Published Release Notes

Deprecation of EAR deployments in Pega Platform 8.6

Starting with Pega Platform 8.6, EAR deployments of Pega Platform are deprecated. In the upcoming 8.7 release, EAR deployments will not be supported. The following rules that require EAR deployments will also be deprecated and no longer supported in Pega Platform 8.7:

• Connect EJB
• Connect JCA
• JCA Resource Adapter
• JMS MDB Listener
• Service EJB

With this deprecation, you can use the latest tools and keep your application up to date. 

Upgrade impact

In Pega Platform 8.6, you can still create rules that require EAR deployments and update existing rules. However, after an upgrade to Pega Platform 8.7, rules that require EAR deployments are no longer supported.

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

To prepare your application for this change well in advance of the Pega Platform 8.7 release, see the following table for a list of alternative rules and for guidance on modernizing your application.

For information on the supported platforms that are affected by this deprecation, see Pega Platform 8.6 Support Guide.

REST APIs for viewing Pega Platform configuration settings

New REST APIs in the Nodes category provide a view of the current configuration settings for any node in a cluster or for an entire cluster. You can also find a specific node ID by listing all the nodes in the cluster. To diagnose settings issues for a node, you can download the prconfig.xml file.

For more information, see Pega API for Pega Platform 7.4, Pega API, and Viewing the current configuration settings for a node or the whole cluster.

Support for multiple custom mobile apps for a Pega Platform application

To enhance the user experience and provide support for native mobile components, you can create multiple custom mobile apps for a Pega Platform™ application. For each custom mobile app, you must create a different mobile channel interface. In addition, you can configure each custom mobile app to run only in a specific portal for an application. The custom mobile app uses this portal regardless of which default portal is defined for the access group.

For more information, see Selecting a portal for a custom mobile app.

CRM core data types included in Pega Platform

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) core data types are now included with Pega^® Platform, making it easier to bring your data into your Pega application. You can either import your data into the data tables for the CRM data types or use integration to communicate with your own system of record. The database tables for these data types are non-Pega formatted, which gives you better performance and more control over your data.

For information about the database tables, see CRM data types in Pega Platform.

Support for large binary data item storage in Pega Mobile Client and offline case attachments in Pega Platform

Pega^® Mobile Client can now store and synchronize large binary data items and their corresponding actions from the action queue on Android and iOS devices. As a result, custom mobile app users can view, attach, and delete data files, whether the device is online or offline. For this function to work, you must enable offline case attachment support, which allows your custom mobile apps to synchronize case attachments between the Pega Platform and the mobile device.

For more information, see Enabling offline case attachments support and Client Store API.

Open cases in a mobile app with push notifications sent from Pega 7 Platform applications

Push notification smart shapes in a workflow of a Pega 7 Platform application can now send push notifications that open a case in a custom mobile app. Users working in the field can use this feature to instantly access priority assignments instead of having to search for changes manually.

For more information, see Configuring the Push Notification shape.

Cannot send mobile push notifications when the Pega 7 Platform is hosted on WebSphere Application Server

Push notifications are not sent to Android or iOS mobile apps when the Pega 7 Platform is hosted on WebSphere Application Server.

Simplified process for JMS MDB listener deployment

The process for deploying a JMS message-driven bean (MDB) that represents a JMS MDB listener has been streamlined for new enterprise applications. It is now less complicated and can be performed in fewer steps.

For more information on deploying to WebSphere, WebLogic, and JBoss, refer to the PDN article Deploying a JMS message-driven bean (MDB) that represents a JMS MDB listener in Pega 7.

Service Portlet rules are deprecated

Service Portlet rules are deprecated. Existing rules will continue to work, but you cannot create new ones. Use Pega Web Mashup instead. In addition, some changes might impact functionality. If you are using Portlet rules and plan to upgrade, contact your customer service representative.

For more information about Pega Web Mashup, see About Pega Web Mashup.

Mobile features deprecated in 8.4

Following the introduction of new functionalities for mobile apps, some features are reaching end of life. To avoid additional effort during updates to future releases, do not use deprecated features.

In the 8.4 release, the following features are no longer recommended:

• Mobile Client 7 is now deprecated and planned for removal in 8.5. Use Pega Infinity Mobile Client to meet the mobile needs of your business.
• The Reuse existing web portal functionality is deprecated and planned for removal in 8.5. For improved app performance and more efficient development, use the mobile app builder in the mobile channel. Also, you must convert existing projects to use separate channels for mobile and web portals before upgrading to 8.5.

In addition, the Pega Mobile Express app has been removed from app stores and replaced with the Pega Mobile Preview app.