CrossWorks New 'IRE' to Assist in RPG-to-Java Translation

by Alex Woodie

RPG migration experts CrossWorks is developing an "integrated re-engineering environment" for managing RPG-to-Java conversion projects, the company announced this month. The company's new product, Cross2Java IRE, will contain a set of tools for analyzing RPG applications, editing source code, testing the new application, hooking it up to a database, and packaging or deploying the converted application. CrossWorks is in talks with several providers of RPG-to-Java translators, and plans to bundle a translator with the Cross2Java IRE when it ships.

Without well-documented RPG source code to work from, an RPG migration project faces significant hurdles right off the bat. Whether the migration project involves moving RPG applications to Windows or Unix boxes (which has been CrossWorks' specialty for years, with its Cross400 and Cross36 series of migration tools and compilers) or converting RPG to a new language, such as Java, having a clear understanding of what the RPG application does and how it works is crucial to making it portable.

"There's some real good RPG code out there, well-written and carried out well in its final phase," says Jon Richter, CrossWorks vice president of business development. "And then there's everything else. We found, in the Cross36 and Cross400 days, that one out of every two RPG applications had a fair amount of work that needed to be done to clean up the code. That's what we're going after with Cross2Java IRE."

CrossWorks designed Cross2Java IRE to be a set of tools for managing a legacy transformation from beginning to end. The software, which was written in Java and features a GUI, was developed specifically to work with RPG applications running on the iSeries. The different components in the suite include Application Harvester, RPG-to-Java Translation Launcher, Analysis Suite, Source Editor, Source Exporter, Database Migration, Deployment Facility, and Testing Facility.

While the product was designed as an end-to-end solution, much effort was put into developing the analysis component, because poorly understood code can make or break a migration.

"There's a serious need to understand the application before you do anything with it," Richter says. "Our belief is that you need to analyze the application, mine the data, look for patterns, understand the business logic, and understand the RPG constructs that may not lend themselves to an efficient Java translation. Once it's in Java, can a person look at it, enhance it, add to it? And does it perform? Once it's in its Java form, does it have functionality that's at least equal to the RPG?"

The Analysis Suite component of Cross2Java IRE looks at many aspects of the RPG source code and includes a cross-reference tool that identifies file input/output usage and calls trees. The Analysis Suite looks for non-translatable constructs, for code abnormalities and performance-impeding constructs, as well as referential integrity check logic and embedded SQL. The Analysis Suite generates a series of reports that will give users a better idea of what they're facing in their RPG-to-Java translation project and what parts of their RPG code they'll need to clean up before sending them off to the translator.

Richter says some people have the misconception that RPG-to-Java translators are "a great big funnel [where you] dump your application in, it grinds through translation, and it produces wonderful Java code." "Our argument is, 'Garbage in, garbage out.' "

Some RPG code just doesn't translate well to Java. That's where it pays to be smart about the process. "In RPG, you'll use 'GOTO.' But there's no equivalent in Java. Do you want to write some funky Java code to replace that, or do you want to analyze it and produce a better Java version?"

CrossWorks is in the final stages of negotiations with several prominent providers of RPG-to-Java translators, and it expects to have deals signed with one or more of them next month. Cross2Java IRE Version 1.0 is still several months away and may be delivered by the end of the year, Richter says. The company will be targeting tier-two independent software vendors and large corporations that developed their own RPG applications.

Once Cross2Java IRE Version 1.0 ships, the company plans to support two Java environments: IBM's WebSphere Application Server and the open-source JBoss Application Server. Richter also says the software will interoperate with Eclipse, IBM's framework for cross-platform Java application development.

For more information, check out CrossWorks' new Web site, which was also launched this month, at www.cross-works.com.

This article originally misspelled the name of Jon Richter, CrossWorks' vice president of business development. The error has been corrected. Guild Companies regrets the error. [Change made 8/27/03.]

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