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.
Pega Agile Studio integration
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
You can configure the new Agile Workbench tool to integrate with Pega® Agile Studio so that bugs and user stories are synchronized between the two systems. In addition, you can improve traceability in your development environment by using the Current work feature to associate a user story or bug with development changes.
For more information, see Integrating Agile Workbench with Pega Agile Studio and Tracing development changes to work items.
Create connections to repositories
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
Pega® Platform can communicate with common repository technologies. Whenever an action creates a RAP, Pega Platform can browse, publish, or fetch artifacts: for example, when exporting an application, product, branch, or component. Repositories are instances of the Data-Repository class which holds all necessary connection information.
Pega Platform includes tools to connect with the following repository types:
- JFrog Artifactory
- Amazon S3
For more information, see Creating a JFrog Artifactory or Amazon S3 repository connection.
Support for nested Declare Trigger rules
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
Pega Platform™ now supports nested Declare Trigger rules so that you can conveniently create correlations between actions in your case types. Declare Triggers rules invoke an action when a specified event takes place in a case type. You can now design more complex scenarios faster by nesting more Declare Trigger rules that work in the context of running another Declare Trigger rule. For example, when a case participant changes a postal code in their personal details, a Declare Trigger rule runs and a respective customer service representative (CSR) receives an email. After the CSR receives the email, a nested Declare Trigger rule runs and your application creates a document with the updated personal details and attaches it to the case.
For more information, see Develop applications faster with nested Declare Trigger rules (8.5), Declare Trigger rules.
Condition builder enhancements
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
To enhance the precision of condition builder in both App Studio and Dev Studio, the new instances include comparator helps you specify the number of field group and field group list instances to which a when rule applies. In addition, a search option that returns results on keypress helps you easily look for existing values.
For more information, see Create conditions in an enhanced condition builder (8.5), Defining conditions in the condition builder.
Guided tours and online help added to application guides
Valid from Pega Version 7.3.1
You can now create application guides that display content from a Pega® Platform help topic or a sequence of tour stops in a guided tour. By providing supporting information in an interactive format, you can help users complete tasks more quickly.
For more information about displaying help topics, tour stops, and other types of information in a task, see Interactive tasks in an application guide.
Capture real-time feedback with Agile Workbench
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
Project stakeholders can use the new Agile Workbench tool to capture real-time feedback directly in an application, which can increase the efficiency of application development. You capture feedback by creating a user story, bug, or feedback item, and these work items can include video recordings of screens, annotated screen captures, file attachments, or URLs. In Designer Studio, you can configure Agile Workbench to integrate with Pega® Agile Studio so that bugs and user stories are synchronized between the two systems.
For more information, see:
- Pega Express 7.3 – Agile Workbench
- Pega Platform 7.3 – Agile Workbench
Enabling historical compliance score data
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.9
Project stakeholders can now track the compliance score for an application over time to better understand and manage ongoing development adherence to Pega 7 Platform guardrails. The compliance score history can be displayed on a line graph on the Compliance Score tab of the Application Guardrails landing page. The data is collected daily and displayed in weekly increments, up to four weeks prior to the current date.
For more information, see Guardrails compliance score, Enabling compliance score history, and Compliance score trend reporting.
Associate specifications on implementation rule forms
Valid from Pega Version 7.2.1
You can now view, add, and delete the specifications that are associated with a rule on the new Specifications tab of most rule forms. The Specifications tab is available for almost all implementation rules, except for administrative and deprecated rule types. By associating specifications with the rules that implement them, you improve the end-to-end traceability of your specifications.
For more information, see Associating specifications on implementation rule forms.
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.