IBM Updates RDP and RDi for SOA Tooling
October 11, 2011 Alex Woodie
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IBM last week unveiled new releases of two of its Rational development tools used by IBM i shops, including IBM Rational Developer for Power Systems Software version 8.0.3 and IBM Rational Developer for i for SOA Construction version 8.0.3. The minor refresh of RDP brings several enhancements for AIX and Linux on Power Systems and a security update for IBM i development. The SOA suite, meanwhile, includes the latest releases of the underlying tools that make up the suite. Rational Developer for Power Systems Software (or RDP) is the core Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE) for developing IBM i, AIX, and Linux applications on the Power Systems line of servers. The product, which was first released with the April 2010 launch of Power7 hardware and IBM i 7.1, includes RPG, COBOL, DDS, CL, C/C++, and Java development tools for IBM i; Java and C/C++ tools for Linux; and Java, C/C++, and COBOL tools for AIX. Most of the enhancements in RDP version 8.0.3 target the Linux and AIX operating systems. These include support for the GNU C/C++ compiler; shared application indices that improve developer productivity for larger AIX and Linux C/C++ projects; and improved support for disconnected development and synchronization of changes for AIX and Linux development. This release also brings new COBOL development capabilities to AIX. RDP 8.0.3 brings a new COBOL editor that provides live syntax checking, customizable tabbing, a range indicator for current paragraph, and a quick fix option for certain syntax annotations. It also includes a new migration and porting assistance framework for moving COBOL apps to AIX, as well as a set of rules (with a commitment by IBM to deliver more rule sets in the future). The lone IBM i-specific update is the capability to set up secure connections to IBM i development platforms. All operating systems will benefit from usability enhancements made to the Screen Designer, Report Designer and Remote Systems LPEX (Live Parsing Extensible Editor) functions. There is also a new fixed-term licensing option. SOA Enhancements IBM also updated Rational Developer for i for SOA Construction, which is a collection of tools that includes Rational Business Developer (for writing Enterprise Generation Language–EGL), Rational Developer for Power Systems Software: RPG and COBOL Development Tools for i (the RPG and COBOL compilers), and the Rational Host Access Transformation Services (HATS) Toolkit, for refacing green-screen RPG and COBOL apps. With version 8.0.3, IBM has added the latest releases of these tools, including the version 8.0.1.2 release of Rational Business Developer; the version 8.0.3 release of Rational Developer for Power Systems Software: RPG and COBOL Development Tools for i version, and the version 8.0 release of Rational HATS Toolkit. For more information on IBM Rational Developer for Power Systems Software version 8.0.3, see United States Software Announcement 211-344 (pdf). For more information on IBM Rational Developer for i for SOA Construction version 8.0.3, see United States Software Announcement 211-346 (pdf). RELATED STORIES IBM Tweaks Rational Developer Prices, Adds New Power Systems UPS RDP 8.0 Brings Linux Client, New Java Tools to IBM i Developers IBM Updates Development Tools and Compilers for i/OS 7.1 IBM Officially Announces i/OS 7.1 i/OS Shops to Wait Another Quarter for Power7 Compilers WDSC Is Out, Rational Developer for System i Is In
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