From Relic to Relevance: COBOL’s 88-Level Fields for Modern Coders

Luke Zeisset COBOL, Modernization, Programming, Tutorial Leave a Comment

Remember when blockchain was going to change everything? Now AI is the trend dominating every conversation—but some of the most effective programming ideas have been around for decades. This post examines one of COBOL’s lesser-known yet highly practical features: the 88-level field. Far more than a simple boolean, 88-level fields provide a clear, maintainable way to describe data conditions, enforce business rules, and streamline initialization. Through real-world examples, you’ll see how this feature can reduce complexity, eliminate hard-coded values, and make logic more expressive—demonstrating that sometimes proven tools from “old” languages still have lessons worth applying today.

CI/CD for Legacy .NET Framework Apps: How to Automate Deployment Pipelines

Zach Gardner .NET, .NET Core, Azure, CI/CD, Cloud, DevOps, Modernization, Videos Leave a Comment

Outdated deployment practices can slow down even the best software teams. When you’re still manually moving files between servers, it’s easy for small mistakes to slip through and updates to take longer than they should. At Keyhole Software, we’ve seen firsthand how this approach can hold back your projects. The solution is to automate deployment pipelines. It brings consistency, reliability, …

Writing Java Code and Unit Tests Faster with GitHub Copilot Header image - explains the blog post intent - Learn how to use GitHub Copilot to generate Java code and unit tests—using a real mortgage calculator example—with practical tips on retaining quality code using AI-assisted development tools.

Writing Java Code and Unit Tests Faster with GitHub Copilot

Jonny Hackett AI, Articles, Java, Testing Leave a Comment

In this post, we’ll explore how to use GitHub Copilot to generate Java code and unit tests with minimal manual input. Using a real-world example—a mortgage calculator service—you’ll see how Copilot can help write both the core logic and the corresponding unit tests. Whether you’re new to AI-assisted development or curious about Copilot’s capabilities in a Java environment, this tutorial will give you practical insight into how it works—and where human oversight still matters.

Best Practices for Secure Java Development in Regulated Industries

Kent Lautenschlager Financial, Healthcare, Industry Relevance, Insurance, Java, Keyhole, Security, Videos Leave a Comment

Security is the cornerstone of software built for regulated industries. Applications must work properly and meet strict compliance standards while protecting sensitive information at every stage. In healthcare, finance, and other regulated fields, secure Java development ensures data is safe, trust is maintained, and legal obligations are met. At Keyhole Software, we help teams build security into every part of …

Zellij The Impressions of a Casual tmux User

Zellij: The Impressions of a Casual tmux User

Jake Everhart Articles, Development Technologies & Tools, Programming Leave a Comment

Let’s get this out of the way: I love tmux. Gaining the ability to multi-task within the terminal was a monumental productivity boost for me, and if you’ve used it in the past, you probably have similar stories about how it leveled up your workflow. It’s fast, it’s well-supported, and it has a plethora of features you can invoke with just a few keystrokes.

…and personally, I can only remember about a dozen of them.