System iNetwork

Why Application Development Today isn’t Just New Development

Many System i shops have literally hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of lines of proven RPG. The challenge for these shops is to integrate that legacy code base into a modern application enhancement and development methodology. You need a model that recognizes the constraints and issues imposed by legacy code but that encourage reuse and extension of that code in your new application development.

In this session, industry expert, Craig Pelkie will discuss the barriers to bridging the old development model world with the new development model. He'll explain why the two must be bridged and what you can do to bridge them. Craig will also touch on the issues of integrating disparate development teams. Contrary to what you may have heard or previously experienced, not only can RPG coders can live in peace with VB coders, but they can actually contribute substantially to each other’s efforts!

Join Roger Pence from ASNA for the second portion of this exciting webcast --
How Your Legacy System i Application Portfolio can Coexist - in harmony - With Your New Application Development

Imagine what a great world it would be if you could wave a magic wand and rewrite all of your apps from scratch. With your magic wand, design, coding, testing, and deployment would all occur in the blink of eye. Your user interfaces would be vastly improved, the applications would be able to be extended and enhanced in many ways, the new apps would be more maintainable and changeable, and your users would all be very satisfied.

Alas, there is no such magic wand. The reality today for most System i shops is that rewriting a 20+ year RPG application portfolio isn’t feasible. These legacy apps aren’t documented well nor are their data flows or “nuances” (bugs!) written down anywhere. The frustration is that these apps continue to the do the job; they just need to look better, be easier to maintain, and do more things than they were originally designed to do.

As business needs change and evolve, you also need new applications. Businesses today must find a way to effectively bridge legacy code enhancement/maintenance with new application development. We’re rapidly learning that “old” development and “new” development no longer live in a vacuum. The new apps have substantial dependencies on the old apps (or at least the work the old apps are doing). You must craft a way to make the two worlds co-exist.

In this session, Roger Pence discusses the implications of legacy applications and what can be done to adjust and extend them to current business needs. Roger will explain how your IT team can take your System i applications to a new level of capability and function without leaving the System i behind (no rip-and-replace here!). He’ll show how you can craft a non-disruptive application enhancement/development that lets old and new code, and old and new coding teams coexist in harmony.

About the speakers:
Craig Pelkie has worked as a programmer with IBM midrange computers for many years. He has also written and lectured extensively on AS/400 and iSeries technologies, including client/server programming, Client Access, Java, WebSphere and Web development.


Roger Pence is ASNA’s customer support and education director. He works closely with ASNA customers to help them modernize and enhance their System i applications. Previously Roger was an IBM midrange journalist and technical editor—most notably as a senior technical editor for NEWS/400 magazine. He has written hundreds of articles and given many seminars around the world about the System i platform. In addition to his years of IBM midrange experience, Roger is also a Microsoft Certified Application Developer.

This unique webcast is offered as part of the RPG and Beyond Web Conference.

Platinum Sponsor for the RPG and Beyond Web Conference, ASNA.