I talked to the same people about this a couple of years ago.  Technically
it is doable, but as Rich has mentioned, Cognos will be all over you like,
well you know.  In any case, you can't sell this as a product without
getting into a tremendous legal battle.  You can however sell it as a
service, people hire firms and contractors to move systems from one
language to another all the time.

I did some test marketing on this before, and as much as people complain
about the cost of Powerhouse, most of the shops using it have programmers
that aren't very proficient in any other language, so there are a lot of
costs involved that are hidden.

Shawn

At 09:12 AM 9/21/2000, Rich Trapp wrote:
>Wasn't something like this done before which resulted in a law suite from
>Cognos?  I'm sure several people would be interested (hence Cognos' desire
>to prevent it).
>
>RAT
>
>_______________________________________________________________________
>  Rich Trapp "RAT"
>  Managed Business Solutions   [log in to unmask]   http://www.mbsnav.com
>  Assigned to Design Automation Support at Agilent Technologies
>  Telnet or 970-679-2221 [log in to unmask]  Loveland, CO USA
>
>_______________________________________________________________________
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Charles Finley [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2000 9:22 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Powerhouse to COBOL, C++ or C
>
>
>A large software firm that builds programming language translators has asked
>me to identify potential customers for translators for the basic Cognos
>suite (Quick, Quiz and QTP).  In short, they have the ability to develop
>software that will convert the Powerhouse code to any one of a number of
>target languages, however, they would prefer either C, C++ or COBOL.  They
>don't care what target environment potential customers choose, therefore,
>the target environment can be the HP e3000 or any other platform with a
>suitable compiler.
>
>Other Details:
>   -Their primary interest is in selling both the tool and/or related
>translation services.
>   -The tools would generate readable and maintainable code.
>   -They have the ability to develop working versions of software within 3-4
>months.
>   -They will not build these products on speculation.  What they are after
>are one or two serious customers prepared to make a conditional commitment
>subject to successful development of a usable product.
>
>All public or private inquiries and/or comments are welcome.
>
>Charles Finley
>Transformix Computer Corporation
>145 Vallecitos de Oro
>Suite 201
>San Marcos, CA  92069
>(760) 736-7001
>fax (760) 736-7014