Veryant, a provider of COBOL modernization tools, announced a new release of its isCOBOL Application Platform Suite (APS) for developing, deploying, and modernizing COBOL applications. This is the vendor's sixth product update in two years. isCOBOL's value proposition, the vendor says, is offering users the ability to continue programming in COBOL, and at the same time, modernize and deploy applications across multiple platforms in an open Java framework.
In isCOBOL 2010, many improvements have been made to rich internet application (RIA) development, especially in enhancing the appearance of COBOL applications running on mobile devices such as iPhone and Android systems. Developers can now use CSS styles for GUI controls to customize screens for targeted mobile devices and browsers. "isCOBOL extends existing investments in enterprise COBOL applications by enabling them to run on portable mobile devices where they could not run before," Alfredo Iglesias, vice president of Veryant, tells 5 Minute Briefing. "isCOBOL essentially eliminates the legacy integration middleman by allowing COBOL programs to run natively in a Java framework - no wrappers, layers or complex integration requirements required."
Iglesias adds that isCOBOL also includes a 100% Java-based file system, called isCOBOL JISAM, that enables "program data to be deployed seamlessly on mobile devices as well."
The new version of isCOBOL continues the option of using Eclipse as an integrated development environment (IDE). This enables developers to perform code editing, as well as integrated and remote debugging with the ability to debug COBOL and Java together. The isCOBOL IDE now supports Eclipse Galileo, so developers taking advantage of updates in the latest version of Eclipse can develop isCOBOL programs in the same framework.
A ‘quick preview' capability was also added. Now, RIA GUIs developed using isCOBOL Web Direct 2.0 can be viewed inside of the isCOBOL IDE with the click of a button, as done with standalone and thin client GUIs.
Many Veryant customers deploy COBOL applications in a thin client computing model. Now isCOBOL Server can run as a Windows Service on Windows servers, so it can be installed as a service, started up automatically, and run in the background. This makes it easier to use a Windows server when deploying thin client GUIs with isCOBOL. General isCOBOL Server administration has also been improved. For example, server startup has been simplified and developers can use a single command to launch a thin client with the debugger.
Visit the Veryant site for more details.