They range from mainframe to client/server moves, through to generation for the web and show the versatility of CA Gen.

Don’t forget that they are in Japanese so you’ll need to translate them first !

The site has now taken on board the new corporate look and feel of the rest of the CA web presence.

The Gen microsite is still a work in progress with content being migrated from the old site to the new one. The key documents/downloads are there (link here for a whitepaper on the forward path of CA Gen) with more being added as time permits.

The most important addition (for me) is the provision of “MyCA”. This is the new community and connection facility for CA customers generally, CA Gen included.

There are a number of relevant communities that you can join – EDGE, for example has a presence on the community portion of the microsite, as do a number of regional and local CA Gen user groups.

You have to register with the site,but most people will already have an existing SupportConnect ID which you can use with no changes.

Certainly worth a visit….

Should you have a question around CA Gen that you think that the general user community could answer, and want to use a “forum” style of interaction – where do you go ?

The obvious answer is the EDGE User Group – www.edgeusergroup.org – you can connect with the rest of the CA Gen world there.

The other main resource is the CA Communites Website – to which the EDGE forums will be migrating shortly – here .

Remember that you’ll have to sign up to post to either forum – they’re free and a great set of resources.

Note that the Gentalk.biz forums have been shut down and are no longer operating

EDIT: The content of the forum is still there – I’m just working on exporting it so we don’t lose it – it will find a home!

After lunch Next came a lab by APG, demonstrating the power of their ProgGen software which can take COBOL programs, and create fully working CA Gen models out of them (yup – really !!! I’ve seen the technology before and it STILL amazes me!). It doesnt stop there, since it also works with PL/1, Adabas/Natural and other 3GL Languages.

This was followed up with a session on the CA Gen proxies and how they can be used to extend Gen’s reach and make its functionality available to other technologies – a major benefit of the CA Gen technology.

Last of the day was a session from Ryan Johnson of Response Systems – his take on the upgrade process in Gen – traditionally a process fraught with danger. Applying careful thought, it can be de-risked and made less painful (together with the latest release of CA Gen – which aims to make upgrades easier of course!).

There are some truly smart people out there in CA Gen -land !!!!!

The CA Gen sessions today were many and varied – the roadmap for CA Gen looks fit and healthy as delivered by CA staff, with evidence that the toolset is evolving and moving forward into areas that it needs to – Cloud is on the roadmap, so is SaaS !

Delving down into the specifics, a presentation by CA on SOA and CA Gen with respect to the new functionality available in CA Gen r8 (just gone GA !) and how it differs (positively) from previous releases – Web Services on top of EJBs, Dreamweaver interaction and more.

Next, a demonstration by CANAM Software Labs of the XML Composer tooling which allows CA Gen to consume web services exposed by remote systems. This is a great tool since it shields the developers from any “guts” of External Action Blocks in C or COBOL or whatever – so comsuming XML from files, web services etc is now easy!

Then came the infamous EDGE reception in the LAX Nightclub in the Luxor Hotel – trust me – you HAD to be there !

Looking forward to tommorow – a completely packed day full of Gen stuff – what more could I want !

Follow CAWorld 2010 on Twitter….

It’ll certainly be a great learning occasion for those in attendance. What can I say – the EDGE Conferences are a valuable source of networking, skills exchange for the CA Gen professional.  If you’ve not been fortunate enough to get to EMEA, ucate or APAC this time around – keep an eye out for the next EDGE events, webcasts and other resources at http://www.edgeusergroup.org

The conference provides two days of information, training and networking with others involved in SOA, Web Services, and CA Gen development.  This will be the first opportunity to get into Technical Lab sessions and see, touch, and use CA Gen R8 in hands-on sessions.

Register on-line today at ca.com/au/edge09