Rational Software Corp announced plans this week to integrate its separate development and testing tools into one suite to make it easier for developers to work together to produce new software applications. The company says its Rational Suite features a new integration architecture that tightly integrates updated versions of 10 Rational products, including Rational Rose (a visual modeling tool), Rational TeamTest (a testing tool for applications) and Rational Requisite Pro (messaging software). Additionally, the architecture features a common programming interface which means any user working with any Rational tool can access data from all other tools. The suite, which is expected to ship in the next 30 days, is available in four editions – Rational Suite AnalystStudio, Rational Suite DevelopmentStudio, Rational Suite TestStudio and Rational Suite Enterprise. As well as repackaging and updating current versions of Rational tools, the suite also includes a new technology, called TestFactory, which automatically generates tests and finds run-time errors and defects that cause software to crash. All versions of the suite, which also integrates Microsoft’s Visual Studio, can be used on Windows and Unix platforms.
