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Platforms
Supported
- Microsoft®
Windows® 98
- Microsoft® Windows®
Me
- Microsoft®
Windows® 2000
- Microsoft®
Windows NT® 4.x
- Microsoft® Windows®
2003
Frequently
Asked Questions
1. What are
the pros and cons of using a Dialect Converter or a Dialect Processor?
Answer:
Dialect Converters are designed for one-time conversions to NetCOBOL. Dialect Processors are designed to let you continue working
in the other dialect possibly executing applications in another
environment as well as the NetCOBOL environment. The advantages
of using a Dialect Converter are:
- Once the
conversion is performed you have NetCOBOL sources that you
are free to develop using the full range of NetCOBOL features.
- Incompatibilities
between dialects are dealt with at one time and do not become
long-term constraints to your projects.
- You quickly
realize the cost benefits of moving to NetCOBOL.
The disadvantages
of using a Dialect Converter are:
- You may have
too much code to convert in a short time. If you convert your
code using a Dialect Converter you will need to maintain two source
streams until you are able to phase out your current COBOL dialect.
In this situation it may be better to adopt the Dialect Processor
approach and do the one-time conversion of your source when you
have all your applications running under NetCOBOL.
- Dialect Converters
are more expensive than Dialect Processors. Usually this is more
than offset by the convenience of working with a single COBOL
compiler.
2. How reliable
is the conversion?
Answer:
The technology on which the converters are built uses well-proven
compiler principles, has processed millions of lines of COBOL code
and undergoes regular regression testing. It is not possible to
give 100% guarantees, but we believe we are providing one of the
best conversion products available.
3. Do the
Dialect Converters handle 100% of my code?
Answer: That
depends on your code! The converters aim to handle all dialect features
that can be mapped automatically to NetCOBOL features. Some
dialect features cannot be mapped automatically and therefore require
manual changes. Some customers’ programs have none of the manual
features so are fully converted by the Dialect Converters; other
customers have made extensive use of particular non-standard features
and so require much more manual intervention. Ask us about evaluations
to help you assess where your code lies.
4. What sort
of support do you provide for the Dialect Converters?
Answer: We
are eager to ensure that your move to NetCOBOL is a positive
and smooth experience. We provide close support to companies during
their conversion projects - if you ever find a problem with one
of our Dialect Converters we will fix it quickly, or suggest alternative
solutions if the problem is one for which no automatic transformation
is available. If necessary we can provide solutions tailored to
a particular conversion project.
5. Does Fujitsu
provide solutions for converting data?
Answer:
The NetCOBOL Dialect Converter User’s Guide gives complete
guidelines for converting data files. The Data Converter product
provided with the Enterprise Edition of NetCOBOL can often
play an important part in automating data conversions.
6. Does Fujitsu
provide a conversion and testing service? (i.e. can I send you my
code and receive fully converted code)
Answer:
Fujitsu Software Corporation has consulting partners who will quote
for performing either a conversion that will return code that compiles
successfully with NetCOBOL or a conversion that includes testing
the converted code. Obviously the latter involves much more coordination
with your company, and likely involves an on-site team working with
your application experts.
7. How easy
is it for me to check what parts of my code have been changed?
Answer: We
understand that it is important to most people performing conversions
to know exactly what is happening to their code. Because most source
converters output code by reading syntax trees the format of the
output code may be very different from the format of the input code.
This can make it difficult or impossible to identify the changes
made by the converter - a few character differences in alignment
or the presence or absence of optional words will cause file compare
tools, or visual inspections, to flag differences. This is why Fujitsu’s
Dialect Converters offer the SourcePrint option - it outputs code
with the minimum of changes, preserving as much of the original
formatting as possible. This makes it easy for you to identify the
changes by using text file comparison tools or utilities.
8. Is the
converted code ANSI standard?
Answer: Most
dialect-specific syntax has been added to provide functions that
are not defined by the ANSI standards. Therefore most conversions
result in non-ANSI-standard code.
Trademarks
COBOL Transformer,
and SourcePrint are registered trademarks of Siber Systems Inc.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation.
Micro Focus is a registered trademark of Merant, Inc.
Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corporation.
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