HTWC's Automatic Easytrieve to COBOL Conversion - Htwc.it

HTWC’s Automatic Easytrieve to COBOL ConversionHTWC 2Change Language conversion services boosts a library of success casesof clients who successfully converted their Easytrieve applications to COBOL,tapping into the many advantages inherentOverviewEasytrieve was developed originally by Pansophic Systems in the 1960sas a 4GL query and reporting tool for IBM mainframes and BS2000.Now on the books of CA, many of our clients approached us for aconversion as a solution to high costs and over-dependency. The welldocumented scarcity of experienced Easytrieve programmers, alongwith the high cost of Easytrieve licenses, businesses are looking forways to transition away from the use of the Easytrieve language, and yetleverage the tremendous investment they have made in their Easytrievecode base.HTWC’s EZT2COB migration solution is a fully automated provensolution that converts Easytrieve programs one to one to their COBOLequivalent.EASYTRIEVE TO COBOL CONVERSIONFor organizations with a lot of Easytrieve on their books, HTWC’sproven automated Language conversion to COBOL from is an idealway to:• achieve major reduction in TCO• avail of a greater pool of COBOL developers, using modern IDEs,thus lowering development and maintenance effort• tap into a greater market of compilers – feature rich and costeffective• consolidate diverse application language environments achievingcompiler and maintenance cost savings• eliminate coding errors or inconsistent styles• preserve the value inherent within, whilst commencing applicationmodernization through a wider range of portability pathways• free yourself from overpriced, under supported and limiteddevelopment language

WHY COBOL?• COBOL I/O handling and memory management are moreefficient.• COBOL sorting and searching is more efficient.• COBOL coexists better with other languages and environments.• COBOL skills are available in the labor market for programsupport• Easy extensibility to Easytrieve reports via standard COBOLprogramming• Ability to port on a plethora of platforms supporting COBOL• Enhanced debugging capabilities of the compilersEasytrieve programs for use with the batch conversion utility4. Compile and Test: Due to the thorough POC, the compileand test phase tends to be A straight forward user testing basedupon predefined scenarios:.The following types are supported;• DB2® (Native and Easytrieve mode)• IMS (DL1)• VSAM, QSAM and Sequential files• Tape files• Tape files and unit record devicesTHE Easytrieve to COBOL CONVERSION PROCESSEasytrieve to COBOL conversion process is performed as following:Proof of Concept: We initially convert 3 - 4 programs so the client/partner can evaluate the result and refine the conversion specification1. Code understanding: Programs and artifacts are analyzed byCommand types supportedThere is an automatic support of some 90 different commands.Following is a sample excerptEASTTRIEVE - COBOL - COMMANDS SUPPORTEDType Statement Parameters SubParameters ManagedActivity Definition JOB INPUT KEY YAssignement Statement EQ/= YDecision and Branching IF CONDITON CONDITON YDecision and Branching IF CONDITION NUMERIC/ALPHAYBETIC/SPACE[S]/ZERO[S]/HIGH-VALUE/LOW-VALUEDecision and Branching DO WHILE CONDITION YDecision and Branching DO UNTIL CONDITION YInput/Output Specification DISPLAY POS YInput/Output Specification DISPLAY COL YInput/Output Specification POINT CONDITION YInput/Output Specification READ KEY CONDITION YInput/Output Specification WRITE UPDATE YInput/Output Specification WRITE DELETE YInput/Output Specification WRITE ADD YReport Processing REPORT SPACE YTable Processing SEARCH YInclude Statement COPY text copied YInclude Statement MACRO insert copycobolSQL statement SQL Copied in CobolProgramYYa process similar to a compiler. The process creates a completeworklfow of the software defining a cross reference.2. Customization: The result of cross reference is analyzedand some customized rules are defined to improve the outputconversion.3. Transformation: The automated conversion process isperformed, generating COBOL sources which are checkedand compiled. A discovery utility can help locate and centralize“Application Modernization means toremove the complexity, cost and cumbersomeattributes from applications, whilst preservingtheir asset value. Many projects appear verycomplex due to the variety and nature of thelegacy applications. In HTWC we have founda partner who addresses this, by convertingthe legacy applications into a ModernCOBOL, from which we have the tools andmethodologies to convert into .NET or Java”Barry Ryan, Senior Manager Irish LifeExpert references available upon request

Further informationFor further information on the 2Change services please visit our mainwebsite http://www.htwc.com.For specific questions, please mail to info@htwc.com.Copyright informationThis document refers to a number of hardware and software productsthat are produced by other companies. In most, if not all, cases thenames of these products are claimed as trademarks by the companiesthat manufacture them. It is not our intention to claim either theproducts or their names or trademarks as our own.àWe are HTWC ®àwww.htwc.comàinfo@htwc.comà+39 06 51964253Absolute market leader in mainframe re-hosting and migration97% of migration fully automatedOver 30 years experienceTruly globalAll sectors© HTWC ® , 2011