At Karsun Solutions, we’re constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation, especially when it comes to modernizing legacy systems. Our monthly Innovation Town Halls showcase how our experts use emerging technologies like automation and AI to solve real-world customer challenges. Recently, we had two insightful presentations that highlighted the power and versatility of our ReDuX AI-powered modernization platform in transforming complex legacy code using an AI code parser. That team recently summarized their findings on our GoReDuX Blog. Today we’re sharing their insights below.

Natural/ADABAS Modernization with ReDuX AI Code Parser

A common pain point for mainframe customers involves systems written in legacy Natural code with ADABAS. The desire to move away from these systems is driven by several factors, including proprietary software costs, workforce shortages and the fine-tuning required for proper system performance. 

While other modernization tools offer automations for refactoring or replatforming, they often fall short in providing deeper insights. Moreover, they do not lay the groundwork for future enhancements.

The ReDuX Solution

Karsun expert Eamon Cusic shared how his team addressed this. Using ReDuX, they developed a Natural parser capable of assessing both the syntax and semantic structure of the code The team utilized ReDuX Blueprinting agents to analyze user behavior, software module code, and VSAM database schema.

This enabled them to provide context within the VSAM, including crucial elements like core business logic, data flow, and screen flows. With ReDuX Blueprint citations, Eamon’s team could even examine exact window management subroutines, providing unprecedented clarity.

Conquering VB6 and Unsupported Third-Party Components

Raminder Saluja, an AI for modernization leader in our aviation practice, shared another critical challenge facing his customer. A vital legacy application faced obsolescence because its language and third-party components were no longer supported, making modifications and bug fixes nearly impossible. The looming threat? The application was anticipated to stop working with the next Windows update.

The ReDuX Solution

Raminder’s team needed a tool for rapid modernization. ReDuX proved to be the solution, not only capable of parsing VB6 code but also validating requirements and generating test cases as part of the modernization process. After leveraging the Blueprinting agents (like those used for Natural), Raminder’s team extended ReDuX’s VB6 parsing to its code companion code generation agent. The ultimate goal: migrate VB6 to a VB .Net application.

This approach dramatically reduced the modernization timeline. While traditional methods can take over a year, this ReDuX-powered effort is expected to be completed within a 6-month timeframe.

ReDuX: A Mature Framework for Any Legacy Language

What these case studies demonstrate is ReDuX’s incredible adaptability. Whether you’re dealing with Natural, VB6, Oracle Forms/Apex, or other legacy coding languages like COBOL, ReDuX provides a mature framework that allows for the addition of new parsers and libraries. Depending on the language’s complexity, a ReDuX AI engineering team can typically write new parsers in just 2-6 weeks.

Both Eamon and Raminder leveraged this mature process to tackle previously intractable code parsing problems, transforming challenging modernization efforts into achievable projects.

ReDuX empowers Architects, BAs, Product Owners, Designers, Developers, and Testers to achieve significant improvements. Connect with us to discover how ReDuX can tackle your legacy code challenges and accelerate your modernization journey!