Modernizing SCOBOL Programs Part 2: Re-engineering using Blu Age
Updated: Dec 29, 2022
In Part 1 of this blog series, we discussed the benefits of modernizing SCOBOL requesters, and the challenge of handling programs with extensive business logic..
In this Part 2 installment, we will talk about how to approach these business logic embedded programs via re-engineering and the benefits of using a tool like Blu Age.
Re-engineering using framework
Re-engineering is a better approach to application modernization. Instead of selectively rewriting certain portions of the business logic to fit into a random mix of components (e.g. HTML, Java and JavaScript, etc.), re-engineering advocates redesigning the application from the ground up. By re-engineering, we mean applying a combination of human insight and automation power to migrating business logic (e.g. calculations, business rules) to a modern technology framework.
A properly re-engineered application carries many benefits, including:
Maintainability: Creation of code based on the new design blueprint using modern development methodology ensures there are readily available resources and tools for it to be maintained easily.
High performance: Test tools are readily available in Open Source or commercial market to measure and tune applications designed with modern framework.
Adaptability: Once an application has been modernized, there is a good chance that its functions will continue to evolve. Adopting a proper design framework will ensure that the new application will continue to adapt to new requirements and can be enhanced easily.
But the challenge remains the same by taking the re engineering approach: You still need to migrate the business logic in the original programs to the new code. This is where a tool like Blu Age can facilitate the process.
Introducing Blu Age – A Powerful MDA Tool
Firstly, as the saying goes:“There is no free lunch.” If you are looking for a magical “EASY” button, Blu Age is not it. Blu Age is not an automatic translator. It does not make the end product magically for you by your clicking a button. But it is a tool that can help you get the job done more easily and more quickly.
Blu Age is a tool that:
Helps you analyze your program source with built-in visual tools and annotation features
Enables you to define reusable code patterns to automate intelligent code segment identifications and conversions
Extracts the business logic from your code
Assists you in transforming the business logic to new code in Java or .NET
What is Blu Age?
Blu Age is a commercial software re-engineering and modernization tool suite that follows the Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) approach to generating program code from Unified Modeling Language (UML2) diagrams. MDA is a software design approach for the development of software systems. It provides a set of guidelines for the structuring of specifications, which are expressed as models. It a standard that was launched by the Object Management Group (OMG) in 2001. Blu Age provides all of the re-engineering capabilities discussed earlier, and more. All of Blu Age’s power is based on generating and approving human-readable models that Blu Age then converts into modern code.
In short, you use UML diagrams to design your application in Blu Age, and it generates the application for the targeted framework according to your specifications .
Blu Age Components Blu Age is a tool suite built on Eclipse and contains modules that address different components of the modernization process.
Blu Age Reverse Modeling (BRM)
It automates the process of reading your original code (e.g. SCOBOL source) and identifying the interesting and necessary business logic that it will then convert into the diagrams of your model.
As you interact with BRM, it identifies and extracts business rules, calculations, and business logic into Unified Modeling Language (UML2) models, ready for you to review and approve.
Once approved, your models feed Blu Age’s Forward Engineering (BFE) with accurate business logic functional specifications.
Blu Age Forward Engineering (BFE)
Blu Age then applies its code-generation capabilities to automatically transform your models into complete, modern, high-quality application code in Java or
Blue Age Delivery (BDE)
This ensures the quality of the code delivered by BFE. BDE operates in a modern continuous integration and testing environment that is consistent with the today’s best software engineering practices
Blu Age re-engineering approach is different from both rewriting and translating. Rewriting is a laborious set of tasks, the success of which depends of learning ad properly applying new computer languages and new software engineering techniques. Blu Age lets you focus on ensuring the right business logic is transferred from your SCOBOL program to the new target platform.
Blu Age also differs markedly form automated translators. Automated translator converts the SCOBOL program wholesale, leaving you to read through unfamiliar modern code to determine whether the translation appears successful.
Blu Age puts you in the driver’s seat to determine the steps in mapping over the business logic, while relieving you of the burden of coding in a new unfamiliar language, or trying to make sense of automatically translated code.
So, how does Blu Age methodology work? Read about it in our next blog:
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Phil Ly is the president and founder of TIC Software, a New York-based company specializing in software and services that integrate NonStop with the latest technologies, including Web Services, .NET and Java. Prior to founding TIC in 1983, Phil worked for Tandem Computer in technical support and software development.
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