Before you begin
Rational Web Developer is part of the
integrated suite of Rational Developer tools, powered by Eclipse technology
release 3.0.
Important: IBM does not recommend installing
the Express server on the same machine with Rational Web Developer. Rational Web Developer installs its own copy of the
Express server for a totally functional test environment.
Hardware
and software requirements
The hardware and software requirements
for Rational Web Developer are different than
those for the IBM WebSphere Application Server - Express, Version 6 product.
The
official statements of support for hardware and software for the IBM WebSphere
Application Server - Express, Version 6 product are on the Supported hardware and software Web site. The Web
site lists all supported operating systems and the operating system fixes
and patches that you must install to have a compliant operating system.
The
official list of supported hardware and software for Rational Web Developer are
in the readme.html file on the first Rational Web Developer compact
disc. The readme file states that you must have 2.5 GB of free space on your
operating system to install the entire product and to have room for developing
applications. You can reduce the space requirement somewhat by not installing
all available features.
About this task
This topic provides an overview of the steps for creating a fully
integrated development environment using
Rational Web Developer:
- Insert and mount disc 1 of Rational Web Developer on
a Windows or Linux (Intel) system.
- Start the launchpad.
- Launch the installation program for Rational Web Developer.
- Install the Rational Web Developer.
No further steps are necessary to create a fully integrated development
environment. Start the tutorial on the product Welcome page to learn how to
use Rational Web Developer.
- Use the launchpad to get started, if possible.
The
launchpad has links to the installation guide (install.html)
on the product disc and to the readme.html file. The
launchpad is in the root directory of the first product CD.
Use the
launchpad to launch the installation procedure for Rational Web Developer.
See Using the launchpad to start the installation.
Start
the launchpad with the
launchpad.bat command. The installation
guide on the
Rational Web Developer disc refers
to the launchpad program as the
launchpad.exe file. The
launchpad.exe program
is replaced in the
Rational Web Developer packaging
for Express by the WebSphere Application Server - Express launchpad. The command
to start the launchpad is actually:
./launchpad.sh
launchpad.bat
The launchpad requires a supported Web browser. The launchpad
supports the following browsers:
- Mozilla
Internet Explorer Version 5.5 with Service Pack 2 or
later
- Install Rational Web Developer.
You can install Rational Web Developer from
the CD-ROM or from electronic images that you download. You can also install Rational Web Developer from the default graphical
user interface, using a command prompt, or using the Installation wizard in
silent mode. A silent installation reads values for installation fields from
a response file and does not provide prompts in a graphical interface.
The
interactive console mode can be better suited for persons with accessibility
requirements. The accessibility mode command line option (-accessibility)
makes the run-time console mode Wizard more friendly for screen readers.
See the install.html file on the product
disc for detailed information about installing Rational Web Developer.
Start Rational Web Developer on
Linux platforms after the installation is complete. Start Rational Web Developer by going to the Start menu
and selecting IBM Rational >IBM Rational Web Developer 6.0.
You can also select IBM Rational > Rational Software Development
Platform to start the product.
The first time that you
start Rational Web Developer, a dialog box opens
with the default workspace directory already specified. By default, your work
is stored in a directory called workspace, located in $HOME/IBM/rationalsdp6.0 directory.
To save your work elsewhere, change the name of the workspace. If you clear
the Use this as the default and do not ask again check
box, this dialog box opens every time you start Rational Web Developer.
This lets you change work spaces.
Tip: If the Use this
as the default and do not ask again check box is selected, the dialog
box does not open again. Rational Web Developer uses
the last workspace from the previous session. To open the dialog box again,
change this option in Rational Web Developer in
the Window > Preferences > Workbench > Startup and Shutdown page.
Click OK. A one time delay occurs while the workspace
structure is created.
Start Rational Web Developer on
Windows platforms after the installation is complete. Start Rational Web Developer by selecting Start > Programs
> IBM Rational >IBM Rational Web Developer 6.0
> Rational Web Developer. You can also select Start
> Programs > IBM Rational > Rational Software Development Platform to
start the product.
The first time that you start Rational Web Developer,
a dialog box opens with the default workspace directory already specified.
By default, your work is stored in a directory called workspace, located in c:\Documents and Settings\youruserid\IBM\rationalsdp6.0\workspace directory. To save your work elsewhere, change the name of the workspace.
If you clear the Use this as the default and do not ask again check
box, this dialog box opens every time you start Rational Web Developer.
This option lets you change work spaces.
Tip: If the Use
this as the default and do not ask again check box is selected,
the dialog box does not open again. Rational Web Developer uses
the last workspace from the previous session. To open the dialog box again,
change this option in Rational Web Developer in
the Window > Preferences > Workbench > Startup and Shutdown page.
Click OK. A one time delay occurs while the workspace
structure is created.
- Troubleshoot any installation problems.
If you encounter
a problem such as not having enough space or not having the right prerequisite
updates on your system, cancel the installation, make the required changes,
and restart the installation. The installation procedure has a description
of more comprehensive troubleshooting procedures.
Cancelling a console
installation is difficult. Cancelling the installation after the wizard begins
copying files to disk is also difficult. See the install.html file
for more information.
You can reinstall into the same directory to add
features that you did not select during the initial installation. For example,
if you find that you must create applications for languages other than English,
you might reinstall to install the language pack feature.
Results
This task installs
Rational Web Developer for
the Express product. Several installation differences exist between the
Rational Web Developer that is bundled in the Express
product and the full
Rational Web Developer product.
The first difference is the name of the program that starts the launchpad,
as described earlier. Other differences include:
- Integrated test environment for WebSphere Application Server - Express
Version 5.x
- The Express Version 6 test environment is included with the Rational Web Developer installation
image. The Version 6 test environment is installed by default. Normally is
the only test environment that you need.
Suppose, however, that you are
migrating from WebSphere Application Server - Express Version 5.x and there
is a need to test an application with the Version 5.x test environment. You
can install the Express Version 5.x test environment from the supplemental
disc in the
Rational Web Developer package.
- Install Rational Web Developer.
- From the supplemental disc run the following command:
5xTestEnv/setup/setup
5xTestEnv\setup\setup.exe
- Follow the installation wizards to complete the installation.
The installer
program locates the Rational Web Developer and
installs the Version 5.x test environment into the proper directory.
- Agent Controller
- The Agent Controller is a daemon that is typically used to communicate
between Rational Web Developer and Version 5.x
Express servers. The communication mechanism for Version 6 servers does not
rely on Agent Controllers.
The Installation Guide for Rational Web Developer has
detailed information on installing the Agent Controller. If you must install
the Agent Controller, follow the directions in the guide with these important
exceptions:
The Agent Controller for the Windows, Linux, and AIX platforms
is included on the Rational Web Developer supplemental
disc under the IBM_Agent_Controller. These platforms are the same as those
supported for the Agent Controller in the Express 5.x product.
If you find that the full Rational Web Developer product
is a better fit, you can purchase the product for a small upgrade charge.
What to do next
After installing the Express product or the Rational Web Developer,
the next step is to use either product.
If you install the Express
product, you can start the application server and use the administrative console
to deploy an existing application. See Fast paths for WebSphere Application Server for more information.
If
you install Rational Web Developer, you can use
the tutorial on the product CD to begin learning how to develop and deploy
applications.