Rational Software Architect 8.0 beta and Rational Application Developer 8.0 beta

Rational Software Architect 8.0 beta is now available for you to try out as part of the Rational Software Architect open beta program. For information on all of the new Rational Software Architect enhancements visit the Rational Software Architect wiki – specifically the v8 beta pages on the wiki, and the Information Center for the 8.0 beta.

The related Rational Application Developer 8.0 beta is also available. More information is available on the Rational Application Developer wiki pages for the beta program and in the Information Center for the 8.0 beta.

The two 8.0 beta programs are related to the Websphere Application Server 8.0 beta that I have previously mentioned.

Thanks to Andy Piper for pointing this out.

WebSphere Application Server V8.0 Alpha

An alpha version of IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.0 has just been released. Features include:

  • Key portions of Java™ Enterprise Edition 6.0 specifications including:
    • Enterprise JavaBeans 3.1
    • Java Persistence API (JPA) 2.0
    • JavaServer Faces (JSF) 2.0
    • JavaServer Pages (JSP) 2.2
    • Servlet 3.0
    • Java EE Connector Architecture 1.6
  • Increased developer productivity during the edit-compile-debug cycle through directory-based drag and drop application install, uninstall and update
  • Simplified product install with integrated prerequisite and interdependency checking
  • Enhanced security and governance capabilities
  • JPA L2 cache and JPA L2 cache integration with DynaCache
  • High Performance Extensible Logging

You can find more details about the alpha program including how to download the server at ibm.com. You can also visit the forum.

[Via the Websphere Community blog.]

Free WebSphere Application Server 7.0 for Developers

Websphere Application Server 7.0 for Developers has just been released. It is a free download for development purposes – making it possible to develop and test on your desktop using a runtime environment that is identical to the production runtime environment your applications will eventually run on.

Thanks to Davanum Srinivas for the heads up on Twitter.

Websphere Application Server 7.0 released

Bobby Woolf just blogged that Websphere Application Server 7.0 has been released. Bobby has posted several interesting links to more information – one being this video providing a high level overview of the features in version 7.0. Go to this “What’s new in WebSphere Application Server V7” article on developerWorks for more detailed information on important new features.

When searching for information on version 7.0 I came across the Websphere Community blog that looks quite interesting. The blog is run be several Websphere experts from IBM – of which some of them wil participate in the “Meet the experts: What’s new in WebSphere Application Server V7” online chat on October 16.

Update December 15: A draft Redbook entitled “WebSphere Application Server V7: Concepts, Planning and Design” is available as a free download and is expected to be published on December 31, 2008.

WebSphere Application Server Community Edition 2.0 User Guide

I have previously blogged about the release of the free WebSphere Application Server Community Edition 2.0. Now a draft Redbook called “WebSphere Application Server Community Edition 2.0 User Guide” is available for administrators and developers interested in the basics of using WebSphere Application Server Community Edition V2 to run applications.

PHP for SOA and the free Websphere Application Server

IBM has announceda simple way for customers to use PHP technology to develop and execute applications in a service oriented architecture (SOA) using IBM’s open source-based application server, WebSphere Application Server (WAS) Community Edition.

Go ahead and download the free WebSphere Application Server Community Edition and the PHP Integration Kit for WAS CE.

[Via Jean-Francois Arseneault]