The Progress 4GL Automotive Bottleneck: Visual Mapping for Spare Part Catalogues

The automotive aftermarket lives and dies by the accuracy of its spare part catalogues. Yet, for thousands of distributors and OEMs, this critical data is trapped within monolithic Progress 4GL (OpenEdge) environments. These systems are incredibly stable, but they are visually archaic. When a technician needs to identify a specific gasket in a complex engine assembly, they aren't looking for a text-based part number in a green-screen terminal; they need an interactive, exploded-view diagram.

The challenge is that progress automotive visual mapping—the process of linking legacy database records to modern, interactive visual assets—is traditionally a multi-year engineering nightmare. Most enterprises face a grim reality: 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timelines, and with an average enterprise rewrite timeline of 18 months, the opportunity cost is staggering.

TL;DR: Modernizing Progress 4GL spare part catalogues requires moving from text-heavy legacy UIs to interactive visual mapping. Manual rewrites take 40+ hours per screen and carry high risk. Replay reduces this to 4 hours per screen by using Visual Reverse Engineering to convert recorded legacy workflows into documented React components and Design Systems, saving 70% in development time.

The Architecture of Technical Debt in Automotive Retail#

The global technical debt crisis has reached a staggering $3.6 trillion. In the automotive sector, this debt is often concentrated in the "lookup" layer—the interface where parts are identified and ordered. Progress 4GL systems were built for high-throughput transactional integrity, not for the high-fidelity visual experiences required by modern web and mobile users.

According to Replay’s analysis, 67% of legacy systems lack any form of up-to-date documentation. For a spare parts catalogue, this means the logic that links a "Part ID" to a specific coordinate on a CAD-drawn image is often buried in decades-old ABL (Advanced Business Language) procedures that no current employee fully understands.

The Problem with Manual Modernization#

When teams attempt to build a progress automotive visual mapping solution manually, they follow a predictable, albeit slow, path:

1. •Discovery: Scouring ABL code to find data relationships.
2. •Mapping: Manually recreating X/Y coordinate systems for SVG hotspots.
3. •Frontend Dev: Building React components from scratch.
4. •Integration: Connecting the new frontend to the OpenEdge AppServer.

This manual approach averages 40 hours per screen. For a catalogue with hundreds of unique assembly views, the math simply doesn't work for the modern business cycle.

Visual Reverse Engineering: A New Paradigm#

Video-to-code is the process of recording a user interacting with a legacy application and using AI-driven visual analysis to generate functional, documented frontend code.

This is where Replay changes the trajectory of modernization. Instead of reading thousands of lines of Progress ABL, you simply record a technician using the existing system to find a part. Replay’s engine captures the UI state, the data flow, and the visual hierarchy, translating them into a modern React-based Design System.

Industry experts recommend focusing on "Visual Mapping" as the primary bridge between legacy data and modern UX. By decoupling the presentation layer from the Progress backend while maintaining the data integrity, companies can modernize in weeks rather than years.

Comparison: Manual Rewrite vs. Replay Visual Mapping#

Implementing Progress Automotive Visual Mapping with React#

To move from a Progress 4GL "Part List" to an interactive visual map, you need a component-based architecture that can handle SVG overlays and dynamic hotspots. Below is an example of how a modernized spare part component might look after being processed through Replay's Library.

Modernizing the Part Hotspot Component#

In the legacy system, a part might be identified by a simple

statement in ABL. In our modernized version, we use a React component that handles scaling, hover states, and integration with the shopping cart.

typescript
// Generated/Refined via Replay Blueprints
import React, { useState } from 'react';

interface PartHotspotProps {
  id: string;
  coordinates: { x: number; y: number; width: number; height: number };
  partName: string;
  stockStatus: 'in-stock' | 'backorder' | 'discontinued';
  onSelect: (id: string) => void;
}

export const SparePartMap: React.FC<{ imageUrl: string; parts: PartHotspotProps[] }> = ({
  imageUrl,
  parts
}) => {
  const [activePart, setActivePart] = useState<string | null>(null);

  return (
    <div className="relative inline-block overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-slate-200">
      <img src={imageUrl} alt="Assembly Diagram" className="block w-full h-auto" />
      <svg
        className="absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full"
        viewBox="0 0 1000 1000" // Standardized coordinate system
      >
        {parts.map((part) => (
          <rect
            key={part.id}
            x={part.coordinates.x}
            y={part.coordinates.y}
            width={part.coordinates.width}
            height={part.coordinates.height}
            className={`cursor-pointer transition-all duration-200 ${
              activePart === part.id ? 'fill-blue-500/30 stroke-blue-600' : 'fill-transparent stroke-transparent hover:fill-blue-400/20'
            }`}
            strokeWidth="2"
            onClick={() => part.onSelect(part.id)}
            onMouseEnter={() => setActivePart(part.id)}
            onMouseLeave={() => setActivePart(null)}
          />
        ))}
      </svg>
    </div>
  );
};

This component represents the "Flow" of data from the legacy system (the coordinates and metadata) into a modern, interactive experience. By using Replay's Flows, architects can visualize how these components interact with the underlying Progress OpenEdge backend via REST or JSDO.

Mapping Legacy Data to Modern Visuals#

One of the biggest hurdles in progress automotive visual mapping is the coordinate translation. Legacy Progress UIs often used character-based positioning or fixed-pixel layouts designed for 800x600 monitors.

When Replay records these sessions, its AI Automation Suite identifies these spatial relationships. It doesn't just copy the pixels; it understands that "Part Number 5521" is visually associated with the "Top Left Bolt" in the diagram.

Modernizing Legacy UI requires more than just a new coat of paint. It requires a fundamental shift in how data is presented.

Handling State with Progress OpenEdge#

The following TypeScript snippet demonstrates how a modern frontend service interacts with a legacy Progress backend to fetch visual mapping data. This is typically what Replay generates to bridge the gap between the recorded UI and the live data source.

typescript
// Service layer for Progress OpenEdge Integration
import axios from 'axios';

interface LegacyPartResponse {
  part_num: string;
  coord_string: string; // "120,450,30,30" from Progress DB
  qty_available: number;
}

export const fetchVisualMappingData = async (assemblyId: string) => {
  try {
    const response = await axios.get(`/api/v1/parts/mapping/${assemblyId}`);
    
    // Transform legacy CSV coordinate strings into typed objects
    return response.data.map((item: LegacyPartResponse) => {
      const [x, y, width, height] = item.coord_string.split(',').map(Number);
      return {
        id: item.part_num,
        coordinates: { x, y, width, height },
        inStock: item.qty_available > 0
      };
    });
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Failed to fetch progress automotive visual mapping data", error);
    throw error;
  }
};

Why the Automotive Industry is Choosing Visual Reverse Engineering#

The automotive sector is under immense pressure from "digital-first" competitors. Tesla, Rivian, and modern D2C (Direct to Consumer) parts platforms offer seamless visual experiences. Traditional OEMs using Progress 4GL are lagging behind not because their data is bad, but because their delivery is slow.

By utilizing progress automotive visual mapping through a platform like Replay, companies can leapfrog the traditional "rewrite everything" cycle. Instead of an 18-month roadmap that likely ends in failure, they can deliver a modernized catalogue in weeks.

Key Benefits of the Replay Approach:#

1. •Preservation of Business Logic: You don't have to rewrite the complex tax, shipping, and compatibility logic residing in your Progress ABL procedures. Replay captures the frontend manifestation of that logic.
2. •Design Consistency: Replay’s Library creates a unified Design System. Every spare part map across every vehicle model will look and feel the same, regardless of how fragmented the legacy backend is.
3. •Speed to Market: Converting a recorded session into a React component library takes a fraction of the time of manual coding.
4. •Security and Compliance: For automotive manufacturers working with government or defense contracts, Replay’s on-premise and SOC2-compliant options ensure that sensitive part diagrams and supply chain data never leave the secure perimeter.

The Future of Component Libraries highlights how AI is making it possible to maintain these systems without the massive overhead of manual documentation.

Overcoming the "Documentation Gap"#

As mentioned earlier, 67% of legacy systems lack documentation. In the context of progress automotive visual mapping, this usually means that the knowledge of which part goes where is "tribal knowledge" held by senior warehouse staff or aging engineers.

Replay acts as an automated documentarian. By recording these experts as they use the legacy Progress system, Replay captures the "how" and "why" of the interface. The resulting React code is not just functional; it's documented. The Replay AI Automation Suite comments the code, explains the component relationships, and maps the data flows.

Case Study: From 18 Months to 6 Weeks#

Consider a Tier-1 automotive supplier with a Progress-based ERP. They needed to modernize their spare parts portal for 5,000 global dealerships. The initial estimate for a manual React rewrite was 18 months and $2.2 million.

By implementing Replay, they:

• •Recorded 150 core workflows (Part search, Exploded view navigation, Fitment verification).
• •Generated a complete React Component Library in 2 weeks.
• •Integrated with the Progress OpenEdge backend via a REST adapter.
• •Launched the pilot in 6 weeks.

The total time savings exceeded 70%, and the accuracy of the visual mapping was higher than the manual prototypes because it was based on actual recorded system behavior.

Frequently Asked Questions#

What is progress automotive visual mapping?#

Progress automotive visual mapping is the process of taking data from a legacy Progress 4GL (OpenEdge) database and representing it through interactive visual interfaces, such as clickable exploded-view diagrams for spare parts. It bridges the gap between text-based legacy data and modern, graphical user experiences.

How does Replay handle complex SVG diagrams in Progress 4GL?#

Replay's Visual Reverse Engineering platform records the way legacy UIs render information and translates those patterns into modern React components. It identifies coordinate systems and data associations, allowing developers to generate interactive SVG layers that sit on top of legacy image assets, all while maintaining a connection to the Progress backend.

Can we keep our Progress 4GL backend while using a modern React frontend?#

Yes. This is the recommended approach for many enterprises. By using Replay to modernize the UI/UX layer, you can maintain your stable Progress ABL business logic and database while providing users with a world-class React frontend. This "strangler pattern" reduces risk and allows for incremental modernization.

Is Replay secure enough for regulated automotive manufacturing?#

Absolutely. Replay is built for regulated environments, offering SOC2 compliance and HIPAA-ready configurations. For organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements, Replay offers on-premise deployment options to ensure that all recording and code generation happens within your own secure infrastructure.

How much time can we really save on a spare parts catalogue modernization?#

On average, Replay reduces modernization timelines by 70%. While manual screen recreation takes approximately 40 hours per screen (including discovery, design, coding, and testing), Replay’s automated approach brings that down to about 4 hours per screen.

Conclusion#

The era of the "big bang" rewrite is over. For automotive companies tethered to Progress 4GL, the path forward isn't through manual labor and endless sprint cycles. It's through Visual Reverse Engineering. By focusing on progress automotive visual mapping, you can unlock the value of your spare part catalogues, satisfy your dealers, and finally eliminate the technical debt that has been holding your enterprise back.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay