Discussion
Pegasystems Inc.
US
Last activity: 3 May 2023 23:36 EDT
Constellation in Pega Platform 8.8
Hello Pega Community!
Like many of you, we are excited about the UI/UX improvements in Platform 8.8 with new enhancements to Constellation.
What is Constellation?
Constellation is the new name for Pega’s latest UI architecture, which consists of a UI data model, an orchestration layer, a DX API, SDKs, and a design system. As a result of this change, Pega users will start to see us refer to the architecture’s elements in new ways:
- What was referred to as Cosmos React is now the Constellation design system
- DX API v2 will now be referred to as Constellation DX API
- SDKs will now be referred to as Constellation SDKs
Going forward, Pega’s section-based architecture will be referred to as Pega’s Traditional UI architecture. The “Traditional” architecture will stick around for years to come – there are no plans to retire it.
If you have questions about terminology, please check out the naming convention table at the bottom of this Pega docs page.
Benefits of Pega's Constellation UI Architecture
Pega’s Constellation architecture offers many benefits.
- Pega’s templated & configuration-based development paradigm can be 50% faster to develop when compared with traditional drag and drop UI builders.
- Apps built with Constellation are more performant thanks to its stateless architecture
- Pega’s native user experience is designed to improve operational productivity by limiting unnecessary eye and mouse movement while also ensuring adherence to accessibility standards.
- Enables the majority of your build be done in App Studio
- Model-driven REST API endpoints allow developers to build a custom front-end experience for Pega Platform™ applications without encoding business logic into each channel.
- Angular, React, and Web-Component SDKs extend the power of low-code in support of organization-specific design systems
Should I use Constellation for my next project?
We recommend having a conversation before deciding. Depending on your situation, it might make sense to connect with your COE, Customer Success Manager (CSM), Account Executive, Consulting Solution Executive (CSE), or Sales Consultant. Pega Partners should reach out to their Partner Manager.
For product documentation on making right decision for your 8.8 project, visit this Pega docs page. We also recommend reviewing limitations and UI comparison pages.
As always, when new capabilities are released, it’s a good idea to update your skills on Pega Academy. Check out (Configuring Constellation applications | Pega Academy) to get started. More courseware will be coming out soon, and we’ll drop a line here when it's available.
Coming in 8.9: Coexistence
If you have reviewed the materials above and decided Constellation isn’t right for your 8.8.x project, we recommend staying tuned for version 8.9 coming out in 2023. This version will allow you have case types built with Constellation and Traditional UI in the same application. We think this unlocks potential for moving to Constellation incrementally.
We’d love to hear from you!
Have you used, or plan to use, Constellation? Feel free to drop us a line here and share your thoughts.
Bank of Nova Scotia
CA
@CarolinePower , it's my understanding a container running the "Constellation AppStatic service" should be in place in the enterprise. Can you expand what's the use of this container? What's the consequence of not having the container?
Pegasystems Inc.
US
@TerenceY0215 The AppStatic service is a CDN that will serve the JS, images and other critical resources to serve the UI - if not present, the UI will not be rendered
for more details:
https://docs.pega.com/bundle/platform-88/page/platform/user-experience/constellation-service.html
https://documents.constellation.pega.io/static/88/introduction.html
Updated: 16 Mar 2023 8:45 EDT
Cognizant Technology Solution
IN
Hi,
Thanks for the details. Wanted your input on the below query to get a clear view on the architecture.
- What is the difference between ConstellationPegaStaticURL and ConstellationSvcURL? What are the different purpose?
- ConstellationSvcURL - Is this referred to Application CDN for customer authored content?
- I have noticed while working on the Case Type (User Interfaces / Views) the ConstellationSvcURL getting called (not during the WebPortal Launch) - So, wanted to understand is this SVcURL only have significance during development?
Bank of Nova Scotia
CA
@RichardMarsot thank you. I seemed to be able to load Constellation UI from Dev Studio ok without the Constellation container running at all. What can be done to check if the "connection" between the Pega Instance and the Constellation container is "successful?