ScreenJet, Acucorp team up for transition

Software to give IT staffs the means to migrate themselves

Companies which use COBOL VPlus-based applications on HP 3000s can order a package of software tools to move apps to Unix, Linux or Windows NT, as ScreenJet Ltd. and Acucorp announced an alliance of their products.

The ScreenJet toolkit will be used to convert VPlus forms directly into Acucorp’s AcuBench development environment. ScreenJet will also provide a revised ACUCOBOL-GT version of its VPlus Intercept API, allowing migrated applications to optionally retain their existing VPlus screen handling calls and procedures.

ACUCOBOL-GT will deliver a revamped COBOL compiler to the HP 3000 community, including an enhanced SCREEN section to make controls — a label, entry field or push button — link to the Microsoft Windows API.

ScreenJet CEO Alan Yeo said the combination of the two technologies “can offer HP e3000 users industry-leading portability to ease their application re-hosting to new environments.” Gunnar Friedlund, CEO of ScreenJet ISV CIO Technologies, said “We wholeheartedly embrace the migration strategy and tools from Acucorp and ScreenJet. And we now plan on using this technology to migrate our applications and clients.”

Acucorp has extended the beta test program for its extend5 product line on the HP 3000, in part because of greater participation.

“Due to HP’s end-of-life announcement for the e3000 and the increased interest that it generated, some of our beta sites began doing additional testing on our software,” said Acucorp spokesperson Kendra Brunje. “As a result of this testing, some problem areas were identified. We are currently addressing those problem areas in our final beta and intend to release the product once they are corrected. We anticipate that this process will be completed in February to March of this year.”

The alliance between the two companies represents ScreenJet’s position that tools for customers to use in migrating themselves are essential. “We think the only way to go is tools,” said ScreenJet’s Yeo. “There aren’t enough people to do all the migrations by hand.”

ScreenJet’s tools, which Yeo said leverage the company’s expertise it gained while developing its current ScreenJet VPlus GUI product, provide multiple conversion options. Conversion options are provided for ACUCOBOL, XML and XHTML based formats. ScreenJet will also be launching a revised version of its VPlus Intercept API that will allow applications to optionally retain their existing screen handling calls and procedures

For users converting to ACUCOBOL, the ScreenJet tools can convert either the original VPlus Forms, or those already enhanced to a Windows GUI by ScreenJet directly into the ACUBench format.

“This will enable HP 3000 applications thus migrated to benefit from the full ACUCOBOL development and deployment options,” Yeo said. ScreenJet hopes to promote a conversion of interfaces while the applications continue to run on the HP 3000, to make the ScreenJet software “ideal for those who intend to remain using the HP 3000 for the foreseeable future, as well as those looking for a faster migration.”