Imogen at work: converting a batch job through the pipeline
Here's how our software dark factory works within Imogen, Mechanical Orchard's mainframe modernization platform.
Try Imogen for yourself: the proof-of-concept is free, under NDA, and fast.
You’ll also get a modernization roadmap with a high-confidence timeline and scope on which to estimate costs.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
This is Imogen modernizing a real mainframe COBOL batch job into Java, with proof that the output is byte-for-byte identical. What we're watching is a three-hour autonomous run replayed in about 90 seconds.
This pipeline is a typed graph. Every oval is an AI agent with a clear job, and every diamond is a gate that prevents bad work from getting through.
It starts by parsing the COBOL using our own deterministic parser to understand the structure, and turning that into an inventory of every observable behavior the program has. From there, it compiles the original COBOL into a running specification and generates characterization tests against it. The legacy program's behavior is what everything else is measured against. If a verification gate finds a gap, the work routes back and runs again until it closes.
Every major step is also audited in parallel by independent reviewers — different models than the one that did the implementation. A verdict node arbitrates before the pipeline advances.
With tests locked in, Imogen generates the Java implementation and iterates until every test passes byte for byte against the specification. The pipeline runs autonomously for three hours, but every gate along the way enforces standards your team set.
What comes out is modern Java code pinned to the legacy system's exact behavior, with coverage reports your engineers can review before anything ships.
If you want to see this against your own code base, let's talk: visit us at www.mechanical-orchard.com.
Alternatively, schedule a call so we can discuss your modernization requirements.



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