Upgrade Assessment Instructions
- Mark Juras
Great Migration offers free assessments and gmStudio POC/demonstrations for VB6/ASP/COM systems of any size and
complexity (See Getting Started, Demo-Only Smart Start).
Assessing Large Codebases with the Trial
Although the gmStudio Trial Edition is blocked from authoring .NET code for gmStudio Projects having more than 5K LOC VB6 (or 2.5K LOC ASP), it can and should be used to help you prepare upgrade files, identify first-order translation issues, and run assessment reports for any size codebase – prior to making a purchase.
We believe 5000 LOC is sufficient to allow interested developers to mockup many different variations of “What If” VB6/COM scenarios and see the results. These limits are also sufficient to run all of our Samples. However, we also understand no real-world system will be implemented with only 5000 LOC and it is also important to see what happens when you run your entire system through gmStudio – especially if that system is extremely large. Teams wishing to evaluate gmStudio for larger systems may share code with us for a demonstration or, if budget allows, purchase a one-month license to lift the LOC limit.
Please see this article and contact us if you require assistance with a large system assessment.
Assess both code and COM
Each assessment requires a copy of the source code and also detailed descriptions of the COM APIs used by the legacy system. The recommended means of gathering and validating this information is to use the gmStudio Trial Edition in your VB6 (or ASP) development environment as described in step 3 below. Sending only source code will delay your assessment. Learn more about how gmStudio processes COM APIs in this article.
This article describes how to prepare and share your content with GM for assessment.
Source Code Transfer Instructions
If you are able to share code with us, we offer detailed assessment and gmStudio POC/demonstration services using your code.
VB6 Systems
The most reliable way for you to prepare and share VB6/COM content for assessment is as follows:
Gather VB6/COM codebase:
VB6 source code and resource files of type: *.vbp, *.bas, *.cls, *.frm, *.frx, *.ctl, *.ctx, *.dsr, *.dsx, *.res (as applicable).
These code files must be organized into directories consistent with your standard VB6 build environment.
If possible include only the VB6 code files that you want included in the assessment and the subsequent upgrade effort.COM binaries referenced by the *.vbp projects explicitly or through classes instantiated by name through statements like CreateObject.
These COM binaries may include files of type: *.dll, *.ocx. *.tlb, *.exe (include any .NET assemblies if your VB6 code references them through interop).
These files will typically have to be installed/licensed/registered properly for the VB6 to build.If available, you may share other documents such as build scripts, help files, coding standards, testing procedures, and other developer documentation.
Validate the source codebase by completing a build using the VB6 IDE. This is not a requirement, but it is a highly recommended step.
Install the gmStudio Trial on the machine with the VB6 and run the New Project Wizard.
This will prepare a gmStudio Project workspace folder containing supporting files (e.g. the interface description files (IDFs) for COM API) and reports.
We can join you in a Web Meeting to assist you with this this task if necessary.
The gmStudio Trial may be downloaded through the downloads page. You will receive an email with a link to your download page after submitting the Trial Request form.Zip the source directory and the gmStudio Project workspace folder.
We recommend you create two zip files:
proj.zip containing the project workspace directory files, and
src.zip containing the source directory files.
Upload the resulting zip file(s) to a web folder we setup for you (e.g. OneDrive) or, you may upload your zip files to a folder (or a Virtual Machine) that you provision and we will fetch them from there.
ASP Systems
Prepare a directory with all the site pages, includes, and other supporting files as well as copies of any COM binaries that support the site.
Verify that the site folders and files are organized in a manner consistent with the production configuration. If possible, include only those files that are actively used in production. This is not a requirement, but it is a highly recommended step.
Install the gmStudio Trial on the machine and contact us for assistance with using gmStudio to validate the content and generating supporting files.
Zip the site/COM content and supporting files
Upload the resulting zip file(s) to a web folder we setup for you (e.g. OneDrive) or, you may upload your zip files to a folder (or a Virtual Machine) at your end from where we can fetch them.
Metrics Report Transfer Instructions
If you are not able to share code with us, we offer some limited assessment by examining the reports generated by gmStudio from your code in your environment.
Assessment Metrics Gathering for a new project using the Wizard
The easiest way to gather metrics from a new source system is with gmStudio Upgrade Project Wizard. This Wizard appears by default when you run
gmStudio after a fresh installation or it can be started from the File menu The wizard will take you through the steps of setting up a gmStudio project,
running assessment translations, and generating assessment report files. The wizard will also let you send high level project information to us.
In order to gather and send the detailed reports to us, complete the following steps:
Run through the gmStudio new project wizard.
After the wizard runs, your assessment files will be in the Reports folder and you will be taken to the gmStudio main form.Open the Reports Folder by clicking [View\Reports] on the main menu
Zip up the files in the report folder using file compression tool
Email the zip file to us or if you prefer we can use a secure transfer through your account on the Great Migrations web site
Assessment Metrics Gathering for an existing project