Upgraded selected third-party JAR files to support Pega Platform functionalities
Valid from Pega Version 8.6
Pega Platform™ 8.6 now provides upgraded versions of the JAR files that support various functionalities within the Platform, such as generating documents or PPTX files.
Upgrade impact
If you have custom implementations and use any classes from the upgraded JAR files directly in your code or through JAR APIs, after your upgrade to Pega Platform 8.6, your application might experience unexpected run-time behavior if the upgraded JAR version lacks any elements from the previous version. For example, custom implementations can typically include activities, functions, or non-autogenerated sections. Unexpected run-time behavior might also occur when you use a third-party library that has dependencies on the upgraded JAR files. If you use only default Pega Platform functionalities without any customizations, the JAR files continue to work correctly without any additional actions.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
If you have any JAR customizations, ensure that you test the upgraded JAR files for compatibility and upgrade impact. The following table lists the upgraded JAR files that might impact your application:
| JAR file name | Upgraded version |
|---|---|
| apache-mime4j-core | 0.8.3 |
| apache-mime4j-dom | 0.8.3 |
| commons-codec | 1.15 |
| commons-collectionons4 | 4.4 |
| commons:commons-math3 | 3.6.1 |
| commons-compress | 1.20 |
| commons-lang3 | 3.9 |
| fontbox | 2.0.19 |
| httpclient | 4.5.12 |
| httpcore | 4.4.13 |
| httpmime | 4.5.12 |
| istack-commons-runtime | 3.0.8 |
| jackson-annotations | 2.10.3 |
| jackson-core | 2.10.3 |
| jackson-databind | 2.10.3 |
| jaxb-runtime | 2.3.2 |
| java-libpst | 0.9.3 |
| jcommaner | 1.78 |
| junrar | 4.0.0 |
| metadata-extractor | 2.13 |
| openjson | 1.0.11 |
| parso | 2.0.11 |
| pdfbox | 2.0.19 |
| poi | 4.1.2 |
| poi-ooxml | 4.1.2 |
| poi-ooxml-schemas | 4.1.2 |
| poi-scratchpad | 4.1.2 |
| slf4j-api | 1.7.28 |
| xmlbeans | 3.1.0 |
| xmpcore | 6.1.10 |
For more information, refer to the documentation of your JAR provider.
Survey rules are deprecated
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
Surveys that were created prior to version 7.4 of Pega Platform are now deprecated. As a best practice, recreate your survey by using the Survey Management landing page, and then reuse questions or question pages from your survey library.
For more information about creating surveys, see Improved survey authoring.
Deprecated survey APIs
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
APIs that were available in the PegaSurvey ruleset have been superseded by Pega® Platform APIs. Although older APIs continue to function in this release, it is recommended that you update your flows and flow actions to use the new APIs because they provide the latest survey capabilities, and deprecated features are not supported.
The following table maps deprecated APIs to their replacement APIs.
| Deprecated API | New API | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Work-.QuestionShape | Work-.pzQuestionShape | A flow that displays one simple question. |
| Work-.QuestionShapeScr | Work-.pzQuestionShapeScr | A screen flow that displays one simple question. |
| Work-.SurveyDriver | Work-.pxSurveyDriver | A flow that displays questions in a survey, which can be simple or complex. You can control whether the questions are displayed on one or multiple screens. |
| Work-.SurveySection | Work-.pxSurveySection | A section that displays questions in a survey. You can reference this section from a user action, such as a flow action or connector flow action, in a flow. |
Locatable pages are deprecated
Valid from Pega Version 7.3.1
Locatable pages are deprecated. Use a data page instead. Data pages provide improved performance. When you save a rule that has a Locate Page Activity or when you create an activity of type Locate page, a guardrail warning is displayed indicating that this feature has been deprecated.
For information about data pages, see Data pages.
Pulse Extension points are deprecated
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
Beginning with Pega® Platform 7.3, Pulse uses the notifications feature to send notifications. As a result, Pulse extension points for email body, subject, and recipient list have been deprecated. Preferences set for Pulse notifications in earlier versions are no longer valid.
Use the alternatives listed in the following table to configure your Pulse message and notification preferences.
| Deprecated extension point | Alternative extension point | Corresponding notification rule |
|---|---|---|
| pyInstantPulseNotification (Correspondence) | pyAddPulsePost (Correspondence) | pyAddPulsePost |
| pyReplyPulseNotification (Correspondence) | pyAddPulsePost (Correspondence) | pyAddPulsePost |
| pyMentionsPulseNotification (Correspondence) | pyAddUserMentionedPost (Correspondence) | pyAddUserMentionedPost |
| pyMentionsInNonCaseContext (Correspondence) | pyAddUserMentionedPost (Correspondence) | pyAddUserMentionedPost |
| pyNewPulsePostSubject (Field Value) | pyAddPulsePostEmailSubject (Field Value) | pyAddPulsePost |
| pyNewPulseFilePostSubject (Field Value) | pyAddPulsePostEmailSubject (Field Value) | pyAddPulsePost |
| pyNewPulseReplySubject (Field Value) | pyAddPulsePostEmailSubject (Field Value) | pyAddPulsePost |
| pyMentionedUserSubject (Field Value) | pyAddUserMentionedPostEmailSubject (Field Value) | pyAddUserMentionedPost |
| pyMentionedFollowerSubject (Field Value) | pyAddUserMentionedPostEmailSubject (Field Value) | pyAddUserMentionedPost |
| pyMentionedFollowerWithFilePostSubject (Field Value) | pyAddUserMentionedPostEmailSubject (Field Value) | pyAddUserMentionedPost |
| pyGetListOfEmailReceivers (Activity) | D_pxGetCaseFollowers (Data page) | pyAddPulsePost |
To continue using the deprecated extension points, override the pyInvokepxNotify when rule and set it to return false.
For more information, see Management of user notification preferences.
Search field type is deprecated
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.9
The search field type in Form Builder is deprecated. Use a data reference or user reference instead, both of which prompt users with an autocomplete field at run time.
For the full list of supported field types in Form Builder, see Supported display modes by field type.
Questionnaire shape replaces Survey shape in legacy flows
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
In flows that reference deprecated surveys, the Questionnaire shape has replaced the Survey shape. Although legacy surveys continue to function in this release, update your flows to use the Survey shape because it provides the latest survey capabilities, and deprecated features are not supported.
For more information about the new survey authoring experience, see Improved survey authoring.
Upgrade utility for Get Next Work performance
Valid from Pega Version 7.2.2
You can run a utility to upgrade Get Next Work processing to more quickly process assignments that were created in versions of the Pega 7 Platform earlier than 7.2.2. Performance is automatically improved on new installations.
For more information, see Upgrading Get Next Work performance.
Support for validations in Declare Expression rules
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
Pega Platform™ now correctly evaluates validations on target properties in Declare Expression rules. As a result, any validations defined on properties that have Declare Expression rules in previous releases, now work correctly.
Upgrade impact
Any unintended validations on properties that have configured Declare Expression rules, both default and user-defined, might cause issues in an application upon saving work objects and data objects that refer to Declare Expression rules.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
If you experience issues when saving objects, debug your application by setting the declareexp/target/validation/disable dynamic system setting to true. If your application works correctly after the change, it means that validations on Declare Expressions cause the issues. For your application to work correctly, analyze the log files and remove any unintended validations.
For more information, see Declare Expression rules.
Label changes to field types in Case Designer
Valid from Pega Version 7.2
The following field types have been renamed in Case Designer to be consistent with Data Designer and other areas of the Pega 7 Platform.
| Label in previous versions | Label in Pega 7.2 |
|---|---|
| Text | Text (single line) |
| Text (multiple lines) | Text (paragraph) |
| Check box | Boolean |
| Date and time | Date & time |
| Date | Date only |
| Drop down | Picklist |
| Number (integer) | Integer |
| Number (decimal) | Decimal |
Users who upgrade from versions prior to Pega 7.2 do not have to take any action because the label changes are cosmetic and do not affect the underlying controls or property types that support form building.
For more information about the field types that you can use when building a form, see Storage and display of single-value fields.