This topic provides an overview of how to install Rational Web Developer. Rational Web Developer is part of the IBM WebSphere Application Server - Express, Version 6 product.
Rational Web Developer is part of the integrated suite of Rational Developer tools, powered by Eclipse technology release 3.0.
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 IBM WebSphere Application Server supported hardware, software, and APIs 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.
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.
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.
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 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 by selecting Start > Programs > IBM Rational >IBM Rational Web Developer 6.0 > Rational Web Developer. You can also select Start > Program > 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.
The installer program locates the Rational Web Developer and installs the Version 5.x test environment into the proper directory.
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.
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.
This topic is available on the product CD-ROM and online in an information center. The information center always has the most current information. The information center displays in the language of your machine locale if possible.
The information center for Version 6 is at the http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/ws60help/index.jsp IBM Web site.
The Getting Started PDF is updated occasionally. Download a new Getting Started guide guide by clicking the "Installing your application serving environment (PDF)" link on the WebSphere Application Server library page for Version 6.0.x at http://www.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/was/library/index.html. The name of the file is different than the one on your product CD to keep from overlaying other PDF files you might download. (All of the PDF files on the product CD have the same file name.)
The HTML version of the Getting Started guide is not available for downloading because you can download and install the entire information center for the Express product. See Using this documentation offline for more information.
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.
Related tasks
Installing the product and additional software