Published Release Notes

New data tables are non-Pega formatted

All new data tables are created as non-Pega formatted tables, that is, they do not contain a BLOB column, a pzInsKey column, or a pxObjClass column. The table's primary key will be the key that you specify, not pzInsKey. Data table construction was changed to improve performance of the Obj-Save method during batch operations, such as data imports, to make it easier to replace the table with an external system of record and to make it easier to share data among applications.

Browser unresponsive when logging in to Designer Studio

The What's new in 7.4 widget on the Designer Studio home page uses WebGL to render its background animation. If your browser is running on a virtual machine without hardware acceleration, your browser might become unresponsive because of this widget. Click the Hide this until next release button to remove the widget. At your next login, the widget will not be displayed.

Applications not working as expected when using fast processing for Connect REST and Service REST integration

In Pega^® Platform 7.3.1, the Use fast processing option on Connect REST and Service REST rule forms did not work. The functionality has been fixed for Pega 7.4; however, some data model guidelines must be followed. If you use this option in Pega 7.3.1, and you did not follow the guidelines, your application might not work as expected after upgrading. Use the following data model guidelines when using fast processing:

• The JSON property names and the clipboard property names must match.
• The JSON tree structure and the clipboard tree structure must be similar.
• The scalar arrays in JSON must be mapped to the clipboard as page lists.
• Multi-dimensional arrays must be mapped into page lists of page lists with the same embedded property names.

In addition, page groups, value groups, and Java objects are not supported by fast processing.

Editable list of build-on application features

Pega Platform™ now provides you with an option to edit the list of features in your application stack. Now you can define the order of the features to generate application documentation that lists the features by their priorities instead of the time of creation. For example, you can reorder the features when you want to communicate to your stakeholders which elements are top priorities.

For more information, see Learning about feature order.

Enhanced Wait shape

Pega Platform™ now supports the enhanced Wait shape that configures the case to wait for the resolution of all child cases instead of only the child cases of a specific type. When you set up the Wait shape to stop a case until it reaches a certain status, you can decide whether the shape considers statuses from a whole case life cycle, or only the statuses after the wait begins. The enhanced Wait shape provides you with greater control over resolution of your cases. 

For more information, see Pausing and resuming processes in cases in Dev Studio, Pausing and resuming processes in cases in App Studio.

Improved data page performance

Data pages that are sourced from report definitions now support server-side paging. This functionality optimizes the performance and memory of data pages, making them more efficient at retrieving large lists of data. In addition to getting page indicators at the top of a grid, you can sort and filter columns in a grid in conjunction with paging. If you want the system to use server-side pagination, you can also enable pagination from the Data page rule form.

For more information, see Defining data page access.

Support for the JSON Web Token Bearer grant type for accessing external APIs

You can now access external APIs by using the new OAuth 2.0 JSON Web Token (JWT) Bearer grant type, in an OAuth 2.0 authentication profile. To use the JWT Bearer grant type as a client assertion, source the JWT from an active SSO session, a token profile, or a property reference. You can use JWTs that you obtain during an OpenID Connect SSO in connectors, to achieve user impersonation flows, such as the On-Behalf-Of (OBO) flow. The OAuth 2.0 type authentication profile now also supports authentication of client applications by using Private Key JWTs.

Instances of the OAuth 2.0 provider are now deprecated. As a best practice, use the new, unified authentication profile configuration instead.

For more information, see Configuring an OAuth 2.0 authentication profile.

Upgrade impact

After an upgrade to Pega Platform 8.4 and later, Authentication Profiles can take advantage of the new JWT based OAuth 2.0 grant type and client authentication features. To take advantage of this and other new security features, you must update any existing Authentication Profiles formats must to use those in Pega Platform 8.4 and later.

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

Since these features are available only for profiles created in Pega Platform 8.4 and later, clients must open and then save existing 'Authentication Profile' instances to ensure that the configuration is compatible with the latest authentication formats.

Email supports Microsoft Graph

Email integration with Microsoft Office 365 now supports Microsoft Graph. By using Microsoft Graph, you can process inbound email more securely and avoid using less secure protocols, such as IMAP and POP3.

For more information, see Creating an email account.

Email listener enhancements for faster email processing

Enhanced email listeners now process more emails in less time. To increase throughput, you can configure email listeners to process several emails simultaneously, instead of one at a time.

For more information, see Creating an email listener.

Specify the scope for rolling back rules and data to a restore point

Create restore points to save the state of all rules and data in your system at a significant point in time, for example, before you import an application. Roll back to that restore point to return the system to that state. Now, you can filter which rule and data instances are returned to their previous state:

• System: Roll back every rule and data instance that has a history record.
• User: Roll back rule and data instances modified by a specific user. If any rule was changed by more than one user, you will see an error message and must use the system rollback.
• Application: Roll back rule and data instances in a specific application.

For more information, see Using restore points to enable error recovery.