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πŸ”Œ Binean Nova VsCode Extension

🎯 Introduction​

The Binean Nova Extension is a powerful toolset integrated into Visual Studio Code (VS Code), designed to revolutionize the development and operations (DevOps) workflow for the Ingenium system.

Working with a legacy system like Ingenium often involves manual, complex, and error-prone processes. The Binean Nova Extension was created as a comprehensive solution to break down these barriers, delivering a modern, seamless, and efficient development experience directly within the familiar VS Code environment.

While Nova's official production environment is Linux, the common development environment is Windows. To ensure consistency and minimize environment-specific bugs, we recommend using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) as the standard development setup. However, recognizing that many enterprises have policies restricting WSL, the Binean Nova Extension is designed to flexibly support both: native Windows support is prioritized and delivered first, while ensuring full compatibility with WSL.

πŸ“‹ Prerequisites​

To use the Binean Nova Extension, your environment must meet the following requirements:

  • Required Software:
    • Visual Cobol
    • Db2 Server (or Db2 Client)
  • Required VS Code Extensions:
    • Rocket COBOL (by OpenText)
    • Cobol (by BitLang)
    • Git

✨ Key Components​

The Binean Nova Extension is composed of several specialized tools, each designed to solve a specific problem in the Ingenium workflow. This toolset will be continuously expanded in the future to meet new project requirements.

1. Nexus Core​

  • Common Platform: Provides core features such as managing environment configurations (Dev, ST, AT), automating environment variable setup, and serving as the foundation for other components.
  • VS Code Integration: Ensures that the underlying tools can interact seamlessly with the VS Code interface, such as displaying errors in the "Problems" tab.

2. icomp & igo Compilation Toolset​

  • icomp (For Developers): An intelligent compilation tool with deep Git integration. It analyzes changes between branches to perform incremental compilation on impacted programs, saving time and ensuring accuracy directly in the development environment.
  • igo (For DevOps - To Be Developed): An extension of icomp, designed to fully automate the compilation and packaging process on server environments. igo will be the key component for seamless integration into future CI/CD pipelines.

3. iman Manager​

  • The Foundation for Nova App: In its current stage, iman (Ingenium Manager) is a tool for managing Ingenium's COBOL workers. However, it is more than just a utility; it is the foundational platform that will evolve into Nova Appβ€”the next-generation insurance core written in Rust. The long-term roadmap is to gradually integrate business logic into iman itself, step-by-step transforming it into a complete insurance core.
  • Cross-Platform Worker Management:
    • On Windows (Dev): Supports running a single worker process in debug mode, allowing it to automatically attach and call back to the Rocket COBOL extension for debugging.
    • On Linux (Server): Supports launching multiple worker processes in parallel, with a configurable number of instances to improve processing throughput.
  • Security: Includes a feature to encrypt database connection passwords, enhancing system security.
  • Development Roadmap (Orbit Phase): In the Orbit phase, iman will be significantly upgraded to become a central service with breakthrough features:
    • Run as a MIR API: Provides a dedicated API interface that allows PathFinder to call Ingenium directly using the MIR format, completely bypassing the MQ layer (ActiveMQ/IBM MQ). This reduces latency and simplifies the architecture for legacy systems.
    • Run as a REST API: In parallel with the MIR API, iman will also be deployed as a RESTful service, allowing modern applications to integrate easily.
    • 24/7 Availability: Provides the ability to query certain contract information even while the system is running batch jobs, ensuring high availability.
    • Autoscaling: Automatically adjusts the number of processing instances based on the actual workload.

4. ibatch Batch Runner​

  • Cross-Platform Batch Job Execution: ibatch is a dedicated tool for executing Ingenium batch jobs.
  • Windows & Linux Support: Ensures that batch jobs can run consistently across both development (Windows) and server (Linux) environments.

πŸš€ Initial Features​

The current version of the extension provides foundational features for initializing and configuring the workspace (to be expanded in the future):

1. Initialize Ingenium Cobol Workspace​

  • Purpose: Quickly initialize a standard workspace for an Ingenium project.
  • Action: This command automatically creates the necessary configuration files in the .vscode folder.
  • User Configuration: After initialization, the user must provide essential information such as the Visual Cobol installation path, Db2 login credentials, etc. (detailed instructions will be available in the extension's documentation).

2. Update Configuration​

  • Purpose: Synchronize configurations and create a dedicated command-line environment.
  • Action: Based on the user-provided information, this command generates a Noval.cmd file.
  • Dedicated Environment: The Noval.cmd file is used to open a command prompt window with all the necessary environment variables pre-configured. All tools in the Nova project (icomp, igo, iman) must be run within this environment. A shortcut to this file will be placed on the Desktop for easy access.

πŸ’‘ Benefits​

  • Increased Productivity: Minimizes manual, repetitive tasks, allowing developers to focus on developing business logic.
  • Reduced Errors: Automation and intelligent compilation ensure consistency and accuracy, minimizing human-induced risks.
  • Standardized Workflow: Establishes a modern, accessible workflow for new developers and simplifies management for the entire team.
  • Modernized Experience: Brings the world of modern DevOps to a traditional system, creating an effective and professional working environment.

The Binean Nova Extension is a critical piece of the Nova project, transforming VS Code into a powerful command center for Ingenium development and operations throughout the modernization journey.