Rational Rev Appeals To Experts, Neophytes

Notably, Web Developer includes Eclipse 3.0, the open standard for IDEs in the Java industry. Eclipse supports a new compartmental view of all integrated wizards and tools, so developers can easily transition between each development stage without navigating through all available tools using menus. Newcomers will have an easier time getting up to speed, since most of the feature clutter is now hidden, shortening the learning curve.

The tool offers improved user roles defined by functionality to speed navigation within the Eclipse 3.0 IDE. These user roles activate specific features and tools based on the role's definition. When users choose the Web developer role, for instance, a JavaServer Faces (JSF) development environment is automatically turned on. Users can define multiple roles for themselves, allowing them to jump between tasks. This is a crucial feature, since developers often take on multiple roles during all iterative phases of development. Web developer, Unifed Modeling Language (UML) modeler and Java developer are just a few of the roles recognized by the tool.

The roles system allows users to enable or disable features on-the-fly and can switch roles dynamically depending on the activity of users. For instance, if someone who has classified himself as a Web developer accesses an Enterprise JavaBean (EJB), the software will prompt the user as to whether the EJB development tools should be activated.

Additional JSF components are available to design and build dynamic Web UIs. Web Developer also includes tools to generate JSF applications, and a new collection of JSF controls is bundled with the software.

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A new file upload control can automatically upload images from a user's local hard drives to a Web site. In this version of Web Developer, JSF code is completely abstracted, so developers can interface with properties instead of directly accessing components. Coding is mostly unnecessary throughout much of the development process. After dragging a JSF into a workspace, developers can access a properties section and add event-based code to interact with the component. This mechanism is similar to the process used by developers when creating applications in Microsoft Visual Basic. Since the process is so similar, users familiar with Visual Basic will find the learning curve for Web Developer shorter.

The software generates more code than in the previous version and covers most areas of development. By defining Java classes, for instance, developers can generate skeleton code using UML diagrams. Users then can plug in specific business requirements, and the tool automatically converts them into functional code. Once business logic is added to the skeleton code, developers can proceed to component-level testing inside Rational's new built-in testing environment.

Unit testing and plugins for Apache and BEA Systems are available in all three packages, not just Software Architect and Application Developer. However, only Application Developer and Software Architect ship with WebSphere's application server and portal server. An Oracle plugin is not yet available. Service Data Objects is an emerging standard available in all three development environments. Service Data Objects provides an API that interacts with multiple data sources. It also includes an abstracted layer that maintains the same calls regardless of which data source is accessed. Web Developer also arrives with wizards to help developers more easily connect to data sources. The access methods are straightforward, especially when used in conjunction with an IBM DB2 database, and the process is similar to setting up Windows ODBC connections. Service Data Objects are also available for SQL Server, and databases from Oracle and Informix. Once a connection is created, developers can drag table fields into a workspace and add controls to set up page navigation. Once database columns are bound to pages, fields can be added or removed by simply changing the binding properties.

Standard technical support is provided to all solution providers using the Rational toolsets. Web Developer is priced at $1,000 per user. CRN Test Center engineers believe that Rational's entry-level IDE will appeal to novice Java developers and Web developers alike. With its improved features and easy-to-use wizards, Web Developer can be used to build sophisticated UIs with minimal effort.