migrate legacy apps to web?

[Lloyd]

I'm currently creating the next version of our company's education product, and it seems that we still need to support legacy hardware & software (Win 95/Pentium-1, MacOS 8). To that end, we've been using C++ and wxWindows to minimize the separate code bases between Mac & Windows. However, we've reached the point where we need a total redesign of the source due to previous dogpiling of code onto the already-stretched architecture. Our customers want us to eventually move to a web-based app. To keep from having to competely re-do the soon-to-be-redone code, I'd like to know if there is a MS solution to reuse the same C++ business domain objects, which we're about to create for a standalone release, in a web-based solution.

I'd be open to using C++.NET and then going to something JSP-like for C++ if the rework on the C++ objects is minimal. Going to anything more high-powered than C++ (say Java or C#) is out of the question due to the need to support legacy hardware/OS in schools.

What suggestions do you have for a migration path? Thanks!

Lloyd

[Cor]

Hi Lloyd,

If you using a webform (browser) application, the hardware from your client
is mostly not importand.

The only importancy is that that hardware can handle a normal todays used
browser.

In what language you do your server side is not important than, if it is
C++, C#, J# , VB.net, Delphi, Cobol, PLP, etc .

But it of course a good idea to take a language which have benefits for that
as C# and VBnet.

If you want to use the very old systems as servers, than you can in my
opinion better not start I think that will be a never ending story (But as I
said only my personal opinion).

But have a look at this page. Maybe it can help you..

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/is...1/CuttingEdge/

I hope this does make it more clear for you?.

Cor

I'm currently creating the next version of our company's education product, and it seems that we still need to support legacy hardware &
software (Win 95/Pentium-1, MacOS 8). To that end, we've been using C++ and
wxWindows to minimize the separate code bases between Mac & Windows.
However, we've reached the point where we need a total redesign of the
source due to previous dogpiling of code onto the already-stretched
architecture. Our customers want us to eventually move to a web-based app.
To keep from having to competely re-do the soon-to-be-redone code, I'd like
to know if there is a MS solution to reuse the same C++ business domain
objects, which we're about to create for a standalone release, in a
web-based solution.
I'd be open to using C++.NET and then going to something JSP-like for C++ if the rework on the C++ objects is minimal. Going to anything more
high-powered than C++ (say Java or C#) is out of the question due to the
need to support legacy hardware/OS in schools.
What suggestions do you have for a migration path? Thanks!

Lloyd

[Lloyd]

Cor

Currently the application is being made using Visual C++ v6 to create a standalone executabl
that runs on very low-end hardware in schools (they can't afford new stuff every year)
We are going to be re-engineering (refactoring, if you will) it to add requested functionality
During the development, we're going to expend some non-trivial effort to do proper O-
analysis and design so that we can more easily maintain it and add more functionality
However, one of the requests we have gotten is to make a web-based app for students an
parents to access from home. We will be doing proper design to separate the busines
objects from the presentation (MVC-type or a variant) so that we can re-use the busines
objects for a web-based application

The question is: is there a Microsoft product or path that will enable us to re-use those busines
classes for a web-based solution without much rework or engineering? Remember, if you'r
following this thread, we still need to be able to construct, from the same code base, th
standalone app that runs on the legacy hardware and OSes in the schools -- our prim
directive, if you will. It is not the intent to run the web server on the aforementione
legacy hardware/OS; we just would like to use the same code base since the standalon
(legacy platform) and the server (state-of-the-art platform) essentially do the same thing
business-wise. Otherwise, we're going to do a separate code base in something lik
Java to run on a JSP server like Tomcat since that's the only other technology we kno
about here

I've already contacted Microsoft sales, but we have fewer than N people here, so the
don't want to talk to us, except to refer us to this very forum (and I think they wanted t
charge us for that much effort). It would be nice on Microsoft's part if they had a, say
Wizard page where you enter your requirements for an application, and they come u
with a development solution consisting of software part numbers you can order
Hmmm, I better patent that...

Lloyd

[Cor]

Hi Lloyd,

..Net is all build around the .Net frameworks 1.0 and 1.1 you can see that
from 2 different views.

You can see it as a very big runtimer or as a kind of an Operating system
extention (or both)

The Net is a total approach, is based on managed code. You can use the
program languages C++ withouth it and also C# gives some posibilites but in
C# it is called unsafe code. I thinkl there is no better way they could give
to tell how they do think about it.

But all what I am writing goes in the wrong direction for your solution and
therefore I give you another solution.

Ask your question partialy in the following three large dotnet newsgroups.
vb.net, aspnet and csharp.

In
microsoft.public.dotnet.general.vb

That is the newsgroup about dotnet which has in my opinion with the most
more general approach for problems as you have.(Do not mix VB.net up with
classic VB the differences between C# and VB.net are almost nothing).

In that newsgroup you can put your question when you have to rearrange it a
little bit.

The question is: is there a Microsoft product or path that will enable us
to re-use those business
classes for a web-based solution without much rework or engineering?
Remember, if you're
following this thread, we still need to be able to construct, from the same
code base, the
standalone app that runs on the legacy hardware and OSes in the schools --
our prime
directive, if you will. It is not the intent to run the web server on the
aforementioned
legacy hardware/OS; we just would like to use the same code base since the
standalone
(legacy platform) and the server (state-of-the-art platform) essentially do
the same thing,
business-wise. Otherwise, we're going to do a separate code base in
something like
Java to run on a JSP server like Tomcat since that's the only other
technology we know
about here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Ask in the Asp.net newsgroup your questions about the web.
Do not expect to much as answers from that newsgroup, you never know, but
there are a lot of questions in that newsgroup which have nothing to do
with dotnet, so the change that you get the attention is much lower

Ask it also in the newsgroup
microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.csharp and place there this question. Also
a very good newsgroup, but in my opinion more often in the details from the
system than the general overview you see often in VB.net.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
Currently the application is being made using Visual C++ v6 to create a
standalone executable
that runs on very low-end hardware in schools (they can't afford new stuff
every year).
We are going to be re-engineering (refactoring, if you will) it to add
requested functionality.
During the development, we're going to expend some non-trivial effort to do
proper O-O
analysis and design so that we can more easily maintain it and add more
functionality.
However, one of the requests we have gotten is to make a web-based app for
students and
parents to access from home. We will be doing proper design to separate the
business
objects from the presentation (MVC-type or a variant) so that we can re-use
the business
objects for a web-based application.

Do not cross post it, because you get than discussion which are for you not
very interesting.

:-))

(The strange thing is that a lot of regulars are active in all those
newsgroups, but they all have so to say there home newsgroup).

I hope this helps a little bit to get your solution.

Cor