Over the last two weeks, we have been working on improvements to the platform. In this blog post, you can see a simple list of what has been changed, updated, and/or what bugs have been fixed. Read more about the release notes here.
Pages
Up next
Page variables in the display logic option
Value: As a business technologist, I want to use page variables inside the filter rules (left and right-hand side) of the display logic option, to create a show or hide conditional logic based on application data provided via variables instead of data components.
Advantages of using page variables over data containers inside display logic:
Simplified conditional UI development: Page variables are accessible everywhere on the page, which streamlines the process of creating conditional UI development.
Page variable request information properties: The addition and availability of Is loading, Is success, and Is error request information items simplifies the configuration of the conditional logic and saves time.
Impact: Users do not need to take any additional steps to benefit from these improvements.
Timeframe: Public release July 2024
Data
Up next
Create a nested schema models structure in the Data IDE
Value: As a business technologist, I can create a nested schema model structure by creating has many and has one relations between schema models.
Impact: Previously you were not able to use a nested schema model structure where this was required to build your use case. With this new feature, you are able to build this yourself within the Data IDE. This feature will be released together with the usage of nested schema models as an action output.
Timeframe: End of July
Actions
New features
Value: We have released a new version (v1.1) of the function "Delete All Records" in the Block Store. This new version includes the feature for deleting more than 200 records at once based on a filter, so optionally not ALL records from the model.
Old setup Earlier you had to fetch the total count of records, calculate the number of batches, loop through these batches, calculate the offset in each loop, get the collection of records based on this offset and delete the record.
New setup With the function "Delete All Records" you can now easily delete more than 200 records from a given model with just a single step. Define the filter (in Data API/GraphQL syntax) and the variables which you want to use based on the selected model. Variables can be exposed with curly braces in the filter option. Make sure to always use spaces in the filter objects itself, else these will conflict with the curly braces. It's the same filter option as in the "Data API Request" function from the block store, see the attached screenshot for an example.
Up next
Use of nested schema models in Actions
Value: As a business technologist, I can use nested schema model properties in the output of an action step.
Impact: Instead of a text output at the end of your action, you will now be able to select a schema model and its nested properties if available. Enabling less advanced configuration for business technologists.
Timeframe: End of July
My Betty Blocks
Improvements & fixes
Merge performance
Value: Prevent merge performance issues due to faulty clean-up mechanisms.
Impact: All merges being done between applications, sandboxes, and branches.
Up next
Page validation check before merge
Value: As a user performing merges, I want to ensure that application changes are free of validation errors, so that the merge output at runtime matches the design time configuration.
To achieve this, we will enhance the merge flow of sandboxes by adding an extra validation check for errors in your Pages. If an error exists, the merge flow will be blocked. This approach aims to:
Reduce out-of-sync sandboxes: Ensure that the pages at runtime consistently match the configuration defined during design time after merges.
Improve customer satisfaction: Minimize errors related to invalid page metadata, leading to a smoother user experience and higher satisfaction for our customers.
Impact: Users do not need to take any additional steps to benefit from these improvements.
Timeframe: July 2024
Migrate to Grafana as Monitoring/Logging platform
Value: Aligned with the observatory growth plan for the Betty Blocks Platform.
Impact: No impact on any customers.
Timeframe: July 2024
Education
New content
Native building block documents
Value: To assist new users in getting a better understanding of our components, steps, and models, we are creating documentation on all individual ‘sub-blocks’.
In last few weeks we have rounded up the creation of articles describing all the native action steps, these can be found here.
The first article describing data model types has also been created and can be found here.
Improvements & fixes
Updated the property formatting article
The article now also explains the difference between using the AM/PM feature in your model vs page components. The difference between these wasn’t mentioned before.
Up next
Native building block documents
Value: To assist new users in getting a better understanding of our components, steps, and models, we are creating documentation on all individual ‘sub-blocks’.
In the next 2 weeks, we expect to round up all individual data items, meaning relation, property, and permission types. After this, all native building items have been covered, we will continue collecting data from here on to improve the way we explain these items to our users.
Essential path v3
Value: As a business technologist, I can learn the latest business technologist essentials by following a video learning path.
The new essential path has been recorded and is in the hands of our editor right now, we expect to be able to update you with a new path by the beginning of August.
Testhub
Value: as a Betty Blocks platform trainee, I can test my skills via a Betty Blocks-supported test environment, and get graded on level-based tests.
We are currently working on integrating the test environment into our learning flow and rounding up the admin segment in which the education team can create and manage new tests and exams. We expect to release this application together with the new essential path.
Platform roadmap
Want to know more about the upcoming features and functionalities of the Betty Blocks platform? Visit the platform roadmap of our community where you can find most of the topics that we are currently working on and are planning to work on. Let us know your thoughts by upvoting the topics you believe are the most valuable!
That was all for now. Your feedback allows us to continuously improve the Product. So please, let us know what