COBOL ReSource is a rich Wang VS environment that runs in Unix.

It is not conversion.

It is not emulation.

It is very fast.

The principal potential beneficiaries of COBOL ReSource are Wang VS users who would like to move their applications to Unix. Wang VS applications move quickly and easily to COBOL ReSource.

Software development houses who would like to build COBOL applications in a coherent data processing environment may also benefit from COBOL ReSource.

IBM RS/6000 AIX and Hewlett-Packard HP-9000 HP/UX. Support for SCO Unix has been discontinued and support for Linux is presently in development. We recommend AIX as the leading unix environment in terms of robustness, scalability and stability for commercial production environments.

COBOL ReSource performance is breathtakingly fast. Even on modest AIX or HP/UX systems running at speeds as low as 133 MHz, COBOL ReSource programs run many times faster than they do on most VS models. On modern unix platforms, where processor speeds of 300-750 MHz are common and speeds greater than 1 GHz are available, COBOL ReSource runs circles around all VS models. Add to that the fact that mid-range and high-end unix systems can support multiple processors and the performance gap widens to astonishing levels.

COBOL ReSource gives you:

• The same Wang COBOL source code – it does not have to be converted to a foreign dialect of COBOL
• The same Procedure Language – Procedures do not have to be translated or replaced
• The same data records – byte for byte
• The same file types – Consecutive, Indexed, Alt-Indexed, Relative
• The same workstation behavior –
  • Block screen display
  • Field Attribute Characters identical to the VS
  • The Help key
  • 32 PFKeys
  • VS-style Insert, Erase, etc.
• The same Volume/Library/File architecture
• The file system is taken directly from the premium VS XDMS file system
• Transaction processing with rollback recovery
• The same VSSUBS and core VS utilities
• The same standard VS argument passing (CLE – Common Linkage Environment)
• The same PUTPARM/GETPARM mechanism
• Interactive source debugging in the VS style
• The same Print Queue and Job Queue and Print and Job Classes
• The same Intertask Messaging
• The same foreground/background modes
• The same User and Operator screens

Simple: Continuity of source code, skills, and functionality, and the preservation of the significant investment you have in mature, working VS software. If your VS application is good and you like it, why would you trash it for an inferior rewrite or an incompatible third-party application?

The trick is to preserve your investment and stable code while moving the application to an "open" and supportable platform. We believe that COBOL ReSource is the best way to do that.

Because COBOL ReSource is not conversion! That's the whole point!

To convert to a foreign dialect of COBOL you must convert your source code, almost always a one-way trip strewn with the pitfalls of lost functionality due to things that won't convert.

But when you move your application to COBOL ReSource your source code remains the same.

To convert your VS application Procedures to a foreign system you may have to live with someone's approximation of the Wang Procedure Interpreter or you may have to convert procedures to a completely different scripting language that knows nothing of Files, Libraries or Volumes and is unable to do PUTPARM/GETPARM or pass arguments to or from COBOL subprograms.

But when you move your application to COBOL ReSource your VS Procedures remain the same and interact with other Procedures and with COBOL programs and subprograms exactly as they did on the VS.

To convert your data files to work with a foreign dialect of COBOL you must deal with differences in packed decimal and binary fields and differences in supported file access modes, requiring changes to source code to deal with them and custom data file conversion.

But when you move your data files to COBOL ReSource every byte of your data records remains the same – no format or field conversions are needed. All file operations are compatible with programs written for the VS DMS and XDMS file systems.

"Proprietary" and "Open Systems" are buzzwords that don't convey much other than pejorative and positive impressions, respectively. The principal current standard for COBOL is COBOL 85. Most COBOL vendors comply with the COBOL 85 standard, but the standard leaves enough to the discretion of the vendor that most COBOLs are not compatible with each other. Some differ so significantly in workstation and file I/O that conversion between them can be extremely painful and costly.

"Open Systems" software means, in a practical sense, nothing more than the availability of the same product from the same vendor for more than one platform. The more platforms, the more "open." But most such products are still "proprietary" in that they come from only one vendor and the source code is not available. Wang COBOL 85 runs on three platforms and COBOL ReSource runs on two, soon to be more.

The file formats used by COBOL ReSource are taken from VS XDMS. In fact, COBOL ReSource includes PDMS, the "Portable DMS" product originally written for Wang's "Open" series of products that included Open/PACE and Open/COBOL ReSource. The file structures are functionally the same as VS files and the data records are byte-for-byte identical to VS records.

• The COBOL ReSource Data Sheet (PDF, 55 KB)

• The COBOL ReSource User Guide (PDF, 1399 KB)

• The Procedure Language Manual (PDF, 667 KB)

• The COBOL 85 Manual (PDF, 1706 KB)

• The Portable Data Management System (PDMS) User Guide (PDF, 496 KB)

• VSSUBS Reference (PDF, 826 KB)

Procedures, COBOL source program files and data files are moved from the VS to the COBOL ReSource platform, usually by one of the following methods:

• A small RAID connected to both platforms (requires "generic" SCSI microcode on the VS and some hardware, available SCSI ID)

• A Wang disk drive and a SCSI A/B switch (requires hardware, available SCSI ID)

• A pluggable Wang disk drive (requires a small amount of hardware, available SCSI ID, but platforms can be at different sites)

• Via Lightspeed (not suitable for large files; requires installation of a server application under Lightspeed on the VS)

• Via VS TCP/IP (not suitable for large files; requires installation of a server application under TCP/IP on the VS)

• Other methods when none of the above is feasible

Programmers (yours or ours) then work with the files in COBOL ReSource to compile the programs, verify operation of the procedures and programs, and make any adjustments required. Certification, if required, may be done by comparison of equivalent updated files from the VS and COBOL ReSource.

Yes, of course, if your organization has: A) the capability and B) the available staff time. In that case you would purchase only the COBOL ReSource licenses and maintenance from us, and possibly a small amount of hardware to facilitate disk-to-disk file transfer via SCSI. If you do need help with the migration work you may obtain anything from light support to turnkey migration to ongoing production support from us.

Yes. We offer a full range of products and services from which you may select those that will fill the gaps in your organization's expertise and meet your equipment needs:

• Starter RS/6000 systems suitable for feasibility evaluation of COBOL ReSource and for long-term use as COBOL ReSource development platforms

  • New: from about US$3,500, AIX license included

  • Pre-owned: from about US$1,000, AIX license not included

• Data Mover subsystem

  • Integrated into certain starter RS/6000 models, from about $500

  • Complete, from about $1,500

• Migration support services

• Data movement services

• Major outsourced project and production services

• Ongoing AIX and COBOL ReSource support services