Synon

Synon is a legacy software development technology originating in the 1980s from the Synon Corporation. It was designed to support rapid application development for IBM midrange systems by providing a model-driven environment that could generate source code for RPG, COBOL, and CL from higher-level specifications. The product family centered on a 4GL workflow that included data modeling, screen design, and business logic, enabling enterprises to deploy complex applications with reduced hand coding.

During the 1990s, Synon expanded its toolset with additional design and deployment components, attracting users in finance, manufacturing, and other sectors reliant on IBM midrange platforms. The approach emphasized reusability and maintainability by abstracting application structure from platform-specific code, helping organizations accelerate development cycles and governance.

In the late 1990s, Synon was acquired by CA Technologies and the product line was rebranded as CA 2E. The branding evolved over subsequent decades as CA Technologies and its products were integrated into Broadcom’s portfolio in 2018. The Synon/2E lineage remains part of Broadcom’s enterprise software line, though the Synon brand itself became less prominent.

Today, CA 2E is considered a legacy tool within the IBM i ecosystem. It is noted for enabling rapid development and code generation for IBM i environments but is maintained primarily for existing installations rather than new project work in most organizations.