About Data Types

The Data Designer lets you review and manage data types in your application. When you select a data type in the Data Explorer, the data type opens in the Data Designer. 

Control buttons appear at the top right of the Data Designer:

• Click Filter to filter the display.
  • Click "Applications" to display the applications the application is built on. Uncheck the check boxes beside the applications whose elements you do not want to display, then click Apply.
  • Check the Show inherited check box to show inherited elements.
• Click Visualize to open the Data Visualizer, where you can see and work with a graphical depiction of the relationships between this data type, its properties, and other data types.
• Click Refresh to update the display.
• Click Close to save and close the data type.

A data type has several tabs:

• Definition
• Usage
• Sources
• Records
• Advanced

Definition

At the top of the tab is the Description of this data type. Click edit to update the description in a popup form, then submit the form to save your changes.

In the composition grid you can review and manage the properties that are part of the data type.

If the list is long, you can enter all or part of the name of the property in which you are interested in the Search field and click the magnifying glass to search for properties that match what you have entered.

For each property you can review its

• Name - the property's pyLabel.
• Identifier - The property unique key value, pyPropertyName, used to reference it in rules.
• Property type - Single value, page, page list, and so on.
• Data type - the type of data the property contains:
  • Text, Integer, DateTime, and similar types - hold scalar and value list properties.
  • Page class - contains page and page list properties.
  • None - for advanced properties such as Java objects and Java lists.

  Click the "New" link beside the field to create a new data type.

• Data Access - summarizes the data access information for the property:
  • For single-value properties, Manual or Linked. This value cannot be configured here.
  • For page or page list properties, Manual, Refer to a data page, or Copy data from a data page. This value can be configured here.

Add properties to the list by clicking the "Add property" link below the display.

If you change your mind, you can delete a property by clicking the x icon at the right of its row. Note: This action only deletes the property if, as with an entry you just made, there is only a single instance of the property in the system. If the property has multiple versions, the delete action only removes the latest version. At runtime the system continues to use rule resolution to find earlier versions of the property. This function is primarily for properties you add to the grid, and then decide to remove in the same session because you do not need them after all.

Return to tab menu

Usage

On this tab you can review (but not edit) the pages and properties that use this data type. Click a column header to sort the grid in which it appears by the contents of that column. Click the header again to reverse the sort order.

Most columns in tables have a small triangle to the right of the column name. Click the triangle to display a filter form. Use the form to filter the contents of the table to include only elements whose values for the column match the filter you have set. Click "Clear filter" in the form to remove existing filters.

Data pages

For each data page, the table displays:

• Name
• Identifier -- click to open the data page.
• Structure -- Single record or List of Records.
• Scope -- Thread, Requestor, or Session.
• Sources -- If the entry is not 0, click to see a list of sources for the data page.
• References -- If the entry is not 0, click to see a list of records that reference the data page.

Property references

For each property that references the data type from a specific scope, the table displays:

• Scope (Applies to class)
• Name
• Data access
• References -- If the entry is not 0, click to see a list of records that reference the data type.

Undefined pages

The system created undefined pages during processing, often when processing activities or data transforms. Refactor these pages to use data pages to enhance maintainability, reuse, and guardrail compliance,

For each undefined page, the table displays:

• Name
• References -- If the entry is not 0, click to see a list of records that reference the undefined page.

Return to tab menu

Sources

If you have not created a local source for the data type, the tab provides a link; click the link to create a local source with the Local Data Storage wizard.

Note: After you have used the wizard you may see on this page a warning that the system could not generate a dedicated database table for this data type. Click the link provided to display the Fix Database Table Generation form. On the form you can download a SQL script you can give to your DBA. Your DBA can run the script against the Pega 7 database to create the dedicated table. When that is complete, return to the form and click Verify to verify that the table exists.

The form displays existing data sources, displaying for each:

• Name - the name is a link to the rule. Below it there is an indication of the rule type.
• Used by - a count of the number of data pages using the source. If the number is not 0, click to see a list of data pages using this source.

Return to tab menu

Records

If you have not configured a source for use with the record editor, the tab provides a link you can click to configure the source with the Local Data Storage wizard. Note: Data records cannot be configured for cases.

Note: see the note about the Sources tab about a warning message you may see here.

Data sources identified on the Sources tab appear in the Sources field at the top of this tab. Select a source to display information about its records in the section below. If you choose a source that is not yet configured for local data storage, the system helps your configure the source.

In the lower section are controls that let you:

• Search for specific records by key word or value. To display all records, clear any entry from the search field, then click elsewhere in the tab.
• Perform other actions by clicking Actions and selecting one of the options offered:
  • Edit columns - In the form that appears you can add columns to the display by clicking the + icon and selecting an additional column, or remove columns from the display by clicking the X to the right of the column you wish to remove.
  • Export - Export the list of data records as a CSV file.
  • Import - Import a CSV file of data records.
  • Show Database information.

Click the + icon below the table to add records using the Record Editor. Columns marked with an asterisk * are required. Remove the record by clicking the X at the right of the row. Click away from the record to save your changes.

Return to tab menu

Advanced

On this tab you can change the context for new and updated rules, and review the current database settings.

Context for new rules

Set the context for new rules related to this data type:

• Development branch - Select a development branch from the options provided.
• Choose app layer - Select the application layer in which to create the rule.
• Add to ruleset - Specify the ruleset and version to add the rule to.

Context for updating rules

Set the context for updating rules related to this data type. Select either:

• Use context of rule and optionally specify a development branch.
• Use new rule context. If you select this, the system uses the settings you established in the Context for new rules section.

Database information

This section lists the current database information for this data type:

• Database- click the name of the database to edit it.
• Table mapping-- click the entry to review the table mapping.
• Schema name
• Table name

Return to tab menu

About data pages About the local data storage wizard About the Data Explorer