Reason #12: Converting Magic to C# Leads to Loss of Portability

20 Reasons to Migrate Magic eDeveloper, uniPaaS and Magic xpa to .NET by Upgrading Rather than Converting

While it is tempting to assume that the need for portability is subjective, normalized standards for software quality do look at portability as a key component of software quality. If you convert Magic eDeveloper, uniPaaS or Magic xpa to C#.NET you suffer a significant loss of portability.

ISO 25010:2011 provides a standardized way to evaluate software quality by defining six sets of attributes by which we can evaluate software. These attribute sets are functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability. So what do we mean by portability?

Portability, is the ability to run applications in new environments. This can also be impacted by the developer, and not simply by the tools used. Attributes of portability include  

• Adaptability
• Installability
• Co-Existence
• Replaceability
• Portability Compliance

The Magic xpa application platform and all previous Magic versions provide you a pathway to portability. Magic xpa currently supports Application Servers in all of these environments:

Microsoft® 32-bit Windows on Intel processors:

·         Windows XP

·         Windows 2003 (Standard Edition)

·         Windows Vista®

·         Windows 2008

·         Windows 7

·         Windows 8

Microsoft® 64-bit Windows on Intel processors:

·         Windows 2003 (Server Edition)

·         Windows 2008 (Server Edition)

UNIX

·         IBM AIX – 5.3 to 6.1 on PowerPC processors

·         Sun Solaris 10 on SPARC processors

·         Linux Red Hat Advanced Server 5.5 on Intel processors

IBM System I (requires PASE)

·         System i V5R4 on IBM servers with PowerPC processors

·         System i V6R1 on IBM servers with PowerPC processors

·         System i V7R1 on IBM servers with PowerPC processors

With Magic xpa, you have a software development environment for application development, testing, and deployment that enhances software quality through portability.

Portability in high-level computer programming is the usability of the same software in different environments. The prerequisite for portability is the generalized abstraction between the application logic and system interfaces, something completely lacking in C#. When software with the same functionality is desired for several computing platforms, portability is the key issue for development cost reduction. So portability has a number of benefits:

• Long-term viability of the application: There’s no need to completely rewrite your applications to make them usable from one version of an OS to the next or from one OS to another.         
• Resource allocation: With Magic xpa, developer resources can be focused on new features and products because developers aren’t spending time debugging for the latest OS version or porting applications to other operating systems.         
• Scalability: Portable software is inherently more scalable and can be designed to accommodate users elastically with either small or massive amounts of data.         
• Versatility: It’s easier to add features and have the assurance that they will run on all platforms.         
• Future-proofing your application: An application platform approach that supports multiple servers across different operating systems gives you the flexibility to adjust to changing future requirements including the new operating systems of the future. The new mobile client operating systems and Magic xpa’s ability to support these is a great example of the benefits that a portable application platform provides.

For additional information on how an upgrade to Magic xpa is superior to Magic to .NET conversion please convert here.