IBM® Rational® Application Developer for WebSphere® Software V8 is the full-function Eclipse 3.6 technology-based development platform for developing JavaTM Platform, Standard Edition Version 6 (Java SE 6) and Java Platform, Enterprise Edition Version 6 (Java EE 6) applications. Beyond this function, Rational Application Developer provides development tools for technologies, such as OSGi, Service Component Architecture (SCA), Web 2.0, and XML. It has a focus on applications to be deployed to IBM WebSphere Application Server and IBM WebSphere Portal.

Rational Application Developer provides integrated development tools for all development roles, including web developers, Java developers, business analysts, architects, and enterprise programmers.

This IBM Redbooks® publication is a programming guide that highlights the features and tooling included with Rational Application Developer V8.0.1. Many of the chapters provide working examples that demonstrate how to use the tooling to develop applications and achieve the benefits of visual and rapid application development. This publication is an update of Rational Application Developer V7.5 Programming Guide, SG24-7672.