The Four Hundred

IBM is gearing up for WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries V5R2, but in the meantime it is delivering an enhanced version of V5R1. The refreshed V5R1 will be the first iSeries tool that can snap into the open-source Eclipse integrated development environment. It will be delivered June 28. IBM is pushing Eclipse as a way of unifying the development experiences of programmers across many platforms, and to undermine the competing NetBeans open-source initiative sponsored by rival Sun Microsystems.

When WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries V5R1 was introduced, the iSeries application development tools—VisualAge for Java Professional, WebSphere Studio, WebFacing Tool, CODE, and VisualAge RPG—were all separate tools that were simply packaged together. Now the toolset will be integrated with WebSphere Studio Workbench, which is IBM's open standards-based tool platform and enhanced version of the Eclipse integrated development environment. The Eclipse IDE is an open-source programming environment developed independent from IBM that, among other things, allows other compilers and debuggers to be snapped into it.

The new release of WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries is referred to as WebSphere Studio Site Developer Advanced. Two of the development tools—VisualAge for Java and WebSphere Studio—are now plug-ins, and overall the tooling has become a convergence of Web and Java.

Also a part of this updated WebSphere development tool is the integration of a portion of the CODE (short for CoOperative Development Environment and formerly known as CODE/400) into the new workbench. The complete functionality of the CODE capabilities will move into the new IDE over time. CODE is used for host/server development. The new toolset does include remote system frameworks and editing, which allows users in the WebSphere version of the Eclipse IDE to get to iSeries functions and capabilities.

This means that any tool integrated with the Workbench also has access to the iSeries. The fact that it is written in Java extends any tool's capability to other platforms as well. As you can imagine, this will increase the number of developers who have access to the iSeries tools.

It allows a developer to learn one tool yet have access to many others. It also explains why the three key change-management tool vendors—SoftLanding,Aldon Computer Group, and MKS—already offer integration into the Workbench. Managing numerous developers in multiple environments will become commonplace in iSeries shops.

WebSphere Studio Site Developer Advanced is the basic component for the e-business building blocks known as Web services (database tooling and XML tooling). It allows users to take applications and export them through the Internet for use in other applications. The key benefit is in providing new business-to-business capabilities. The best example for iSeries is allowing RPG programs to be published on UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration), the Yellow Pages for Web services, or shared over a private intranet, either of which facilitates B2B integration.

IBM is integrating all of its iSeries tools to the open standards environment, where ease of use and ease of learning are expected to bring about great changes in application development. IBM is also encouraging third-party tool vendors to integrate their products as well.

The new release of WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries is built on the WebSphere Studio Workbench Version 1. A new version of Eclipse is expected this summer, and another level of the Workbench is expected to follow. When the IBM products start to ship on the next version of Workbench, there will probably be another refresh of the toolset.

WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries provides all the host components (RPG, COBOL, C, C++), application development toolsets, and unlimited workstation licenses of WebSphere Studio Workbench inside of Studio, including WebFacing capabilities, CODE, and VisualAge for RPG.

The new workstation toolset will be delivered as a no-charge upgrade to customers with IBM Software Subscription. For those without Software Subscription, it will be tier priced from a P05 to P60 level; this pricing was unavailable at press time.

On June 4, the iSeries Nation will host a chat session that includes an overview of Eclipse, WebSphere, and the iSeries. The 60-minute teleconference begins at 11 a.m. EST and is hosted by Alison Butterill, Linda Cole, and John Quarantello. You can register for this event online at www.premconf.com/rsvp or by telephone at 800-289-0579 or 719-457-2550.