Modernizing Legacy: COBOL to Cloud with GitHub Copilot
Authored by GitHub, this article previews a live demo with Julia Kordick of Microsoft on modernizing legacy COBOL systems using GitHub Copilot and AI-driven tools.
Summary
In this live stream event, Julia Kordick, Software Global Black Belt at Microsoft, explores how AI-powered technologies are driving the modernization of legacy COBOL applications. The presentation centers around using GitHub Copilot and autonomous agents to streamline the complex process of migrating COBOL systems to cloud environments.
Key Topics Covered
- AI-Assisted Modernization: Julia demonstrates how AI tools, particularly GitHub Copilot, can accelerate modernization projects by suggesting code, automating tasks, and supporting developers through each migration phase.
- Reverse Engineering: The session covers strategies for understanding legacy COBOL code, making it easier to document and plan migration.
- Automated Documentation: Leveraging AI to create comprehensive, up-to-date system documentation from legacy source code.
- Test Generation: Introduction to using AI to create tests that ensure the migrated system maintains its original behavior and functionality.
- Code Transformation: Practical examples of how code can be transformed from COBOL to modern architectures, assisted by Copilot and related tools.
Practical Demonstration
Julia provides a live demo, showing how to combine the capabilities of Copilot and autonomous agents throughout the entire modernization workflow, from understanding COBOL codebases to deploying cloud-ready components.
Value for Developers and Organizations
The event aims to illustrate practical techniques for reducing manual effort, increasing accuracy, and accelerating timelines when moving from legacy environments to modern, cloud-based platforms.