Chapter 2. New features
This section highlights new features in Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.9.
2.1. Business Central
2.1.1. Support for multiple diagrams in DMN models
For complex DMN models, you can now use the DMN designer in Business Central to design multiple DMN decision requirements diagrams (DRDs) that represent parts of the overall decision requirements graph (DRG) for a DMN decision model. This improvement enables you to better organize DMN decision models with many decision requirements by dividing the model into smaller nested DRDs.
For more information about creating DMN models with multiple diagrams, see Designing a decision service using DMN models.
2.1.2. Dashbuilder runtime
Dashbuilder runtime is a new add-on standalone web application, distributed as a WAR
to run the dashboards on Red Hat JBoss EAP. If you have access to dashbuilder runtime, you can explore the dashboards created in Business Central. The following list provides a summary of dashbuilder runtime updates:
- After creating dashboards using datasets and pages, you can export these dashboards from Business Central using custom export.
- You can import, access, and run the dashboards that are exported from Business Central in dashbuilder runtime.
- Dashbuilder runtime accesses the KIE Server REST API to run the queries from imported KIE Server datasets.
- Dashbuilder runtime provides embedded capabilities that allow you to set a specific dashboard from an instance of dashbuilder runtime on your web applications.
- In Dashbuilder runtime, you can import multiple dashboards in a single dashbuilder runtime instance.
- You can create and add external components that can be a part of the dashboard page.
2.2. Entando AppBuilder
Entando AppBuilder is now officially removed from the Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.9. Red Hat Process Automation Manager no longer includes entitlements for Entando AppBuilder. The feature references and documentation is not be available from the 7.9 release.
2.3. Process Designer
2.3.1. Process designer updates
The following list provides a summary of process designer updates:
- Ability to add data objects in a process diagram
- Ability to add Kafka work item in a process diagram to send events to a Kafka topic
- Ability to double-click any diagram node to edit its name using the new inline text editor
- Ability to view highlighted syntax when writing a script in Java, JavaScript, and MVEL
-
Ability to use multiple connections for a task or an event using
jbpm.enable.multi.con
system property
For more information, see Designing business processes in Business Central.
2.3.2. Support for link intermediate events
You can now use link events in the process designer to connect different parts of your process. The new link events include an intermediate throwing and catching link event. For more information, see Designing business processes in Business Central.
2.3.3. Ability to configure emails in the task notification
You can now directly add email addresses to send task notification emails. For more information, see Designing business processes in Business Central.
2.4. Decision engine
2.4.1. Descope traits in decision engine
The traits functionality and its specific implementation code is moved to an individual module named drools-traits
. To use traits, you can import the drools-traits
module to Maven. The existing implementation is not supported in the executable rule model.
2.4.2. New drools-metric
module for decision engine performance analysis
A new module named drools-metric
is added, which can assist in the performance analysis of the decision engine.
For more information, see Designing a decision service using DRL rules.
2.5. Process engine
2.5.1. Support for process fluent API
You can now create a business process using the process fluent API. Following is a basic example of creating a business process using fluent API:
ProcessBuilderFactory factory = ProcessBuilderFactories.get(); Process process = factory // start process definition .processBuilder(processId) // package and name .packageName(packageName) .name(processName) .setMetadata("pepe", true) // start node .startNode(1).name("Start").done() // script node in Java language that prints "action" .actionNode(2).name("Action") .action(Dialect.JAVA, "System.out.println(\"Action\");").done() // end node .endNode(3).name("End").done() // connections .connection(1, 2) .connection(2, 3) .build();
For more information about process fluent API, see Interacting with Red Hat Process Automation Manager using KIE APIs.
2.5.2. Enhanced search capabilities
Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.9 provides enhanced search capabilities, including flexible search criteria for tasks, process instances, and cases. For more information, see Designing and building cases for case management.
2.6. Red Hat Business Optimizer
2.6.1. Using Red Hat Business Optimizer with Spring Boot
You can follow the example in Creating a school timetable using Red Hat Business Optimizer with Spring Boot to create a school timetable.
2.6.2. Employee Rostering rotation pattern redesign
The rotation pattern on the Employee Rostering Rotation window has been redesigned for ease of use. For more information, see Running and modifying the employee rostering starter application for Red Hat Business Optimizer using an IDE.
2.7. Spring Boot
2.7.1. Replicating audit data in a JMS message broker
You can now replicate KIE Server audit data to a Java Message Service (JMS) message broker, for example, activeMQ or Artemis, After replicating the data, you can dump the data in an external database schema so that you can improve the performance of your Spring Boot application by deleting the audit data from your application schema.
For more information, see Creating Red Hat Process Automation Manager business applications with Spring Boot.
2.7.2. Support for bytea
column type
You can now create a PostgreSQL schema that uses the bytea
column type instead of the oid
column type by setting the value of the org.kie.persistence.postgresql.useBytea
property to true
.
For more information, see Creating Red Hat Process Automation Manager business applications with Spring Boot.
2.7.3. Self-contained Red Hat Process Automation Manager Spring Boot JAR file
You can create a self-contained Red Hat Process Automation Manager Spring Boot JAR file that contains multiple versions of the same KJAR file.
For more information, see Creating Red Hat Process Automation Manager business applications with Spring Boot.
2.8. Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform
2.8.1. Support for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform version 4.6
Red Hat Process Automation Manager now supports Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform version 4.6. In order to support this version, necessary changes in the operator bundle format are made. Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform version 4.6 provides an extended update support. For more information, see Red Hat OpenShift Extended Update Support (EUS) Overview.
Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.9 is supported only on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform version 3.11 and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform version 4.6 EUS. Due to the internal changes of the operator and API version, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform version 4.5 is not supported and this makes an exception to the general support policy for the Red Hat Middleware products. For more information, see Support of Red Hat Middleware products and components on Red Hat OpenShift.
2.8.2. Support for LDAP failover
When using LDAP authentication, Red Hat Process Automation Manager on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform now supports failover to a different LDAP server if a server becomes unavailable.
For more information, see Deploying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager environment on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform using Operators and Deploying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager environment on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform using templates.
2.8.3. Integration with new versions of products
Red Hat Process Automation Manager on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform now supports integration with the following new product versions:
- Red Hat AMQ 7.7
- Red Hat AMQ Broker 7.7
- Red Hat Single Sign-On 7.4.1
- Red Hat Data Grid 7.3
2.8.4. Support for a customized Smart Router image
Red Hat Process Automation Manager on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform now supports customized Smart Router images. You can extend Smart Router to provide routing specific to the needs of your environment.
For more information, see Deploying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager environment on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform using Operators.
2.8.5. Logging level configuration for Smart Router
You can now configure the logging level for Smart Router when deploying Red Hat Process Automation Manager on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.
For more information, see Deploying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager environment on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform using Operators.
2.8.6. Support for deploying an unmanaged KIE Server on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform using the operator
You can now deploy Red Hat Process Automation Manager on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform using the operator with a KIE Server that is not managed by Business Central monitoring.
For more information, see Deploying a Red Hat Process Automation Manager environment on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform using Operators.