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The RENAISSANCE of Legacy Systems presents a
systematic method for software system
evolution. The method is the result of the
ESPRIT project RENAISSANCE.
The RENAISSANCE consortium includes partners
from both industry and academia. The industrial
partners have identified a real need for managing
their substantial base of legacy systems. These are
systems which may be business-critical, but which
prove difficult and expensive to maintain. All
partners have collaborated to develop a
comprehensive method for managing the evolution
phase of the software lifecycle.
A method is of little use without accompanying
practical advice. The book presents useful
advice and techniques for three areas, which
collectively provide the foundations for the
method:
Evolution planning
How to assess legacy systems for fitness for
evolution; developing possible evolution strategies
for a legacy system; selecting the most appropriate
evolution strategy based on a cost benefit analysis
exercise; and, general management of evolution
projects.
Architectural modelling
How to develop both technical and context models
for legacy and new systems. We show how existing
modelling notations, such as the UML can be used to
develop such models.
Client/server migration
Client/server architectures; integration models;
how to migrate from legacy technology to a modern
distributed client/server architecture.
The method has added value because it has been
evaluated and refined by the industrial partners.
The book illustrates use of the method with two
very different case studies. The first
involves a traditional legacy system and shows how
the system should be evolved according to a number
of different scenarios. The second case study
concerns a client/server system, which is difficult
to maintain because of technology misuse. The two
studies are complementary to expose much of the
method.
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