AI Rewrite and COBOL Port Announced for Immediate Development

[dummzeuch 1611]

The venerable Delphi IDE extension GExperts is about to undergo a revolutionary transformation, with plans announced to completely rewrite it using artificial intelligence and simultaneously port it to COBOL. This unexpected development marks a significant shift for a tool that has been a staple in the Delphi programming community for decades.

The AI Rewrite: Starting Now

The development team has just announced their decision to leverage artificial intelligence for the rewrite after facing increasing challenges maintaining the extensive codebase. What’s remarkable is the anticipated timeline – the team expects the entire process to take only a few hours once it begins.
This unprecedented speed is attributed to advancements in AI code transformation technology. The AI system will analyze the entire GExperts source code, understanding its purpose, functionality, and even the quirks that make it uniquely useful to Delphi developers – all in a fraction of the time it would take human developers.

Why COBOL?

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this transformation is the announced port to COBOL. This decision has raised eyebrows among the development community, as Delphi and COBOL represent dramatically different programming paradigms and eras.
However, the team cites strategic reasoning behind this choice. COBOL continues to power critical systems in banking, insurance, and government sectors worldwide. This port will open GExperts to an entirely new ecosystem, potentially breathing new life into the project while serving developers maintaining legacy systems.

Expected Timeline

The project has not yet begun, but development is scheduled to start immediately. With the AI-powered transformation expected to take only a few hours from start to finish, the team anticipates having a functional COBOL version of GExperts available for testing within days rather than the months or years such a port would traditionally require.

Looking Forward

For developers interested in this innovative crossover, beta releases are expected to be available remarkably soon, with the team promising updates on the progress within the next 24 hours.
This bold reinvention of GExperts, once completed, will demonstrate how established developer tools can evolve in unexpected ways, leveraging new technologies to reach broader audiences while maintaining their core value proposition.

 

(Yes, AI is great! Even for writing April Fools jokes. Thanks to Claude.ai writing this only took a few minutes and it actually sounds like a press release some cool cloud AI blockchain outfit could have written.)

 

Original blog post here.

[PeaShooter_OMO 34]

You can call it GAmateurs.... Sorry, I had to.

 

I have to ask ChatGPT what the extension of a form file in Cobol is.

[dummzeuch 1611]

15 minutes ago, PeaShooter_OMO said:

You can call it GAmateurs.... Sorry, I had to.

 

I have to ask ChatGPT what the extension of a form file in Cobol is.

There is actually a connection between COBOLand Delphi: The company formerly known as Borland, who originally developed Delphi, was sold to Microfocus after spinning off the development tools to CodeGear. Microfocus was well known for Microfocus COBOL, which nowadays is called Visual COBOL and possibly includes some technologies Microfocus acquired in this process.

 

But the real reason I came up with COBOL was the announced intention of DOGE to port the COBOL software to Java using AI in just a few months. So, if they succeed, we can expect to easily port the COBOL version of GExperts to Java.

[Ian Branch 134]

COBOL - Completely Obfuscated Business Orientated Language... 😉

[Sherlock 679]

Perhaps this will cause the DOGE to rethink their plans for COBOL (*) ...as a matter of fact I'm sure of it.

 

(*) https://www.wired.com/story/doge-rebuild-social-security-administration-cobol-benefits/

[timfrost 81]

It is very many years since I wrote anything in COBOL and I could not remember any of it, except the feeling of 'writing all those words'.  And after googling for some sample source code the memory turned out to be correct. How did we do it? And what about getting the cards punched with the program before we could test anything.

[HeartWare 5]

I have this contact in India who specializes in Delphi-to-COBOL translations: Ran Slirpa (or Loof Lirpa as he's also known). I can put you in contact with him, if you wish.

[dummzeuch 1611]

13 minutes ago, HeartWare said:

I have this contact in India who specializes in Delphi-to-COBOL translations: Ran Slirpa (or Loof Lirpa as he's also known). I can put you in contact with him, if you wish.

Thank you, but I am confident in using AI for the conversion. I'll call Elon Musk at DOGE for advice if necessary.

[rudy999 2]

Also:

GExperts latest AI update now reads your mind and digitally signs applications for you—no clicks needed!

Disclaimer: AI may also apply for random jobs, mortgages, and a pet hamster on your behalf

[Die Holländer 82]

Instead of COBOL, I highly recommend to GExperts the IBM RPG Programming Language

RPG is a high-level programming language for business applications, introduced in 1959 for the IBM 1401.

It was one of my first professional programming language before using Delphi and it was a delight to program in columns. 

 

[Rollo62 564]

51 minutes ago, Die Holländer said:

RPG is a high-level programming language for business applications, introduced in 1959 for the IBM 1401.

Yes, good choice too, but I would prefer a slightly more modern PC, like the Sinclair ZX81 Basic language:
https://github.com/andrivet/zx81-typescript-emulator/blob/master/Documents/Sinclair ZX81 BASIC Programming.pdf

This is at least an evolved high level language, whereas RPG is probably not.

Also the vast amount of memory in this product makes it mode suitable for modern 3D and AI tasks, IMHO.

 

[corneliusdavid 237]

11 hours ago, dummzeuch said:

advancements in AI code transformation

AI is pretty advanced but relies on a large code base from which to learn. Doesn't most COBOL code reside only on ancient government data centers that were developed before the internet--or at least before code was put on any internet-connected devices? Perhaps having AI rewrite it in JavaScript would help shorten the conversion time even further? Of course, it would lengthen the debugging time exponentially...

[dummzeuch 1611]

So you are saying that Elon Musk and those highly intelligent and capable people who work for him at DOGE don't know what they are talking about when they say they can convert the large COBOL code base to Java in months using AI? Or does that only apply if COBOL is the target language?

[Rollo62 564]

4 hours ago, dummzeuch said:

... when they say they can convert the large COBOL code base to Java in months using AI? ...

Perhaps they already have better AI than you and me 🤔

Edited 4 hours ago by Rollo62

[Tom Chamberlain 48]

23 hours ago, Die Holländer said:

RPG is a high-level programming language for business applications, introduced in 1959 for the IBM 1401.

It was one of my first professional programming language before using Delphi and it was a delight to program in columns. 

 

RPG has advanced beyond columns a long time ago with RPG Free.   I also started with RPG and COBOL on an IBM 4331, System/38 and AS/400 from the late 80's through early 2000's, good memories.  Even used Delphi/400 back when it first came out and I was learning Delphi.