V5R1 reaffirms IBM’s commitment to iSeries developers across the spectrum of development options from RPG to Extensible Markup Language (XML). With V5R1, developers get new function in three areas: development tools, language/compiler enhancements, and database. Some of these enhancements have already been previewed in NEWS/400, and detailed articles on other important new features will be covered in upcoming articles, but here’s a quick overview so you’ll know what to watch for. (For more on database improvements, see “IBM Announces Action-Packed V5R1.")

Development Tools
For nearly a year, IBM has been touting its reincarnated development tool set for iSeries, and the tools finally become generally available with V5R1. Christened with the ubiquitous WebSphere brand, WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries (WDS) bundles the existing AS/400 application development tools and compilers into a single product. (WDS will also be made available on V4R5, but new versions of host-based elements such as compilers require V5R1.) The upgrade from your existing tool set to WDS is free with iSeries Software Subscription and entitles you to unlimited workstation licenses for the client-based tools. IBM promises the price for WDS on new systems will be substantially less than the sum of the costs of the component tools.

WDS includes all the host development tools (PDM, SDA, SEU, and so on) except Application Development Manager (ADM) and Application Dictionary Services (ADS). IBM even made minor changes to some of these tools; for example SEU has been enhanced to handle the V5R1 language enhancements. WDS also includes the RPG, Cobol, and C/C++ compilers. More importantly from IBM’s perspective, WDS includes client-based tools such as CODE/400, WebSphere Studio, and VisualAge for Java (a special edition that’s essentially the professional edition plus AS/400-specific features). WDS also includes IBM’s new WebFacing tool.

The WebFacing tool uses DDS source to generate a Java Server Pages (JSP) front end for your existing interactive applications. The tool requires no application modifications, and the green-screen and Java interfaces can coexist. The WebFacing tool lets developers fine-tune both DDS — which means the Java code can be regenerated if necessary — and the Java classes produced by the tool.

It’s too early to tell how enthusiastically AS/400 developers will adopt WebFacing, but a couple of pitfalls are already apparent. First, screens developed using WebFacing require a special servlet for runtime support. If you’re supporting customers who have no development tools on their systems, you’ll want to check with IBM about any constraints on installing the runtime support. Second, from a capacity-planning standpoint, Web-faced applications are still considered interactive (5250) work. Using WebFacing doesn’t let you reduce your requirements for interactive performance.

Languages
All of the iSeries compilers are refreshed in V5R1. RPG gets major enhancements with support for freeform C-specs and better inoperability with Java. For example, RPG now supports an Object data type, and new extensions make it simpler to call a Java program using Java Native Interface (JNI). There are lots of other enhancements to RPG in V5R1 — it’s the biggest release since the introduction of ILE. It includes runtime determination of the file and member to open, %SCAN improvements, a new /Include directive, new built-in functions, and predefined /If conditions for compiler, command, and target release. For more details on what’s new in RPG see “RPG IV: Free Format and More."

Although RPG gets the major emphasis in most AS/400 shops, IBM didn’t neglect Cobol or C in V5R1. To Cobol, this release brings the first phase of support for calling Java programs using JNI. There’s also USCS-2 Unicode support and associated support for “National data” type. Other enhancements improve Cobol compatibility with mainframe versions of the language, including support for complex “Occurs depending on” constructs.

The ILE C and C++ compilers are brand new in V5R1. IBM took advantage of Portable Application Solutions Environment (PASE) to port the AIX versions of these compilers to the iSeries. These versions bring lots of new capabilities to iSeries, including phase two of support for Teraspace, new compile/link commands, and IBM Open Class libraries updated from Version 3 to Version 5. The new compilers also give C++ developers a new Standard Class Library and provide more control of compiler options.

Future Directions
Perhaps the clearest signal IBM is sending with V5R1 is to those who exaggerate the demise of the AS/400. By investing not just in hardware, not just in a better faster Java Virtual Machine (JVM), but in development tools and compilers to support a variety of AS/400 development strategies, IBM is making a statement. The company’s also issuing a challenge to AS/400 developers. By making WDS a free upgrade from existing AS/400 application development tools, IBM is encouraging developers to take advantage of both transition tools like WebFacing and new development environments like Java and XML.