Software Generation Ltd, founded by ex-Cullinet senior vice president Vic Morris, has acquired exclusive UK distribution rights to a suite of Cobol maintenance modules, called Via/Center. The product was originally developed by ViaSoft Inc, and that company now has some 200 user sites in the US. Via/Center was previously distributed in the UK by Cheshire-based consultants, APT, and Software Generation will inherit its clients, including British Telecommunications Plc and the National Girobank. Morris describes Via/Center as an evolutionary approach to reverse engineering, primarily because it addresses the problem of analysing code and understanding how a program works. It does this by using source code as input, and then applying decompiler technology and creating an on-line application knowledge base of information. The two major modules in Via/Center are Via/Insight and Via/SmartTest. The former analyses code, the latter integrates testing with program analysis. According to Morris, analysis traditionally absorbs up to 50% of a programmer’s time, but Via/Center can automate 75% of the Cobol maintenance or re-engineering cycle. The product is available from the Hitchin, Hertfordshire-based company at an entry price of UKP35,000, rising to UKP75,000 for a fully configured system. However, there is a 30% discount until November 1989.
