When I last left off, I’d done the unthinkable. I resurrected my college senior project from 2003—the Help Desk Scheduler. It was running again as a Java 8 web app on Tomcat 4 with Struts 1.0 and MySQL. To continue my Jurassic Park metaphor, it was the software equivalent of a creature that shouldn’t exist anymore, but somehow came back to life.

And also because, now that I’m at Moderne, I spend my days thinking about automated code transformation with OpenRewrite. (I'm super fun at parties.) So of course I wanted to see if this ancient app could evolve enough to survive in 2025. I don't need to go full Jurassic World reboot yet, but what if we can tweak things just enough to get to The Lost World at least?

# From Batch Files to Build Tools

In college, my “build system” was literally a batch file that ran javac and copied the results into Tomcat's webapp folder. To modernize anything, I first needed a real foundation. It was time to pick: Gradle or Maven?

I chose Gradle, mainly because I was less familiar with it and wanted to learn, but also because it seems to be a common choice among devs I respect. So, to get things working, I had to:

• Restructure the directories to use src/main/java and src/main/webapp
• Set up a build.gradle.kts file (I went with Kotlin over Groovy because I'm a follower)
• Declare dependencies for the old Servlet API and Struts 1.0 (which required a local JAR since the old version didn't seem to exist on any repository anywhere)
• Specify Java 8 and configure the war plugin
• Update my Docker Compose setup to build and deploy a WAR instead
• Add the OpenRewrite Gradle plugin since there would be recipes in my future

For the first time in two decades, HDS had an actual build pipeline. Now OpenRewrite could start working its magic.

# Automation: Nature’s Next Step

With Gradle in place, I was ready to run some recipes. I wanted to take this from barely runnable on Java 8 to something that could at least sort of live in the modern Java world. I started with UpgradeToJava21, which handled compiler targets and cleaned up a few deprecated APIs.

Next came JakartaEE11, which migrated javax.*packages to jakarta.*. What could possibly go wrong at this point?

Everything. The changes were clean, but it turns out that Struts 1.0 simply wasn’t built for a Jakarta world, and the build logs made that abundantly clear. Huh. What to do?

# Finding a Path Forward

First, I'd need a newer version of Tomcat. I got that up and running manually and figured I could automate it later. (Which I did...see below.)

Then, I considered trying an upgrade to Struts 2, but that honestly looked almost as hard as a full-scale rewrite. Same for moving off of Tomcat altogether to a Spring application. I hope to get there eventually, but this first step was just about some incremental change. I wanted to run Java 21 without too much manual effort, if possible. Could I automate everything with OpenRewrite and make it all work?

Rather than give up, I went hunting for a compatible solution and I stumbled upon Struts1 Reloaded, a modernized fork that aims "to bring Struts 1 to a current technology." This looked like the best route, at least for now. The latest version (1.5.0-RC2) supports more recent Jakarta namespaces. Sweet!

Using OpenRewrite dependency recipes, I swapped out the old framework for the new libraries. That meant replacing the old Servlet API with the new ones, retiring the old com.sun.mail packages in favor of new ones from Eclipse, and replacing the local Struts JAR with all new references to the Struts1 Reloaded libraries.

Still got a bunch of build errors, but far fewer. Getting closer.

# A Little Genetic Engineering

The errors were mostly type and method name changes from moving to Struts 1.5. Thankfully, those trusty old OpenRewrite standards ChangeType and ChangeMethodName came to the rescue for that. Action perform() is now Action execute()? No problem. Oh, ActionError is gone in favor of ActionMessage? Easy. But ActionMessages empty() needs to be ActionMessages isEmpty()? Done. Thanks OpenRewrite!

type: specs.openrewrite.org/v1beta/recipe
name: com.bryanfriedman.hds.MigrateStruts
displayName: Struts 1.1 to 1.5 API adjustments
description: ActionError→ActionMessage, perform→execute, messages.empty()→isEmpty
recipeList:
  - org.openrewrite.java.ChangeMethodName:
      methodPattern: org.apache.struts.action.Action perform(..)
      newMethodName: execute
      matchOverrides: true
  - org.openrewrite.java.ChangeType:
      oldFullyQualifiedTypeName: org.apache.struts.action.ActionError
      newFullyQualifiedTypeName: org.apache.struts.action.ActionMessage
  - org.openrewrite.java.ChangeMethodName:
      methodPattern: org.apache.struts.action.ActionMessages empty()
      newMethodName: isEmpty
      matchOverrides: true

But now, things got a little more complicated. There were two changes that I needed to make and I couldn't find any existing recipes to do the trick. But hey, I said I wanted to learn how to write some custom recipes. This was my chance. So I wrote two imperative recipes to handle these cases:

1. DataSource access. The old Struts ActionServlet findDataSource() helper no longer worked. They needed to be converted to use standard JNDI lookups.
2. Method signature. The new Action execute() method in Struts 1.5 added a throws Exception declaration, meaning any overriding methods needed to also.

I had a little bit of help from Claude Code to write these recipes. (I'd had some experience doing that at work.) But still, writing these custom solutions gave me such an appreciation for how elegant and extendable OpenRewrite really is when you need that level of precision. And the test framework is so easy to use, you can see exactly what needed changing in both cases.

One more little ChangeType tweak to broaden some exception handling, and the build finally worked. Too bad the run didn't...

# JSPs, XML, and Other Endangered Species

Now the app was failing to render, so I knew it was time to look to the JSPs. In fact, the Struts 1 Template tags had been retired in favor of Struts Tiles. That meant a whole host of changes to the JSP files would be required.

Although OpenRewrite doesn’t parse JSPs, I was still able to automate into my recipe by using the text-based FindAndReplace recipe to do some regex magic.

And finally, for the XML config files (web.xml, struts-config.xml, and Tomcat 11's server.xml), I used some XML recipes to make the necessary changes, and some Create*File recipes to drop in the new ones.

# It's Alive... Again

After all the dust settled, the project now:

• Builds cleanly with Gradle
• Includes a build step within Docker Compose
• Runs on Java 21 / Tomcat 11
• Uses Struts 1.5 (Reloaded)

Is it modern? Not really. But it does compile cleanly, deploy reproducibly, and doesn’t require completely ancient toolchains to run. I'm quite proud that (after manually setting up Gradle) I completely automated all of the changes using only OpenRewrite. It was all refactored through deterministic, repeatable automation. No frog DNA required.

# Evolution, Meet Ambition (and Chaos Theory)

There’s a point in every old-code resurrection where you remember Dr. Ian Malcolm again. Just because you can modernize something, doesn’t mean you should.

That said, though, I’m probably not done experimenting. Some next steps I’m considering:

• Swap MySQL for Postgres. (Probably only config changes?)
• Skip right over Struts 2 and try a Spring Boot migration, just to see how far automation can carry it.
• Move off of JSPs to...something else?

Each attempt is both an exercise and a curiosity test: how much of this can be done through recipes rather than rewriting by hand?

Part 1 was the resurrection; this sequel is the evolution. Give it a few more transformations and I'll have my own cinematic universe.

I'm sure you know this classic line from Jurassic Park:

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” —Dr. Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park

That quote was about cloning dinosaurs, but honestly, it also applies pretty well to a scenario I'm now facing: resurrecting long-dead source code.

Recently, I joined the team at Moderne, where I’ve been diving into the world of automated code remediation and transformation using OpenRewrite. It’s powerful tech that can scan large codebases and apply structured, deterministic changes like it actually understands the code (because it basically does).

I've been wanting to write some custom OpenRewrite recipes as a learning exercise, and I've been looking for a good idea to try out. This got me thinking: What kind of code would be fun (and maybe a little terrifying) to experiment on?

That’s when I remembered Help Desk Scheduler, the scheduling system I built for my senior project in college circa 2003. It was powered by Struts 1, backed by MySQL 4, and built with Java 1.2 with no build tool in sight.

What could possibly go wrong?

# Digging Up Fossils

The Help Desk Scheduler (HDS) was a handy tool I created while working at the Cal Poly ITS Help Desk. It was a web app that generated work schedules for staff and students based on user-defined rules. It let supervisors schedule student workers, manage shift swaps, and view schedules in various formats. It solved a real problem, and it actually worked!

Back then, frameworks like Struts 1 were still new and exciting, Tomcat 4 was the default server choice, and MySQL was all the rage. For this project, I built everything with raw javac commands in a batch file. No WAR file. No CI/CD. Just a folder full of class files and a dream.

Somehow, I had kept a copy of the source code, preserved like a mosquito in amber, complete with J2EE DNA. So I decided to see: could I bring this fossilized application back to life and use it as a playground for OpenRewrite?

# Reanimating the App

Getting it running again meant digging through ancient APIs, outdated assumptions, and a build process so flaky that I can hear Dennis Nedry now: “Uh uh uh, you didn’t say the magic word!”

Here’s what it took to get it running in 2025:

• Sticking with Tomcat 4 (v4.1.24 downloaded from the Apache archives)
• Using the oldest "supported" version of MySQL: 8.0.13 (plus a newer JDBC connector)
• Tweaking the database schema and JDBCRealm configuration to support MySQL 8
• Swapping out JavaMail SMTP for MailDev (good enough for these purposes)
• Dockerizing everything with docker-compose to make things easy to run (and portable)

After a weekend of tinkering and a few "I can't believe this is working" moments, I had the app running again in my browser, in all of its ugly, table-based, CSS-less glory.

Check out the Help Desk Scheduler GitHub repository.

# But... Why?

Let’s be clear: I have no plans to offer a commercial or even production-ready app. But having a working legacy app gives me a useful, safe, and fun sandbox for experimenting with modern code transformation using OpenRewrite.

Some experiments I’m thinking about trying on this codebase:

• Migrate from MySQL to PostgreSQL
• Upgrade to Java 21
• Replace Struts with Spring MVC (or Struts 2, or something else)
• Move hardcoded config to external properties
• Swap out the authentication layer
• Eventually maybe even refactor into something that resembles a modern Spring Boot app

Most of these are squarely in OpenRewrite’s wheelhouse, but I can also try for some stretch goals to give me a way to explore how far automation can take things vs. where manual intervention may still play a critical role.

# What’s Next

Now that I’ve got this prehistoric app running again, I plan to document my OpenRewrite experiments in future posts. I’ll explore what works and what breaks, and where automation helps or not when dealing with very old Java code.

But for now, I’m just happy that I got this dinosaur of a project running again. Not because I should, as a wise chaotician might say, but because I could. I hope the servlets don't bite!

It was 11 years ago (to the day, if you can believe that) that I started a new job after leaving my first job out of college. (Fun fact: that was also an 11 year run.) Since then, I’ve been charting my career journey in this space. It sure has been quite a ride, filled with diverse roles, inspiring leaders, and wildly different company cultures.

Most of my time has been spent inside large enterprise companies with tens of thousands of employees. In my most recent roles, I’ve even been focused on selling software and application platforms to enterprise customers, giving me a unique view from both sides of the table.

That said, I’ve also had a couple of stints in startup and startup-like environments with as few as 100 people. The contrast between those experiences and the enterprise world is stark. It reminds me of some movie quotes...

“There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” Enterprises tend to be structured. In fact, with rigid processes, strictly defined roles, and lots of layers, I’d say they are often too structured. By contrast, in startups you’ll find more fluid responsibilities with a frequent need to adapt on the fly.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” Startups move fast. Decisions happen quickly. Iterations happen faster. In a big company, on the other hand, getting anything done usually means wading through a frustrating swamp of cross-functional alignment meetings, approvals, and never-ending loops.

“The study of pressure and time.” Sure, enterprises come with an abundance of resources, but agility usually isn’t one of them. Startups might be resource-constrained, but this has a way of forcing creative thinking, building resilience, and leading to more innovative outcomes.

“Old and busted, new hotness.” Startups can build with the latest tools, trends, and tech from the ground up. Enterprises, meanwhile, are often tied to legacy systems and are forced to drag a lot of baggage along for the ride. It’s much harder to steer the ship into new waters.

While I have not spent the majority of my career in startups, I’ve loved the time that I have. I still vividly remember my first exposure to startup speed. A bug was discovered, and a fix was coded, tested, and pushed to production all within an hour. My mind was blown. That one moment taught me more than months in the enterprise, and I got to tap into skills I didn’t even know I had.

Eventually, though, I got sucked back into the enterprise machine, and I didn’t fully realize how much it had started to wear on me. The longer I stayed, the more my disillusionment grew as it chipped away at my energy and motivation to ultimately break me down.

Now, at last, I am building myself back up. I’m thrilled to say, I’m heading back into startup-land. Today, I’m joining Moderne as a Technical Marketing Lead. It checks so many boxes for me.

True Modernization. Moderne is tackling a challenge close to my heart: improving code quality and reducing technical debt at scale through automated refactoring. As a former product manager, I still have scars from punting on feature work so the team could upgrade dependencies, migrate to TypeScript, or swap logging libraries. The opportunity to improve developer productivity and enable tech stack liquidity, particularly for enterprise companies with massive code bases, is incredibly exciting.

Closer to Code. After years in infrastructure and application platforms, it feels good to get closer to where software actually gets written. I may be in a marketing role, but I’ll still get to frequently nerd out about parsers, visitor patterns, and Lossless Semantic Trees (LSTs) thanks to the magic of OpenRewrite, the open source project powering Moderne’s platform.

AI That Matters. The AI boom has been overwhelming, but Moderne isn’t just bolting on AI for buzz. They’re thoughtfully weaving it into the platform, using a hybrid approach to combine their rules-based system of deterministic recipes and balancing it with all that LLMs and machine learning brings to the table.

Broad Skill Application. I’ve always gravitated toward roles that blend technical expertise and depth with strength in soft skills like communication, collaboration, storytelling, and problem-solving. Moderne’s small and nimble team gives me the chance to wear multiple hats and contribute wherever I’m needed most.

People I Respect. I’m lucky to be joining a team full of folks I’ve admired for a while. It’s energizing to be surrounded by smart, driven people. Plus, there’s a strong Java foundation here that keeps me connected to my friends in the Spring community.

Remote First. The Moderne team is globally distributed, and I’ve been working remotely since before it was cool. While I certainly appreciate in-person meet-ups on occasion, async communication suits me just fine. I've been able to build trust through consistent delivery rather than relying on physical presence, and with today’s collaboration tools, it’s easy for remote teams to stay connected and effective.

As I step into this next chapter, I’m excited to help reshape how developers write and maintain software by making refactoring easier, faster, and smarter. Let’s go!