Compare .NET and SAP/R3

[TonyJ]

Hello!

We have a big application developed in Ingres 4GL running on OpenVMS and
this application is from 1992 so it's very old.
This application a used in a steelwork and is called Hiss and we also use
this SAP/R3 mostlely at the purchase and economics compartment.
This Hiss is used in almost every place in the steelwork
We can say that this Hiss application consist of three different types
1. Just forms with function key which access the database.
2. Very complicated code with simplex algoritm calculating what kind of
material to use when making steel.
3. Communication with different units like scales. In Hiss we are
communicating with three different scales.

As I mentioned this application Hiss is very old lacking a lot of modern
feature like windows and debugger and so on.
It's almost like the old console application.

This application Hiss will be replaced with a new modern application.

Now to my question some people in this steelwork want to use this SAP/R3
heavily where it's possible when this Hiss application is replaced with a
new application.
The only thing I know about SAP/R3 is that the language is called ABAB and
it's now a OO language.
I'm a spokesman for .NET.

I home you out there might know something about SAP/R3.
If you intend to use SAP at some place you will have a lot of communication
between SAP and .NET

I just want to know if you out there has anything to say about using SAP in
a steelwork.
Could these spokesman for SAP have any right when they say that using SAP is
good where it's possible.

I hope I can get some answers.
//Tony

[David Tondreau]

Hi Tony,

I can't compare SAP/R3 to .NET but I have been involved in a fair
number of rewrites of software applications, not all of which went
very smoothly (over budget, missed deadlines, new requirements,
etc.). Ingres Corp has options to modernize ABF
applications(applications-by-forms -- that's what it sounds like you
have) into a modern, GUI context with the help of an automated tool
("TransForge") and some professional services. The resulting
application has the features you said you lack (GUI, debugger, etc.)
and can expose the business logic to a SOA environment -- callable
from .NET, Java, web services, etc. We have a significant number of
customers that have gone this route successfully. For some, it's
actually saved the business.

At the end of the day, transformation is substantially faster, cheaper
and less lisky than a rewrite. Plus, Ingres has announced that the go
to environment for transformed applications, OpenROAD, is going open
source. This means that you would be transforming to a completely
open source platform as opposed to locking yourself into a proprietary
platform.

If you're interested, you may want to check out ingres.com. There's a
brief reference to TransForge on the professional services page but
the sales team can get you more details if you are interested.

Regards,

David T