Published Release Notes

Enhanced Expression Builder for certain rule types

For certain rule types, several enhancements to the Expression Builder help you to efficiently build expressions in a user-friendly environment. Enhancements include:

• The ability to use single-line or multi-line comments to explain the purpose of the expression.
• Formatting, such as tab characters and carriage returns, that is preserved the next time you open the Expression Builder after closing it.
• Real-time validation of expressions so that you receive immediate feedback about the syntax in your expression.
• The ability to test the input value of a property for a portion or all of the expression.

These enhancements apply to the Expression Builder for the following types of rules:

• Data Transform
• When
• Map Value
• Decision Tree
• Decision Table
• Strategy

For more information, see Expression Builder enhancements for certain rule types.

Pega Composite Gateway not required for Pega Web Mashup

The Pega Composite Gateway servlet (prgateway.rar file) is no longer required for Pega Web Mashup gadgets. You can now use web mashups without deploying the Gateway. Support for the Gateway will continue, but it is a best practice not to use it for the Pega Web Mashup in Pega 7.2.1 and later versions.

Extract marker file not created at startup

The extract marker file (PegaRULES_Extract_Marker.txt) is not created at startup, because the rule utility libraries no longer need it. If you used to use the extract marker file to clear the static content file-based cache, to look up lists, or to control starting activities with web nodes, you can delete the contents of the PegaRULES temporary directory instead.

The UpdateAdaptiveModels agent causes an exception after Pega 7.2 to 7.2.1 upgrade

After the Pega 7 Platform is upgraded from version 7.2 to 7.2.1, the log files might show an error that is caused by the UpdateAdaptiveModels agent. This agent is enabled by default and is responsible for updating scoring models in the Pega 7 Platform. If you use adaptive models in your solution, you can avoid this error by configuring the Adaptive Decision Manager service. If you do not use adaptive models, disable the UpdateAdaptiveModels agent.

For more information, see Configuring the Adaptive Decision Manager service and Pega-DecisionEngine agents.

Reconfiguration of the Adaptive Decision Manager service after upgrade to Pega 7.2.1

After you upgrade the Pega 7 Platform to version 7.2.1, you need to reconfigure the Adaptive Decision Manager service. Beginning with Pega 7.2.1, the Adaptive Decision Management (ADM) service is native to the Pega 7 Platform and is supported by the Decision data node infrastructure.

For more information, see Services landing page.

Upgrade/update fails if PostGIS is applied to PegaRULES or PegaDATA schema

If you use the PostGIS extension to a PostgreSQL database, upgrading or updating the Pega 7 Platform fails if the extension has been applied to either the PegaRULES or PegaDATA schema. PostGIS can be applied to any other schema.

Support for rule rebasing

You can now rebase the rules on your development server with the most recently committed rules from a centralized system of record (SOR). For example, after rules are merged on the SOR, you can rebase your development application to refresh your application with the merged rules. Development teams working in two separate development environments can share their changes, keep their local rulebases synchronized, and reduce the probability of conflicts with other development teams.

For more information, see Rule rebasing.

Support for Apache Cassandra

The Pega^® Platform can now read data from and write data to an Apache Cassandra database. Apache Cassandra is a NoSQL database that you can use when a NoSQL database better meets your scalability and processing requirements.

For a list of supported and unsupported features, see Apache Cassandra support.

Apply logic to data import fields

When importing data from an external system, you can translate data fields into values that can be read by Pega^® Platform. From the Import wizard, you can do the following actions:

• Apply a decision tree or decision table to the data that is imported for a field.
• Use imported data for a field to look up a value in another record. For example, you can look up the key of a record that uses an external identifier to populate a foreign key field.
• Create templates that contain business logic, which eliminates the need to handle data transformations manually during preprocessing.

For more information, see Transforming data during import.

Expose properties in Decision Data Store

You can now expose properties in Cassandra-based Decision Data Store data sets. With this solution, you can update single properties in extended customer analytic records (XCAR) without having to update the full customer record.

For more information, see XCAR in Decision Data Store.