Velocity Ramps Up Application Modernization Initiative

Corrected: August 9, 2006

by Alex Woodie

The Velocity Group is close to issuing a new release of its iSeries Web enablement software, LegacyWeb, that will add several new elements, including a new conversion tool that takes RPG to Java or C++ and COBOL/400 to Linux COBOL, as well as a new execution environment, called icAJAX, that delivers AJAX-like capabilities in a desktop application.

The Velocity Group got its start around 2001 when a group of seasonsed AS/400 professionals from a company called Solar Tech sought a way to develop Web interfaces for an ERP system. The company couldn't find a tool that worked the way they wanted, so they built their own, a product that has come to be known as Legacy Web (see "Finding the Right Velocity for Web Enablement").

Next month, the company plans to make available LegacyWeb version 4.4, which will add several capabilities, including the generation of XML, as opposed to just HTML. Organizations that license LegacyWeb 4.4 will also get the icAJAX desktop client.

Noel McMenamy, a principle with Velocity, says LegacyWeb 4.4 will generate better-looking interfaces from 5250 applications. "The first time you run LegacyWeb, the output is a very cool set of Web applications," he says. "Now the client says, 'I'd like to enhance the applications and give them more Windows-like look and feel, and maybe connect them to Word or Excel, but I want to run it on the desktop, not in a browser.' This is where icAJAX gets popped down to the desktop. Now the look is incredible, to say the least."

While AJAX (short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is normally associated with desktop-like application performance from within a Web browser, Velocity has found a unique use for the technology on the desktop. The AJAX capabilities can also be utilized from within the browser.

The other new product is the eXecuteX conversion tool, which is designed to work with the new AJAX capabilities. McMenamy says eXecuteX is targeted primarily at developers of small ERP packages looking to expand their product offerings. "The intent is not to take iSeries applications off the platform, but to give developers another marketplace," he says.

These new capabilities build on LegacyWeb's existing features, including the capabilty to generate Web GUIs that bypass the iSeries' 5250 interactive processing requirement. However, users can still use green screens using LegacyWeb, McMenamy says.

One of the advantages of Velocity's approach to Web enablement is that all of the code can sit on the iSeries, he says. "The converter sits on the iSeries, and the server software also sits on iSeries," he says. "Out of the box, it totally rewrites DDS in XML, rewrites into the I/O some instructions that say 'Run the applications in a green screen as you are now [if the user requires that], and conversely, deliver a very cool HTML look and feel using Apache Tomcat on the iSeries.'"

LegacyWeb 4.4 with the eXecuteX conversion tool and the icAJAX desktop environment should be ready in about a month. Users will be able to buy unlimited licenses for LegacyWeb and the icAJAX client for a flat rate of about $18,000. The eXecuteX conversion tool starts at $48,000. For more information, check out www.myvelocity.net.

This article has been corrected. The eXecuteX product is priced separately from LegacyWeb XML. IT Jungle regrets the error.