Additional upgrade scripts for new columns
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.4
In Version 6.2, additional columns (Major, Minor, and Patch) containing ruleset Version information were added to 15 tables in the PRPC database. When upgrading from a pre-Pega 7 release, scripts must be manually run after the upgrade to populate these columns.
These scripts are located in the Resource Kit, under Additional Upgrade Scripts.
- If upgrading to a single schema, run both scripts.
- If upgrading to a split schema, run the _data script against the data schema and run the _rules script against the rules schema.
Choose the scripts for your database type:
- db2zos_rulesetversion_columns_data.sql
- db2zos_rulesetversion_columns_rules.sql
- mssql_rulesetversion_columns_data.sql
- mssql_rulesetversion_columns_rules.sql
- oracle_rulesetversion_columns_data.sql
- oracle_rulesetversion_columns_rules.sql
- postgres_rulesetversion_columns_data.sql
- postgres_rulesetversion_columns_rules.sql
- udb_rulesetversion_columns_data.sql
- udb_rulesetversion_columns_rules.sql
End of support for form-based rule forms in Pega 7.1.9
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.9
Rule forms that are configured to render as forms are no longer supported in Designer Studio or end-user applications. Form-based configurations are found on custom rule types that were created in earlier versions of Pega 7 and are characterized by pop-up windows that are rendered externally from Designer Studio.
Reconfigure Pega 7 applications that use such rule forms by using standard harnesses and sections.
- Open the class form.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Select
Harness
from the menu. - Create a new harness and new sections that implement the logic of the custom rule, using standard user interface layouts and controls.
Migrating custom rule forms to harnesses and sections offers the following benefits:
- User interfaces become HTML5 WC3 compatible and responsive to different screen sizes.
- User interfaces become cross-browser compatible, rendered consistently in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and recent versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
- Rendering performance on modern browsers is dramatically improved.
- User interface pop-up behavior is eliminated; all windows are rendered inside Designer Studio and end-user applications.
End of support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and quirks mode applications in Pega 7.1.9
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.9
In accordance with Microsoft’s announcement to discontinue support for Internet Explorer 8 in January 2016, Pega 7.1.9 does not support Internet Explorer 8, nor does it support non-HTML5 standard user interfaces.
You must upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 or later or use Google Chrome, Apple Safari, or Mozilla Firefox. If you are using Internet Explorer 9 or later, you must turn off compatibility mode by accessing the Compatibility View settings.
Note the following:
- Pega 7.1.9 does not support user interface rules that are not based on HTML5 standards (rules in quirks mode).
- If you use applications that are rendered in quirks mode, which enables Pega 7 to correctly display and render non-HTML5 standard user interfaces, you must update them to standards-based HTML5 user interfaces when you upgrade to Pega 7.1.9 or later. Pega 7 provides automated tools to help you migrate your applications.
- Pegasystems Global Customer Support will not investigate or fix any Pega 7.1.9 bugs or support requests that are exclusive to Internet Explorer 8 or quirks mode user interfaces.
You can quickly identify which components of your application user interface are not HTML5 standards-based by clicking
.Upgrading to Pega 7.1.9 and a newer browser offers the following benefits:
- These browsers are HTML5 and CSS3 compliant.
- New features are supported and existing features work as intended.
- The Pega 7 Platform user interface is displayed and rendered as intended.
- Browser security is enhanced.
If you have additional questions about browser support, see the Platform Support Guide or contact Pegasystems Global Customer Support.
Updated default system pulse processing settings
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.9
The default settings for system pulse processing have been updated in this release.
Upgrades to Pega 7.1.9 from a previous version of the Pega 7 Platform use database pulse by default. Database pulse synchronizes rule changes at a periodic interval across all nodes in a system.
New installations of Pega 7.1.9 use cluster-based pulse by default. Cluster-based pulse immediately updates rule changes across all nodes in a system after the changes are saved.
You can change the database pulse setting to the cluster-based pulse setting by updating the value attribute for initialization/pulse/transport
to "cluster" in the prconfig.xml file or in the Dynamic System Settings. Changing from database pulse to cluster-based pulse requires a full cluster restart after the changes are made.
For more information, see Pega-RULES agents.
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.
PegaDISTRIBUTION Manager (PDM) is no longer available
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.9
The PegaDISTRIBUTION Manager (PDM) is no longer available in the Pega 7 Platform. The related PDN articles and help topics have been archived.
Addition of Servlet Management
Valid from Pega Version 8.6
Pega Platform™ now has Servlet Management in Pega Cloud® Services, which provides a simple and secure way to make changes to Pega Platform servlet definitions.
Servlet Management provides Pega Cloud Service clients with solutions to manage servlet configurations with self-service options. This reduces the cycle time for delivering configuration changes in Pega Cloud Service installations while also improving upgrade reliability.
For more information, see Servlet management.
Upgrade impact
Clients with no application servlet customizations will not experience an impact. If you upgrade from Pega Platform version 8.5 or earlier and, prior to the upgrade, the Pega Cloud team provided your application servlet customizations, then following the upgrade, you must manually add, remove, or modify your servlet customizations in your upgraded application using this servlet management landing page in Pega Platform.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
To manually move your pre-upgrade servlet customizations as appropriate or add new ones to your upgraded application using the new servlet management landing page, follow the steps in Adding a servlet.
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.
Text predictions simplify the configuration of text analytics for conversational channels
Valid from Pega Version 8.6
Enable text analytics for your conversational channels, such as email and chatbot, by configuring text predictions that manage the text models for your channels. This new type of prediction in Prediction Studio consolidates the AI for analyzing the messages in your conversational channels in one place and replaces the text analyzer rule in Dev Studio.
Through text predictions, you can efficiently configure the outcomes that you want to predict by analyzing the text in your channels:
- Topics (ticket booking, subscription cancellation, support request)
- Sentiments (positive, neutral, negative)
- Entities (people, organizations, airport codes)
- Languages
You can train and build the models that predict these outcomes through an intuitive process, and then monitor the outcomes through user-friendly charts.
For more information, see Predict customer needs and behaviors by using text predictions in your conversational channels.
Upgrade impact
Channels that you configured with text analyzers in the previous version of your system continue to work in the same manner after the upgrade to the current version. When you edit and save the configuration of an existing channel, the text analyzer rule is automatically upgraded to a text prediction. The associated text prediction is now an object where you can manage and monitor the text analytics for your channel. When you create a new channel in the upgraded system, the system automatically creates a text prediction for that channel.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
- Enable the asynchronous model building and reporting in text predictions through job schedulers that use the System Runtime Context (SRC) by adding your application to the SRC.
For more information, see Automating the runtime context management of background processes. - Enable model building in text predictions by configuring background processing nodes.
For more information, see Assigning decision management node types to Pega Platform nodes.
Deprecation of EAR deployments in Pega Platform 8.6
Valid from Pega Version 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.
Deprecated rule type | Alternative rule type | Recommended configuration |
Connect EJB | Connect REST | Substitute legacy EJB resources with a REST API, and use REST connectors to interact with them. |
Connect JCA | Connect REST | Substitute legacy JCA resources with a REST API, and use REST connectors to interact with them. |
JCA Resource Adapter | JCA resource adapters are data records that are used within the scope of a Connect JCA rule. If you replaced Connect JCA rules in your application with Connect REST rules, JCA resource adapters are no longer relevant. | No further configuration is necessary. |
JMS MDB Listener | JMS Listener | Replace JMS MDB Listener configurations with standard JMS Listener configurations. |
Service EJB | Service REST | Redefine your EJB services as a set of RESTful service APIs, and invoke them over HTTP/HTTPS. |
For information on the supported platforms that are affected by this deprecation, see Pega Platform 8.6 Support Guide.