August 2006 Volume 10, Number 3

SoftLanding Contributes Three New Plug-Ins to WDSC Community

By Amy Lantz, Director of Marketing

Got WDSC? If you're using it for native iSeries development, you'll want to download the latest version of the free RSE Extensions, which now includes three new functions:

graphical iSeries source compare and merge editors;

a dialog for editing data areas; and

the ability to display data queues.

The RSE Extensions project, established by SoftLanding in September 2005, is an open source initiative dedicated to creating free add-ons to WebSphere Development Studio Client for iSeries (WDSC). The original plug-in allowed users to access spooled file output, work with iSeries messages, and view dual source editing windows simultaneously within WDSC. The three newest extensions, described in more detail below, facilitate iSeries code analysis and development. Each utility runs entirely from within the WDSC 6.0 environment, minimizing the need to open a 5250 session.

Compare and Merge iSeries Source Code

WDSC users have frequently discussed in online forums the need for a graphical source compare/merge engine for iSeries code. Eclipse provides very powerful compare/merge options for Java code, and native iSeries developers wanted something similar. This new plug-in applies the core functionality of the Eclipse source/compare engine to iSeries code. It allows users to compare two iSeries source members in either edit or browse mode, or to interactively merge two source members. The graphical nature of the editors means that developers can see and resolve conflicts quickly. Unlike more traditional iSeries-based compare/merge utilities, the RSE Extensions utility even works with source members that come from different iSeries systems.

Edit Data Area and Display Data Queue

These two plug-ins provide custom dialogs for displaying data queues and changing the value of a data area from within WDSC. Just right-click on a *DTAQ object and choose RSE Extensions > Display Data Queue to see the data queue attributes and to preview the first entry in the queue. Right-click on a *DTAARA object to open a dialog that lets you view the data area's identifying information and change its value.

Downloading the RSE Extensions

The RSE Extensions Plug-in, its documentation, and its source code are freely available for download. Along with the new functionality, you'll also get the original extensions, with which you can access spooled file output, work with iSeries messages, and view dual source editing windows simultaneously within WDSC.

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WHAT'S NEW