Faster Web Application And Dynamic Site Development
By Ken Cox
IBM WebSphere Studio 4.0 is the latest iteration of IBM's premier Web application development suite. It's designed to mesh with other members of the IBM WebSphere family such as WebSphere Application Server. Studio is a multiplatform, standards-based tool that can produce HTML, GIFs, JavaScript, JSP, and CGI applications to run in any environment.
Studio is available in two editions: Pro and Advanced. The Advanced edition adds personalization tools, supply chain management APIs, and remote debugging functionality. I reviewed the Advanced version on a clean install of Windows 2000 Server. Much more than a simple HTML editor, Studio includes an Applet Designer, a Page Detailer (available only with the Advanced edition), and also a Distributed Debugger. Although the visual HTML designer is the focus of this review, I also looked at some of the newer and more advanced wizards, which are designed to whip up complex code for JavaBeans and Web services. For related information on IBM's WebSphere family of tools, see the sidebar, "The WebSphere Studio Family of Tools."
Start Up
Although WebSphere Application Server isn't actually part of the review, installing it is a practical necessity and is advisable for testing purposes. You need a Web server to develop interactive pages. My installation of this server was both frustrating and amusing. The setup gave me the option to install not one, but two Web servers.
