Abstract – The legacy systems are the executable code(s) developed with huge investment, incorporation of changes made in the business rules over a long period of time.These systems are evolved and accumulated perennially the then needs of organization from time to time. The advancement of technology and perennial modification of the code to the changing needs of the business have weakened the productivity of these legacy systems and have put the system on the brink of software crash. This has compelled for a paradigm shift in the technology and knocks the human resource either to waist their precious time in abstracting or sifting useful business rules buried across the legacy system. To enable the existing code to be amenable to changes in the business norms and to ease the process of strong cohesion and weak coupling, there is a necessity to understand the code so as to either modify and reuse existing program or migrate the program to another programming language code. There is a need to transform the program code in to natural language text. The methodology proposed in this paper translates the legacy system to the English language by substituting the English language constructs in the place of token, which are having the finite meaning and reserved by the programming language. Further a platform is provided for common people to understand the code in English language syntax and asking them to abstract the concept by their experience and intelligence. Since the legacy system is expressed in near English language, proficient and non-proficient people are involved in the understanding process, which leads to the correct abstraction of the concept(s).

Index terms – token; programming language; natural Language; understanding; legacy system

Cite: Shivanand M. Handigund, A. A. Chikkamannur, K. Ananthapadmanabha, and H. R. Shashidhara, "An Ameliorated Methodology for Comprehension of Legacy System," Journal of Advances in Information Technology, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 92-96, May, 2010.doi:10.4304/jait.1.2.92-96