ADA Software

CHANGE IMPACT ANALYSIS

Code maintenance is all about implementing change. Inadequate documentation and inadequate skill of the maintenance programmer can and do lead to chaos.

ziTRACE

ziTRACE is an MDA-based toolset that greatly facilitates modification of applications within a system.

The user provides ziTRACE with a data name or with the starting and ending positions of data within a file. ziTRACE rapidly traces the applications and files of the system seeking all incidents of the given data, including the permutations of the data through redefinitions, data splits, calculations, writes to other files, etc. ziTRACE provides real-time trace details, as well as summary and detailed reports reflecting the impact of the data as it moves through the system, including: browser viewing, audit trail and software modification impact analysis.

The ziTRACE functionality has been used extensively in Europe for decades as part of RTM. It is now available for the first time in the United States as a discrete toolset, and it can be customized to the specific needs of the client.

Methodology

The following schematic illustrates our methodology based on OMG’s Architecture Driven Modernization standard:

Exactly what is ziTRACE?

ziTRACE is a set of parsers, analyzers, reporters and one Big Fat Browser.

Parsers refer to one or more source language meta-models to “understand” the source code in which your programs are written.

The parsers reduce all program artifacts into elementary (molecular level) nodes in an Abstract Syntax Tree.

Analyzers analyze the abstract syntax tree and feed the reporter and the browser with the answers to queries.

The Big Fat Browser allows the programmer to interactively browse the code base.

The reporter produces a consolidated report of the results of your interactive browsing at the end of your session, or anytime at your command.

The reporter can also report in batch mode in answer to your query.

What kind of analysis does ziTRACE produce?

Code Trace via Variable Search & Replace
Dependency Diagrams
UML Sequence Diagrams
XML Model of Source Code
Identification of:
- Dead & Duplicate Code
- Unreferenced & Un-Initialized Variables
- Tree-View:
- Called & Called-By Programs
- Paragraph Tree
List-View:
- Processes, JCL Steps & Called Programs
- Copy Files & Files Used with CRUD Indicator
- Related Variables & Where-Used Variables
- Related Files
Software Inventory Statistics.
Fully Expanded Listing with All Copy Libraries.

How will this mumbo-jumbo actually increase programmer productivity?

ziTRACE is a programmer’s best friend:

Performs impact analysis on any proposed changes and produces a list of all programs, statements, related variables and related fi les that must be altered in order to implement the change.
Can turn a 6-month effort into a 1-week effort, a 24:1 Productivity Advantage (PA Ratio). In fact, the more complex the change, and the more files and programs involved, the greater the PA Ratio. Give ziTRACE a very, very complex change, and your PA Ratio could zoom to 50. With very simple changes, PA Ratio could be down to 1 -- although the Happiness Ratio would always be in the clouds.
Traces a piece of data through programs and files, and uncovers how or why it changes.
Produces instant documentation on the fl y to help the programmer understand better the old code.
Identifies dead code and duplicate code that needs to be cleaned up, helping to reduce program size.

Let’s keep it simple

Let’s keep it simple, shall we? Productivity is important. Productivity is VERY important. Programmer productivity is VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

So when we have to make necessary changes in a set of programs that were written years ago, which run excellently but have no -- or no reliable -- documentation, and which were written before the company implemented a Code Quality Process, it puts nobody in a happy mood. Most likely, we have all seen a valuable resource spend months (yes - plural) pouring over old code, creating flowcharts, tearing out hair, making changes, testing the results, tearing more hair.

It is NOT funny, although we did mean to make you smile. It is not funny when a company has to wait forever for an important change to be implemented in a system. It is not funny when a company has to pay high dollars for every unnecessary second that their hard-to-fi nd programming resources must spend on maintenance. It is not funny when IT lags 6 months behind where business needs it to be.

Suffer No More!

Use ziTRACE to help dispose rapidly of those dreaded, time-consuming, seemingly endless maintenance tasks!