Inverse transformation of software from code to specification

Abstract

A description is given of a schema supported by automated tools for the retranslation of software code back into an application specification by the process of inverse transformation. The code of Cobol programs is first retranslated into an intermediate design schema based on a set of normalized relational tables for the modules, data capsules, and interfaces extracted from the source programs. In a second step, the intermediate design representation is retranslated into a specification schema based on the entity/relationship model. As a byproduct of the reverse transformation process, the programs are modularized and restructured.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>