SoftwareMining: Conversion Tools to Automate COBOL to Java/C#

SoftwareMining specializes in tools for translating COBOL applications to legible and maintainable Java and C#. The company’s automatic translation tool, CORECT, enables organizations to convert applications quickly and cost effectively, while reducing the migration risk. Cyrus Montakab, Technical Director, explains SoftwareMining’s approach to mainframe modernization.

What is the advantage of converting legacy applications to modern languages?

Computer languages have come a long way in recent decades. Applications in C# or Java can easily be plugged into process modeling and security tools used for regulatory compliance and fraud prevention. They facilitate integration as well as the implementation of service-oriented and distributed architectures, ultimately leading to scalability, availability and redundancy at lower cost.

Most of our clients look to migrate their enterprise COBOL applications to Java, allowing development on a cheap platform (PCs) and deployment on bigger Unix boxes. However, we are seeing more interest in C# as the target platform.

Once we migrate clients to a new architecture and a new language, they can support faster product development cycles simply because the tools are much more advanced (and cheaper) than that available on the mainframe. They also can utilize the larger available pool of Java and C# developers.

What options do financial services firms have for rewriting their applications?

They can manually rewrite their applications, but that process is immensely expensive and risky. A US credit card company recently spent $80 million rewriting its COBOL systems and the project was not successful. The company is now looking at automated solutions.

We think automatic migration is the least expensive and least risky route. We measured productivity in a recent project and found costs were reduced to one-tenth and the project was completed 20 times faster than a manual rewrite. The client now maintains everything in Java rather than COBOL.

What tools does SoftwareMining offer?

CORECT, SoftwareMining’s automatic migration tool, focuses on generating highly maintainable Java/C# code. CORECT differs from other tools on the market because it was built from the ground up to migrate applications to Java and C#. As a tool, the SoftwareMining CORECT Toolkit is licensed to system integrators or end clients, and allows projects to be performed by third parties at a client site anywhere in the world.

SoftwareMining’s “Business-Rule-Extraction Toolkit” facilitates inspection of COBOL applications to isolate and extract rules or processes. The extracted rules can be shown as pseudo-English, COBOL or even C# and Java code snippets. The tool helps in re-documentation and componentization of exiting code.

Can you give an example of how an organization used CORECT for a migration?

A Canadian bank recently used the CORECT Toolkit to translate their IBM/Unisys COBOL application to Java. A manual rewrite would have achieved translation of one program per month. The automatic translation achieved one translated/tested program per day, making it 20 times faster than the manual rewrite, and it significantly reduced project risks.

In another project, a US state tax office migrated their IBM COBOL application to Java in order to bring the system up to date with new technology and reduce maintenance costs. A systems integrator used SoftwareMining’s CORECT Tool to translate the COBOL application used by 250 people. On completion of the testing phase, a second enhancement phase was started to redesign screens, apply service-oriented architecture and make functional enhancements. The translation of the 5 million lines took eight Java developers, eight testers and four users performing user acceptance testing. The project was successfully completed and delivered in 14 months.

What advice do you have for financial services firms that are considering a mainframe migration?

Good quality C#/Java translation is now a viable option and should be considered at the same time as re-hosting.

www.softwaremining.com

Contents: Mainframe Modernization: Maximizing The Potential Of A Mixed Environment

• Legacy and Mainframe Migration: Finally the Rule Rather Than the Exception
• Getronics Application Replatforming: A Proven Methodology for Mainframe Migration
• SoftwareMining: Conversion Tools to Automate COBOL to Java/C#
• Asysco Migration Technology: Cost-Effectively Automating Application Conversion
• Infosys: Driving Enhanced Business Value Through Mainframe Modernization
• ATERAS’ DB-Shuttle™: A Comprehensive Suite of Automated Migration Solutions, From IT Global Assessments To Conversions