Heavy-Duty RefinementWebSphere Studio is a credit to IBM and Java DevelopmentBy Nelson King Continued from Page 1 As another data capability, I would also include the well-designed and complete visual XML development environment, which includes components for building DTDs, XML schemas, XML files (with validation), and XSL. The ability to generate XML from SQL statements and the DB2 XML Extender, which allows document access definition scripts to compose or decompose XML documents to and from DB2 data, highlight the strong ties to data in this environment. Once again, while most other development environments include similar XML functionality, few do it in such a well-organized way.
In the Middle TierLike most Web application development environments, Application Developer assumes that more often than not an application server will be involved. Obviously IBM is thinking about its own WebSphere Application Server. Other servers can be used, but the fit would not be as easy — for example, you'd miss out on the WebSphere test environment for both EJB and Web applications. The application server market is intensely competitive, but currently IBM WebSphere Application Server ranks very high; to not take advantage of it in Application Developer seems eccentric. Debugging and ProfilingThe debugging environment of Application Developer continues to be outstanding and will only get better with the addition of dynamic debugging and hot-linking with JDK 1.4. Although it runs the gamut from immediate error reporting on compilation to sophisticated remote debugging for integrated testing of EJB and Web applications, the most powerful aspect of Application Developer's approach is its integration. It provides a unit-test environment for JSP files, servlets, and HTML files, as well as a server-side all-in-one unit test, linked to the general IDE debugger. It took years for Java to catch up to C++ in debugging, and now we're finally getting professional tools for monitoring and analyzing the code. Packaged as a set of plug-ins, Application Developer offers a performance analyzer (to look for performance bottlenecks in the code, among other things). It can also help with nasty problems such as memory leaks. In my testing, this tool was more than a little difficult to set up — takes some getting used to reading too — but the payoff on code performance is worth the effort. Web Services EnvironmentApplication Developer does a good job of explaining simple Web services and the examples are easy to follow. Using wizards for generating Web services description language documents and simple object access protocol code simplifies some of the more esoteric elements of Web services. When it comes time to test a service, IBM operates a test registry (to which you must first register yourself) to work with your Web services and universal description, discovery, and integration metadata. This registry is very handy. Beyond simple services (one or two functions and simple one-way data),Web services become more than most wizards can handle (not just Application Developers). At that point you may need to look into IBM's newly released Web Services Toolkit. All enterprise-level development products try to be complete, but IBM has done an outstanding job of integrating top-class features for the entire development cycle. From providing a copy of Rational ClearCase LT for version control, to a unified debugging environment, to a unique code profiling tool, Application Developer really does cover all the bases. IBM WebSphere Studio Application Developer 4.0 provides a benchmark for Java development systems — and in all likelihood will be the standard-bearer for the Java camp in the jousting with Microsoft .Net. Nelson King [nelsonking@earthlink.net] has written nine books on database application programming and spends much of his time in the trenches of enterprise software development. RESOURCESRelated Articles at IntelligentEnterprise.com: "Ready, Set, Compete," March 8, 2002: www.intelligententerprise.com/020308/505feat1_1.jhtml "BI Web Services Takes a Step Forward," Feb. 20, 2002: www.intelligententerprise.com/online_only/analyst/020220.jhtml "MicroStrategy 7i Weaves a Wider Web," Feb. 5, 2002: www.intelligententerprise.com/online_only/analyst/020205.jhtml "Have Web Services, Will Travel," June 29, 2001: www.intelligententerprise.com/010629/e_business1_1.jhtml Related product reviews at IntelligentEnterprise.com: Forte for Java 3.0 "Among the Vanguard," Feb. 1, 2002: www.intelligententerprise.com/020201/503products1_1.jhtml Delphi 6, "Web Services Development," Sept. 18, 2002: www.intelligententerprise.com/010918/414products1_1.jhtml
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