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COBOL is an old programming language that, despite its age, is still used in many different areas, such as financial and insurance administration. The Swedish Companies Registration Office, also known as Bolagsverket is no exception. This agency administers information regarding Swedish companies and associations. Although the COBOL programs work, they have many disadvantages. The system is both expensive, inflexible and there are very few new developers available. Bolagsverket would therefore gladly replace COBOL with a more flexible and affordable alternative. This thesis will study and present some solutions and also provide actual examples of how they can be used. Two different products have been studied; Oracle SALT and Micro Focus Visual COBOL. SALT offers a web service interface, which enables the users to access services related to the COBOL programs remotely via the Internet or other networks. Visual COBOL, on the other hand, compiles the code into low-level code and deploys it onto new platforms. Both products can make the use of the code in a more flexible manner. Visual COBOL has, however, more substantial and long-term functionality that Bolagsverket is very interested in pursuing, even though it costs five times as much as SALT. One other main reason is that the second product can drastically reduce the gap between the COBOL programs and the surrounding systems. It is even possible to save money since some components can be reduced or even completely removed. The final conclusion is that neither of the programs offers any pure replacement with regards to COBOL, but they have made the language much more adapted to twenty-first century computer systems. They are therefore considered as a good option instead of rewriting the entire COBOL code into a new language. / COBOL är ett gammalt programmeringsspråk som trots sin ålder fortfarande används inom många olika områden, såsom administration inom finans- och försäkringsbranschen. Bolagsverket i Sverige är inget undantag. Den här myndigheten hanterar information rörande de företag och föreningar som finns i Sverige. Även om COBOL-programmen fungerar som det ska finns det många nackdelar. Det är dyrt, inte särskilt medgörligt och dessutom finns det få nya utvecklare att tillgå. Bolagsverket skulle därför gärna vilja byta ut programmen mot något mer flexibelt och prisvärt alternativ. Det här examensarbetet kommer presentera några aktuella lösningar. Kodexempel kommer också att skapas för att visa hur detta kan användas i praktiken. Två olika produkter kommer att behandlas i rapporten; Oracle SALT och Micro Focus Visual COBOL. SALT erbjuder ett gränssnitt för webtjänster. Det möjliggör att användarna kan komma åt tjänster knutna till COBOL programmen, fast på distans, via exempelvis Internet eller något annat nätverk. Visual COBOL har i sin tur en helt annan lösning, nämligen kompilering av COBOL till ett lågnivåspråk som går att använda på flera nya plattformar. Både produkterna erbjuder stora möjligheter i att göra COBOL mer flexibelt. Visual COBOL har däremot mer omfattande och långsiktiga funktioner som Bolagsverket kan tänkas gå vidare med, trots att det kostar fem gånger så mycket som SALT. En annan fördel med Visual COBOL är att flera delar av arkitekturen kan komma att användas mindre, eller till och med avvecklas helt, och kan således även sänka kostnaderna. Slutsatserna som kan dras är att ingen av produkterna byter ut COBOL helt, däremot kan de göra det gamla programmeringsspråket mer anpassat för 2000-talets moderna datorsystem. De betraktas därmed som fullt dugliga alternativ istället för en total omskrivning av COBOL-koden till ett annat språk.

In this study, imaging with ionizing radiation was evaluated as a research technique in coal research. Part of the evaluation was to conduct a thorough literature survey as well as a preliminary investigation into coal pyrolysis and gasification with micro–focus X–ray tomography. The literature survey summarizes previous research experiences, primarily focussing on the possibility of utilizing a specific coal bed for carbon dioxide sequestration and methane production. This includes quantifying the fracture and cleat network and visualizing the orientation of this network. The cleat and fracture spacing and aperture are used to calculate certain parameters necessary to model gas flow. Other aspects include non–destructive characterization which consisted of determining the porosity and the minerals and macerals present and the respective mineral distribution. The literature survey also includes a section on the utilization of neutrons in coal research and a description of a neutron imaging facility in South Africa is presented. Three coal samples from the Waterberg and Highveld regions of South Africa were used to investigate the process of pyrolysis through micro–focus X–ray tomography. The samples swelled significantly when 50% pyrolysis was achieved after which the samples became brittle. This verified the plastic nature of the coal, that is prevalent under these conditions. It was also possible to perform qualitative characterizations prior to and during the process. Regions of low and high density materials could also be visualized. The distribution of the minerals is indicative of the permeability of the organic matrix. Two coal samples of the Highveld regions were used to investigate gasification up to a level of 30%. It was possible to verify that the reaction progressed according to the mechanisms proposed by the un–reacted shrinking core model. The mineral matter and the high density coal macerals did not influence the reaction in any way. / http://hdl.handle.net//10394/7008 / Thesis (M.Ing. (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

In this study, imaging with ionizing radiation was evaluated as a research technique in coal research. Part of the evaluation was to conduct a thorough literature survey as well as a preliminary investigation into coal pyrolysis and gasification with micro–focus X–ray tomography. The literature survey summarizes previous research experiences, primarily focussing on the possibility of utilizing a specific coal bed for carbon dioxide sequestration and methane production. This includes quantifying the fracture and cleat network and visualizing the orientation of this network. The cleat and fracture spacing and aperture are used to calculate certain parameters necessary to model gas flow. Other aspects include non–destructive characterization which consisted of determining the porosity and the minerals and macerals present and the respective mineral distribution. The literature survey also includes a section on the utilization of neutrons in coal research and a description of a neutron imaging facility in South Africa is presented. Three coal samples from the Waterberg and Highveld regions of South Africa were used to investigate the process of pyrolysis through micro–focus X–ray tomography. The samples swelled significantly when 50% pyrolysis was achieved after which the samples became brittle. This verified the plastic nature of the coal, that is prevalent under these conditions. It was also possible to perform qualitative characterizations prior to and during the process. Regions of low and high density materials could also be visualized. The distribution of the minerals is indicative of the permeability of the organic matrix. Two coal samples of the Highveld regions were used to investigate gasification up to a level of 30%. It was possible to verify that the reaction progressed according to the mechanisms proposed by the un–reacted shrinking core model. The mineral matter and the high density coal macerals did not influence the reaction in any way. / http://hdl.handle.net//10394/7008 / Thesis (M.Ing. (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.