Mainframe makeover

The software conversion tool that the Air Force is using transforms mainframe

software to a Java-based architecture in four steps:

1. It identifies all the software code related to a specific mainframe-based

application.

2. Through knowledge mining, it categorizes the code into individual

pieces known as e-components, which relate to parts of a software program

such as the user interface, the business logic and data definition.

3. The e-components are transformed into a new programming language.

Also, the legacy, nonrelational database structures are converted into a

form that works with current relational database systems. With the Air

Force system, the e-components will be converted into Java and placed on

a Unix system for easy Internet access.

4. The user interface for the converted application will be rebuilt

using Java code and HTML so that the system can be accessed via the World

Wide Web.