

For more information, see Changing the number of retries for SAVE operations, Creating a batch run for data flows, and Creating a real-time run for data flows.

Cassandra 3.11.3 support for Pega Platform

Increase your system's reliability and reduce its memory footprint by upgrading the internal Cassandra database to version 3.11.3.

For on-premises Pega Platform™ users, after you upgrade to Pega 8.3, it is recommended that you manually upgrade to Cassandra 3.11.3. You can upgrade to Cassandra 3.11.3 on all operating systems except IBM AIX. If you do not want to upgrade to Cassandra 3.11.3, you can continue to use Cassandra 2.1.20, which is still supported.

For Pega Cloud Services 2.13 and later versions, Cassandra automatically upgrades to version 3.11.3 after your environment is upgraded to Pega Platform 8.3.

For information on how to manually upgrade to Cassandra 3.11.3, see the Pega Platform 8.3 Upgrade Guide for your server and database at Deploy Pega Platform.

Upgrade impact

After an on-premises Pega Platform upgrade, you still have the older version of Cassandra and must manually upgrade.

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

To upgrade Cassandra, you must create a prconfig setting or a dynamic system setting with the new Cassandra version and then do a rolling restart of all the Decision Data Store nodes to upgrade them to the latest version of Cassandra.

CyberArk password vault support added for Pega database

With the CyberArk password vault, you can store your systems' passwords in a secure, central location and retrieve them from that location instead of directly entering credentials into the systems. This support is available only for IBM WebSphere environments.

For more information, see Pega Platform deployment guides.

REST API for monitoring DSM services

Decision Strategy Manager (DSM) now provides a REST API that you can use to monitor DSM services without having to access Pega Platform™. By integrating your daily monitoring tools with the management REST API, you can retrieve a list of DSM nodes, check the status of these nodes, and view details of a service from all nodes in the cluster.

For more information, see Getting started with Pega API for Pega Platform.

Support added for multiple mashups

You can now include multiple mashups on a single webpage or browser, even if the mashups have different application and authentication requirements. Use mashups to embed a Pega Platform™ application as a gadget on your website. For example, you can embed Web Chatbot and Self-Service Advisor on the same website.

For more information about mashups, see Configuring the Mashup channel.

Create custom criteria for proposition filters by using the condition builder

Proposition filters now use the condition builder to define the criteria that a proposition or group of propositions must match in order to be offered to a customer. The condition builder provides a simple, flexible tool for selecting and grouping the entry criteria.

For more information, see Create custom criteria for Proposition Filter rules with the condition builder (8.3).

Changes to URL format for Pega Web Mashup

The format of Pega Web Mashup URLs now supports multiple mashups on a single web page. The new URL format prevents a mashup from sharing cookies with another mashup.

If you want to include multiple mashups on a single web page and one of the mashups was created before 8.3, you must regenerate the mashup to reflect the new URL format.

For more information, see <link to help topic>.

Fast-track change requests for high-priority business needs

Perform urgent rule updates through fast-track change requests. The new type of change requests supports addressing high-priority business needs and deploying them immediately, without the need to disrupt an ongoing revision.

For more information, see Release urgent business rule updates through fast track change requests (8.3) and Creating application overlays.

Change tracking tab removed from declare expressions

To simplify the configuration of a declare expression, the Change tracking tab has been removed from the declare expression rule form. To use the Change tracking tab, on the declare expression rule form, click Actions > Use legacy expression.

For more information, see Supported and unsupported configurations in simplified declare expressions.

Upgrade impact

The declare expression rules have been moved from the pr4_rule table to the new pr4_rule_declare_expression table.

The upgrade can fail if you customize the pr4_rule table, such as increasing the length of an existing column.

After a successful upgrade, the declare expression rule form is simplified and lightweight pages support declare expressions.

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

Read-only data pages by default are lightweight. You could also enable lightweight pages for:

• Editable data pages by selecting the Enable option in the editable data page rule form.
• For all pages in a REST service by using the Lightweight clipboard mode in the Service REST form in the Rest API service.

Only simplified declare expressions are supported in lightweight pages. In simplified declare expressions, context-bound rules are not supported. However, a page context could be specified on the New or Save As form of declare expressions. For more information, see Declare Expression rules - Completing the New or Save As form.