VSAM to SQL Server

With the NeoData™ product, Alchemy Solutions provides the means for you to bring your VSAM (or regular COBOL indexed file) data to SQL Server without having to change your COBOL code.

This can be an extremely attractive route for many companies as any strategy that involves rewriting COBOL I/O and logic to match newly created SQL schema can be challenging with non-trivial problems when it comes to verifying that the revised applications still perform as desired.

With NeoData the COBOL code is unchanged, the data is migrated to SQL Server, and NeoData takes the burden of interfacing the COBOL I/O to SQL Server. Various mapping options are available so that you can choose the best mix of VSAM-to-SQL-table mapping and SQL-accessibility-or-convenience.

The diagram and description below give an overview of what NeoData delivers.

• Using the NeoData Mapper record data descriptions are analyzed, complexities such as redefinitions, tables and combined fields handled, and the desired NeoData maps created.
• NeoData Mapper can also be used to create and populate the tables in the SQL Server database.
• Options are set to tell the COBOL or NeoKicks runtimes to use the NeoData File Handler
• COBOL Programs can then run unchanged, accessing the data in SQL Server instead of in indexed files.
• The NeoData File Handler uses the appropriate map to access the data in the SQL Server tables
• Even if COBOL records have been stored in binary form (with no field/column information in SQL Server) NeoData Views can be generated so the end User can still create ad-hoc reports or queries.
• When maps with Discrimination (ability to discriminate between one record type and another redefined type) are being used Users have full access to the database including update ability, if you give them that ability.
• New applications can also be written that access the SQL Server tables directly.