Rational Software set to roll out rapid development tool. A month after IBM said it was working on a product road map for Rational Software Corp., the application development unit plans to introduce a tool aimed at simplifying Java development. [Computerworld Software News]

The tool goes beyond traditional RAD offerings in its support for visual-model-driven development and the Unified Modeling Language (UML), its use of prebuilt patterns for building scalable multitier applications, and its ability to simplify integration with existing systems, said Arun Gupta, chief technologist of enterprise applications at Rational.

Gupta said the tool, which Rational acquired last year from NeuVis Inc. in Shelton, Conn., can generate about 90% of the code for Java applications, leaving only a small percentage of business logic to be written by developers.

Rational will also introduce an automated software testing tool that is due by the end of next month and will sell for $2,995. The company also plans to announce enhancements to its XDE Professional design and development environment, which will now be called IBM Rational XDE Developer

4:21:25 PM    

Microsoft adds smarts to Visio. Microsoft Office Visio 2003, due out later this year, has new features that connect it to enterprise applications and can help companies analyze their business processes. [Computerworld Software News]

With support for XML and Microsoft's .Net Web services platform, Visio is "moving beyond a static desktop diagramming tool and becoming a smart client," Bunge said.

Users can now tie diagrams to live data sources, he said. For example, changes made to a Visio diagram can be reflected automatically in a database. And a human resources manager can automatically populate organizational charts with information in a database, such as review scores, Bunge said. "With Visio 2003, one of the key areas is about programmability and connectivity," he noted.

4:15:18 PM