WDSC: Step by Step: A Practical Guide to Becoming Proficient in WebSphere Development Studio Client

WDSC: Step by Step carries on the Step by Step series tradition of providing an easy-to-understand yet thorough introduction to today’s most important technologies. In this book, you’ll discover the incredibly powerful WebSphere Development Studio Client (WDSC). Whether you plan to program only in RPG or plan to someday add Java and Web development to your RPG skill set, IBM has made it clear that WDSC is the tool you will be using.

But WDSC isn’t just a replacement to SEU; it charts a new path for development based on IBM’s open-source Eclipse IDE. More than just an editor, WDSC is also a design studio, a compiler, an integration aid, and a test platform. It supports not only standard languages such as RPG and COBOL, but also Java, HTML, JavaServer Pages, and Cascading Style Sheets. The sheer scope of features available in WDSC makes learning it overwhelming for many programmers. This book demystifies WDSC, making it accessible and far easier to learn.

By design, WDSC: Step by Step walks a programmer through a working, integrated example while highlighting those features used on a day-to-day basis. You’ll learn all of the key features of WDSC, including building a Web site, adding dynamic content, attaching it to an i5/iSeries program, and finally deploying it to a WebSphere Application Server. Not merely a WDSC reference, this book acts as an extended library session in which readers learn by doing and master enough techniques to continue learning on their own. No prior knowledge of Java, HTML, or Eclipse is required!

Joe Pluta is a designer of distributed architectures for the midrange platform and the author of Eclipse. He is the founder of Pluta Brothers Design, a developer of tools that allow iSeries users to incorporate emerging technologies seamlessly into their legacy systems, providing a direct path to new architectures. He moderates the JAVA400-L mailing list and is a member of IBM's JTOpen core team. He writes the “Weaving WebSphere” column at mcpressonline.com. He lives in Palatine, Illinois.