Coss Solutions

Why NetCOBOL Attracts MF, RM and AcuCOBOL Users

NetCOBOL’s functionality, pricing structure and reliability make it the COBOL of choice for more and more professional COBOL application developers. Here’s why:

Benefits

No COBOL runtime fees
Like other popular languages you purchase your compiler and development environment, then distribute your applications without further hassles.

High reliability
NetCOBOL users enjoy the compiler’s solid reputation for producing highly stable code.

Back version compatibility
When you upgrade to a new release of NetCOBOL you typically don’t have to recompile all your programs, greatly easing the process.

Tight integration with Microsoft’s .NET and Visual Studio environments
Fujitsu has a close relationship with Microsoft and continues to ensure that NetCOBOL for .NET is a first class language for .NET applications. It can do this because it generates true MSIL code. One of the benefits is that you can debug mixed-language applications using a single (Visual Studio) debugger.

Straightforward build and delivery mechanisms
NetCOBOL code integrates well with the target operating environment so the build and distribution processes are as simple as you’d expect.
Versions also available for native Windows, Linux, and SPARC Architecture (Solaris), plus support for Eclipse on Windows and Linux.

Customer Comments
“Using NetCOBOL with no runtime license fees can make a huge difference in TCO for our customers – in some cases reducing their annual costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars." Mike Stith, Cincom

"With NetCOBOL it’s a completely different world. NetCOBOL actually works! And support has been just as about as good as it gets, and I should know because I’ve been a programmer for 30 years." Ethan Schulz, President, Rosebud Management Systems LLC

Read on for frequently asked questions:

Moving from Micro Focus or AcuCOBOL FAQ
How do I migrate my ACUCOBOL-GT applications? Thin clients? Web apps?
What AcuCOBOL proprietary syntax is and is not supported?
What about other AcuCOBOL tools such as Acu4GL, AcuBench and AcuSQL?
What Micro Focus proprietary syntax is and is not supported?
How do I migrate Micro Focus Dialog System applications?

How do I migrate my ACUCOBOL-GT applications? Thin clients? Web apps? 
If you wish to stay in the Windows environment, our partnership with Flexus allows you to maintain your AcuCOBOL-GT graphical capabilities. Flexus provides a conversion tool that will move your graphical screen sections directly to their well proven SP2 environment.  That means the look and feel to your users are the same.  Flexus also offers a thin client solution so that you can maintain the functionality you already provide. If you wish to move to a pure .NET environment, we can point you to another partner solution that will allow you to convert your graphical applications.

What AcuCOBOL proprietary syntax is and is not supported?
Certain Acucorp specific extensions will need to be converted.  Specifically, calls to C$XML, C$SYSTEM, WIN$PRINTER will need to be replaced.  The good news is that because of NetCOBOL’s tight integration to the Microsoft .NET Framework, there are components in place that will allow you to achieve the same functionality.  No matter which Acucorp-specific intrinsic function or library routine you are currently using, there is already a direct replacement or alternative .NET methods that will allow you to retain your functionality.

What about other AcuCOBOL tools such as Acu4GL, AcuBench and AcuSQL? 
Supported:

In the Microsoft Windows environment, Acu4GL is completely replaced by NeoData, which allows you to maintain your existing COBOL file I/O to read and write to SQL Server tables. 
AcuBench is replaced by the industry standard Visual Studio development environment.
If you need to maintain your indexed file access and you use the NetCOBOL Btrieve interface, you can use standard Btrieve functionality to access that indexed data by third party tools and other languages such as Visual Basic. This solution can replace AcuODBC/AcuXDBC.
ACUCOBOL-GT Thin Client is handled by the Flexus thin client solution.
AcuSQL is handled by NetCOBOL for .NET, which natively supports embedded SQL.  This means no separate runtime is required.
Acucorp specific utilities like vutil and Alfred can be replaced by the Fujitsu Data Tools (Data Converter and Data Editor).  The Data Editor not only allows a record at a time view, but a true windows grid display of many records at once.

Not supported:

We do not provide a product that directly replaces AcuServer (remote file access).

What Micro Focus proprietary syntax is and is not supported?
As with AcuCOBOL conversions, there are certain Micro Focus syntax extensions that might need to be modified.  For example, if you make use of direct ADIS calls or use any of the x’nn’ calls, then you will need to make modifications.

How do I migrate Micro Focus Dialog System applications?
Flexus can provide a tool that helps in the conversion of your character or GUI Dialog System applications. Contact us for more details. Also COSS' Application Development Framework is available for redesign of your character oriented screens or GUI.