Published Release Notes

Ability to test SELECT statements

When developing and debugging applications, you can test SELECT statements from the Query Runner landing page. You can run queries against non-BLOB columns in your database and view the results on the landing page or export the results to an Excel spreadsheet or PDF file. This functionality is available for Pega Cloud customers who use a Postgres database or for customers using an Oracle database on-premises or on the cloud.

To use this landing page, you must have the PegaRULES:DatabaseAdministrator role or the pxDBSelectQuery privilege in Data- and Rule- in your access group. You access the landing page by clicking Designer Studio > System > Database > Query runner.

For more information, see Query Runner landing page for testing SELECT statements.

Elasticsearch 2.4.0 upgrade

The Pega 7 Platform has been updated to use Elasticsearch 2.4.0. You do not have to reindex immediately. You can reindex at your convenience by using the FullTextindexer utility, which provides a smoother transition to the next Elasticsearch library upgrade.

Rolling upgrades are not supported. Instead, after the upgrade has been completed, shut down all the nodes in the cluster, and then restart them beginning with the indexing nodes. For more information, see the Pega 7 Platform Upgrade Guide on the Deployment Guides landing page.

Extract marker file not created at startup

The extract marker file (PegaRULES_Extract_Marker.txt) is not created at startup, because the rule utility libraries no longer need it. If you used to use the extract marker file to clear the static content file-based cache, to look up lists, or to control starting activities with web nodes, you can delete the contents of the PegaRULES temporary directory instead.

Performance enhancements to StringBuilderFactory pooling

StringBuilderFactory has been enhanced to eliminate most scenarios where errors in calling application logic can accidentally cause StringBuilder data contamination within and across JVM thread boundaries. StringBuilderFactory pooling is now thread-specific, which prevents errors in one thread’s use of StringBuilder from contaminating StringBuilder objects in other threads. Debug messages were also added to help diagnose potential problems.

Roll back system changes by using restore points

Restore points save the state of your system, including all rule and data instances. You can roll back to this restore point later if there is a problem. The Pega 7 Platform automatically creates restore points before any archive import. You can also use the prpcServiceUtils command-line tool to create and manage restore points and to roll back changes to your application. For more information, see Restore points.

Deploy in secured mode

Deploying the Pega 7 Platform in secured mode helps prevent unauthorized access to your system. By default, the Pega 7 Platform deploys in secured mode. For more information, see the Deployment Guide for your environment.

Easily build components for applications

A component is a collection of rulesets that you use to create a small feature that can enhance an application. You can now create components that can be applied to applications created in the Pega 7 Platform. You can create and configure components on the new Component rule form and manage them on the Application rule form. Each component creates its own ruleset, which prevents naming conflicts from occurring if, for example, you install two components with the same name. You can upload or download any component from the Pega Exchange.

For more information, see Components.

Existing operator IDs during upgrades and updates

Upgrades and updates are always performed in secured mode to help prevent unauthorized access to your system. In secured mode, the [email protected] operator ID is always overwritten, but other existing standard operator IDs are not modified. New operator IDs are inserted in secured mode. For more information, see the Deployment Guide for your environment.

Trace agents from the Agent Management landing page

You can now trace an agent on any node in the cluster from the Agent Management landing page without logging in to the individual nodes. From this landing page, you also specify when to trace an agent.

For more information, see Tracing agents.

Client page load statistic enhancements

The client page load statistic is the total elapsed time from when the user clicks to when the screen has finished rendering, including network time and time spent in the browser. This statistic gives you visibility into system performance, allowing you to address performance issues in a timely manner. The client page load statistic is now available for usage reporting through the Log-Usage class and in the System Management Application (SMA). In addition, a new alert, PEGA0069, is generated when the page load duration is greater than the threshold. The threshold is set by using the following prconfig.xml file setting:

<env name="alerts/browser/clientPageLoadTimeThreshold/warnMS" value="<milliseconds>" />

The default is 4000 milliseconds.

For more information, see PEGA0069 alert - Client page load time has exceed the alert threshold.