Hello everyone,
This release features the further integration of AI-powered model enrichments in the Software Factory. We have added more generic model enrichments, and model enrichments specifically designed for a seamless migration to the Universal GUI. Many of the new and existing model enrichments have also become available as tasks on the screens where they can be of immediate use. The AI code review has been improved, and is now also available as a task so you can request it manually.
An important visual change is that we have restructured the default menu in the Software Factory. It now contains a new menu group, Integration & AI, that allows easy access to screens that were previously only available as a tab in a branch.
Another new feature in the Software Factory is the columnstore index support. A columnstore index offers substantial data compression, resulting in improved query performance. A powerful use case for columnstore indexes is storing LLM embeddings.
This release also includes 9 Community ideas.
In this summary, you will read about some of the key features of this release. Read all the detailed release notes in the Thinkwise Documentation.
Contents
Highlights of this release
Further integration of model enrichments in the Software Factory
This release contains further integration of (AI-powered) model enrichments in the Software Factory.
- You can now use prompt chaining in AI-powered model enrichments. This allows for more sophisticated prompting techniques and breaking down complex tasks into manageable steps.
- Five more model enrichments have been added, for example, one to generate application logic based on natural language business rules.
- Sixteen new model enrichments have been added to support the migration of your application to the Universal GUI.
- To improve the usability of the model enrichments, many are now accessible as tasks within the Software Factory interface. We will continue this integration in future releases.
- When objects or code are generated using the AI-powered features of the Software Factory, the field Modified by is now set to "Generative AI". This makes it clear that the object or code was generated by AI.
- The AI code review has been improved and is now also available as a task.
Enhanced screen layouts and a new menu group
In both the Software Factory and IAM, we have enhanced the layouts for several screens.
In IAM, we have enhanced the layout of the screen Applications (menu Authorization).
In the same way, we have changed the layout of the screen Branches in the Software Factory (menu Models).
In addition to this, the Software Factory now has a new menu group, Integration & AI. It is home to the following menu items:
- Web connections
- Email providers
- File storage locations
- OAuth servers
- Generative AI
- AutoML (the menu group Machine Learning has been removed)
These features remain available in the screen Branches in the Software Factory, but are more easily accessible this way.
Columnstore index support in the Software Factory
We have enhanced the Software Factory's support for creating indexes by introducing the option to generate columnstore indexes.
What is a columnstore index?
A columnstore index is a type of index used in relational database management systems (RDBMS) to optimize the storage and retrieval of data in tables. Unlike traditional row-based indexes, which store data in rows, a columnstore index stores data in columns. They offer substantial data compression, leading to a significant reduction in required storage space. This results in improved query performance due to reduced I/O requirements when executing queries that involve scanning and aggregating large volumes of data. This is typically done in analytical and reporting workloads.
A columnstore index can be clustered or non-clustered. You can find both options as two new index types when creating an index in the Software Factory, in the menu Data > Data model > tab Tables > tab Indexes.
Some other new features
- A new process flow connector: Web connection. It is an enhanced and reusable version of the HTTP connector.
- Public OpenID Connect clients - In IAM, you can now mark a client application as a public client. This feature allows two types of OpenID clients: confidential and public.
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Merge changes into an arbitrary branch - In the Software Factory, you can now start merge sessions with source and target branches that are not the origin branch. You could use this, for example, when you are developing two different releases (each with their own release branch and develop branches) and need to merge changes from one release into the other.
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Tree-based menu designer - To make the Software Factory suitable for use with the Universal GUI, the menu designers (known as modelers) have been replaced with a Tree component. As a result, menus can be visualized and maintained once the Software Factory uses the Universal GUI.
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Jump to model rights - You can now navigate from various objects, such as a table, menu, or process flow, to the Model rights overview.
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Jump to objects - From the tab Deploy in Functionality, you can now jump easily to tasks, the data model, process actions, subroutines, and reports.
Questions or suggestions?
Questions or suggestions about the release notes? Let us know in the Thinkwise Community!