[rules-users] Using Character typed properties in Drool 5.3

[Welsh, Armand]

Community,

In drools 5.2 I had the following LHS"

when
	BloombergColumn (columnName == "CRNCY", $cur : stringValue != null)
	Country (currency == $cur, emergingMkt == 'Y' || countryCode in ("BH","HR","CZ","EE","HK","HU","IL","KR","KW","MO","OM","QA","SA","SG","SK","SI","TT"))


I am switching to Drool 5.3, and Drools Guvnor reports the following error upon validate (or compile):

	[bum_code_value.currency 01] Unable to Analyse Expression emergingMkt == 'Y' || countryCode == "BH" || countryCode == "HR" || countryCode == "CZ" || countryCode == "EE" || countryCode == "HK" || countryCode == "HU" || countryCode == "IL" || countryCode == "KR" || countryCode == "KW" || countryCode == "MO" || countryCode == "OM" || countryCode == "QA" || countryCode == "SA" || countryCode == "SG" || countryCode == "SK" || countryCode == "SI" || countryCode == "TT": [Error: Comparison operation requires compatible types. Found class java.lang.Character and class java.lang.String] [Near : {... == "SK" || countryCode == "SI" || countryCode == "TT" ....}] ^ [Line: 7, Column: 28]

Looking at the emergingMkt in my data model, I see that it is defined as a Character.  If I change my LHS to:

	BloombergColumn (columnName == "CRNCY", $cur : stringValue != null)
	Country (currency == $cur, emergingMkt == Character.valueOf('Y') || countryCode in ("BH","HR","CZ","EE","HK","HU","IL","KR","KW","MO","OM","QA","SA","SG","SK","SI","TT"))


Then the validate passes. 

Was this change in behavior intentional?  I don't see a reference to this change in the Drools 5.3 documentation, and this makes for a harder to read rule for our Drools analysts.

Thanks in advance,
Armand