The document outlines the capabilities of Visual COBOL for Windows and .NET, highlighting its integration with Microsoft Visual Studio and support for both managed and unmanaged COBOL code. It details features such as database support, user interface design, and the ability to work with .NET Framework classes and third-party libraries. There is a strong emphasis on the seamless mixing of traditional COBOL with object-oriented syntax and the diverse range of technologies accessible through Visual COBOL.

1. Visual COBOL Development for
Windows & .NET
Michael Bleistein
Sr. Solution Architect

2. Visual COBOL Development
Microsoft Visual Studio
Industry Standard IDE
Managed Unmanaged
COBOL Code COBOL Code
.NET Native
Windows Platform
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3. Visual COBOL – Developing Windows Native Applications
• Benefit from Industry Standard IDE
• Standard and Micro Focus Dialect support for COBOL
– IBM mainframe dialects, Micro Focus technology, ANS85
– Native x86, x64 development (things you do today)
– Dialog System GUI/Character
• Traditional Indexed and flat file I/O
– Data Tools included for file editing and maintenance
– Full support for classic Micro Focus formats
– Fileshare
• Database support
– OpenESQL, DB2 ECM, Oracle Pro*COBOL, COBSQL
– OpenESQL Assistant for building SQL related code
Native = Unmanaged
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4. Visual COBOL – Developing Windows .NET Applications
• COBOL is a .NET language !
– Full access to the .NET framework classes
– Can call or be called by C#, VB.NET, and other .NET languages
• Standard and Micro Focus Dialect support for COBOL – compiled as managed code
– IBM mainframe dialects, Micro Focus technology, ANS85
– Extended Syntax for .NET and Object Oriented programming
– Use OO syntax and standard syntax together
– Easily CALL unmanaged code from Managed code
• Traditional Indexed and flat file I/O
– Data Tools included for file editing and maintenance
– Full support for classic Micro Focus formats
– Fileshare
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5. Visual COBOL – Developing Windows .NET Applications
• .NET User Interface support – Using Designers in Visual Studio 2010
– ASP.NET Web Forms including AJAX and HTML 5
– WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) and XAML
– Winforms
• Database support
– OpenESQL pre-processor for standard ESQL
– OpenESQL Assistant for building SQL related code
– ADO Connection Editor
– ADO.NET classes (Visual COBOL is a .NET language)
• Services
– WCF (Windows Communication Foundation)
– Legacy IIS based ASP.NET Http Web Services - .ASMX
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6. What do we mean by Integrate?
• Can Visual COBOL directly take advantage of the .NET framework?
• Can Visual COBOL use C# or VB.NET classes?
• Can Visual COBOL use other technology based on .NET? i.e. 3rd party
classes or .NET based libraries
• Can C# or VB.NET use Visual COBOL classes?
• Can C# or VB.NET use traditional COBOL modules?
• Can COBOL.NET Perform as well as other .NET languages?
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7. How do we Integrate?
• Visual COBOL Syntax
– Enhanced syntax to play in the Object Oriented world
– Traditional COBOL
– Traditional and OO syntax can be mixed together
• Data
– Objects
– Strings
– Numeric data
– Properties
– Enumerations
– Even some Tradition COBOL data (Pic x, Pic 9)
• For Just showing up…
– Being a .NET language gets you a lot of welcome gifts
– Binding controls, AJAX, WPF .XAML, WCF configuration
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8. What kinds of things do you have access to?
• Consuming and Exposing Web Services
• 3rd party .NET classes and Libraries written in whatever language
• Collaboration Classes
– Social Network API’s: Facebook, OAuth, Twitter
– .NET email classes
• .NET enabled middleware - BizTalk, CICS Transaction Gateway
• Different streams of Data – Filestream, Memory Stream, Byte Array
• Multimedia
• Databases – COBOL stored procedures with SQL Server
• AJAX
• You can still seamlessly call “unmanaged” routines
• All kinds of Tools and technologies that are .NET enabled
• Microsoft Platform Technologies – Azure Cloud, Sharepoint, SQL Server
• Testing and Logging Tools – nUnit, Testing technology built into VS and .NET

9. Things to remember…
• One Product
• One IDE
• Native or Managed on the Windows Platform
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