May I request your consideration to respond to the following basic questions (as you can see there is a newbie in the forum :-).
How different is ADABAS and NATURAL on Windows/Unix from that of MF from an application perspective ? Is it possible to develop code on Windows/Unix and migrate to MF ? Ignore the JCL vs Scripts and similar other operating system specific differences.
Is it possible to download an evaluation version of ADABAS and NATURAL ? If so what is the process ? I am working on a possibility of extending a client application (client existing requirement is based on ADABAS and NATURAL , alongwith other multivendor tools).
If you are unable to answer pls point me in the right direction.
Natural for Unix is character based while Natural for Windows has a GUI, but the syntax is all but identical. Stay away from the Windows extensions and platform-specific differences, and the application code can move easily between platforms.
You have choices here. You could develop on the one platform and use Natural utilities to copy the source code to the other, but I would recommend the installation of a Natural Development Server on the mainframe. Then you would use the GUI available in Natural for Windows or Natural for Eclipse to drag-and-drop code between the platforms, or you could manipulate and test mainframe code directly.
At one time, Community Editions of Natural for Windows and Adabas for Windows were available for download, but I believe that they have been replaced with NaturalONE, which combines Natural for Eclipse, Adabas, and several other products into a single Community Edition download. http://www.softwareag.com/NaturalOne/downloadform.html
Yes, I was able to download community edition of ADABAS and NATURAL . Am I correct in assuming that any code developed in community edition (and that does not uses specific operating system dependent code - as you mentioned) can be ported to Mainframe (ADABAS/NATURAL environment) easily?
In the above scenario, (code being developed on Windows and Ported to Mainframe), how much are the developers expected to know about the mianframe (in terms of mainframe architecture, JCLs etc).
In our particular situation, it is easier to find ADABAS/NATURAL developers on windows rather then mainframe however the client has an application requirement on Mainframe.
Of course you mean that Community Editions can be used for a proof of concept, not actually to develop and deploy code.
Even without SPoD (Natural for Windows plus Natural Development Server), deployment is as simple as Object Handler to unload, FTP to upload, and Object Handler to load.
Some subset of developers needs to know how to create, submit, and verify the JCL needed to load the mainframe FUser, catalog the uploaded modules, and verify that the changes were correctly applied. All this is done on the mainframe, on “green screens.”