what is a legacy system?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JellBell
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Different people may define "legacy" in different ways, but generally it is
a system that was implemented in the past that is either no longer used
(maybe has been replace), or in need of replacement.

Advances in technology force system to become obsolete.

For instance, suppose that a company had developed a system around an Access
database. They had their VB applications and other interfaces for
interaction and reporting. Suppose they grow beyond what access can handle,
so they migrate their processes to SQLServer, along with all their
applications and data. The system that used Access would be considered a
legacy system.

JellBell said:
I dont know what is a legacy system..please help me out
 
Hi JellBell,

Often used for batch processed Cobol applications.

Although they can be very efficient it is mostly hard to maintanance

Cor
 
There really is no one definition for what a legacy system is. It is often
in the eye of the beholder.

From my standpoint it is an application/system that is still performing
production work whose original programmer/developer left the company and
someone new ended up supporting an application they really did not want to
deal with.

Programmers often will say they inherited the code and therefore call it
legacy similar to an item passed on from generation to generation. These
programs are often difficult to maintain since coding technique/structure
greatly improved after the programs were written.

The viewpoint of different programs will often depend on who speaks about
them. If you work in a company that has mainframe/AS400/iSeries and a .NET
development team, the .NET people will refer to the mainframe software in
general as legacy since they feel its hard to maintain, written by someone
that left the company and the technology is aged.

The mainframe programmer will not view all of the mainframe work as llegacy.
They might refer to part of the code as legacy if they feel uncomfortable
about maintaining certain programs and the software is inherited from a
prior programmer.

I have seen web application now also called legacy where the original
developer is gone, old approaches were used and noone wants to/can support
them properly. E.g. the whole development staff is C# and no developers
remain that are strong in PERL/CGI.

IMHO each technology has its application field. Similar to the discussions
between Web and Windows application, mainframe/iSeries(As400) apps have
their market, predominately in reliable number crunching and a stable OS/DB
where the web/windows apps dominate in friendly UI or delivery methods.

JellBell said:
I dont know what is a legacy system..please help me out
 
A legacy system is whatever you wrote yesterday! lol

Dale

Robert Sentgerath said:
There really is no one definition for what a legacy system is. It is often
in the eye of the beholder.

From my standpoint it is an application/system that is still performing
production work whose original programmer/developer left the company and
someone new ended up supporting an application they really did not want to
deal with.

Programmers often will say they inherited the code and therefore call it
legacy similar to an item passed on from generation to generation. These
programs are often difficult to maintain since coding technique/structure
greatly improved after the programs were written.

The viewpoint of different programs will often depend on who speaks about
them. If you work in a company that has mainframe/AS400/iSeries and a .NET
development team, the .NET people will refer to the mainframe software in
general as legacy since they feel its hard to maintain, written by someone
that left the company and the technology is aged.

The mainframe programmer will not view all of the mainframe work as llegacy.
They might refer to part of the code as legacy if they feel uncomfortable
about maintaining certain programs and the software is inherited from a
prior programmer.

I have seen web application now also called legacy where the original
developer is gone, old approaches were used and noone wants to/can support
them properly. E.g. the whole development staff is C# and no developers
remain that are strong in PERL/CGI.

IMHO each technology has its application field. Similar to the discussions
between Web and Windows application, mainframe/iSeries(As400) apps have
their market, predominately in reliable number crunching and a stable OS/DB
where the web/windows apps dominate in friendly UI or delivery methods.
 
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