Chapter 7. Languages and Data Management


graphics/clock7.gif

with Lutz Wrage and Russ Bunting

Lutz Wrage is a visiting scientist at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Russ Bunting is a Member of the Technical Staff at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

Language can only deal meaningfully with a special, restricted segment of reality. The rest, and it is presumably the much larger part, is silence.

”George Steiner,
"The Retreat from the Word,"
Language and Silence (1967).

In this chapter, we begin our exploration of the information system technologies that constitute the design space for RSS modernization. Gaining competency in these technologies is a major issue in the modernization of legacy systems, as developers who understand both the legacy system and modern technologies are a rare commodity.

Competency can be gained through traditional techniques, such as reading and training. Building Systems from Commercial Components argues that competence in technology is best obtained just in time and as needed as part of the design process [Wallnau 01]. This is particularly true of modern technologies that are still rapidly evolving. Rather than repeat ideas from that book, here we provide some concise but rudimentary information about technologies that are relevant to our case study. This level of information should be sufficient to guide your understanding of the case study; however, we provide references throughout these chapters if you need additional information on a particular technology.

In the remainder of this chapter, we examine the main programming language used in RSS (COBOL) and the main language for the target system (Java). We also look at data repositories, including database management systems ”past, present, and future ”and data warehouses. Finally, we look at standard data representations for information exchange, including electronic data interchange (EDI) and the eXtensible Markup Language (XML). If you are already familiar with these technologies, you may wish to proceed to the next chapter.



Modernizing Legacy Systems
Modernizing Legacy Systems: Software Technologies, Engineering Processes, and Business Practices
ISBN: 0321118847
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 142

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net