ArtinSoft VB to .NET Migration Case Study – Freeway
"For Freeway, the ability to migrate our eZway application to .NET represented a mission critical project, for which we required a true business partner with the knowledge, technology and experience that guaranteed the success of this process. ArtinSoft without a doubt was this partner, offering World class technology supported by an extraordinary team that saw beyond our technical requirements and into our business necessities."
Oscar Emo. CEO Freeway Corporation
The Application
eZway is Freeway Development Corporation's main product. eZway is a development tool that speeds up the process of generating distributed applications based on a three tier architecture. It functions through a spiral development methodology, iterative and incremental. eZway assists and automates the various stages of system development:
- Functional definition
- Generation and specification of cases
- Form definition· Definition of the layered system architecture
- Generation of Visual Basic and ASP code
- Project management
- Documentation in HTML format
The Opportunity
Initially, eZway was developed in VB 6.0 to generate Visual Basic 6.0 and ASP codes. Then Freeway saw in Microsoft's new .NET platform an opportunity to provide new functionality, security and flexibility both for its eZway product as well as for the product's users.
The Challenge
"Taking a tool as complex as eZway to the .NET framework, and making it the first to generate Visual Basic .NET code, became an obsession for Freeway. However, to do so by traditional means would have implied many months of programming, which would have prevented us from achieving our goal of being pioneers in .NET technology."
Alfonso Sojo - President Freeway Inc.
The Solution
"We had known for quite some time about the services offered by ArtinSoft for system migration from Informix 4GL to Java. When ArtinSoft approached us and offered its modernization services to .NET, we immediately began working on a pilot project. The first converted segment was one which enables the generation of ASP pages, starting from high-level specifications of both the objects and the properties contained in those pages. The time it took to reach Functional Equivalence was amazing and we immediately started to modify the code to generate ASP.NET pages."
Jairo Almanza - Development Director, Freeway Inc.
Beyond Functional Equivalence
Freeway and ArtinSoft worked together to incorporate into eZway the latest functionalities offered by the .NET initiative. The possibilities were endless and infinitely exciting. ArtinSoft's knowledge and expertise in migration projects combined with Freeway's knowledge of software development and management methodologies, enabled eZway users to have one of the first tools capable of generating real .NET applications.
"ArtinSoft has worked in the software migration field since 1993, developing innovative modernization methodologies that have helped us become the industry leader. Our core service is to break down the technological barriers that constraint the application growth, and to enable its continued evolution. Companies seldom update their technology over the years, but each time they have to develop the specific skills necessary to succeed. These skills are no longer needed once the upgrade is complete, and the application has been transferred to the new technological paradigm. Since its inception, ArtinSoft's rationale has been to specialize in this modernization process, allowing the experience generated by upgrading millions of lines of existing code to be leveraged in the service we offer to each of our customers."
Federico Zoufaly - VP of Development. ArtinSoft
About Freeway
Freeway Development Corporation is oriented towards the constant search for new technologies and tools that allow the optimization of the development, implementation and maintenance of applications. Freeway was established in 1997 with the aim of developing a tool that developers could use to create applications for use in both local networks and the Internet without multiplying programming efforts. This is why Freeway has incorporated a development methodology that synthesizes the best analysis and design currents for building object-oriented software.
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