ASNA Boosts Project Management for RPG-to-.NET Migration

Published: September 12, 2006

by Alex Woodie

iSeries development tool maker ASNA last week unveiled a new version of Monarch, its suite of tools for modernizing green-screen RPG applications, and moving them to Microsoft's .NET runtime environment. With Monarch version 3, users will find enhancements related to migration project management, as well as support for Visual Studio 2005.

New Monarch users could jump right into converting RPG code into Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) the first day they unwrap Monarch from the packaging. Indeed, ASNA itself talks of users that move tens of thousands of lines of RPG code to .NET in a single day. While this is possible, its actual value is debatable. Achieving a successful migration of a complicated RPG application takes a considerable amount of forethought and planning to pull off. Besides, no converters are 100 percent successful, and efficient exception management is key to overall success. A large part of the Monarch suite functionality provides the project management and controls for ensuring a smooth transition, and this is also where the bulk of changes have been made in version 3.

Before we get into the version 3 enhancements, let's review the Monarch basics. The suite includes Monarch Cocoon, a Windows-based code analysis and cross reference tool; Monarch Gameplan, which is used to create a detailed migration strategy; and a slew of individual code converters, which are automatically called on an as-needed basis, for moving RPG/400 and RPG IV programs, DDS display files, CL programs, message queues, print files, menus, data areas, and the data itself to Microsoft formats. RPG business logic is migrated to the ASNA Visual RPG (AVR) language, which then compiles the code into MSIL binaries, while ASP.NET provides the interface layer for converted DDS. Users have the option of continuing to use DB2/400 with their converted application, via ASNA's DataGate product, or to move to Microsoft's SQL Server database.

One of the key attributes of ASNA's tools is they don't force users to abandon RPG. Instead, the software enables RPG programmers to continue development using traditional RPG tools (if they want), while deploying the applications via .NET and the Windows Server operating system. Alternatively, for users ready to move whole-hog to the Microsoft platform, converted applications can be maintained and enhanced using Microsoft Visual Studio, via AVR plug-ins. This is probably the smarter move for companies looking to take advantage of the latest Web and service oriented architecture (SOA) improvements Microsoft has made to its development tools, but the choice is the users' to make.

With Monarch version 3, ASNA has boosted the product's project management tools. Included with this release is a new Cluster Analysis capability that "enables precise examination of program objects for creation of more controllable GamePlans," according to the company. The suite's project "scoping" capabilities have also been bolstered.

Monarch 3 also introduces a new Project Organizer component that "improves partitioning between business rules and presentation manager," ASNA says. Lastly, this release also supports Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, the software giant's latest IDE, as well as better ways to "reconcile discrepancies between source objects and source management/maintenance," according to ASNA.

The process of migrating RPG applications should not be taken lightly, says Anne Ferguson, president of the San Antonio, Texas-based company. "RPG applications are not disposable," Ferguson says. "ASNA is committed to extending the ROI and reducing the risk inherent in enterprise evolution."

While RPG applications aren't disposable, C-specs and the cycle don't have to be the end-all, be-all of application development at iSeries shops, in ASNA's view of things. There has to be life after RPG, painful as it might be.

"The evolution of an organization's RPG application portfolio to an environment where agility, n-tier systems, application integration, and support for Web services and SOA are integrated," she says. "Monarch gives those companies the key to unlock and extract that equity and value and extend it into the contemporary world of Web services and SOA."

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