Check out

Using the check-out feature, a team of application developers can work on the pieces of an application (associated with a RuleSet Name) without interfering with or overwriting each other's work.

Check out has two flavors:

• Standard check out — In standard check out, a developer checks out the rule, and no one else can make a public change to that checked-out rule, until the developer checks it in.
• Private check out — Private check out is a special case of the standard check-out feature. Private check out allows a developer to prototype or test changes to a rule that is not available for a standard check out (such as when the rule is already checked out to another user, or is in a locked RuleSet version). Private check out does not put a limitation on the availability of the rule for others to check it out. For example, if developer A checks out a rule, and developer B does a private check out of that rule, and developer A checks in the rule, the rule is now available for others to check out, even though developer B had performed a private check out and still has a personal copy of the rule.

Check out is an optional feature controlled by two checkboxes:

• The Use checkout? checkbox on the RuleSet Name form.
• A similar checkbox on the Security tab of the Operator ID form. This lets users use the check-out feature, and causes the system to create a personal RuleSet for each of those users.

A developer can check out a rule only if both boxes are selected.

For private check out, in addition to having those two checkboxes selected, a developer needs the pxAllowPrivateCheckout privilege. This privilege is typically granted through a role on your access group. The standard access role PegaRULES:SysAdm4 provides this privilege. When a developer does a private check out of a rule, the system creates a copy of the rule in the developer's personal RuleSet. The developer can make changes to that copy of the rule, to prototype or test a feature, even when the rule is checked out by another user.

When you open a rule form of a rule that is checked out to another user using the standard check-out feature, a padlock image () is displayed at the top right of its rule form.

Note: When a developer has a private check out of a rule, there is no visual indication in the rule form for other users who open the rule, because a private check out does not change the availability of that rule for other users.

When a user can perform a check out for a rule, the Check Out button () appears on the toolbar when that user opens the rule form. This button does not appear if the rule belongs to one of the few types that don't support check-out, or if the rule is already checked out to you or to another developer.

When a user can perform a private check out for a rule, the Private Check Out button () appears on the toolbar when that user opens the rule form. This button does not appear when the rule is available for that developer to do a standard check out on the rule, or if the rule belongs to one of the few types that don't support the check-out feature.

• To check out the current rule using standard check out, click on the toolbar or type the keyboard shortcut CTRL + ALT + C.
• To check out the current rule using private check out, click on the toolbar. No keyboard shortcut is available for a private check out.

See Understanding checkout and your personal RuleSet for a description how to use the check-out/check-in features.

Use the Show Checked Out button () on the Quick Launch area of the Designer Studio to quickly see a list of rules checked out to you. Rules that you have performed a standard check out and private check out are listed. To list all the rules checked out using standard check out by another user, or by anyone, select > Application > Development > Checked Out Rules and complete the prompts. Private check outs are not listed in the Checked Out Rules tab on the Development landing page.

To report on checked-out rules, create a report type of rule (report definition, list view, or summary view) with Data-Rule-Locking as the Applies To class. Create this rule using the rule form for the appropriate report type or using the V5 Report Wizard (Rule Locking data source).

For best performance on a production system, minimize the number of distinct users who can check out rules. Even when a personal RuleSet is empty  — the operator has not checked out any rules  — each user who has this capability has a unique, distinct RuleSet list. As a result, PRPC assembles and compiles each rule this user executes (upon first use only). Such rules assembly and compilation requires CPU resources, database access, and memory in the Rules Assembly cache.

	rule management facility, check in, personal RuleSet
	Understanding checkout and your personal RuleSet Working with the Show Checked Out report and Bulk Check-in

Definitions — C