Legacy Modernization

Neural Inverse includes a structured 5-stage migration platform for modernizing legacy codebases. It pairs a source (legacy) project with one or more target (modern) projects, walks you through each stage, and produces an audit bundle at cutover.

Legacy modernization is available in the open source edition.

How It Works

A modernization session connects two or more projects via a Modernisation.inverse file written to each project root. This file records the session ID, migration pattern, role (source or target), and the paired projects. It is written by the IDE — not generated by AI — so it survives IDE restarts and can be committed to version control.

Sessions support multiple topologies:

Topology	Description
1:1	One source, one target — the most common case
1:N	One source, multiple targets (e.g. splitting a monolith)
N:1	Multiple sources, one target (e.g. consolidating services)
N:M	Multiple sources, multiple targets

The 5 Stages

Stage 1 — Discovery

The IDE scans the source project and produces:

A full file inventory with detected languages
Dependency maps between modules and copybooks
Compliance pattern detection (PCI-DSS, GDPR, HIPAA patterns)
A list of migration units (individual files or modules to be translated)

Stage 2 — Planning

Based on the Discovery output, Neural Inverse generates a migration plan:

CPM (Critical Path Method) scheduling of migration units
Dependency ordering — units with dependencies are scheduled after their dependencies
Effort estimates per unit
Migration pattern assignment per unit

You can review and adjust the plan before proceeding.

Stage 3 — Migration

File-by-file translation using your configured LLM:

Each migration unit is translated according to its assigned language pair profile
Copybooks and dependencies are inlined before translation (source resolution)
A fingerprint is computed for each translated unit for later comparison
Progress is tracked per unit: pending | in-progress | translated | committed | skipped

Nothing moves to committed without an explicit approval step.

Stage 4 — Validation

Fingerprint comparison between source and translated output
Compliance checks against the active frameworks
Unit review — you can inspect, edit, and re-translate individual units
Failed units can be retried or manually edited

Stage 5 — Cutover

8-point readiness gate checks before cutover is allowed
Audit bundle export — a structured archive of all migration decisions, approvals, and compliance evidence
Session marked complete

Supported Migration Patterns

Migration patterns define the source and target language pair and the translation approach. Supported preset patterns include:

General language migration

COBOL to Java / TypeScript / Python / Go
FORTRAN to Python / C++ / Julia
RPG (AS/400) to Java / Node.js
PL/SQL to PostgreSQL / Prisma ORM
Natural (Adabas) to Java / Python
Assembler to C

Firmware migration

Bare-metal C to FreeRTOS
Bare-metal C to Zephyr RTOS
HAL abstraction refactors
MISRA-C compliance remediation

Industrial / PLC migration

IEC 61131-3 Ladder Logic to Structured Text
PLC to IPC (industrial PC)
SCADA modernization
OT/IT convergence
OPC-UA migration

Automotive

AUTOSAR ARXML migration
ISO 26262 compliance refactoring

Total: 36 migration language pair profiles across general, firmware, and industrial categories.

Starting a Modernization Session

Open the Modernization panel from the aux sidebar.
Click New Modernization Project.
Select your migration pattern.
Choose the source project folder (your legacy codebase).
Choose the target project folder (empty or existing modern project).
The IDE writes Modernisation.inverse files to both roots and opens the workflow view.

To resume an existing session, open either project — the IDE detects the Modernisation.inverse file and restores the session automatically.

Workflow View

The sidebar Modernization Workflow pane shows:

Current stage with progress indicator
Migration unit list with per-unit status
Compliance framework badges
Source and target project labels

Click any unit to open the two-window editor — source file on the left, translated output on the right.

Two-Window Editor

The migration editor shows the source and target side-by-side. You can:

Review the AI-translated output
Edit the target directly
Re-translate a unit with updated instructions
Approve or skip a unit

Audit Bundle

At Stage 5 (Cutover), the IDE exports an audit bundle containing:

Session metadata (pattern, projects, timeline)
Per-unit translation records with source fingerprint, output fingerprint, and approval records
Compliance check results per unit
A complete decision log

The audit bundle is structured for use as regulatory evidence in IEC 62304, ISO 26262, and similar compliance reviews.

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