Midrange Programmer

The recent release of WebSphere Development Studio Client for iSeries 5.0 was worth the wait. IBM has been working on a new version of the iSeries interactive development environment (IDE) based on Eclipse 2.0 for the past year. The enhancements in WDSc 5.0 focus on Web development and iSeries integration. Now iSeries developers don't have to choose between great Java, XML, and Web tools or the latest RPG development tools. With WDSc 5.0, both are provided in one package.

This latest release of WDSc targets iSeries developers building Java Web applications and includes enhanced support for Java, XML, Web services, WebFacing, HTML, and more. For developers who spend the majority of their time developing RPG applications, the enhancements delivered with WDSc 5.0 are less compelling, but still worthwhile, particularly because they're free.

Unlike the last version, based on Elipse 1.0, WDSc 5.0 is based on Eclipse 2.0, which has a much broader set of plug-ins to further enhance this IDE. More than 250 Eclipse 2.0 plug-ins are available today, and the number is growing. Those plug-ins add new capabilities to WDSc, like Java syntax and style checking, source-code formatting, and automated testing.

Unlike the last version of WDSc, Version 5.0 comes in two flavors--standard and advanced. Most customers will find that the standard version fits their needs. The standard version is free to any iSeries customer with a software subscription and a license to WebSphere Development Toolset. That means that customers running OS/400 V5R1 with a compiler for RPG, COBOL, or C installed on their system are entitled to the standard version of WDSc 5.0 at no charge.

The advanced version of WDSc 5.0 adds support for Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs), Message-Driven Beans (MDBs), a test case manager, and WebFacing support for Struts. Most iSeries developers will not miss these features; however, if you are developing EJBs, or want to extend the capabilities of the WebFacing tool itself, you will want to order the advanced version. Depending on your processor group (P05-P60) and on discounts, the advanced version runs between $3,000 and $40,000 more than the standard version.

To order WDSc, call your IBM salesperson and ask for refresh feature code 5903 for the standard version and feature code 5904 for advanced. New orders for WebSphere Development Studio automatically include WDSc. You can find more ordering information for WDSc on the How to Order Web page.

While you are waiting for WDSc, you can check IBM's PTF information for WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries Web site. This site makes you jump around a bit, but lists the prerequisite iSeries PTFs. If you don't get the recommended PTFs, WDSc will check for PTFs and nag you when you set up a connection to a new iSeries system.

After you install WDSc, you should check for updates. Eclipse provides an update feature that is available by selecting Help, Software Updates then New Updates. Unfortunately, you cannot use this feature in the initial version of WDSc 5.0 to pick up the first fix pack. The work-around is to download several packages from WebSphere Development Studio Client Fix Pack 5.0.1. The instructions on this page also make you jump around quite a bit, but when you are finished you will be running WDSc with client fix pack 5.0.1.

To use WDSc effectively, you need a current development workstation. That means a Pentium III processor at 500 MHz or faster, with 512 MB of RAM, running Microsoft Windows XP, 2000, or NT. You also need about 2.5 gigabytes of free space to perform the install, and when the install is completed, WDSc uses about 1.5 gigabytes. See IBM's WebSphere Development Studio Client at a glance for detailed information on requirements.

Once you have WDSc installed, you should spend some time going through the guided tours provided by IBM on the welcome page. Those tours will walk you through Eclipse's perspectives and the remote system explorer.

Individually, the enhancements in WDSc are just evolutionary changes, but, combined, they represent a significant advance. There are enhancements that target Java, XML, WebFacing, RPG, iSeries, Struts, database, testing, building, change management, and more. The most significant enhancement in WDSc 5.0 is that it is now based on Eclipse 2.0.

Eclipse 2.0 is the enabling technology behind WDSc 5.0. Eclipse is an open and extensible IDE that provides supports for enhancement through its plug-in architecture. IBM took advantage of this architecture, creating a set of plug-ins that support the functionality of WDSc. It doesn't stop there; you can add your own plug-ins to further enhance Eclipse to better suit your needs.

Any Eclipse 2.0 compatible plug-in will work with WDSc. Start your search for Eclipse plug-ins at Eclipse's community projects and plugins page. You will find a list of free and commercial plug-ins that enhance the Eclipse IDE.

Install plug-ins by copying a plug-in folder to Eclipse's plugins folder. If you installed WDSc, to the default directories of C:/Program Files/IBM/WebSphere Studio and C:/WDSC, you would copy the new plug-ins to C:/Program Files/IBM/WebSphere Studio/eclipse/plugins. After copying the plug-in, restart Eclipse and the new features provided by the plug-in are available.

The support for Java in WDSc is exceptionally good. Java source is validated as you type and errors and warnings are highlighted. When you are done making changes and save a Java class, the class is automatically recompiled. Debugging for Java classes is also integrated with the IDE. If you are using a 1.4 JDK, changes made while debugging a Java program on your PC will be recognized immediately.

The XML support in WDSc is also exceptional. IBM provides tools to edit, validate, and transform XML documents. The editing tool recognizes document type definitions (DTDs) and schemas and will prevent you from adding invalid XML content. The transformation tool allows you to apply a style sheet to an XML document. You can also generate a DTD or schema from an XML document. The resulting DTD or schema will contain basic rules describing the structure of the original XML document.

The iSeries-specific features of WDSc are accessed through the remote systems explorer perspective. You set up system definitions by expanding the New Connection option and selecting iSeries. You will then be guided through the process of setting up a new iSeries connection. Figure 1 shows the initial remote systems explorer window. Once a connection is set up, you will be able to work with objects, files, commands, jobs, and Integrated File System (IFS) files using a hierarchical explorer interface.

The remote systems explorer allows you to set up filters that represent libraries, source files, or objects. You can have personal filters or share filters with a group of developers. Over time, the number of filters defined in your work environment can grow to the point that you need to filter your filters. Fortunately, WDSc provides this capability with filter pools. To set up a new filter pool, right-click iSeries Objects after defining a new system and select New, then Filter Pool.

When you are starting out, it makes sense to create filter pools for each of your environments, like production, test, and development. Next, create filters for each source file that you use and place them in their respective filter pool. If you decide to change this structure later, you can do so by creating new filter pools and right-clicking your filters and selecting move.

You also can use the remote system explorer to run iSeries commands. WDSc provides a flexible way of grouping and running iSeries commands. You are not limited to IBM commands; you can run any command through a prompted interface. As with objects and files, you can set up filter pools to store your commands.

One neat new feature included with WDSc 5.0 is a PDM-like view that supports running commands against a set of objects or file members. To access this feature, bring up the remote systems explorer perspective and locate the iSeries Table View tab, near the bottom of the window. The first time you access this view, instructions will appear in the window that describe the iSeries table view. Figure 2 shows the iSeries table view. Once you have read the instructions, click the solid, downward-pointing triangle on the upper left side of the pane. After you select a file or set of objects, you will see a command window that allows you to key in or select a command to apply to the items in the content window.

Although most of the features of WDSc target Java and Web development, RPG is not left out. There are now two choices for editing RPG code. The first is to use the old Code/400 editor. That editor has not changed much, but is better integrated in the WDSc IDE. The other option is the remote systems LPEX editor.

The remote systems LPEX editor is evolving and is good enough for most RPG editing needs. Source is colorized and syntax errors are highlighted (see Figure 3). You can prompt source lines and receive context-sensitive help. If you do not use the Code/400 editor extensively, you will likely conclude that the RPG editing support is just fine. What is lacking is support for REXX macros and some of the other more advanced editing features. On a marginal development system, the remote systems LPEX editor is also noticeably slower than the Code/400 editor.

I generally use the Code/400 editor for long editing tasks because it is faster and recognizes my REXX macros. For quick editing tasks, I use the new remote systems LPEX editor. The functionality of either product exceeds SEU, with the added benefit that you can view quite a few more lines of code at one time.

Several iSeries change management products offer support for Eclipse, including those from Aldon Computer Group, MKS, and SoftLanding Systems, and provide complete change management support. If all you require is source change tracking, Eclipse provides built-in support for a free source management system called Concurrent Versioning System (CVS).

CVS provides a way to track source changes and to coordinate the changes made by a development team. To do this, a CVS server manages a repository that contains source and keeps track of changes. CVS clients, such as WDSc, make a local copy of the CVS server's source repository. Developers make changes to their local copy of the source repository. Typically, a developer uploads changes to the server repository each night and retrieves the changes of other developers each morning.

To use CVS, you have to have a CVS server set up. Unfortunately, you must use either a Linux or a Windows server at this point, because there isn't an iSeries version of CVS, which makes it difficult to use CVS to track source changes for source residing in source physical files. However, CVS does work well for tracking changes to iSeries Integrated File System (IFS) files.

To use CVS to track changes to iSeries IFS files, map a drive to the iSeries. When you check out a project from your CVS server with WDSc, uncheck the Use default location and specify a location on the drive you mapped to the IFS for the project folder. This will allow you to move selective changes to your iSeries system.

It isn't often that the best product is also the cheapest. But for iSeries development IDEs, WDSc is way ahead of the competition. IBM is listening to developers and has put a lot of effort into building an IDE that is easy to use and meets iSeries developers' needs. Any iSeries developer who is building, or is considering building, Web applications should try out this latest version of WDSc.

In a few weeks, IBM should have fixed some of the installation and upgrade problems, but in the mean time the workarounds are adequate. Just remember to check IBM's Web site periodically for updates.

Once you have WDSc 5.0 up and running, set aside some time to explore the IDE. After using WDSc and its sister products, I still find useful new features and learn more effective ways to use the product.

David Morris is a software architect at Plum Creek Timber Company and started the iSeries-toolkit open-source project. E-mail: dmmorris@itjungle.com.