Upgrade to a GUI 1

[webrabbit]

I have an application that I sell that is written in Micro Focus COBOL 3.4.6 (DOS). I would like to rewrite it for Windows with a GUI. I have Visual Basic, Visual Object COBOL, NetExpress 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0, although th3 4.0 is only an "Educational" version.

What would be the best language/version to use? What are the considerations?

 

[WMK]

To the original poster:
How is the interface coded today (pre-GUI)? Is it using Micro Focus (X/Open-type)
Accept/Display/Screen Section?

If so, then I think you have multiple choices:

1) Stay with Micro Focus N/E and look at the
"Dialog System"
feature. This will provide you with a relatively powerful and RELATIVELY COBOL way of creating GUI's
PROs - N/E already paid for
CON - it will actually take a reasonable amount of "recoding" your application - to work with the Dialog System interface.

2) Change to another COBOL vendor. AcuCORP is the only COBOL vendor that I know of that include
Accept/Display/Screen Section
*FOR* GUI's. This approach *might* involve the least amount of recoding.
PRO - minimal change to source code
CON - Buy a new compiler (and possible Micro Focus extension problems)

3) Go with a "screen" (interface) product - notably sp2 (from Flexus) or similar product. Although you would need to buy an "add-on" product (it works with Micro Focus on all the MF platforms that I know of), but they have a LOT of experince with convering Accept/Display/Screen Section "stuff" to their product
PRO - minimal "logic" changes to source code
CON - some code changes AND need to buy an add-on product.

***

If your current application does NOT use Accept/Display/Screen section, then what I have said above doesn't apply. However, it may give you some clues on the pros and cons of different approaches.

P.S. I agree with those who "like" separating out business logic from interface logic. OTOH, that may NOT be the most cost-effective solution for the existing (functioning) application.

Bill Klein

 

[webrabbit]

I think I will go with NE2 and the dialog system. I want to recode the applications anyway. The files in the current system are badly un-normalized. I have the basic design for the new file system done.

 

[Truusvlugindewind]

About the Micro Focus NetExpress/DLL discussion:
Micro Focus gives serveral choices on the format of your compiles(linked) programs: *.int or *.gnt are MF internal formats, *.dll or *.so are callable formats native to the O.S.

Not so important. The main program calling those subprograms however, must be, or contain, the Micro Focus RTE (run-time environment). That's because running MF programs is not free. The RTE is coupled to you licence deciding how many users/processes can execute MF programs.

The easiest way is a cobol-main program but when you want to call from other processes they will have to be re-linked including the MF-RTE modules.

 

[CliveC]

The main program calling those subprograms however, must be, or contain, the Micro Focus RTE (run-time environment). That's because running MF programs is not free. The RTE is coupled to you licence deciding how many users/processes can execute MF programs.

The easiest way is a cobol-main program but when you want to call from other processes they will have to be re-linked including the MF-RTE modules.

Hi Truusvlugindewind. This information is not accurate. NE2 had no limitations on distributing the runtime system.

Actually, and I am not talking about Unix products (which I don't know about), most prior COBOL versions such as Object COBOL 4.0 did not necessarily have a runtime charge.

It depended on which modules were being used. If you extracted those modules from TOOLS.LBR it could still be distributed for free. It was mostly the fileshare modules that attracted a runtime license as I recall.

Clive

http://tubularity.com

http://PalliativeCareConsulting.org

 

[CliveC]

Oh, and also it was not necessary to link in the rte. One consideration for choosing linking would be if you had non-MF called routines otherwise BUILD could be used.

Clive

http://tubularity.com

http://PalliativeCareConsulting.org

 

[Truusvlugindewind]

NE2? I thought we went from Workbench 4.0.32 to NetExpress 3.0.