Solutions

Good stuff can be even better – go that decisive extra mile for your legacy applications

When you hear the term “application modernization,” complex migration and transformation projects might come to mind. Yet sustainable, value-enhancing measures for the analysis and optimization of inventory systems can lead to measureable, short-term improvements without making any changes to the source code.

To improve the quality of your legacy systems, optimize development processes and get your team in shape for future generations, you need:

1. Eclipse-based IDEs (RDz, RDP)

When you have trouble getting younger developers on your team excited about work, that might just be because of that black and green development environment most teams are still working in in System i and on the mainframe. At universities and colleges, on the other hand, everything is done in an Eclipse environment. Thanks to IBM, this standardized platform for development environments is also available for classic languages like RPG and Cobol. In terms of investing in the future and attaining higher productivity, we accompany our customers from the assessment of past procedures, the installation of new tools and staff training, to ongoing coaching. Enquire with us and book a trial day with one of our technical consultants. Our specialist staff is familiar with both the old and new worlds, and can procure specific added value and spur your team on to maximum performance.

2. Application understanding

Inventory applications are alive. They have to be further developed and updated to accommodate legal or technical changes. Often then it becomes noticeable that good documentation of the systems is not all that far off, or that necessary cost assessments are purely a matter of “gut instincts.” The reason for this is a lack of or inadequate analysis tools. We therefore offer plugins for the development environment which cover every conceivable aspect of code analysis including impact analysis. This means developers can analyze the sources of other team members very quickly from within their usual work environment, grasp dependencies and understand the data stream. A database-based repository and symbol tables are provided, which also serve as a fundament for executing code changes at the field level.

3. Improving code quality

Have you ever asked yourself how well or not your application can actually be maintained? Or have you ever been amazed at how elaborate an error search was in a program when it turned out to be a “stupid mistake” in the end anyway? Then our quality analysis plugins are for you. We provide you with valid rules for your specific needs, which can be integrated in your development environment and thus ensure that the quality of your software improves bit by bit. Apart from this rule-based quality check, we can also compare your program with market standards such as the maintenance index. Don’t poke around in the dark any longer when it comes to the maintenance of your systems. Establish a cycle of assessment, improvement and quality control.

PKS Application Evolution Suite

Can development productivity and quality be improved through the gentle introduction of modern development tools and intelligent plugins?
Which tools and processes are needed to make a secure generation switch in the development environment?
We developed PAAS to answer these questions. The PKS Application Evolution Suite (PAAS) supports developers with tool-based plugins for maintenance and the efficient further development of existing applications within their familiar development environment. At its core are the following plugins:

• Code analysis
• Impact analysis
• Quality analysis by rules
• Quality analysis by metrics

How we proceed:

• We analyze your former software development processes.
• We compile a basic concept based on your needs.
• We produce a prototype based on a small part of the application.
• We define an implementation procedure for your exact needs.
• We carry out the specifications.
• We train your employees.
• We go live!

References for this topic on request, please call us:

Heidi Schmidt
CEO
Sales & Marketing
Phone: +49 751 56140-229
schmidt@pks.de