You are here: FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is ITP’s business model?

Founded in 1990, ITP is an independent software vendor (ISV). For 15 years, ITP has been focused exclusively on raising efficiency and quality of software maintenance and modernization. We focus on this because 80% of life cycle costs are spent after development is finished and 80% of IT labor costs are spent on Application Mining and Management. It makes no difference whether you have legacy, modern applications or a mix of both.

Scanners and repositories have been in the marketplace for a long time. What is really new in ITP-PANORAMA?

While all other Application Mining and Management vendors are still using relational databases for their repository, ITP has for ten years used OLAP HyperCube technology (known from Data Warehousing). Our very fast scanning allows daily updates of the repository. This scanning process includes the compilation of all programs. Your system will be analyzed and all inconsistencies will be shown immediately. We provide one toolset for all your heterogeneous IT systems. ITP-PANORAMA’s unique Data Flow Analysis allows following the value chain through your applications.

faq02.jpg
Why is ITP-PANORAMA faster than any other tool?

ITP is using OLAP HyperCube technology for its repository. The HyperCube is always “in memory”. (No disc access necessary) We can use up to 16 processors simultaneously in one search/analysis.

In which environment does the ITP-PANORAMA toolset run?

Using Windows 2008 Server, our software can manage up to 100 million lines of source code. A multi-processor server can support hundreds of developers.

How long does a developer need before they can work independently with ITP-PANORAMA?

The user interface is by design intuitive to use. The training has two sessions:

  • Two hours of introduction
  • Two hours of learning by working with customer applications.

In the case of multiple languages, add one hour per language. The low learning costs have two effects:

  • Developers love to work with ITP-PANORAMA
  • The startup costs are much lower than for any other product
How long does it take to scan in millions of lines of code?

First you need to know that during scanning, ITP-PANORAMA:

  • Compiles all programs
  • Makes reference checks across all applications.


In one hour we are able to scan 15 million LOC COBOL, 10 million LOC PL/I or 6 million LOC JAVA. This allows daily updates of large IT systems.

What is the procedure to learn more about ITP-PANORAMA?

1. Contact us by mail or phone
2. See a free webinar
3. Send us an application for a free Proof of Concept
4. Arrange for a 30 day trial.
Discover things about your code that you previously never knew.

What is included in the Proof of Concept?

Scanning in 1 million LOC

  • Building a HyperCube
  • Showing in a Webinar that we can navigate in your software better than your developers who have worked with it for years
What is the procedure for a 30 day trial with ITP-PANORAMA?

We come to your site and:

  • Install ITP-PANORAMA
  • Scan a complex application
  • Show all incompatibilities (bugs)
  • Train your development team
  • Let your team work with 5 multi-user licenses for 30 days

This will tell you a lot more about your software than you ever knew.

What license model is ITP offering?

There are two criteria for the concurrent license model:

  • The amount of source code
  • The number of concurrent licenses
How can we integrate PANORAMA with Rational Team Concert (RTC) and Rational Developers for Z (RDz)?

Rational Team Concert: It is an integrated user interface for various life cycle and project management tools. Since ITP-PANORAMA does not have anything to do with life cycle or project management, we see no necessity for any kind of integration. Rational Developer for Z/OS (RDZ):

  • FUJITSU has a competing software development environment under ECLIPSE by the name of INTERSTAGE.
  • The analysis part of INTERSTAGE is our ITP-PANORAMA.
  • FUJITSU has built a plug-in that works with RDz which has to be licensed.
Can the tool detect any possibility of table/array processing that can exceed its limits or boundaries? For example, you have an array of 100 items but the program tries to manipulate data on the 101st item or beyond which causes storage overlay.

Array indexing error: Determine the variables used for indexing the array.

  • Select them, Click on “Dataflow Analysis”,
  • Select “Both” (means forward and backward). You will see all usages and also all changes of the index value. Now you can test whether the range is correct or not.
Can the tool detect any possibility of eternal loop processing? For example, a Perform with UNTIL statement has a possibility that the UNTIL statement will never be satisfied.

Loop condition:

  • Select the variables in the UNTIL clause.
  • Select “Both” (means forward and backward). You will see all usages and all changes of the index value.

Now you can test whether the range is correct or not.

Is the tool configurable to recognize application built I/O APIs instead of just the usual READ/WRITE/BROWSE statement? Some vendor products provide their own APIs for I/O so they’re not using the usual READ/WRITE/BROWSE statements.

User written input/output programs act as “non-existing” programs. They are handled correctly with one restriction: Data Flow Analysis will not know that output operations do not modify the buffer (not a serious problem). To correct this, we assign a particular “Access Type” indicator (such as MQ*, IMS etc.). We can modify the scanner to support this (1-2 days of programming).