| Date tip published: | 07/25/2005 |
| Description: | This tip explains what is IBM Rational Developer 6 and explores the user interface. |
To learn more about Rational Application Developer and how to develop J2EE applications for WebSphere use the following links:
Introduction to WebSphere Using Rational Developer 6
Introduction to WebSphere for Domino Developers using Rational Developer 6
Servlet and JSP Programming for WebSphere using Rational Developer 6
Servlet and JSP Programming using Rational Developer 6 for Domino Developers
 What is IBM Rational Developer 6?
IBM Rational provides tools to develop applications for WebSphere servers as well as stand alone Java applications, web pages/projects, Java applets, portlets, and many other types of applications. The following table outlines some of the IBM Rational application development products.
| Product | Description |
| IBM Rational Web Developer 6 | This developer tool is used to create and publish Web Sites using HTML, XHTML, JavaScript and Cascading Style Sheets. In addition, this tool can be used to develop Java code, JSPs, and servlets. This product does not provide support for EJBs, Web Services, and Portal/Portlet tools. |
| IBM Rational Application Developer 6 | This developer tool provides a rich set of tools and features to develop J2EE applications, web applications and web services. Right out of the box, IBM Rational Application Developer provides editing tools to create Java code, servlets, JSPs, Java Beans, HTML pages, XML data, graphics and other J2EE and web resources. IBM Rational Application Developer provides support to develop EJBs, Web Services, and WebSphere Portal applications. |
| IBM Rational Software Architect 6 | This developer tool is an integrated design and development tool that leverages model-driven development with the UML for creating well-architected applications and services. Rational Software Architect supports application and Web development (static and dynamic) using modern software industry technologies, including J2EE, Web services, Object Management Group (OMG), Model Driven Architecture (MDA), Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), JavaServer Faces (JSF), and Reusable Asset Specification (RAS) for supporting asset-based development |
In this tip, "Rational Developer" is used as a generic title for all of the IBM Rational development tools in the table above.
The Rational Developer 6 products listed above are the replacement for WebSphere Studio 5. Rational Developer is based on WebSphere Studio 5 but uses the Eclipse 3.0 platform (instead of Eclipse 2.0) and has many new/enhanced tools to develop the different types of applications.
Note for Domino Developers |
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 Similar to the Domino Designer Client
Rational Developer is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which, like the Domino Designer Client, is used to develop applications. Applications developed using Rational Developer are deployed on a WebSphere Application Server or other J2EE compliant web application server. |
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 The Workbench at its Core
Rational Developer is built on IBM's Workbench technology, also know as "The Workbench". The Workbench is not a product for application developers or a product that does anything for that matter. The Workbench is an open source development framework that can be extended with plug-in development tools. With the Workbench at its core, Rational Developer provides editing tools to create Java code, servlets, JSPs, Java Beans, HTML pages, XML data, graphics and other J2EE and web resources.
IBM's Workbench was released to the Open Source community as the basis of the Eclipse Platform. The Eclipse Platform strives to provide a universal framework for developing Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) which can be used to develop J2EE applications, web applications, C++ programs and other applications. Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) can use and extend the Eclipse Platform to develop their own IDEs. For more information on the Eclipse Platform go to http://www.eclipse.org/.
The Rational Developer Integrated Development Environment (a.k.a "The Workbench")
The Rational Developer Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is often referred to as the "Workbench" and sometimes referred to as the "Workspace".
Labels in the following image highlight the main parts of the Workbench. The table after the image provides a detailed description of each part.
| Title Bar | The title bar includes the name of the open perspective. |
| Menu Bar | The menu bar is context sensitive. Different menu options are available based on the selected area in the Workbench. |
| Toolbar | The toolbar provides shortcuts to options on the menu bar. Move your cursor above the toolbar icons for a short description and click the icon to initiate its function. The toolbar is context sensitive. Icons may be disabled based on the current context. Icons are shown in gray when they are disabled. |
| View and Editor Panes | The majority of the Workbench is divided into view and editor panes. View panes provide navigation, listings, links and graphical displays of project resources. Editor panes provide an area to edit project resources. In the image above the top middle pane is the only open editor pane (HTML page editor) and the other open panes are view panes. Different perspectives provide a different set of view and editor panes. |
| Status Bar | The status bar provides information about the status of a Rational Developer process and file location information. |
| Perspective Bar | The perspective bar, also known as the perspective switcher, is used to open or switch to a perspective. The open perspectives are listed on perspective bar as clickable icons. The current open perspective is selected in the perspective bar (in the image above, the Web perspective is open and selected).
Click the Open a Perspective (  ) icon to open a new perspective (a different set of view and editor panes). |
Main Parts of an Editor Pane
Labels in the following image highlight the main parts of an editor pane. The table after the image provides a detailed description of each part.
| Open Files | The open files bar includes the name of all open files. Click the name to switch to another open file. The current open file is selected and shown with color.
In the top-right area of the editor pane, click the maximize (  ) icon to maximize the editor pane, and the restore (  ) icon to restore the editor pane. |
| Current File | The file name and page title of the current open file. |
| Editor Area | The editor area is where you make changes to the current open file. |
| Tabs | Many editor panes provide tabs. Click the tabs to switch to another editing function. In this example the Design tab provides access to the WYSIWYG function of the HTML page editor, the Source tab provides access to the HTML source file editor, and the Preview tab provides a browser preview of the current HTML file. |
Main Parts of a View Pane
Labels in the following image highlight the main parts of a view pane. The table after the image provides a detailed description of each part.
Note for Domino Developers |
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 Similarities with Domino Designer's IDE
The Rational Developer Integrated Development Environment (IDE) shares many similarities with the Domino Designer IDE. This table lists the parts of the Rational Developer IDE and their Domino Designer equivalent.
| Rational Developer | Domino Designer |
| Title Bar | Title Bar |
| Menu Bar | Menu Bar |
| Toolbars | Toolbars |
| Perspective Bar | Bookmarks Bar |
| View and Editor Panes | Design Pane, Work Pane and Programmer's Pane |
| Status Bar | Status Bar |
| Open Files | Tabs on Window Tab Bar |
| Editor Area | Work Pane and Programmer's Pane |
| Tabs | Tabs in Object/Reference area of Programmer's Pane |
| View Title Bar | |
| View Toolbar | Toolbars |
| View Area | Design Pane |
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Your Next Step?
Start learning! TLCC has several courses on Rational Developer plus you can try a demo version of Introduction to WebSphere Development Using Rational Developer 6 for FREE! The demo version works the same as TLCC's actual course but only contains selected lessons to give you a flavor for how easy it is to learn WebSphere development and Rational Developer with TLCC's distance learning courses.
Below is the Road Map of TLCC's Java and WebSphere courses (using Rational Developer) for Domino Developers
Do you have Java programming skills?
If not, take these TLCC courses: |
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| IBM Rational Developer 6 Courses (Some Java experience is a prerequisite) |
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The following is the Road Map of TLCC's WebSphere training courses (using Rational Developer) for ALL developers
| IBM Rational Developer 6 Courses (Some Java experience is a prerequisite) |
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Want to try the FREE demo course?
Click here to learn how to register for the FREE demo course
Interested in getting certified on WebSphere or Rational Developer?
TLCC has published a tip on the different WebSphere and Rational certifications available from IBM. This tip explains what is required for certification and the topics covered on each exam, plus, learn how to prepare for the exams.
Click here to learn more about WebSphere and Rational Certification |