ADVANCED BusinessLink, a leading developer of Web enablement, SOA, and mobility solutions has announced Strategi SOA, a native SOA framework for the System i that was designed for RPG or COBOL language developers.
Other SOA tools extract or screen-scrape data to export as a Web service elsewhere, but Strategi SOA implements a pure, native SOA for use within legacy applications by legacy developers, the company says.
Strategi SOA has the following features:
Some System i technology managers might assume that the concepts and benefits of SOA are primarily for Java architects or relevant only when designing new applications. For companies that have made large investments in legacy applications and skills, the development teamÆs ability to build and deliver contemporary applications can be limited.
Some companies will meet their contemporary needs by hiring a small Java development firm to build the contemporary applications, but this approach only creates more problems. They now have two development teams building silos of information, which creates an integration problem and doesnÆt allow the teams to work jointly on new development projects, the company says.
Another choice they might select is to adopt a 4GL and toolset, but the downside is that they now have put their entire development skills into the basket of one vendor.
Or, they can use an SOA natively on the AS/400 and incrementally, things get better. Strategi SOA has the potential to alleviate the pressures to meet the contemporary application needs of the business. It enables legacy developers to incrementally build services in a pure SOA on the System i and reuse these components in contemporary applications, completely eliminating integration issues.
Strategi SOA is a framework that enables RPG or COBOL developers to build components that are automatically exposed as secure Web services or presented natively through contemporary interfaces such as Web, wireless, PDA, or kiosk, providing a way to unhook legacy applications from a green screen presentation. Even with no prior Web development experience, after a few days of training, developers are able to build state-of-the-art Web applications that leverage the power of back-end business systems, the company says.
Even for traditional RPG shops, moving decisively to a SOA can be a short-term reality, and with it comes the potential to fundamentally reposition the System i platform as the primary source of contemporary applications," said Chris Lategan, Advanced BusinessLink chief executive officer. ôStrategi SOA provides a way to gradually evolve RPG applications from within to create something dramatically different.
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
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