Chapter 5: Deploying COBOL Applications to the .NET Environment

This chapter explains how to deploy COBOL applications to the .NET environment.

Overview

COBOL applications require reUZE Server to enable them to run in the .NET environment. reUZE Server provides support for managed COBOL and also for unmanaged COBOL. The unmanaged COBOL support enables your application to interoperate with unmanaged COBOL.

Deploying an application involves installing reUZE Server first, and then installing your application.

When you install reUZE Server, both the unmanaged and the managed support is installed. The installation process adds the managed code support files to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC), as well as installing the files into the reUZE Server directory.

You can deploy COBOL applications using a setup project, or you can copy the files manually. You can also deploy ASP.NET applications using the Publish Web Site tool in Visual Studio.

Deploying with or without a Setup Project

There are broadly two ways of deploying COBOL Windows-based applications to the .NET environment. You can either use a traditional Setup using Windows Installer technology, or you can copy the files manually. With Windows Installer deployment, you package the application in a setup.exe file and distribute that file to users, who run it to install the application.

To create a setup project, you create a new project of the type Setup. This creates a setup.exe program and a Microsoft Installer file (.msi) that encapsulates the entire setup. See the Visual Studio Help.

How to

Alternatively, you can deploy your COBOL application without a setup project. To do this, use the Xcopy command (which copies a directory structure) to copy your application files from the project output directory to the directory containing your reUZE Server installation.

Deploying Web and ASP.NET Applications

Visual Studio provides tools for deploying applications to a Web server. These tools provide an advantage over simply copying files, in that they handle any issues with registration and configuration automatically. However, you can copy the files and register them manually.

How to

Micro Focus COBOL applications deployed to environment such as ASP.NET/Network drives are currently required to have full trust. Applications that are executed without full trust will cause a SecurityException and terminate. Full trust can be configured by using web.config (for ASP.NET) or by using your machines .NET Framework 2.0 Configuration utility.

Because of the inherent risks that come with running in Full trust mode Microsoft recommends that the ASP.NET applications are isolated. This means that every Web site using COBOL should uses its own application pool and its own application pool identity to cut down the security exposure of executing the application with full trust.

For more information, see the MSDN:

How To: Use Code Access Security in ASP.NET 2.0
Configuring Security Policy Using the Code Access Security Policy Tool (Caspol.exe)
ASP.NET 2.0 Hosting Deployment Guide