There are many categories of development tools. This chapter covers some of the tools that are commonly used by RPG and COBOL developers. It makes sense that an application modernization project might also include modernization of your development toolset.

The category of tools that applies to most shops relates to editing, compiling, and debugging host applications, which are sometimes part of a set of tools that are called an integrated development environment (IDE). In addition, there are tools that are related to source code change management or source control tools. This chapter looks at both of those categories of tools and a few other tools that might be useful for specific environments.

The changes to your application might be simple technically, but there are also other aspects of a modernization project to consider:

  • Plurality of culture: Developers who are using different technologies need to share projects, information, and processes.
  • Plurality of technologies: Interfaces and connections introduce cross-platform function dependencies.
  • Complexities: New technologies and methodologies can introduce complexities that your existing tools fall short of being able to handle in a meaningful and reliable way.

This chapter describes the situation of and recommends changes to your development tools that might be required for your modernization project. It also describes how to change your development methodology when working with these tools.

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