A persistent variable is a variable that is used in a SIL script whose value continues to persist after the script is run. The values of these variables are stored and can be accessed by other scripts run in the future. Now, these variables can be created and modified right from the SIL Manager!
SIL Aliases are like nicknames given to custom fields so you scripts are easy to read and won’t break if someone else changes the name of the custom field. Using aliases is a suggested best practice and now its easier than ever to use because they can be managed right from the SIL Manager!