bloop

Bloop is an AI-powered software tool that modernizes legacy code, particularly COBOL, by converting it into modern Java code while maintaining identical functionality. It also assists developers in writing and understanding code across multiple programming languages.

Key features:
- Code Modernization: Automatically converts COBOL to Java with behavior-preserving accuracy
- AI-Assisted Code Writing: Provides an AI pair programmer specifically trained for COBOL developers
- Code Understanding: Enables natural language queries about the codebase and supports multi-language code navigation
- Safety Assurance: Includes an AI test suite to verify identical behavior between original and converted code
- Readability: Produces human-like readable Java code, avoiding hybrid language issues
- Cost Efficiency: Utilizes open-source libraries and cloud primitives in modernized code
- Flexibility: Allows immediate modification and extension of converted code without refactoring
- Continuous Development: Supports ongoing development during the conversion process
- Offline Capability: Runs AI model locally on the user's device for enhanced privacy and security
- Multi-Repository Search: Understands relationships between different codebases and services
- Regex Matching: Features a purpose-built engine for matching code, identifiers, and paths
- Diffing: Supports code rebuilding while preserving scope and specifications
- Documentation Integration: Allows importing of documentation libraries for AI-assisted code writing

How it works:
1. Users upload legacy COBOL code to the Bloop platform
2. Bloop converts the code to modern Java automatically
3. Developers can modify or extend the converted code as needed
4. Users can interact with the AI to write new code or understand existing codebases
5. Natural language queries can be used to navigate and comprehend the code structure

Integrations:
Bloop supports integrations with various development tools and platforms, though specific details are not provided.

Use of AI:
Bloop employs AI for code conversion, as an AI pair programmer for code writing, and for natural language processing to answer queries about the codebase.

AI foundation model:
The tool uses a large language model called mAInframer-1, specifically trained for COBOL developers using open-source code.

Target users:
- Development teams working with legacy COBOL code
- Organizations seeking to modernize their codebases
- Developers looking to enhance productivity with AI assistance
- Teams needing to navigate and understand complex, multi-language codebases

How to access:
Bloop is available as a web application and potentially as an IDE extension.