Converting to RIA

with Go Up Technologys Solution

10 reasons why converting your

Magic / uniPaaS application to RIA via Go Up
Technologys 100% true automated solution
can make all the difference between
failure and success.

Copyright 2012 Go Up Technology, All Rights Reserved.

www.GoUpte.com

Page 1
 Why RIA?

It is assumed that readers of this white paper have already made the decision
to transition to RIA (Rich Internet Application), and don't need any further
persuasion about its merits. To be thorough however, we will summarize the
top reasons Magic Software provides for making this switch:

Anytime, Anywhere Availability

Minimal Upkeep
End-User Satisfaction
Tighter Security
Cloud Ready
SaaS Enabled

For further information on these benefits, please see "Top Reasons to Go RIA
(January 2011)" from Magic Software.

Copyright 2012 Go Up Technology, All Rights Reserved.

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 Abstract

When migrating to RIA, there are many issues which need to be addressed in
order to successfully convert a 2-tier client/server application to a 3-tier
architecture, while still preserving all its existing functionality. Those issues
comprise a lengthy checklist of procedures that must be carried out properly
and in the correct order to ensure a successful conversion. Failure to follow
through on even one of those tasks could wreak havoc on the converted
application, an outcome that could be catastrophic for mission-critical
applications.

Copyright 2012 Go Up Technology, All Rights Reserved.

www.GoUpte.com

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 Table of Contents

The Tyranny of Non-Automated Solutions ...................................................4

1. Functionality .......................................................................................... 5
2. Changing the Applications Architecture ..................................................... 6
3. Performance........................................................................................... 6
4. Easy-to-Maintain Converted Code ............................................................ 6
5. Handling Unsupported Elements ............................................................... 7
6. Handling 3rd Party Objects........................................................................ 7
7. Costs..................................................................................................... 7
8. Time Table and Code Freeze..................................................................... 8
9. Guidance and Training ............................................................................. 8
10.Experience ............................................................................................. 8
Why You Should Use Go Up Technologys 100% True Automated Solution .9
1. Functionality .......................................................................................... 9
2. Changing the Applications Architecture ..................................................... 9
3. Performance......................................................................................... 10
4. Easy-to-Maintain Converted Code ........................................................... 10
5. Handling Unsupported Elements ............................................................. 10
6. Handling 3rd Party Objects...................................................................... 10
7. Costs................................................................................................... 11
8. Time Table and Code Freeze................................................................... 11
9. Guidance and Training ........................................................................... 11
10.Experience ........................................................................................... 11
Conclusion.................................................................................................12

Copyright 2012 Go Up Technology, All Rights Reserved.

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 The Tyranny of Non-Automated Solutions

Magic customers who want to convert their application to RIA usually have only
two options:

1. Perform the conversion manually, using internal staff or a consultant

2. Perform the conversion with semi-automated tools, usually provided by a
subcontractor

Unfortunately, option #2 is often not what it seems since what some

subcontractors call a semi-automated tool isnt truly even 20% automated,
and in fact includes a deceptive amount of manual work.

There are numerous potential problems if a RIA conversion isnt performed

using a 100% true automated tool. Here are 10 of the most worrying a Magic
customer should be concerned about:

1. Functionality
The #1 objective of a RIA conversion is to first and foremost preserve the
functionality of the current application. Unlike developing a new RIA application,
migrating to RIA requires taking into account all existing constraints present in
the converted application and its associated database. Applications developed
with client/server architecture typically werent given any consideration during
their design that one day they might be converted to RIA. This issue escalates
in importance and complexity the larger the application is and the more
components it contains, or if its integrated with some other Magic application.

Maintaining the applications functionality means the newly converted

application will work just like the previous application, only within the rules of
the RIA framework. To ensure adherence to these rules during the migration
process, radical changes might be required to the application. The conversions
top objective must be to ensure that the applications existing functionality will
not be harmed due to these changes.

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2. Changing the Applications Architecture
The RIA platform is based on a 3-tier model, so the conversion process should
address all relevant issues connected to the architectural changes the
application will undergo. These changes are not only reflected in the
application itself, but also the implementation of the RIA method. For example,
a direct connection no longer exists between the client and database as is
customary in client/server applications. In RIA, brokers are instead used to
facilitate this connection.

Changing the architecture of the existing, properly working Magic application

requires significant changes to preserve the existing client/server functionality,
while on the other hand writing new code that transitions the system to a 3-tier
architecture.

Such solutions should be creative, while ensuring ease of maintenance of the

new converted code. Transitioning to a 3-tier architecture requires effective
implementation of the code to save round-trips to the server and enable better
performance of the converted application.

3. Performance
In conversions such as these, performance is a major issue. After the
conversion, there are more elements involved in the deployment of the
application (IIS, Magic Broker, Bandwidth, etc.), and these can impact
performance. Another factor to contend with is that the converted application
was not originally designed to be a web application, with all the performance
issue considerations such development requires.

In general, a web application will perform slower than a client/server

application and the biggest challenge is to get the converted application to
perform at least as fast as the original system. This becomes especially
problematic with the added dual requirements of preserving system
functionality without losing information.

4. Easy-to-Maintain Converted Code

There is no point in converting an application to RIA if you cannot easily
understand and maintain it after the conversion. Therefore, it's very important
during the conversion process to not only keep the rigid framework of RIA's
rules, but also to implement easy-to-maintain converted code.

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Page 6
5. Handling Unsupported Elements
Although Magic Software's RIA uses the same studio development environment
as uniPaaS (xpa) client/server, this solution is completely different. As a result,
there are many elements and objects that are not supported anymore by RIA in
a broad swath of areas.

Rather than give customers a list of elements and objects that are no longer
supported, a fairer solution would have been to find alternatives and include
them for implementation during the conversion process. However, for
whatever reason, Magic Software opted not to do that.

6. Handling 3rd Party Objects

Magic applications often use external components, for example API's, ActiveX,
DLL's, Exe Files, and many others too numerous to list. When migrating an
application to RIA, it is essential to preserve the functionality of every
component in use, while maintaining all the security restrictions and other
limitations the RIA framework will impose upon them.

7. Costs
Transitioning to RIA should provide benefits to the organization making this
move, and these benefits should be quantifiable so they have a business
justification. If the price of converting to RIA is too high, there may not be a
business justification for migrating to this technology. Manual conversion or use
of unqualified vendors lacking 100% true automated tools will inevitably lead to
higher costs, as well as the unbudgeted involvement of an organization's
internal development resources. Additionally, testing procedures will likely be
greatly extended and the "adventure" of the RIA transition will quickly be
exposed as problematic and expensive.

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8. Time Table and Code Freeze
The issues listed thus far in this document highlight only a few of the problems
that can make a transition to RIA complex. The conversion process needs to
handle lots of problematic issues within the constraints of maintaining existing
system functionality and performance. Executing a conversion manually or
using semi-automated tools will inevitably lead to much lengthier project
durations, which could literally end up lasting for years. No organization wants
to find itself dealing with such a nightmarish prospect. Further exacerbating
the timeline is the need for application code-freezes, which can leave an
organization's clients stranded awaiting critical bug repairs and other solutions
that must await completion of a non-automated conversion.

9. Guidance and Training

Among the more important issues in RIA conversions are the ability to
understand the conversion process, the rules of RIA, and being able to continue
maintaining the application immediately after the conversion. If the conversion
project does not prepare the client's development team, both in terms of
knowledge about the RIA solution and the changes that have been performed,
the conversion process will result in the organization being dependent on
external sub-contractors for maintenance of their application. Since RIA is a
relatively new technology, not everyone has the necessary knowledge about
the implications of converting a client/server application to RIA. There is a
huge difference between knowing how to develop a new application in RIA, and
maintaining a system that has been converted from client/server to RIA.

10. Experience
A customer who has no experience in conversions (especially conversions to
RIA), or a sub-contractor who does not specialize in this area, can wreak
enormous damage on an organization migrating to this technology. Such
conversions are complicated and have many moving pieces. RIA's working
environment and deployment require deep familiarity with new technologies
that are not part of the standard Magic/uniPaaS environment, i.e.
Microsoft.Net, IIS, Framework, Broker, etc. Those inexperienced in these
conversion projects yet who try tackling them anyways will generally not have a
very high success rate.

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Why You Should Use Up Technologys 100% True Automated Solution

The best way to perform a RIA conversion is by using the true 100% automated
solution from Go Up Technology. This is the only approach which will enforce a
multitude of encapsulated best practices to ensure that EVERY step which
SHOULD be done actually GETS done. Accomplishing this manually would be
extremely difficult and far more time consuming for even a senior-level expert,
who due to schedule constraints might be tempted or even pressured to cut
corners. There are no corners cut when a true 100% automated solution is
utilized, and deadlines are much more likely to be met since no manual
intervention is necessary.

A Magic customer considering a RIA conversion and worried about the

consequences of performing it manually can rest assured that the top 10
concerns listed earlier invert to become among the top 10 reasons to use Go Up
Technologys 100% true automated solution.

1. Functionality
Go Up Technology's 100% true automated solution ensures your application's
functionality will be preserved, while also adhering to the rules of the RIA
framework. These two unique, but crucial, objectives are handled during the
migration process, which ensures that the solution for each issue will be
standardized throughout the application. Go Up Technology has pioneered
creative solutions to overcome the kind of constraints likely to be found in the
old client/server application that might otherwise have prevented it from
working correctly in the new RIA environment.

2. Changing the Applications Architecture

During conversion, Go Up Technology's 100% true automated solution ensures
that every element requiring change as a result of transitioning to a 3-tier
architecture is optimized and properly re-coded. This guarantees that each line
in the Handlers (operation or expression) will be executed in the correct
location (client side or server side), thus minimizing round-trips to the server
and bolstering performance. Our conversion tool also prepares the application
for potential future deployments on mobile platforms by replacing objects not
supported in mobile environments and implementing resource libraries that will
enable application mobility.

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3. Performance
Mitigating performance degradation is a specialty of Go Up Technology's 100%
true automated solution. By optimizing various processes executed as part of
the conversion, our tool ensures that performance impacts will be minimal, if
even noticeable. We also ensure implementation of the best solution for any
particular issue based upon the context in which it appears. In addition, we
take advantage of the conversion process to leverage new capabilities the RIA
engine makes available (for example Chunk Size) allowing us to maximize
performance.

4. Easy-to-Maintain Converted Code

The software engineers at Go Up Technology spent a lot of time making sure
that our conversion tool not only preserved the application's functionality but
also did so with understandable code that was easy to maintain. The result is
post-conversion code that is clear, readable, and remarkably coherent to an
extent that might even exceed the original pre-conversion code.
5. Handling Unsupported Elements
A true 100% automatic solution would leave no issue open nor in need of follow
up manual work by the customer, once the conversion process completed. Go
Up Technology's true 100% automatic solution is thus truly 100% automatic in
that it handles even unsupported elements and objects, and replaces them with
supported objects. (For full conversion specifications, please download our
Go.RIA product PDF.)

6. Handling 3rd Party Objects

Go Up Technology's 100% true automated solution includes mapping and
handling of external components. During the conversion, a proprietary
optimization process runs which eliminates the use of these external
components, and uses a new, alternative functionality available within the RIA
framework (for example using API or .Net functionality).

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7. Costs
There is no doubt that RIA applications enable an organization to streamline the
process of application maintenance, which in turn opens up new market
opportunities. However, these benefits still need to be weighed against the
costs of converting to RIA. As specialists in conversion projects and their
benefits, Go Up Technology understands that the cost of a conversion is a
critical factor in deciding whether to migrate to RIA.

This is the reason we developed our 100% true automated solution. It's the
most economical means of making the transition, and when it comes to cost, it
will beat any other alternative.

8. Time Table and Code Freeze

Go Up Technology's true 100% automated solution not only enables a shorter
time table for the conversion process, but it also eliminates the need for a code
freeze until the testing phase, allowing an organization to continue developing
its application uninterrupted.

9. Guidance and Training

Go Up Technology includes guidance and training with your conversion. There
is also an option to let the customer's developers be involved in the conversion
process so they can learn by watching firsthand and feel more comfortable
taking over maintenance of the converted application right away.

10. Experience
"Hundreds of satisfied customers can't be wrong."

Go Up technology is the market leader in development of automated tools and

technology for Magic Software application conversions. In our 15 years of
experience, we have successfully converted over 3,000 applications with our
patented technology. The best way to ensure that your application conversion
occurs smoothly & successfully is to take advantage of our accumulated
knowledge, experience, and advanced capabilities. Go RIA with Go Up
Technology.

Copyright 2012 Go Up Technology, All Rights Reserved.

www.GoUpte.com

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 Conclusion

Transitioning to RIA using Go Up Technology's 100% automated solution is your

best guarantor of success on your conversion project. Unlike other competing
solutions, Go Up's 100% automated solution ensures that the conversion will be
simple, smooth, and will handle all relevant issues. The experienced team at
Go up Technology has successfully carried out conversion projects on Magic and
uniPaaS applications for over 15 years. Our expertise ensures your
organization will have "peace of mind" during this conversion project and a
good shot at meeting scheduling and budgetary constraints.

Copyright 2012 Go Up Technology, All Rights Reserved.

www.GoUpte.com

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