Product overview

The IBM® Rational® Rhapsody® product line is a visual development environment in which systems engineers and software developers can create real-time or embedded systems and software. Diverse teams can collaborate and use Rational Rhapsody to analyze requirements, manage complexity using industry-standard languages, validate functionality early in the development life cycle, and automate the delivery of innovative, high-quality products. It supports the communication and collaboration needs of a diverse team by supporting the full requirements life cycle, from specification and development through test and delivery.

Depending on which edition you use, Rational Rhapsody provides the following features. For specific platform, edition, and language requirements and limitations, see Release notes for Rational Rhapsody.

* The marked capabilities are provided with optional add-on products.

To find articles, videos, and other information to help you use the product, go to the Rational Rhapsody wiki.

Rational Rhapsody editions

Several editions of Rational Rhapsody provide capabilities for systems engineering and software development. In some cases, you can use the same model information between editions.

For embedded software development, the product editions differ by the target language and the amount of automation needed. With each edition, you can integrate existing C, C++, C# (C Sharp), Java, or Ada code into Rational Rhapsody so that you can visualize the code through reverse engineering. You can also synchronize the model and code so that you can work in either format but ensure that your work is reflected in both.

The three versions of IBM Rational Rhapsody Developer provide the most functions. The versions differ depending on the type of code that is generated, but all versions provide these capabilities:
  • Simulation for model level debugging
  • Generation of behavioral code of statecharts for C++, C, Java, and Ada
  • Generation of build artifacts, such as makefiles and object initialization
  • Support for embedded RTOS and leading embedded IDEs, including Eclipse-based IDEs
  • Integration with IDEs, such as Eclipse, Wind River Workbench, and Microsoft Visual Studio
  • Support for add-on products, such as IBM Rational Rhapsody TestConductor Add On, which you can use to test productivity by automating testing tasks, visualizing test cases with UML diagrams, and automating unit testing of designs

For information about the capabilities of each edition of Rational Rhapsody, see the following table.

Table 1. Rational Rhapsody editions
Focus Edition Capabilities
Software development IBM Rational Rhapsody Developer for C, C++, and Java This edition includes all the Rational Rhapsody Developer functions, full behavioral generation of C, C++, and Java code, and generation of C# structural code.
IBM Rational Rhapsody Developer for Ada This edition includes all Rational Rhapsody Developer capabilities for Ada only.
IBM Rational Rhapsody Developer This edition includes all the Rational Rhapsody Developer functions. You can generate code in all the supported target languages: C, C++, Java, and Ada; and structural code for C#.
IBM Rational Rhapsody Architect for Software With this edition, you can model a design visually, but you cannot create simulations or use IBM Rational Rhapsody TestConductor Add On for automated model-based testing. This edition generates only structural code, also known as code frames. This product does not include full behavioral code from statecharts or the ability to generate build artifacts to automate the build process.
Systems engineering IBM Rational Rhapsody Architect for Systems Engineers With this edition, you can model and design systems, but you cannot create simulations or generate code.
IBM Rational Rhapsody Designer for Systems Engineers With this edition, you can create model-level simulations in order to validate early designs.
Team Collaboration IBM Rational Rhapsody Design Manager With this product, you can publish and create reviews of design information to Jazz™.net, to share, search, collaborate, and review design information through the web or the Rational Rhapsody client.
IBM Rational Rhapsody Design Reviewer feature With this feature, you can share, search, collaborate, and review design information through the web or Rational Rhapsody client.

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