ArcStyler for IBM RSM - FAQ
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This Q&A document is designed to answer the common questions asked by customers migrating from XDE with .NET to RSM.
Q. Why should a customer decide for ArcStyler for IBM RSM and not stay completely within Visual Studio for modeling and coding?
A. Visual Studio has modeling capabilities in UML like diagrams, and it also has code generation capabilities. But if the customer wants really to use enterprise-level modelling with RSA and to model at significant abstraction levels and use powerful transformations that contain a lot of implementation intelligence, then RSA or ArcStyler for IBM RSM should be used.
Q. When should the customer use RSA or ArcStyler for IBM RSM?
A. If the customer has a complete IBM development and runtime environment then RSA fits the best. But if your customer uses the Rational products but needs flexibility for the addressed target technologies or architectures then it would be worth considering using ArcStyler for IBM RSM.
Q. What is the licensing policy of ArcStyler for IBM RSM?
A. ArcStyler for RSM licenses are perpetual licenses, and contain no ‘run time’ element.
Q. Where can I get a trial license?
A. By clicking on the following URL:
http://www.interactive-objects.com/products/download
Q. Is ArcStyler for IBM RSM a real Eclipse plug-in?
A. Yes. ArcStyler for IBM RSM uses only Eclipse and RSM extensions and has been validated by IBM & awarded the ‘Ready for Rational ‘ logo.
Q. Which versions of Visual Studio does ArcStyler for IBM RSM support?
A. ArcStyler generates solutions, which are compatible, with both Visual Studio 2003 and 2005.
Q. What types of artefacts are generated from a UML model with ArcStyler for IBM RSM?
A. Using the standard C# cartridge, ArcStyler for IBM RSM generates C# files, .NET solutions, projects and Ant build files.
Using the .NET cartridge, ArcStyler for IBM RSM generates for each UML class, the layers for a multi-tier application: interface layer, business facade, intermediate layer hosting the business rules, data access layer including O/R mapping as well as server-side interfaces.
Q. Does ArcStyler for IBM RSM support round-trip engineering like XDE?
A. As with Rational Software Architect, ArcStyler for IBM RSM supports a forward driven engineering approach. Generating models from a distributed n-tier application is fraught with difficulties. Imagine that you change a method name within the generated interface component but not within the component that implements this method. What happens then on the model level? Here you have only one representation of this method as an operation within a UML class. And within the distributed code you cannot see the implications a change of a detail may have. Therefore MDA propagates a forward driven approach where some design decisions are taken on the model level and others on the code level. But if you decide to assign a decision to the model level than it is important to take it always on the model level.