EAE - Enterprise Application Edition

Enhanced Definition

EAE, often an acronym for **Enterprise Application Environment** (or sometimes referred to as Enterprise Application Edition in specific contexts), is a comprehensive application development and deployment platform primarily associated with **CA Technologies (now Broadcom) CA Gen** product suite. It provides a model-driven approach for designing, generating, and maintaining business-critical applications, many of which are deployed and executed on IBM z/OS mainframes. Micro Focus Enterprise Application Environment (EAE), often referred to simply as EAE, is a comprehensive development and deployment platform designed for building and managing enterprise business applications. In the mainframe context, EAE facilitates the modernization and integration of legacy applications, allowing them to run efficiently on z/OS or be migrated to other platforms.

Key Characteristics

- Model-Driven Development: Applications are designed using graphical models (e.g., action diagrams, data models) rather than direct code writing, which are then used to generate executable code.
- Code Generation: Generates high-performance, maintainable code, predominantly COBOL, for various z/OS environments, including batch, CICS, and IMS/DC. It can also generate client-side code (e.g., C, Java).
- Multi-Platform Support: While heavily utilized on z/OS, it supports development and deployment across multiple platforms, enabling applications to run on or interact with distributed systems.
- Integrated Lifecycle Management: Offers tools for requirements gathering, design, generation, testing, and deployment within a single, integrated environment.
- Database Integration: Seamlessly integrates with mainframe databases like DB2 and IMS/DB, as well as distributed databases, through generated SQL or DL/I calls.
- Transaction Processing Support: Generates applications optimized for mainframe transaction monitors such as CICS and IMS/TM (IMS/DC), handling online transaction processing efficiently.

Use Cases

- Modernizing Legacy Applications: Re-engineering or enhancing existing mainframe COBOL applications by importing their structure into EAE models, then regenerating and extending them with new functionality.
- Developing New Enterprise Applications: Creating new business-critical applications from scratch, leveraging the model-driven approach for accelerated development and consistent quality.
- Cross-Platform Application Development: Building applications with components running on z/OS (e.g., backend logic, data access) and other platforms (e.g., user interfaces on Windows/Linux) that interact seamlessly.
- Maintaining Large COBOL Codebases: Providing a structured and abstract way to manage and modify complex COBOL applications by working with models rather than directly editing voluminous generated source code.
- Integrating Mainframe and Distributed Systems: Developing applications that bridge the gap between core mainframe data and logic and modern distributed front-ends or service-oriented architectures.

Related Concepts

EAE (CA Gen) functions as a sophisticated CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering) tool that operates within and alongside the z/OS ecosystem. It generates COBOL programs, which are then compiled by the COBOL compiler and executed on z/OS, often under the control of CICS or IMS/TM for online processing, or invoked as JCL-driven batch jobs. Its generated applications interact directly with mainframe data stores like DB2