Y2K solutions hide date problems from apps

By Antone Gonsalves, PC Week Online

August 17, 1998

 

 

For companies running out of time for fixing year 2000 bugs, vendors are offering some quick solutions.

 

Sterling Software Inc. began shipping last week Vision: Phaseshift, which provides a way to insulate MVS applications from year 2000 date issues without changing application code or data.

 

Vision: Phaseshift avoids logic problems associated with the year 2000 by ensuring that applications never see the year values roll over from 99 to 00, officials said.

 

The new product, a language-independent, run-time utility, resides between the application and the operating system and automatically intervenes as data is read into an application to shift dates back in time. As data is written from an application, Vision: Phaseshift again intervenes and shifts dates forward.

 

Because the date shifting occurs dynamically at the I/O level, both applications and data are insulated from change.

 

After installing the software, developers use a Data Mapper system to identify which applications and files the product should access and the format and the location of the dates held in external data sources, such as screens, reports, files and databases.

 

Vision: Phaseshift supports all mainframe environments. Prices starts at $275,000.

 

Separately, EasiRun USA Inc. unveiled for medium-size businesses Fast Track Year 2000 Solution, a fixed-price bid for year 2000 conversions in COBOL applications.

 

EasiRun's Fast Track Year 2000 Solution includes helping users conduct inventory analysis to prioritize applications for year 2000 compliance; define a project plan that includes impact analysis, code remediation and testing; and reduce testing time by using automated testing tools.

 

EasiRun uses the sliding window technique rather than full date expansion whenever possible. By inserting sliding windows into the application logic, the programs interpret date fields above a designated pivot year, such as 50, in the 1900s, and those below it in the 2000s. The technique advances the pivot date each year. Prices depend on configuration.