Rational Developer for i

IBM Rational® Developer for i V7.5 features include the following enhancements to the application diagram, to Web services and Java™ tools, to screen designer, and more.

Application diagram V7.5 enhancements
The functions in the application diagram previously included in IBM WebSphere® Development Studio Client Advanced Edition for System i are now included in Rational Developer for i.

The application diagram V7.5 enhancements include:

Functional zoom
The application diagram now graphically shows subroutines and subprocedures within their source member. The diagram initially opens up showing only source members, programs, and service programs along with any direct (copybooks and bindings) and indirect (procedure and program calls) relationships between them.

You can now expand source members to see the lower level details. Expanding a source member shows the call graph for that source member within the graphical representation of the source member in the diagram.

Program calls
The previous release of the application diagram only showed bound procedure and subroutine calls. In version 7.5, the application diagram is updated to also show program calls for ILE RPG, ILE COBOL, and CL source.

CL support
CL source members are now scanned and their information is added to the generated diagram.

IBM i (i5/OS) Web services and Java tools V7.5 enhancements
The Program Call wizard now enables the generation of Program Call Markup Language (PCML) and direct program call Java beans. Direct program call Java beans use the ProgramCall class to invoke the System i program.

PCML program call Java beans use the ProgramCallDocument class to invoke the System i program. Generated program call beans are more extensible.

Communications between generated Program Call bean and IBM i (i5/OS) now supports SSL.

IBM i (i5/OS) V6R1 support
The level of program verifiers, syntax checkers, content assist, editor wizards, and outline view are updated to the IBM i (i5/OS) V6R1 host level.

Screen designer technology preview phase 2
In V7.5, screen designer technology preview phase 2 contains improved usability enhancements. It now reflects more closely its intended appearance and function.

The enhancements include:

• Keyword specific property pages

• The ability to specify keyword properties when adding a keyword

• A toolbar button on the design page for configuring preferences

• Partial preview page function, including indicator sets and field values

• Convenient buttons to control screen size from both the design page and the preview page

• Screen information that is now stored as XML comments within the display file

• Performance enhancements

• Defect fixes

Debug support
Rational Developer for i V7.5 includes debug support that enables you to:

• Select and debug each RPG thread in the application, view and change variables, and pause a thread

• View and modify RPG varying length variables

• View the data item information in COBOL ODO (OCCURS DEPENDING ON) properly and more easily

• View and modify decimal floating points in ILE C

Footprint reduction
Rational Developer for i reduces the hard disk and main memory requirements for the developer personal computer. It also provides improved performance at startup and for some system actions.