Patches
These are the different types of patches:
- Normal patches (no impact)
- Impact patch (leaves the previous customer modifications)
- Impact patch (deactivates the previous customer modifications)
You can deliver normal patches every month. Normal patches do not contain any critical updates to parameter files or panel files. Therefore, you can continue using the modifications for any changes.
Impact patches contain these changes in the internal data structures and changes to parameter files and panel files.
- changes are handled automatically, and internal data files are converted.
- changes are required for the new functionality. For example, , where the standard parameter file contains a new API call for . If you continue using the previous and modified parameter files, your current solution will still work, but you cannot use the new functionality. When you migrate the modifications to the new parameter file, the new functionality is available. You can migrate the modifications at your convenience, but you must ensure that the modifications are migrated because the accumulative consequences of several impact patch changes are complicated to evaluate and depend on the modifications you have made.
- changes in impact patches are fundamental. You must avoid using previous and modified parameter files. In this case, the impact patch automatically deactivates any modified parameter files and displays a warning that this has happened. It is your responsibility to migrate modifications to the new standard parameter file or alternatively analyze and decide to use the previous and modified parameter files.
- are not deactivated by impact patches because the panel modifications do not affect the plan itself, but only what is displayed in the reports. If a panel modification is no longer working after an impact patch, you can identify and migrate the panel modification when required.