Aug 23, 2023 12:32:00

IBM announces the release of 'Watsonx Code Assistant for Z', a tool that converts COBOL language to Java using AI

Developed in 1959, the programming language '

COBOL ' has been widely used for business processing such as monetary calculations because it uses a command syntax that is close to that of a natural language. On the other hand, COBOL is sometimes pointed out as an 'inefficient language'. `` Watsonx Code Assistant for Z '' announced by IBM on August 22, 2023 can convert code written in COBOL language to Java using a code generation AI model.

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According to a 2022 survey by overseas media The Stack, the number of COBOL lines used in production environments exceeds 800 billion lines worldwide. On the other hand, there are few experts in COBOL, and it has been reported that it takes a tremendous amount of effort and money to migrate code written in COBOL to a new programming language such as Java.

However, with the `` Watsonx Code Assistant for Z '' announced by IBM on August 22, 2023, it is possible to naturally convert code written in COBOL to enterprise Java using AI.

'In addition to code conversion, Watsonx Code Assistant for Z supports the replacement of applications written with older code with modern systems,' said Rutil Puri, chief scientist at IBM Research. 'Watsonx Code Assistant for Z can help you understand, revalidate and transform your translated code on modern architectures.'

According to Puri, Watsonx Code Assistant for Z is powered by IBM's '

watsonx.ai ', which has been trained with 1.5 trillion tokens and has knowledge of 115 coding languages. It is also enhanced with IBM's large dataset CodeNet , which can understand about 80 different programming languages.

At the time of writing, many tools, apps, and services for converting COBOL to Java syntax have been released, including ` ` Amazon CodeWhisperer ''. 'Unlike other rival products, Watsonx Code Assistant for Z takes steps to reduce conversion costs and produce maintainable code without sacrificing the useful features of COBOL,' Puri said. I am,” he claims.

Furthermore, Mr. Puri said, ``Watsonx Code Assistant for Z is built so that you can use a combination of COBOL and Java services. If a particular service in COBOL must be maintained in COBOL, then the other services are converted to Java, except for that service.'

Kareem Yusuf, senior vice president of software product management and growth at IBM, said, 'By introducing Watsonx Code Assistant for Z, we were able to quickly and accurately translate optimized code and reduce application time-to-market. And with Watsonx Code Assistant for Z, you can enhance your applications and add new functionality while maintaining their inherent performance, resiliency and security.' I'm here.

On the other hand, it has been pointed out that code generation AI may contain code that causes vulnerabilities in the generated code. That's why Puri recommends not deploying code generated by Watsonx Code Assistant for Z into production before it's been validated by a human engineer. “Like other AI systems, enterprise applications written in COBOL may contain unique patterns that Watsonx Code Assistant for Z has not yet mastered,” Puri said. said.

Watsonx Code Assistant for Z will be available to general users in Q4 2023.