Porting your Domain Expertise
In supporting a new platform, the topic solution developers usually think of first is getting their domain
expertise -- their application code itself -- on to the target platform. This may involve
different levels of effort:
- Porting - Change source code and recompile on the target platform/environment.
- Recompile only - As may apply for some Linux solutions.
- Rehosting (or redeploy) - Simply move the code to the target platform and run it;
typical for Java solutions and many fourth generation languages (4GLs).
Irrespective of source and target platforms, you need to start with an assessment
of what's available on the target platform. For example, you need to know:
- What development tools are available: Editors, compilers and debuggers
- Build tools, including source and versioning control
- Middleware is available, including what you may already rely upon
Porting Assessment
For some ports, there are assessment tools from IBM (and third parties) that help
estimate the amount of change needed to adapt the code for the target platform.
These assessment tools may also help you select the most effective porting technology.
Links to these assessment tools are located in the platform-specific porting
sections of this site.
Additional Dependencies and Considerations
Consider what third party software you currently use (for development, build and/or runtime). You may have other requirements (for example devices and their drivers) that your solution may need. You can review supported software through the following:
The software may need additional validation or integration testing on the target platform. Alternatively, the middleware could be replaced on the target platform.
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