BUSINESS CHALLENGE
IT departments rarely, if ever, have a single operating platform for all their systems. UNIX or Linux servers are frequently the hub of business systems accessed via Windows clients. With a wide variety of systems, having different tools and processes for each platform increases costs, introduces complexity, and adversely affects programmer productivity.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Specifically designed for performance and reliability to support high-volume transaction processing applications, Micro Focus Server Express™ is the platform of choice for creating scalable high-performance business applications. Server Express accelerates enterprise COBOL application performance, providing the fastest ever Micro Focus COBOL product for UNIX and Linux. Server Express helps to dramatically reduce development and deployment costs, and provides increased service levels through state-of-the-art components like FaultFinder and Enterprise Server™.
Server Express can be upgraded with Server Express for Eclipse which enables the full power of Micro Focus COBOL in the most widely used cross-platform development environment available.
KEY BENEFITS
High performance generated code extracts the most out of UNIX & Linux servers Integrated development environment enables developers to be more productive COBOL Web service support securely exposes existing assets to reporting, collaboration and new business initiatives Base for Micro Focus COBOL Eclipse plug-in allows developers to take advantage of the latest and greatest developer productivity tools.
DETAILED FEATURE OVERVIEW
State-of-the-art COBOL compiler
Server Express includes a state-of-the-art compiler that builds on COBOL’s traditional strengths by providing:
- High-performance native code that is optimized for peak performance on specific hardware like the leading IBM, HP, Unisys, and Sun platforms
- Extensive COBOL dialect support, simplifying reuse of existing applications and COBOL programming skills
- Scalability, ranging from workstations to multi-processor UNIX/ Linux systems
- Full support for object oriented application development
- A portable object file format for easily deploying applications on leading server platforms utilizing Micro Focus Server
- Fully portable multi-threading capabilities, leveraging modern operating system threading features to provide optimum application performance
Server Express is built using the latest Micro Focus COBOL “callable shared object” technology. This new executable format provides fast execution and delivers immediate productivity gains. With Server Express, organizations can also take advantage of this powerful new format by recompiling existing COBOL applications, enabling multiuser applications to run faster and perform better. Server Express was designed for today’s 32-bit and 64-bit operating system architectures. With Server Express, organizations are just one simple step away from a 64-bit COBOL application.
Direct COBOL Web services
Using Server Express support for direct COBOL Web services, a COBOL Web service can be created, consumed and deployed without requiring any third-party software. The Interface Mapping Toolkit will create the files required to expose a COBOL Linkage Section as a Web service, including the Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) file and the appropriate mapping. Direct COBOL Web services created with Interface Mapping Toolkit can then be deployed with Micro Focus Server for SOA, which acts as a SOAP Server for Web services. Server Express also includes Web service COBOL client support for the consumption of Web services from COBOL.
Using COBOL with Java and J2EE
With Server Express support for COBOL/Java interoperability, mixed COBOL and Java applications can be easily created without the programmer having to code complex low-level interfaces. Server Express COBOL/Java interoperability extends the business rules represented in COBOL assets to Java and J2EE applications.
When an EJB is created by the Interface Mapping Toolkit and deployed in conjunction with Enterprise Server and the J2EE Connecter, COBOL assets can be accessed in a J2EE-compliant manner from Java Application Servers such as IBM Websphere and Oracle Weblogic.
OTHER KEY FEATURES
- Interface Mapping Toolkit for easy creation of Web Services from existing COBOL source code
- COBOL with XML allows creation, consumption, and update of XML documents using familiar COBOL syntax
- Production Debugging and Diagnostics allows Net Express to be used to investigate issues in live production systems
- Integration with Net Express on Windows supports the development and deployment of applications across Linux, UNIX and Windows.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
UNIX/Linux Components - Operating System requirements vary depending on the specific platform.
See http://supportline.microfocus.com/productreleaselevels/unix.asp for details.
