CAST Imaging Capabilities

Technologies

Visualize the technologies used by the application and explore their dependencies.

Objects

Visualize all application objects grouped based on the CAST taxonomy and explore the nature of their dependencies.

Data Model and Access

• Explore all data structures (e.g., tables, records, collections) and the nature of their dependencies.
• Explore how objects interact with the database (e.g., perform CRUD operations, make calls).

Call Graphs

Explore end-to-end call graphs.

• Transaction call graphs start from a top-layer object (e.g. a webpage, a batch) and end with bottom-layer objects (e.g. tables).
• Data call graphs start from a bottom-layer object (e.g. a table) and end with top-layer objects (e.g. webpages, batches).

Inheritance

Explore all application classes, subclasses, and the nature of their dependencies.

Microservices

Explore all application microservices and the nature of their dependencies. Dive into each microservice and visualize the technologies and objects it is made of.

APIs

List all application APIs and explore their end-to-end call flow, starting from the endpoint.

App-to-App Dependencies

Explore all dependencies between the applications analyzed with CAST Imaging.

See more

• Explore the projects that make up the application, along with the nature of their dependencies.
• Define functional modules during application analysis and explore the nature of their dependencies.
• Explore how application objects interact with the open-source components in use.
• Search and add objects of interest to a custom-built view and explore the nature of their dependencies.

Path Finder

1. Select 2 objects.
2. Explore all call graph paths that connect them.

Parent/Child

1. Select an object.
2. Explore its parent object and/or children objects.

Impact Analysis

1. Select an object (e.g., recently changed or slated for changed)
2. Visualize the transactions it participates in—that is, all objects potentially affected by the change. These transactions are likely candidates for regression testing.

Code Viewer

1. Select an object
2. Select an object, explore the source code file starting from the object's bookmark.

AI Explain and Summarize

Explain

1. Select an object
2. Get the AI-generated explanation of what it is and what it does.

Summarize

1. Select a view, e.g. an end-to-end call graph
2. Get the AI-generated summary of all objects and dependencies it contains.

AI Assistant

1. Ask any question in natural language about the application
2. Get an AI-generated answer.

Reports

Download a variety of reports about the application’s composition and inner workings, including insights into coupling, complexity, and changes vs. previous analysis.

Mainframe Modernization Advisor

Explore required changes and effort estimates for:

• Rehosting or replatforming on AWS EC2, Azure VMs, or Google Compute Engine using middleware or emulation tools
• Refactoring code using automated code transformation (e.g., AWS Blu Age, Astadia)

Enrich Graph View

Add texts or shapes, create visual groupings, and adjust graph layout to enhance visualization.

Save View

Save specific application views for future reference and easy sharing with colleagues.

Export

Export all objects and dependencies present in view into a CSV, XLSX, JSON, JPG, or SVG file

Major Structural Flaws

This extension highlights objects that present the most critical risks and flaws impacting the application’s resiliency, security, and performance efficiency, according to the ISO 5055 industry standard.
Explore the proposed remediation strategies designed to eliminate these risks and flaws.

Open-Source Risks

This extension lists the open-source components in use that present security vulnerabilities (CVEs), intellectual property risks (e.g., due to license compliance), and technology obsolescence issues.
Explore all objects that utilize these components.

Green Software

This extension highlights objects that contribute to excessive resource utilization and energy consumption during the application’s runtime.
Explore the proposed remediation strategies aimed at improving these areas.

Structural Quality Gate

• Access application metrics (e.g., functional size, technical debt) and scores (e.g., reliability, security, performance efficiency, maintainability) based on industry standards like ISO 5055, and monitor their evolution over time.
• Identify all structural risks and flaws in the application, defined as violations of industry-standard rules (e.g., ISO 5055, OWASP, PCI DSS, MITRE CWE, DISA STIG). Explore the proposed remediation strategies designed to eliminate these risks and flaws and generate corrective action plans automatically.