From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.5 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,TO_NO_BRKTS_PCNT autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,38e4984377428ab4,start X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,38e4984377428ab4,start X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,38e4984377428ab4,start X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: ff6c8,38e4984377428ab4,start X-Google-Attributes: gidff6c8,public X-Google-Thread: 10db24,38e4984377428ab4,start X-Google-Attributes: gid10db24,public From: cseic@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us (CFCSEIC) Subject: CFCSEIC News Briefs Week Ending April 24, 1998 Date: 1998/04/24 Message-ID: <6hqobk$lr3@ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us> X-Deja-AN: 347380735 Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset=US-ASCII Organization: Center for Computer Systems Engineering Information Clearinghouse Mime-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.edu,comp.sw.components,comp.object,comp.software-eng Date: 1998-04-24T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Center for Computer Systems Engineering News Briefs Week Ending: April 24, 1998 ************************************************************************ CONTENTS: NEW VERSION OF ADA ENVIRONMENT WEB PROVIDES ACCESS TO LEGACY DATA THE Y2K RIPPLE EFFECT MICROSOFT Y2K PRODUCT RATINGS AGENCIES WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THREE RECOVERY SERVICES ************************************************************************ NEW VERSION OF ADA ENVIRONMENT Topic: Ada OC Systems, Inc. has turned up the power in PowerAda in response to customer demand. This newest version of PowerAda is the result of a close collaboration between OC Systems and PowerAda users. The software provides an integrated environment for developing, testing, integrating, and maintaining complex Ada 83 and Ada 95 applications. This new version, 3.1, is source compatible with previous generation products, but offers improved support for program building, an enhanced graphical user interface (GUI), and greater configuration management (CM) options. In addition to IBM's CMVC system, PowerAda supports three additional CM tool suites: CVS, a public domain extension of RCS; Razor, a highly configurable and streamlined package from Tower Concepts; and Clearcase, a full-featured CM system from Rational Software. This new version of PowerAda also includes a validated Ada compiler that supports all versions of AIX. For additional information, call (703)359-8160, or contact info@ocsystems.com. Source: OC Systems, Inc., 9990 Lee Highway, Suite 270, Fairfax, VA 22030 http://www.ocsystems.com. ************************************************************************ WEB PROVIDES ACCESS TO LEGACY DATA Topic: Software Engineering/Reuse/Y2k Although this article first appeared in the July 31st issue of InformationWeek, its subject, creating Web access to legacy systems, is particularly relevant as Y2k efforts expand to update legacy code. The article includes an industry estimate that 70% of all business information still resides in mainframe databases, and states that according to IBM, the value of that investment is $5 trillion. Although legacy technologies have been regarded as ancient relics, that attitude is changing. New products, including terminal-emulation software, that offer Web access to legacy systems are preserving enormous amounts of software and changing the way business gets done. According to the author, Martin J. Garvey, there are several reasons for this. Web-browser technology breaks down the "green- screen" barriers to working with legacy data, and Web activity is server-centric, which facilitates the management of legacy data. The Web interface requires no changes to the legacy systems, and Web-to-host gateways bring the resources of traditional host environments to browser users. In addition, corporate attitudes toward legacy systems are changing in response to the development of new Web-to-legacy tools that are inexpensive to maintain, create applications that are easy to deploy, and let companies create front-end functionality that is not dependent on back-end alterations. Source: Martin J. Garvey, InformationWeek, July 31, 1997 http://www.techweb.com/wire/news/jul/0731legacy1.html ************************************************************************ THE Y2K RIPPLE EFFECT Topic: Y2k You have worked night and day and are one of those rare IT managers who can relax and breathe easy about year 2000 conversions. Or so you thought, until you read this article from the April 13th edition of PC Week Online. The author, Stephanie Neil, uses Visa to demonstrate the problem. Visa will finish testing 131 mainframe applications and 100 client/server programs by the end of the year, but their systems are still in jeopardy. According to John McCarthy, Vice President of Visa International's year 2000 project, they still have to anticipate some kind of failure in their supply chain, and come up with a contingency plan. McCarthy believes that no one can expect to survive the year 2000 unless they test major vendor connections and business partner interfaces. As companies become more reliant on electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic commerce, and other electronic transactions for dealing with key partners and suppliers, they are increasingly at risk if those partners botch their own Y2k projects. At best, companies like VISA could find themselves dealing with transaction and data files containing corrupted date fields. At worst, they could find critical suppliers and partners shut down. Concern about Y2k partner problems is spreading to other industries. To help deal with this problem, vendors are beginning to deliver tools that can help companies assess their Y2k ripple effect risk by testing business-partner applications and data. The author concludes that time is running out, and ignorance of external Y2k risks could eventually sink a company. Source: Stephanie Neil, PC Week Online, Apr. 13, 1998 http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/pcwo/0413/306363.html ************************************************************************ MICROSOFT Y2K PRODUCT RATINGS Topic: Y2k/Software Engineering This article from the April 15th issue of PC Week Online discusses the Y2k compliance of Microsoft products. Of the company's 60 top application and system software products, Microsoft reports that 21 are only partially Y2k compliant. According to Microsoft, Internet Explorer 3.x and 4.x is the chief reason for the lack of total compliance in a number of these products, and they expect to have a package that will include fixes to the various Y2k issues plaguing the product in the next sixty days. Other Microsoft products that are not 100% Y2k-compliant include Windows 95, Windows for Work Groups 3.11, Windows NT Server 4.0, NT Workstation 4.0, various versions of Office 95, Visual Basic 5.0, Visual Studio Enterprise 5.0, Access 2.0, Word for MS-DOS 5.0, and Office Professional 4.3. Microsoft's web site, http://www.microsoft.cm/year2000, provides recommended steps to compliance for all of its partially compliant products, and has stated that if a fix or service pack is required for compliance, the company is committed to providing it to customers for free. Source: Mary Jo Foley, PC Week Online, Apr. 15, 1998 http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/pcwo/0415/307106.html ************************************************************************ AGENCIES WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THREE RECOVERY SERVICES Topic: Software Engineering/Y2k The General Services Administration has awarded contracts to three of the country's top recovery services: Comdisco Continuity Services, SunGuard Recovery Services Inc., and IBM Business Recovery Services. These contracts will cover disaster-recovery services to support mainframe, midrange, and desktop systems. The three vendors will provide "hot sites" that federal agencies could move their operations to in case of an emergency. Agencies will also be able to use these sites to test their disaster-recovery plans and seek advice on maintaining their operational capabilities under emergency conditions. Although a Y2k testing capability was not required in the solicitation, Dion Rudnicki, a client executive at IBM Global Government Industry, believes that Y2k conversion testing will comprise a large part of the work performed under these contracts. David Krohmal, manager of GSA's disaster-recovery program, believes the contract will eventually serve more than 100 federal organizations. Source: Brad Bass, Federal Computer Week, Apr. 20, 1998 http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1998/0420/frontgwac-4-20-1998.html ************************************************************************ The DISA CFCSEIC welcomes suggestions for and pointers to software engineering-related articles. 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