Data storage in memory
Reviewing application data
Cases are collections of data. Sources of case data include user input, calculations, system actions, and integrations to external systems such as a database of registered motor vehicles. Pega Platform™ applications capture, manipulate, and present data throughout a business process to process and resolve a case. As a result, applications generate large amounts of data. While developing applications, you may need to review the application data to check for correctness. Incorrect information can cause errors that lead to undesired results for cases.
Each data element in a Pega Platform application is a pairing of two pieces of information: the name of the data element (determined by a property rule), and the value assigned to the data element or property. For example, when you use a data element to capture the date of birth of a person, the data element name is Date of birth, and the corresponding value is a date such as July 20, 1969.
| Name of the data element | Value assigned to the data element |
|---|---|
| First Name: | Neil |
| Date of Birth: | July 20, 1969 |
| Occupation: | Astronaut |
While processing a case, these data elements remain in memory for use by one or more users. Each data element is stored in memory on a page. A page is a structure for organizing data elements in an application. Some pages are created by the system to track user or session data. Other pages are created by developers to describe a data type, such as a hotel reservation or a customer.
During case processing, each page remains in memory in a structure known as the clipboard. The clipboard is the portion of memory on the server reserved by Pega Platform for the data generated by applications. The clipboard consists of all of the pages used to track the property-value pairs that represent case and session data. The clipboard receives its name because pages can be added to or removed from memory as needed to track case or session data. When a value is assigned to a data element, the data element and its value are on the clipboard.
As you run a process, Pega Platform updates the clipboard, adding or removing pages and properties from memory. Your application uses the clipboard to populate fields on UI forms, perform calculations, and evaluate decisions.
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