NWDI & the Java Component Model

Why can't SAP NWDI just be described as "the Java IDE for AS Java"?

How do AS ABAP-based systems feed their data to the SLD, and does the same mechanism apply to AS Java systems?

Do you need a separate NWDI system for each release and Support Package Stack you develop for?

Why does SAP recommend a three-system landscape (DEV/QAS/PRD) for Java development rather than developing straight against production?

How many DTR workspaces and CBS buildspaces are tied to a single development configuration?

A colleague says the Change Management Service (CMS) is the newest transport tool for Java development. What's wrong with that?

What kind of application is the SLD server, and how do clients talk to it?

What core idea did SAP borrow from the ABAP world to design NWDI, and what problem does it fix?

In NWDI, what exactly does a developer "log on to" when they pick a development configuration, and what does it get them?

Two NWDI services are easy to confuse: which one versions source code, and where is that source physically stored?

What is the Component Build Service (CBS) responsible for, and what are its three core functions?

The DTR versions source and the CBS builds it — so what job is left for CM Services in the NWDI landscape?

Why does the SLD need a Name Server for NWDI development, and what would go wrong without it?

Before NetWeaver 7.3, CM Services always needed a CTS system behind them. At what release did that stop being mandatory?

In SAP's Java component model, how do development components, software components, releases, and products stack up?

An SDA and an SCA are both NWDI archive files. Which one holds a single development component, and which holds a whole software component?

Which tool configures SLD data supply on an AS Java system — and why does the answer depend on the release?

In the Development Configuration UI, the SLD URL and CM Services user/password fields are greyed out. Where do you actually change them?

A developer checked their change in to the DTR but a teammate still sees the old code. Is that a bug, and what makes the change visible?

You just installed AS Java and see the directory <sapmnt>/<SID>/SYS/global/sld. Is the SLD ready to use?

In the Java EE build/assembly/deploy chain, who typically performs the deployment of the finished EAR, and why that role?

You are standing up NWDI to manage development for a SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.3 landscape. Should NWDI run on the Portal 7.3 system itself?