VisualAge Generator to Enterprise Generation Language Migration Guide

Stage 1 Details

The Stage 1 tool is shipped as a sample program with WebSphere Studio. You install the sample program to run on either VisualAge Generator Developer on Java or VisualAge Generator Developer on Smalltalk, depending on the VisualAge Generator Developer 4.5 product that you currently use. The two sample programs differ somewhat due to the differences in the Java and Smalltalk environments. However, the basic steps for using the Stage 1 sample programs are the same in both environments. The basic steps for Stage 1 are:

Step 1

Define rules and preferences that provide the Stage 1 tool with information about what you want to migrate, including the following:

  1. How to filter Java project names so that only the projects you want to migrate will be considered. For Smalltalk, you specify how to filter the Smalltalk configuration map names. This improves performance for Stage 1 because the tool only processes those Java projects or Smalltalk configuration maps that match your filters.
  2. Whether you want to create one migration plan that reflects everything that could migrate based on your filter, or whether you want to create multiple migration plans, with one migration plan for each Java high-level PLP project version or Smalltalk high-level configuration map version.
  3. How to create the EGL project, package, and file names from the Java project and package names or from the Smalltalk configuration map and application names. The information you can specify includes the following:
  4. The name of the migration database and the user ID and password that are needed for access to the database.
  5. Which outputs you want the Stage 1 tool to produce in Step 2. You can choose to create all the outputs in a single step or you can create the outputs in sequence so that you have a chance to review your rules and preferences before creating the next, more time-consuming output.

Step 2

Based on the rules and preferences you have defined, the Stage 1 tool produces the following possible outputs:

  1. Migration plan file (or files). A migration plan file contains migration sets. Each migration set is one high-level PLP project version from the Java repository or one high-level configuration map version from the Smalltalk repository. The dependent Java project versions or the required Smalltalk configuration map versions are specified in the migration set.

    You can direct the Stage 1 tool to stop at this point so you have the opportunity to review the migration plan file (or files) to ensure that the Java project versions or Smalltalk configuration map versions that you want to migrate are correctly reflected in the migration plan file (or files).

  2. A report showing how each migration set will be migrated. The Stage 1 tool can produce this report without loading the database. This helps you ensure that your filters and preferences select the correct set of Java projects or Smalltalk configuration maps and that you are satisfied with the naming conventions of EGL projects, packages, and files that resulted from your renaming rules. Reviewing the report gives you an opportunity to refine your rules and preferences if you are not happy with the proposed EGL structure before the Stage 1 tool actually loads the database. You can iterate through the previous steps as many times as necessary until you are satisfied with what will be migrated and the proposed EGL structure. The report shows the following:

    For each VAGen part, you can see the corresponding EGL project, package, and file name where the part will be placed. See section Placing parts in EGL files for information on how the VAGen parts are assigned to files during Stage 1 - 3 migration.

  3. A log file provides messages if any of the VAGen program, table, map group, or control part names conflict with the EGL reserved word list. These parts are not renamed during migration. You can either rename the parts in VisualAge Generator or wait until you have migrated to EGL.
  4. A migration database loaded with the information and VAGen source code based on the migration plan files. You can select one migration plan to use in loading the database or all the migration plan files in a directory. The Stage 1 migration tool loads the data base with the following:

The Stage 1 tool is shipped as a sample program for both the Java and Smalltalk versions of VisualAge Generator. You can use the Stage 1 tool "as is" or you can modify the sample program to better fit your environment. For example, you might currently store configuration information outside the Java repository or Smalltalk library. This configuration information might specify which versions of your source code are required for generation. In this situation, you could use the sample programs as a guide to writing your own tool to load the migration database from a combination of your configuration information and your Java repository or Smalltalk library.

If you modify the Stage 1 sample programs, you might want to modify the migration database to include additional information to assist in the analysis of your code. You can add additional columns to the existing SQL tables or you can add additional tables to the migration database. However, these new columns and tables will not be used in Stages 2 and 3 of migration. Additionally, if you modify the Stage 1 sample programs, you must be sure to populate the SQL tables with the information shown in the sample programs. If you do not, Stages 2 and 3 will not be able to migrate your code.

See Stage 1 - Extracting from Java for details about installing and running the Stage 1 tool on VisualAge Generator Developer on Java. See Stage 1 - Extracting from Smalltalk for details about installing and running the Stage 1 tool on VisualAge Generator Developer on Smalltalk.


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