Case tool Connector - Overview

CASE tools are part of the development landscape for the IBM I since the 90’s. A large number of applications have been developed with these tools and are still continuously evolving. However, these tools do not properly address the new challenges the IT organizations are facing in the management of the entire application lifecycle. Those tools are all oriented towards new application development. They do not take into account the management of existing applications developed with traditional RPG or COBOL languages, as well as new technology applications. Furthermore, even if they greatly increase productivity in the development process, the versioning process management is often poor or even non-existent. This is because these tools were originally designed to address development issues rather than maintenance issues.

THE SOLUTION

The ARCAD-Skipper solution can solve complex cases of change management, just like the management of multiple projects at the same time without having to duplicate the entire 4GL source code. ARCAD-Skipper is also able to provide a global view of all the components of the information system nethertheless the technology used behind.

ARCAD-Skipper is interfaced with the leading case tools of the IBM I market: Synon, Lansa and Adelia. If you are using another case tool, please refer to the “other case tool interface” page to see what ARCAD can do for you.

The other complementary ARCAD solutions are a positive addition to any CASE tools of the market. You can now have:

• Real automated deployment capabilities with ARCAD-Deliver. A client that uses a CASE tool can set up a deployment automation, completely independently of the tool used to produce the code.
• Test automation, with the ARCAD-Verifier. Since this suite relies strictly on the generated code, it is fully compatible with any CASE tool.
• Application mining and retro-documentation with the ARCAD-Observer solution. It is now possible to automate the procedures for global impact analysis and technical documentation maintenance. The added value of the ARCAD solution is that the scope is not limited to components produced by the CASE tool, but covers all of the components of your Information System.
• User support management with the ARCAD-Customer solution. Here again, successful support is in no way tied to the development techniques your company uses.

THE ADVANTAGES

CASE tools have made very important contributions to application development, first for the IBM i, then for Client/Server, and now for the Web. They have played a major role and still do in both productivity and quality of code produced. Today, however, productivity gains are to be found outside code production—productivity. Additionals tools like the ones provided by ARCAD software can find a place of choice in your organization by gaining not only additional productivity, but also, quality, traceability and security.