There is no doubt IT departments face a multitude of challenges when it comes to working with COBOL programs. Tackling each problem as it arises drains valuable resources; what IT teams need is a single solution that helps resolve multiple challenges at once.
SMART TS XL is a software suite that offers solutions for many of the problems that face IT teams. The table below shows a few of the solutions for COBOL that SMART TS XL offers to help programmers and analysts overcome the challenges listed in our previous blogs.
| Requirement | SMART TS XL Solution |
| Fully analyze programs and clearly identify key objectives before starting any project. | Locate snippets of code, see upstream and downstream interactions, track COBOL fields and program flow, etc. among other things. |
| Identify potential impact that a change would cause to downstream programs. | Discover program interactions with the Impact Analysis tool to be better prepared to make changes and understand what the potential impact may be. |
| Metrics regarding program complexity, predicted errors, and other important factors. | Estimate time frames and difficulty levels with the Complexity Analysis tool, using industry standard measures, so IT managers can assign tasks accordingly. |
| Perform system analysis and identify programs and other modules that are not being used. | Find dead, unused programs and copybooks with the help of the Suspected Orphans report. |
| An off-the-mainframe tool that allows you to complete analysis and research faster. | Build simple queries or powerful complex searches (using Boolean, proximity, etc.) to pin-point data. Offload search and analysis from the mainframe. |
| Encourage knowledge exchange between new employees and existing SMEs, and provide both with an accessible code review tool. | Bridge new programmers to old systems with SMART TS XL. It requires very little training thereby allowing users to become SMEs much faster. |
| Shave hours off search and analysis with search utilities that quickly return presentable results. | Improve productivity and slash elapsed time with lightning fast performance. Searches take seconds irrespective of the number of lines of code and results are obtained in presentable form. |
| Generate results that are relevant and easily navigable. | Follow search results with customizable color-coding and hyperlinking. Also, narrow down results by using wildcards, Boolean, & proximity searching. |
| Transfer results to standard formats. | Export or save results and diagrams in standard formats - Word, Excel, HTML, PDF, JPG, XML or TXT. |
| Modest installation and requirements that don't drain resources. | Save MIPS by working off the mainframe and requires no full-time product administrators. |
If you're interested in learning how our technology can help you overcome the challenges COBOL throws at you, please contact us for a demo customized for your challenges.