Already, one company, Above All Software, which writes a composite application platform, has taken the bait.

Thanks to Mainsoft, we will be able to bring Above All Composite Application Platform to market significantly faster than if we had to rewrite the application from scratch, said Deborah Scharfetter, vice president of Products, Above All Software.

The tool in question is Mainsoft’s Visual MainWin v. 1.7 for J2EE, which converts .NET code to Java byte code. The Linux aspect of this comes after the code is ported to Java. The logic is that once converted to Java, there’s more upside to adding Linux rather than simply providing Windows support of a J2EE platform.

This is a new option for us, said Scott Handy, IBM vice president in charge of IBM’s Linux business, who emphasizes that the goal is not to get ISVs to switch from Windows, but rather to add Linux as another platform.

While IBM’s involvement with Mainsoft is solely for joint marketing and awareness, Handy claims that IBM’s PartnerWorld programs should provide ISVs adequate sweeteners to get them to take the plunge.

Although Visual Mainwin can’t automate every aspect of porting code, according to Yaacov Cohen, president and CEO of Mainsoft, the tool could boost developer productivity by 10 to 15 times.

With the tool, he estimates that developers can convert roughly 5000 lines of .NET code to Java daily, compared to an upper limit of 400 to 500 lines done the manual way.

Admittedly, not all Linux adopters come from Windows. According to Handy, IBM’s 12,000 Linux engagements are split almost equally between Unix migrations, Windows migrations, and custom development. However, because Linux was fashioned after UNIX, the jump from Windows has always proven more challenging.

According to Mainsoft’s Cohen, there is already a sizable developer base out there that has at least made the first move. He cites an Evans Data 2004 survey showing that a quarter of .NET developers have also dabbled in Linux. To Cohen, that proves there’s enough of a base out there that would migrate if given the prod.