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Micro Focus has announced that it will deliver four new tools for developers to use Micro Focus COBOL technology with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.
Micro Focus COBOL enables developers to exploit existing enterprise applications on the Microsoft platform. With the new tools coming from Micro Focus, COBOL developers will be able to use Visual Studio 2010 without the need for rewriting their applications.
The new Visual Studio 2010-tuned tools from Micro Focus include Micro Focus COBOL; Micro Focus Silk4J, a functional and regression test automation tool that brings test automation capabilities to Visual Studio 2010; Micro Focus DevPartner Studio, a suite that enables developers to debug, analyze, test and tune applications; and Micro Focus Analyzer Express for Visual Studio, a visibility tool to help developers accelerate their day-to-day maintenance activities.
“We are delighted to be offering customers the ability to develop and deliver higher quality products,” said Peter Duffell, vice president of strategic partners at Micro Focus, in a statement. “Our presence in the roll-out of Visual Studio 2010 demonstrates both the relevance of core COBOL assets within global organizations’ IT infrastructures and the demand from the developer community to exploit them on Microsoft platforms. As we look forward to the future, Micro Focus will continue to work closely with its customers to provide them with tools, applications and software to support their business and vision for success.”
Also in a statement, Neil Willby, systems director at Eurorealm Consultants, a beta customer for the new Micro Focus COBOL, said: “We’re excited to see Micro Focus playing such an integral role in the launch of Visual Studio 2010. COBOL continues to play a major part in today’s economy, so it is essential that Visual Studio 2010 embraces these tools and allows the developer ecosystem to evolve existing core applications on new platforms.”
The new Micro Focus tools will be available in April, a company spokesperson told eWEEK.
Meanwhile, on Feb. 8, Micro Focus announced the availability of Server Express Remote Developer Option (RDO), a new version of its Server Express development platform that enables companies to reduce time and costs for companies building/maintaining COBOL applications on Linux and Unix servers.
Server Express RDO is a COBOL development tool that enables developers to create and maintain applications on a remote server while sitting on a local machine. It allows customers to keep COBOL programs and the source code on the target server, eliminating the need to transfer code between the development environment and the Unix or Linux server on which the application will be tested and run.