We’re proud to announce the latest release of Highlight. This new version brings the long-awaited application benchmark feature, as well as extended technology coverage of Visual Basic applications, and major improvements in our analytics such as Technical Debt and Software Maintenance estimates. Take a look at the release notes below.

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Application & Portfolio Benchmark

This new version of CAST Highlight introduces one of the recent most exciting features: you’re now able to benchmark your applications against all others in the Highlight database. Concretely, we’ve collected key metrics from +650 anonymized applications to build the benchmark population, which will be updated on a monthly basis.

Technology Risk Spot

In order to make sure that we’re not underestimating any potential risk, small but risky technologies will be still spotted, but on the risk distribution page as shown below.

Support of XML for Portfolio Data Exports

In addition to CSV, Highlight now allows the export of portfolio data in a structured XML file that contains all information of your applications, campaigns and users. This format is more comfortable than CSV, especially for users who may want to build custom reports on top of Highlight dashboards.

PL/SQL Automatic Split

The Local Agent now automatically splits PL/SQL analyzed files, in order to ensure the analyzer will scan the code with the appropriate granularity for our risk and alert model. Previously, these files needed to be manually split.

Visual Basic / VB.Net: Support of .cls and .frm extensions

Coverage of our Visual Basic/VB.Net analyzer has been extended by adding support for .cls (class modules) and .frm (form modules) files.

Size-Based Risk Aggregation

In this new version of CAST Highlight, we’ve listened to you, and changed the risk aggregation mechanism by using lines of code as weights. As a result, the risk values for your applications will change. However, all trend lines (incl. previous campaigns) will be computed using the same algorithm, ensuring consistency in all of your portal’s analytics.

Dissociated Risk Thresholds

Now, each risk factor (Production, Adaptability and Software Complexity) will have its own specific threshold, defining the risk level. We’ve defined these thresholds by watching and benchmarking all of the applications in the Highlight database.

Software Maintenance Estimates

We’ve extended COCOMO coverage by adding several new parameters that feed the computational model, providing better FTE estimates on maintenance effort.
We’ve also added a tooltip into the chart that recaps the key drivers (i.e.: lines of code, percentage of effort allocated to maintenance, percentage of change of the code base). The result is a figure that quantifies the number of lines of code being maintained per FTE per year.

Technical Debt Estimates

We’ve fixed some quartile positioning issues and updated the average $/LOC for each technology, since the previous update two years ago.

Scan Execution Logs Available for the Local Agent

In order to facilitate support and interactions with our product team, you’re now able to activate execution logs when launching a code scan. To enable this mode, hold CTRL while you’re clicking on the Scan button.

Performance Improvement on PLAN pages

We improved performance of pages under the PLAN section. Display of business unit, application, campaign and user management pages should be faster.

Local Agent: Discrepancy of file counting between two discoveries of a same application