CAST Imaging 2.19.0-Funcrel

Release Date: 08 Jan 2024

The new funcrel version Imaging - 2.19.0 is available with some new features and enhancements.

User Experience with Cast Imaging: These collective improvements aim to elevate the overall user experience in Cast Imaging by focusing on accessibility, clarity, and enhanced visual elements.

• Dynamic Toolbar for Investigate Options: Investigate options are now placed in a new, dynamic toolbar, facilitating easy access based on the Imaging view.
• Node and Edge Color Update: The colors of nodes and edges have been refreshed to enhance the overall visual experience.
• Global Search Redesign: Redesign of the Global Search to improve user interaction.
• Investigate Panel: The left menu, or the Investigate panel, has undergone a revamp for a more user-friendly experience.
• Graph Information Display: Details about the available information within the graph are now displayed, with tooltips for nodes, edges, and overall graph information.
• Context Menu Refinement: Options in the context menu have been renamed for clarity, with tooltips implemented for additional guidance.
• Badge Interaction: Clicking on badges like "Annotations" or "Linked to other Apps" triggers specific actions, enhancing user interaction.
• Header - Imaging Navigation Icon: Introduction of a new icon on the left side of the header for easy access to the Imaging menu.
• Tab Name Update: Tab names are now presented as View1, View2, etc., allowing users to customize them for convenience.
• Retained View Settings: Zoom and the center of the view are now preserved when returning to a previously opened tab.
• Improved Legends Panel: The Legends right panel has been enhanced for better usability.

Insight Filtering:

• Users can now filter the list of available Insights in the right panel.
• The filter, presented as a multi-select checkbox popup, is populated with the categories of the enabled Insight.
• When filtering the list of insights, the highlighted nodes in the graph, indicating a link with Insights, are dynamically updated.
• Added a new section for Search Objects by Insights in Global Search

Object Grouping:

• The grouping of objects feature has been improved.
• Users can now consistently view the objects inside the grouped node.
• Drag-and-drop functionality allows users to easily add or remove desired objects from the grouped node.

A2A View Enhancement:

• In the tags section on the right sidebar for A2A view, a new 'Technology' section has been introduced.
• Upon selecting a technology in this section, relevant nodes will be highlighted on the graph, offering users a focused and informative visualization based on the chosen technology.

Welcome Page Additions:

• New tiles have been introduced under the "Do you want to optimize your application?" section on the Welcome Page. The added tiles include:
  • Security Flaws (Identifies all security flaws),
  • Performance Flaws (Identifies all performance flaws),
  • Error Handling Flaws (Identifies all error handling flaws).
• The first section on the Welcome Page has been subdivided into four distinct sub-sections:
  • "Learn about application architecture”.
  • "Learn about application database".
  • "Learn about application modularity".
  • "Learn about application dependencies with other applications".
    This restructuring aims to provide users with a more organized and focused approach to understanding various aspects of the application.

• Tile Renaming:
  • "Database Structure" tile has been renamed to "RDBMS Table Inventory."
  • "Database Objects" tile is now called "RDBMS Object Inventory."
  • "Data Storage Objects" tile has been renamed to "Database Storage Objects."
    These name changes aim to provide more accurate and descriptive labels for each respective tile on the interface.

Imaging Advisor:

• New checks have been added for Imaging Advisor targeting a move to Amazon Web Services (AWS) for IBM z/OS Mainframe.
• Integrated Outbound/Inbound/Violation/Missing Objects template that will display a certain set of columns available for each type depending on if it is the scenario for Outbound/Inbound/Violation/Missing Objects.
• User can now download reports for all advisor templates.
• Added External Filters (By module) to Cloud Ready/Containerisation/Third Party Components

Properties Information:

• Users can now click on an object or link to view its properties.
• The properties of the object have been categorized for easier navigation.
• In addition to the existing access to Transactions Call Graphs, and Projects, users now have access to Modules, Services, and Data Subsets associated with the current object (where applicable).
• We now display only a specific set of properties for objects and links.
• We now display the origin/certainty of the links along with the previously available aipLinkType(if available).

Canvas Drawing Feature:

• A new drawing icon has been added to the toolbar, allowing users to draw on the canvas.
• Users can choose the color and width of the brush and perform undo actions on the drawing.
• The drawing data is persisted when the user saves the view, ensuring that their drawings are retained for future reference.

List View:

• Objects can now be selected from the object list, allowing users to switch to the "Graph View."
• The selected objects from the "List View" are highlighted in the corresponding positions within the "Graph View," and vice versa.
• The properties panel is now enabled for List View.

Saved Views:

• We now support persisting the Hide/Show status of graph options, including 'Isolated Nodes,' 'External Libraries,' and 'Belong to links,' in saved views.
• This enhancement provides users with the flexibility to resume investigations from a saved view while maintaining their preferred graph display settings.
• The 'Focus' feature under the context menu and 'Switch To List View' under View Options in the left menu are now supported in Saved View.

Guided Search - New Journeys:

• "Make changes -> Minor changes -> Impact for change in UI": Assists users in searching for Transactions directly in guided search, focusing on the impact of minor changes in the UI.
• "Make changes -> Minor changes -> Impact for change in Table": Aids users in searching for Data Call Graphs directly in guided search, emphasizing the impact of minor changes in a table.
• "Make changes -> Minor changes -> Scope of regression": Facilitates users in searching for Objects and navigates to the start and end point view for a selected object, providing insights into the scope of regression.
• "Discover -> Data -> Application adherence to database elements": Takes users directly to the Database Access view, streamlining the process of exploring application adherence to database elements.

Technical Update - Multi-Tenant Export/Import:

• In the export/import tool, a new "--database DATABASE_NAME" option has been added.
• This option facilitates the export and import of applications from specific tenants/domains within CAST Imaging, where each tenant/domain corresponds to a distinct "Neo4j" database instance.

Technical Update - Improvement in Microsoft Windows Installer:

• In the Microsoft Windows Installer, a small enhancement has been made: a failure to start the Neo4j Microsoft Windows Service during installation (typically due to insufficient memory) will no longer halt the entire installation process.
• Instead, the installation will proceed, and the corresponding service will remain not started. This ensures a smoother installation experience even in the presence of such service initiation issues.

AI Beta Feature: Interact with Imaging via Chatbot

• Users can now engage with Imaging through an application-specific chatbot.
• This feature is currently in beta mode, allowing users to explore and provide feedback on the interaction experience.

For more details on features and enhancements refer: https://doc.castsoftware.com/display/IMAGING/2.19

Extend URL - https://extend.castsoftware.com/#/extension?id=com.castsoftware.imaging&version=2.19.0-funcrel

Docker Images - https://hub.docker.com/u/castimaging (Tag - 2.19.0) 

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