Multi-platform COBOL (on steroids) is avaliable from 4-5 vendors these days.
The leading one is Microfocus, sold by Merant), the number two, I believe,
is Acucobol which is sold by Acucorp http://www.acucorp.com/. They say that
they run on over 600 platforms.

The reason I said it's COBOL on steroids is that it has an Interactive
Development Environment, you can build GUI applications on Windows and
X-Window, and you can build Web apps.  If you want you can use their file
system and this makes applications developed in Acucobol more portable.

As COBOL vendors, they must keep their products current.  Therefore, when
the new COBOL standards come out, Acucobol will adhere to it.  I have had
some contact with them about this and believe that one of their motivations
for targetin the HP 3000 was the fact that HP may not modernize COBOL II
when the new standards come out.  The saw this as an opportunity for
themselves to offer an alternative.  After talking with Jenette Nutsford and
a few other people, the were convinced that the best way to appeal to the HP
3000 COBOL installed base was to add many of the COBOL extensions.  I
believe they have done this.

Finally, they run on HP-UX, NT and Linux.  This provides an opportunity for
a COBOL shop to have one COBOL for all platforms.  It also provides an
opportunity for COBOL apps to be extended to client/server and Web use while
still using COBOL.  I think it's good news for existing COBOL users on the
HP 3000.

Charles Finley
Transformix Computer Corporation
760-736-7001
Fax 760-736-7014



> -----Original Message-----
> From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of John Dunlop
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 2:25 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Acucorp
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> I just received some marketing spam from a company called Acucorp who
> offer "enhanced support for MPE/iX and the HP e3000" for its products.
> I just wondered if anyone else knows anything about this company as I
> have never heard of them before and they are not listed on Brian
> Duncombe's Vendor list.
>
> Cheers,
>
> John Dunlop
>
> E-mail : [log in to unmask]   "If at first you don't succeed...
> Web : http://www.hp3000links.com   Don't take up sky-diving !"
> "All your HP e3000 resources on the Net"
> (Mirror: http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~jdunlop/index1.htm)
>
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