Introduction
NEW RELEASE:
WDSC for RPG Programmers (Version 7) WDS7
IBM recently released
version 7 of the premiere IDE for the System i based on the powerful
Eclipse framework. With the new version 7 of WDSC IBM jumped forward
from the old Eclipse 3.0 style to the brand new Eclipse 3.2 look and
feel. Everything from menus to basic toolbar icons changed with the
new release, and so we've updated our acclaimed "WDSC for RPG
Programmers" course.
Every screen shot
has been re-captured! Where the tool has changed, such as the location
of often-used preferences or the new technique for changing variables
in debug mode, we've updated the course book to give you detailed
instructions to make you immediately productive with version 7. Only
WDSC for RPG Programmers (Version 7) is written to get you up and
running with the newest version of WDSC.
This course has
been designed to specifically get green screen programmers proficient
with this powerful new tool.
Here is what you
will learn:
With this new
course, you'll learn how to use the features and functions of WDSC
to edit and manage your iSeries source code. First, you will connect
to your iSeries and see how the Remote System Explorer replaces PDM.
You'll then use the LPEX source code editor, a super- charged replacement
for SEU. Some of the features in LPEX, such as split-screen editing
and code outlining, can dramatically increase your coding productivity.
WDSC is a complete
development environment. You'll learn how to compile programs from
within WDSC and how to use compile-time features to quickly locate
and correct errors in your source code. Finally, you'll get a complete
step-by-step exercise of the debugging capabilities of the tool. WDSC
is the only cross-platform debugging tool that handles RPG the same
way it handles PC-based languages. This introductory exercise will
teach you the basics of debugging with WDSC: how to set breakpoints,
display and even change variables while debugging programs running
on your host.
WDSC for RPG Programmers
is a step-by-step manual, leading you through all of the options that
you need to know about how to use WDSC as a replacement for SEU/PDM.
The manual has many illustrations so you can see exactly where the
options are, and what you need to do to make them work. Rather than
spend hours of frustration trying to get started with WDSC, you can
use this course to quickly become productive. In short, at the end
of this course you will have gained the skills you need to use WDSC
to Modernize, maintain and enhance your existing RPG code. Get started
now.
Software and Hardware
requirements for deploying WDSC
You need to have
the IBM licensed program product (LPP) number 5722WDS on your machine.
You will have this if you are at a relatively current version of the
operating system (V5R1 or greater) and you have the RPG or COBOL compiler,
because since that time the compilers all became bundled. More features
are available as you get later releases of the OS for example, service
entry points are only available on V5R3 or better.
By far the bigger
requirement is your PC; for pure RPG or COBOL development you’ll
need a 2GHz processor, about 768MB of RAM, 2GB of free disk space
and you should have at a minimum a 7200 RPM drive. Note that most
laptops have 5400RPM drives or less; these will work, but will be
slower.
Skill Level Requirement:
Some experience with computer programming and database. Any RPG programmer
with 1 or more years of experience will be able to successfully complete
this course. This course is not intended for end-users or for novice
programmers.
Version 7.5 of
Rational Tools Announced!
IBM recently announced
the release of version 7.5 of its Rational suite of tools for the
IBM i. This includes Rational Developer for the i (RDi), which replaces
the powerful WDSC integrated development environment. WDSC goes completely
out of service (no fixes, no support) in April of 2010, after which
you will need to move to one of the new Rational products. That's
not necessarily bad, of course - the entire RDi product line is quickly
becoming the premiere development tool suite for IBM i programmers,
with solutions to fit every need from pure green screen programmer
to advanced Rich UI web application design.
RDi is a smaller,
faster, lighter repackaging of WDSC -- including a much improved screen
designer and the new application diagrammer -- targeted specifically
for green screen development. RDi is intended to replace PDM and SEU,
which are officially "stabilized" and will receive no new
features or enhancements. IBM is doing whatever it can to entice programmers
to move from the green screen to the graphical development environment.
In fact, as of V6R1, licensing on the IBM i changes drastically to
a seat-based pricing system, and you will be able to get RDi for the
same prices as PDM and SEU (together known as the Application Development
Tool Suite or ADTS). And don't worry - IBM is still promoting web
application development for the i. If web enabling is in your future,
then you'll want to upgrade to RDi-SOA, the Rational Developer for
i for SOA Construction, which includes IBM's new EGL language.
Not matter what,
though, either RDi or RDi-SOA is in your future. If you don't have
one of the RDi products available today, you can still take advantage
of the free WDSC tooling. Although WDSC is also stabilized, it's an
excellent tool and a great learning environment. RDi looks and feels
almost exactly like WDSC, so getting proficient with WDSC today gets
you ahead of the curve for RDi in the future. The WDSC for RPG Programmers
course was designed specifically to focus on those parts of the WDSC
tool which are included in the RDi tool - the tools that allow you
to develop green screen applications - and so is relevant no matter
which RDi tool you choose to use in the future.
Jump into the
future of IBM i programming today with WDSC for RPG Programmers.
Completion Time: 8 to 10 hours
Compare
WDSC's features and functionality to the old PDM and SEU:
Connections
One of the toughest things about switching to a PC-based tool is connecting
to your host. The first thing you'll learn in WDSC for RPG Programmers,
is how to set up connections customized to your work environment using
library lists and initial programs. You'll even see how to have multiple
connections and how they can be used to organize your projects.
Filters
WRKMBRPDM is a great tool, but it pales in comparison to filters in
WDSC. Filters allow you to create sets of libraries, objects or members,
and you can even create member lists across multiple files and libraries!
You can have as many filters as you need and have more than one open
in your navigator view. This course walks you through creating your
own filter.
Tables
And if filters aren't enough by themselves, you will learn how to
convert a filter to a table view. If you don't like the Windows Explorer
style tree view, the table view provides a nearly identical interface
to PDM; you can even drill into libraries and files. And in either
view you can access user actions.
Actions
Another great feature of PDM is user-defined functions: those little
two-character abbreviations we can use to save a library or reorganize
a member, or even to invoke our own compile commands. Learn how to
take your existing user-defined PDM options and reuse them as user
actions.
Searching
FNDSTRPDM is another great green-screen command that WDSC has taken
to heart and expanded its capabilities greatly. This lab shows you
how to perform a search across multiple files and libraries and how
to use the results view, both as a way to review the code and also
as a way to launch the editor for those members that need to be changed.
LPEX Editor
Learn how the standard line-oriented SEU commands are still supported
in addition to the newer mouse-oriented full-screen commands available
in every PC-based IDE. This lab will explain the colorized syntax,
show you how to define your preferences and will introduce wizards
that will help you write your code. You'll even learn how to have
multiple editable views of the same source member open simultaneously!
Outline
One of the most powerful features of WDSC is the outline view. In
it, you can see every file, every field, every subroutine and every
procedure. The outline mode shows you where every indicator is used,
and where it is modified. This lab shows you how to use the outline:
find a field, see where it is modified, and be transferred immediately
to that line with a single click.
Verify
One of the more productive things you'll be taught is how to use the
verify tool. Functioning like an interactive compiler error listing,
this feature performs a complete compile-level verification of your
source code and returns all the errors in a task list. You'll learn
how to use that list to find the mistakes in your code as well as
keeping track of the lines you've fixed; easier and more eco-friendly
than a paper listing and post-it notes!
Compiling
Every compile command is available, from CRTPF to CRTBNDRPG. You'll
see an example of using the compile commands to create your objects,
and how to see the results of these commands.
Debugging
Last but by no means least, you'll get a complete step-by-step exercise
of the debugging capabilities of the tool. WDSC is the only cross-platform
debugging tool that handles RPG the same way it handles PC-based languages.
Learn how to set breakpoints, display and even change variables while
debugging programs running on your host. |
