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VisualAge makes developing Java apps easy

Get the scoop on version 3.5 of IBM's VisualAge for Java, Enterprise Edition.

By Tim Fielden, InfoWorld, 10/20/00

Unless your are doing business at the bottom of the ocean, chances are extremely good that your company is or will be doing some form of Java development in the near future. With that realization comes the fact that standardizing on a development tool is essential for not only establishing and maintaining team synergy but for keeping productivity high as well.

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TEXTBOX_HEAD: The Bottom Line

VisualAge for Java, Enterprise Edition, Version 3.5

Business Case
IBM's latest version of VisualAge takes a lot of the sting out of standardizing on a development platform. The tool's industry acceptance and ease of use make it worth looking at for any company writing Java code.

Technology Case
Developers should find VisualAge for Java a huge boon once they get used to it, thanks largely to the numerous wizards and integration with several top development tools that you're probably already using.

Pros

• Excellent integration with Rational Rose
• Wizards to ease many tasks
• Well-written and comprehensive documentation
• Great ready-to-run samples

Cons

• Huge appetite for system resources

Cost
,999 per developer

Platforms
Windows 98/2000, Windows NT 4.0, AS/400

IBM; Armonk, N.Y.; (800)426-3333

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Picking the right tool can be one of the hardest steps in the development process, especially considering the abundance of choices available in the marketplace. Fortunately, IBM and its latest VisualAge for Java, Enterprise Edition, version 3.5 made the choice a little easier.

Whether you are new to Java or not, one thing that's certain is VisualAge for Java is a stellar environment for development. In addition to its easy-to-use interfaces, numerous wizards, and proven industry acceptance, Version 3.5 also comes replete with prebuilt integrated application scenarios (samples), allowing developers to easily and rapidly modify, build, test, and publish to IBM's WebSphere application server platform -- making getting started that much easier.

After using VisualAge for Java, it was clear to us that this product would help reduce the cost and effort associated with building and maintaining Java applications to such a degree that it deserved our highest score of Excellent. Although this release offers fewer new features and functionality than previous releases have, what has been added is definitely worth a long look. Starting the list is the new XMI Toolkit.

Lover of Rose

Although designed specifically for those who use Rational Rose as their primary modeling tool, the XMI Toolkit enables seamless round-trip capabilities for generating VisualAge for Java code from Rose models and vice versa. Doing so facilitates and encourages good iterative development practices, thereby helping developers rapidly understand and transform business models from the conceptual to the concrete. For the CIO, this translates not only to faster time to market, but better use of resources and an adherence to a proven development process.

In the past, numerous complexities have often discouraged people from making better use of XML -- an issue IBM has addressed with this release. First, IBM has added an XML generator that provides users with the ability to edit a DTD (Document Type Definition) and generate sample XML output. Its purpose is to define the legal building blocks (or elements, if you prefer) of an XML document. The DTDs can be either declared inline in an XML document or obtained from an external reference, such as another document. A good example might take the form of XML elements, such as the fields that make up a note. Each field would need to be referenced, validated, and exercised. With that said, you can imagine what the outcome would be if the DTD were wrong or, worse yet, were formatted incorrectly.

For more enterprise computing news, visit InfoWorld. Story copyright InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.

 

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