Acucorps extend6 Interoperability Series provides COBOL interoperability with .NET, Java and XML
Announcement posted by Mentis Technologies 08 Apr 2003
Australian customers use Acucorp solutions to provide COBOL interoperability to embrace new technologies
Acucorp, Inc., an international developer of legacy application extension solutions, has announced the upcoming launch of its extend6 Interoperability Series. The Series, which begins with the May 2003 release of Version 6.0, will allow software developers to connect their mission-critical business systems to a variety of technologies that do not traditionally interoperate with COBOLincluding the .NET, Java and XML computing languages as well as the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and mobile phone wireless platforms.
Acucorps current solutions support .NET, Java and XML interoperability using a component adapter technology from Transoft, Inc. However, in upcoming product releases, this technology will be more closely integrated with extend providing optional functionality that will allow Acucorps ACUCOBOL-GT development system to deploy programs as Web services. By creating a Web service architecture, the extend6 Interoperability Series makes it possible to take relevant COBOL code from an existing, or new, application and transform that code into a discrete component with an interface that can be used by other programseven those written in another source language. The COBOL code then exposes its methods, parameters and results, appearing to the outside world as a COM object or Java Bean.
The enhanced interoperability provided by our Web services model means that independent software vendors (ISVs) and corporate end users can integrate their vital business systems with other applications, languages and platforms, explains Pamela Coker, Acucorps Co-founder, President and CEO, during a visit to Sydney.
Not only does this provide universal connectivity and improved data access, but it also increases market responsiveness and ROI while dramatically lowering an organisations total cost of ownership.
Dr Coker added that many Australian customers had already embraced Acucorps offerings. McWilliams Wines is just one customer of our local distributor, Mentis Technologies, who has already applied our solutions to successfully migrate to the HP9000 family of high-performance workstations and servers, she said. The advent of our extend6 family of solutions will enable McWilliams and other customers to easily adopt other emerging technologies.
McWilliams Wines and Acucorp
Because the HP3000 is being phased out by December 2006, wine company McWilliams Wines needed to migrate to the HP9000. Group Information Systems Manager, Chris McWilliam, considered rewriting in Speedware 4GL or migration of COBOL and, ultimately, opted for Acucorps ACUCOBOLGT. We chose ACUCOBOLGT because it was easier to use and had more features than the other COBOL compilers we evaluated. Plus, the fact that it runs on the HP3000 as well as the HP9000, makes our conversion less risky because we can see that it works before we move.
With ACUCOBOLGT the graphical user interface (GUI) conversion required less change than other COBOL products reviewed by McWilliams. In the future the company wishes to deploy in thin client with AcuLaunch and put its data into Oracle (using Acu4GL). It could see that Acucorp products could handle the migration as well as the companys future needs.
New with extend6
Version 6.0, the first release in the extend6 Interoperability Series, will lay the foundation for a true, integrated Web services architecture as well as provide a number of other new application development enhancements including:
Support for XML
Applications written and compiled in ACUCOBOL-GT can soon read, process and output data in XML formatenabling the data to be transported and shared over LANs, WANs and the Internet, even with partners and customers who do not have business systems written in COBOL. To provide this bi-directional support, ACUCOBOL-GT Version 6.0 features a developer utility that may be used to create File Descriptors and SELECT statements from existing XML files. It also provides a runtime-resident file system interface that reads XML data and transparently converts it to sequential files for COBOL processing. The interface, AcuXML, also converts COBOL output data into XML format as required.
By providing COBOL support for XML, weve given businesses a more cost- effective and efficient way to standardise and exchange data from organisation to organisation, department to department, or even application to application, says Dr Coker.
New AcuBench Report Composer Facility
Acucorps integrated development environment, AcuBench, now includes improved report generation capabilities. Using a new interface that resembles a screen painter, developers can lay out reports and then automatically generate the COBOL code that positions the report elements. In addition, they can produce the required code to present their reports as HTML documents, enabling users to view these reports from a Web browser.
Refinements to Thin Client Technology
Version 6.0 will further enhance Acucorps Thin Client technology. A unique distributed processing model, Thin Client allows developers to display the user-interface portion of their server-based application on a Windows clientso ACUCOBOL-GT programs running on UNIX (including Linux) or Windows NT/2000 servers can present a full Windows graphical user interface on any Windows PC networked with TCP/IP.
Version 5 of the Vision File System
Version 5 of Vision, extends native indexed sequential file system, will enhance programmer flexibility by expanding a variety of limits, including record and file sizes, table limits and block sizes. COBOL developers who need to store large objects, like JPEG and WAV files, in their COBOL data will soon be able to do so with an increase in the record size capacityup to 64 megabytes. In addition, Vision Version 5 provides support for larger pre-allocate and extension factors.
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About Acucorp
Founded in 1988, Acucorp, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in San Diego, California, with additional offices in Great Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Acucorp's products are distributed in more than 75 countries throughout the world, and its technology users include Ford Argentina, Red Cross Belgium, Sanyo Extended Data Systems, Siemens, The Gap, The Travelex Group (formerly Thomas Cook), Tower Records and Warner Music Group. The company continues to design, develop, and market robust solutions for extending the life of inherited COBOL applications. Additional information about Acucorp is available at http://www.acucorp.com.
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Acucorp, extend, ACUCOBOL, and AcuBench are trademarks or registered trademarks of Acucorp, Inc.
All other trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.
About Mentis Technologies Pty Ltd
Mentis Technologies is a privately held company that was established with the goal of developing and distributing new and innovative communications and development products. Its focus is on system transformation and integration.
The company provides a wide range of solutions that enable organisations to quickly and easily integrate new e-business and client-server applications with existing systems in a scalable and seamless way. Our customers, resellers and members are situated throughout Australia and the South Pacific.
Mentis Technologies is the Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific distributor for Acucorp Inc and provides consulting, training and development for Acucorp solutions.
Acucorps current solutions support .NET, Java and XML interoperability using a component adapter technology from Transoft, Inc. However, in upcoming product releases, this technology will be more closely integrated with extend providing optional functionality that will allow Acucorps ACUCOBOL-GT development system to deploy programs as Web services. By creating a Web service architecture, the extend6 Interoperability Series makes it possible to take relevant COBOL code from an existing, or new, application and transform that code into a discrete component with an interface that can be used by other programseven those written in another source language. The COBOL code then exposes its methods, parameters and results, appearing to the outside world as a COM object or Java Bean.
The enhanced interoperability provided by our Web services model means that independent software vendors (ISVs) and corporate end users can integrate their vital business systems with other applications, languages and platforms, explains Pamela Coker, Acucorps Co-founder, President and CEO, during a visit to Sydney.
Not only does this provide universal connectivity and improved data access, but it also increases market responsiveness and ROI while dramatically lowering an organisations total cost of ownership.
Dr Coker added that many Australian customers had already embraced Acucorps offerings. McWilliams Wines is just one customer of our local distributor, Mentis Technologies, who has already applied our solutions to successfully migrate to the HP9000 family of high-performance workstations and servers, she said. The advent of our extend6 family of solutions will enable McWilliams and other customers to easily adopt other emerging technologies.
McWilliams Wines and Acucorp
Because the HP3000 is being phased out by December 2006, wine company McWilliams Wines needed to migrate to the HP9000. Group Information Systems Manager, Chris McWilliam, considered rewriting in Speedware 4GL or migration of COBOL and, ultimately, opted for Acucorps ACUCOBOLGT. We chose ACUCOBOLGT because it was easier to use and had more features than the other COBOL compilers we evaluated. Plus, the fact that it runs on the HP3000 as well as the HP9000, makes our conversion less risky because we can see that it works before we move.
With ACUCOBOLGT the graphical user interface (GUI) conversion required less change than other COBOL products reviewed by McWilliams. In the future the company wishes to deploy in thin client with AcuLaunch and put its data into Oracle (using Acu4GL). It could see that Acucorp products could handle the migration as well as the companys future needs.
New with extend6
Version 6.0, the first release in the extend6 Interoperability Series, will lay the foundation for a true, integrated Web services architecture as well as provide a number of other new application development enhancements including:
Support for XML
Applications written and compiled in ACUCOBOL-GT can soon read, process and output data in XML formatenabling the data to be transported and shared over LANs, WANs and the Internet, even with partners and customers who do not have business systems written in COBOL. To provide this bi-directional support, ACUCOBOL-GT Version 6.0 features a developer utility that may be used to create File Descriptors and SELECT statements from existing XML files. It also provides a runtime-resident file system interface that reads XML data and transparently converts it to sequential files for COBOL processing. The interface, AcuXML, also converts COBOL output data into XML format as required.
By providing COBOL support for XML, weve given businesses a more cost- effective and efficient way to standardise and exchange data from organisation to organisation, department to department, or even application to application, says Dr Coker.
New AcuBench Report Composer Facility
Acucorps integrated development environment, AcuBench, now includes improved report generation capabilities. Using a new interface that resembles a screen painter, developers can lay out reports and then automatically generate the COBOL code that positions the report elements. In addition, they can produce the required code to present their reports as HTML documents, enabling users to view these reports from a Web browser.
Refinements to Thin Client Technology
Version 6.0 will further enhance Acucorps Thin Client technology. A unique distributed processing model, Thin Client allows developers to display the user-interface portion of their server-based application on a Windows clientso ACUCOBOL-GT programs running on UNIX (including Linux) or Windows NT/2000 servers can present a full Windows graphical user interface on any Windows PC networked with TCP/IP.
Version 5 of the Vision File System
Version 5 of Vision, extends native indexed sequential file system, will enhance programmer flexibility by expanding a variety of limits, including record and file sizes, table limits and block sizes. COBOL developers who need to store large objects, like JPEG and WAV files, in their COBOL data will soon be able to do so with an increase in the record size capacityup to 64 megabytes. In addition, Vision Version 5 provides support for larger pre-allocate and extension factors.
-- ends --
About Acucorp
Founded in 1988, Acucorp, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in San Diego, California, with additional offices in Great Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Acucorp's products are distributed in more than 75 countries throughout the world, and its technology users include Ford Argentina, Red Cross Belgium, Sanyo Extended Data Systems, Siemens, The Gap, The Travelex Group (formerly Thomas Cook), Tower Records and Warner Music Group. The company continues to design, develop, and market robust solutions for extending the life of inherited COBOL applications. Additional information about Acucorp is available at http://www.acucorp.com.
####
Acucorp, extend, ACUCOBOL, and AcuBench are trademarks or registered trademarks of Acucorp, Inc.
All other trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.
About Mentis Technologies Pty Ltd
Mentis Technologies is a privately held company that was established with the goal of developing and distributing new and innovative communications and development products. Its focus is on system transformation and integration.
The company provides a wide range of solutions that enable organisations to quickly and easily integrate new e-business and client-server applications with existing systems in a scalable and seamless way. Our customers, resellers and members are situated throughout Australia and the South Pacific.
Mentis Technologies is the Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific distributor for Acucorp Inc and provides consulting, training and development for Acucorp solutions.