c-treeRTG

// PLATFORMS: LUW

c-treeRTG - Modern COBOL data management

FairCom’s c-treeRTG is a highly developed tool with different ways of accessing data in an indexed database. It supports data access and processing via ISAM, via SQL and via other standardised interfaces like ODBC, JDBC and ADO.NET. With these options, c-treeRTG makes COBOL-proprietary data accessible for almost all other applications, including Java and .NET applications, datamining and reporting tools, and for direct ad hoc queries with SQL.

Advantages

Real time integration of COBOL with other systems

High levels of availability, business continuity and disaster recovery

Stable and high-performance COBOL data access for large numbers of synchronous users

Processing of large quantities of data

Link other applications with access to COBOL data

Integration with modern technologies like SQL, JDBC, Python, and more

Read and write access to COBOL data in real time

Real time data access for business intelligence tools

An easy path to a database system

“RTG” in c-treeRTG stands for ready to go – and that’s exactly what it means: switching to c-tree does not require changes to the COBOL source code nor does it affect performance levels. FairCom understands that the barrier for modernisation is not COBOL itself, but rather the data storage system. All COBOL compilers can access c-tree by using the external file handler interface. Above and beyond the functions of a standard ISAM file system, c-tree’s underlying data storage system FairCom DB also supports online transaction processing (OLTP) and a client-server function which enables users to store data on other servers.

Benefit from all of the advantages of a real database – safety, big data, performance and multi-user system

Regardless of whether you opt for a modernisation or a migration, c-treeRTG retains the existing application logic and offers an improved alternative for current legacy data storage technology. FairCom’s data centric approach for non-mainframe COBOL systems modernises by replacing the file system. This makes integration with modern systems and languages possible and easy. c-treeRTG combines a complete COBOL file system with the high-performance, dynamic data base server FairCom DB, which displays all COBOL files in data tables and allows REDEFINES and multiple keys. c-treeRTG is a multi-model data base which supports the execution of full transactions (READ, WRITE, DELETE, REWRITE) from existing COBOL applications while at the same time enabling data queries of the same live dataset from external, non-COBOL applications. A wide range of tools accessed via cmdline or as an app means that system monitoring, SQL queries, compression, encryption, and data corruption can be easily configured, controlled, and managed. c-tree opens a wider range of data use cases, be it through data warehouse solutions or through integration with business intelligence or reporting solutions.

Works with all key migration strategies

c-treeRTG works for all migration strategies, be it step-by-step to avoid the risks associated with big bang approaches, or a replacement of the old with a new application at a predetermined point. The move of either all or some data files to c-treeRTG allows businesses to develop new applications in any language that is supported by c-treeRTG’s interfaces and that accesses COBOL data via SQL queries. At the same time, the move does not affect the ongoing functionality of the existing COBOL application.

Existing COBOL applications and data files are retained. New application functions can use the same dataset and can be developed with modern language APIs such as Python, PHP, Java, .NET or C#. This approach means that businesses can refocus their development efforts to other languages without affecting the existing environment. It also paints a path to a long term and safe migration strategy that slowly replaces COBOL applications. As a result, c-tree users gain a high degree of flexibility in determining their target environment and how to get there – any scenario is possible: the use of c-treeRTG as a new data management system, a move to another data base, a step-by-step migration over a longer period of time, and a big-bang migration.

Technical highlights

    • High levels of availability, full text searches
    • Automatic transaction optimisation
    • Improved performance and data integrity
    • More than 25 APIs in addition to COBOL:
      • js, Python, PHP Data Objects (PDO)
      • REST, MQTT and many more
    • Support for new platforms:
      • Mac OSX Mojave and Catalina, Raspberry Pi
      • IBM AIX for Power 9 (P9), System 390 mainframe
    • Improved safety:
      • TLS support
    • Support for data and access rights
    • Integration with AWS Secrets Manager
    • READ-only server mode

A database not just for COBOL

c-treeRTG isn’t simply a FairCom product. It is ideally placed to effortlessly transfer COBOL data into a new data base format that offers technical progress and future potential. COBOL is just one of many languages for which FairCom offers data base solutions. And, of course, one key feature of FairCom solutions is that they allow for the simultaneous use of multiple languages. If you would like to learn more, look at our datasheet that shows the high levels of performance you can expect from FairCom’s database technology.

From COBOl to SQL

    • Supports all COBOL types
      • Computational, compressed, native formats, and others
      • Simple mapping of COBOL types in SQL
    • Supports REDEFINES
      • Automatic depiction of nested COBOL data types in separate SQL tables
      • No need to split tables
    • Automatically supports all COBOL index formats
    • Support for ACUCOBOL, Mikrofocus, isCOBOL, COBOL-IT, RM/COBOL, Fujitsu NetCOBOL
    • Supports the following development platforms:
      • Windows, Linux, Max OS X, HP-UX, AIX, Solaris, FreeBSD, SCO, QNX and many more…