IBM Rational Trots Out New Industry-Specific Support

The new Eclipse-based Rational Systems Developer will help engineers comply with the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) and other industry-specific requirements. The software, costing $2,500 a seat, draws a visual representation of development and how a given project complies with standards as it proceeds.

Rational Systems Developer will transform UML 2.0 graphical code representations into C or C++ code, easing the creation of code-intensive CORBA applications. And, it integrates with the full array of Eclipse tools as well as the IBM Rational Software Development Platform.

Danny Sabbah, general manager of IBM Rational, Lexington, Mass., said the group wants to help customers achieve valid “governance” of development, especially as it goes global. And he wants to recruit integration partners to help customers roll out systems and services.

The use of such methods could make it easier for integrators to devise repeatable applications and processes for multiple clients.

Rational, a pioneer in development management tools, competes with such companies as Microsoft and Mercury Interactive, which is in the process of buying Systinet for its service-oriented architecture expertise.

Microsoft “is establishing a footprint,” Sabbah said. “We&'ve been here for many, many years. We&'ll keep moving forward, but we&'re leagues ahead of them. They don&'t really understand yet that globally distributed development is the norm.”

Rational&'s ecosystem includes a raft of third-party and homegrown process methodologies for vertical industries that Microsoft cannot claim. Wind River, Pathfinder Solutions, Coverity, PTC, Flashline and other partners are optimizing offerings for the new tool.

“Rational&'s approach can be highly scaled and very complex. On the other hand, it can be highly scaled and very complex,” quipped Richard Warren, enterprise solutions architect at MicroLink, a Vienna, Va., solution provider.

“The question is, how complex do you really need to be? If you&'re not handling life-critical programs where every line has to be validated against a rigorous benchmark, then what Visual Studio has to offer out of the box is remarkably better than the last version and may be enough.”