The Eclipse-based product features a drag-and-drop user interface and modern IDE amenities like content assist.
RDi is IBM’s flagship integrated development environment (IDE) for developing applications in RPG, COBOL, Java, and Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) that run on the IBM i platform, although the actual RPG, COBOL, and C and C++ compilers are sold separately through a product called Rational Development Studio for i. There are no replacements planned, and support is also scheduled to end April 30, 2019. IBM also announced it is withdrawing support for several Rational development tools, including Rational Developer for i (RDi) versions 9.0 and 9.1. While some IBM i professional will lament the loss of the Windows-based client, nobody can say they were surprised by the decision.
However, the writing has been on the wall for quite a while that iAccess for Windows’ time was limited. Sometimes called iAccess for Windows, this product has been around in one form or another since the early 2000s. Over the past few releases, IBM has been piling new functionality into the ACS product, which is the run-anywhere, Java-based client interface that IBM unveiled back in August 2012 as the new strategic replacement for older clients, including IBM i Access for Windows and others.
