IBM Podcast [ MUSIC ] Welcome to this IBM podcast, Realizing More Value from Your IMS Compiler Upgrade. I'm Kimberly Gist with IBM. System z compilers continue to deliver the latest programming interfaces to middleware in order to facilitate application integration, interoperability and modernization. Roland Koo, Product Manager for Rational Compilers, and Maria Querales, Product Manager for IMS, identify why it is important to stay current on COBOL, PRODUCT PL/1 and various compiler technologies when upgrading to the latest version of IMS. Today's podcast will highlight compiler features that can help your developers become more productive when using IMS applications. Roland and Maria, thank you for joining us today. Why don't we get started? And Maria, the first question is for you. Maria, can you tell us what's new and exciting in IMS? Absolutely! The world is exploding right now with new and exciting things, and IMS has to keep up with all this excitement. Because IMS is a two-product solution -- a transaction server and a database manager -- we get to -1-
have twice of the fun as we need to enhance both products. Let's talk first about the database side. IMS databases have been very traditional; however, we understand that we need to keep up with the market demands. For example, today you can use the JDBC technology to access IMS databases. By enabling IMS to understand industry standards like SQL, we empower our customers to leverage a wider pool of talent in the marketplace. So, let's move on to the IMS Transaction Manager. Even though running a Java application inside an IMS-dependent region is not new, it is pretty exciting because you know you can take advantage of the zaap engines and of course save money because you're saving MIPS. You can also leverage the Java and COBOL interoperability and you can reuse your existing applications. Also, by running Java in IMS you get to keep the application closer to the engine for a boost in performance. In addition to all this, the IMS Transaction Manager plays in the SOA playground. IMS can act as a service provider and as a service consumer. IMS is a service provider by exposing the IMS applications as a Web service, and IMS is a service consumer by invoking a service from within an IMS application. -2-
I would also like to mention the new user interface for IMS, the IMS Explorer. The new IMS Explorer provides a graphical UI -- it's really, really cool -- and you can interact with IMS definition structures and in addition to this, you can query the IMS databases. Because the IMS Explorer is Eclipse based, it nicely integrates with other IBM tools like for example Rational Development for Systems z and the Debug Tool. Thank you very much, Maria. That's a great answer. By the way, which is your most current IMS version? Thank you for asking; that's a great question. So, the latest IMS version is IMS 12, and it was announced last October at IOD. So if you were at IOD, you heard the announcement. Wonderful. Well, Maria, many IMS applications are developed with COBOL and PL/I. When customers upgrade to the latest IMS, should they also upgrade to the latest compilers? And what are the benefits of them doing that? So, a couple of the newest functions like the Java and COBOL interoperability and enabling the IMS applications as a service consumer require an application -3-
update. So once that you are at it, why don't you just use the latest compilers? You know, Kimberly, by doing this, the application doesn't only take advantage of the latest innovation and enhancements in IMS, but it also gets all the benefits from the greatest and latest IBM compilers. There is one more thing. Let's don't forget that the compilers are an important tool in helping mainframe applications to run even more efficient. When we design IMS, we keep in mind how to leverage compiler and the hardware updates. KOO: Maria, you have raised some very good points, but there are many reasons to stay current with COBOL and PL/I compilers. But the main point I'd like to make today is that if you're using an old compiler with new IMS or on new System z hardware, you are not taking advantage of the latest advancements in both hardware and software. This means that you are not getting the maximum return on your investment. You are limited to features of COBOL and PL/I compilers shipped a long time ago, and they do not have the latest support for z hardware and middleware, especially IMS. Remember, compilers are designed to support both hardware and middleware. -4-
Here are a few examples of what you could be missing if you're not using the latest compilers. With the latest COBOL and PL/I, you can offload XML parsing to a zaap specialty engine to reduce your MIPS cost, and develop applications that interoperate with up to date Java 5 and 6 runtime. I can also think of another example. With the support for COBOL and Java language interoperability in the latest enterprise COBOL compilers, you can write Java and COBOL applications that execute in a Java dependent region in IMS. This way, you can modernize your existing business critical applications by extending it to work with the latest IMS. By modernizing your applications, you can also reduce cost, project risk and improve the delivery time. Roland, but you know organizations are very nervous about recompiling applications. Do they need to recompile their entire application when they upgrade compilers? KOO: Good question, Kimberly. I understand the concern about recompiling entire applications. Recompiling an entire application is a very time-consuming effort; it can also be quite expensive. -5-
But there's really good news here: both COBOL and PL/I have maintained very good source and binary compatibility. This means that users only need to recompile the specific files that have been changed and link in the old objects. There is no need to recompile their entire application. There are other ways to minimize the risk for upgrading compilers. Scoping the impact of the change you would like to make is very important. The compilers work with IBM's set of advanced programming tools that cover the entire application lifecycle. For example, Rational Developer for z is an IDE that provides an interactive workstation-based environment to help improve programmer productivity for developing C/C++, COBOL and PL/I applications with middleware like IMS. Rational Developer for z is also designed to improve problem determination through a workstation interface to a z/os problem determination tool set such as Debug Tool and Application Performance Analyzer. We also have another tool that's called Rational Asset Analyzer that collects information about your software assets and shows you the impact of your planned changes. So, if you want to touch a file, it shows you what is the impact of that change so you can actually, you know, easier -6-
to manage that change and scoping. And, Rational Team Concert, a collaborative application lifecycle management tool that helps improve collaboration between developers and the entire change management process. All of these tools can help mitigate risk and prioritize the parts of your applications for recompiling or modernizing. Let me just add one more thought here. Upgrading compilers at the same time as you upgrade IMS also has an additional cost benefit: you can leverage the same testing cycle to achieve both upgrades. If you upgrade separately, you'll need to employ a whole separate testing cycle, and we all know this could be very costly. Yes, Roland. I completely agree with you. There is no secret that recompiling a whole application can be very expensive, and IBM is all for reusing what already works. IBM is also all up for innovation and keeping up with the exciting marketplace. So the applications need to evolve and keep up. This usually means an application change; and of course, recompiling. So I believe the fact of having granular control of what pieces and files get to be regenerated, it is just awesome. Also, I really like how IBM completes the story and helps -7-
the user to identify which modules and pieces get affected by these updates. KOO: Roland, is there anything else that you'd like to share about the futures from IMS and compilers moving forward? KOO: Yes. Actually, we're currently working on improving the compiler infrastructure for COBOL on z/os. This new infrastructure will provide a modern technology base to improve optimization and exploitation of z/architecture. This will lay a solid foundation to move to 64-bit support in the future. This also means that we are able to deliver z hardware exploitation in a more timely fashion. And of course, we will try our best to maintain compatibility so you will not need to recompile the entire application to benefit from this new compiler. We are very excited about this new compiler that we're working on, and we plan to run a beta program this year. We will be announcing details pretty soon. If you're interested in participating, please contact your IBM rep now. Maria, anything else to add to that? -8-
Yes. The IMS architects are keeping a close look to what's going on in the compilers space. In each IMS release, you know, it's about innovation and great functionality, and compilers can be key into delivering such results. Well, that's great. Are there any last thoughts from each of you? Roland, why don't you go first? KOO: Yes, I would like to mention our upcoming event. If you want to learn more about compilers and Rational's application development tools, the place to be is REALLY Rational's developers' conference called Innovate 2012. This is our annual event, and this year it will be held from June third to seventh at the Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. At Innovate, you can meet and talk with our developers and other customers to get indepth perspectives on our products. The compilers and the System z tools will be featured in its own track, the System z track of the Enterprise Modernization stream. I'm really looking forward to seeing you there. -9-
Maria? Yes, Roland, now you just mentioned the Innovate Conference. I was there last year; it was my first time. And it is a great conference. I really enjoyed the material. And it is fun. It's a really neat conference to go to. And IMS is going to be at the conference. We're going to have a booth. So please stop by and say hi and we can show you everything that's new in IMS 12 and everything that's new in the IMS [explosion]. Great. Well, thank you, Roland and Maria. And I agree: Innovate 2012 is bound to be a great conference and we encourage everyone that can to attend. That was Roland Koo, Product Manager for Rational Compilers, and Maria Querales, Product Manager for IMS, with an interesting overview of Realizing More Value from Your IMS Compiler Upgrade. To hear this specific podcast or to browse additional topics, check out our Rational Talks to You Podcast Page at www.ibm.com/rational/podcasts. This has been an IBM Podcast. I'm your moderator, Kimberly Gist. Thank you for listening, and we hope that you will choose to keep tuning in as Rational Talks to You. IBM Podcast -10-
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