First E d i t i o *

^ ^ ..... ........
Univers'tSt Hamburg
I j r I n l o r m a t i k
E i b l i o t h e k
( ! ? n f u t ^ L
A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .
Additional c o p l > . . r . S? postpaid f r o .
H u g o ' s Bo o k S e r v i c e , Box 2 6 2 2 ,
C h i c a g o , I l l i n o i s 6 0 6 9 0 .
P a e k a R e o f t e n c o p i e s , $ 5 0 p o s t p a i d .
Any nitwit can understand computers, and many do.
Unfortunately, due to ridiculous historical circumstances,
computers have been made a mystery to most of the world.
And this situation does not seem to be Improving. You
hear more and more about computers, but to most people
it's just one big b l u r . The people who know sbout computers
often seem unwilling to explain things or answer your ques
tions . Stereotyped notions develop about computers operating
In fixed ways-- and so confusion increases. The chasm
between lsymen and computer people widens fast and danger
ously .
This book Is a measure of desperation, so serious
and abysms! Is the public sense of confusion and ignorance.
Anything with buttons or lights can be palmed off on the
layman as a computer. There are so many different things,
and their differences are so important; yet to the lay public
they are lumped together as "computer stuff." indistinct
and beyond understanding or criticism. Its as If people
couldn't tell apart camera from exposure meter or tripod,
or car from truck or tollbooth. This book is therefore devoted
to the premise that
EVERYBODY SHOULD UNDERSTAND COMPUTERS .
It is intended to fill a crying need. Lots of everyday people
have aeked me where they can learn about computers, and
1 have had to say nowhere. Most of what is written about
computers for the layman is either unreadable or silly.
(Some exceptions are listed nearby: you can go to them
Instead of this if you want.) But virtually nowhere is the
big picture simply enough explained. Nowhere can one
get a simple, soup-to-nut6 overview of what computers
are really about, without technical or mathematical mumbo-
jumbo, complicated examples, or talking down. This book
is an attempt.
(And nowhere have I seen a simple book explaining
to the layman the fabulous wonderlsnd of computer graphics
which awaits us a l l . a matter which means a great deal
to me personally . as well as a lot to all of us in general.
That's discussed on the flip side.)
Computers are simply a necessary and enjoyable
part of life, like food and books. Computers are not everything,
they are just an aspect of everything, and not to know this
is computer Illiteracy, a silly and dangerous ignorance.
Computers are as easy to understand as cameras.
I have tried to make this book like a photography magazine--
breery, forceful and as vivid ss possible. This book will
explain how to tell apples from oranges and which way
la u p . If you want to make cider, or help get things right
aide u p , you will have to go on from h er e.
I am not a skillful programmer, hands-on person
or eminent professional; I am just a computer fan. computer
fanatic if you will. But if Dr. David Reuben can write about
sex I can certainly write about computers. I have written
this like a letter to a nephew , chatty and personal. This
is perhaps less boring for the re s der. and certainly less
boring for the wr it e r . who is doing this in a h u r r y . Like
a photography magazine, it throws at you some rudiments
In a merry setting. Other things are thrown in so you'll
get the sound of them, even if the details are elusive.
(We learn most everyday things by beginning with vague
impressions, but somehow encouraging these is not usually
felt to be respectable.) What I have chosen for inclusion
here has been a r b i tr ar y . based on what might amuse and
give quick Insight. Any bright highschool kid, or anyone
else who can stumble through the details of s photography
magazine, should be able to understand this book, or get
the main ideas. This will not make you a programmer or
a computer person, though it may help you talk that t al k .
and perhaps make you feel more comfortable (or at least
able to cope) when new machines encroach on your life.
If you can get a chance to learn programming-- see the
suggestions on p . - - i t ' s an awfully good experience for
anybody above fourth gra de. But the main idea of this
book is to help you tell apples from oranges. and which
wsy is up. I hope you do go on from here, and have made
a few suggestions.
1am "publiahing" this book myself. In this first
draft form, to test its viability, to see how mad the computer
people g et . and to see If there is as much hunger to understand
computers, among all you Polks Out There, as I t hink.
I will be interested to receive corrections and suggestions
for subsequent editions. if any. (The computer field is
Its own exploding universe, so I' ll worry about up-to-dateness
at that time.)
0 * THU * * * ;
Man has created the myth of "the computer" in his own image,
or one of them: cold, immaculate, sterile, "scientific." oppressive.
Some people flee this image. Others, drawn toward it, have
joined the cold-sterile-oppressive cult, and propagate it like a faith.
Many are still sbout this mischief, making people do things rigidly
and saying it is the computer's fault.
Still others see computer* for what they really are: versatile
gizmos which may be turned to any purpose, in any style. And so
a wealth of new stylea and human purposes are being proposed and
t ried, each proponent propounding his own dream in his own very
personal way.
This book presents s panoply of things and dreams. Perhaps
some will appeal to the r e a d e r . ..
THE COMPUTER PRIESTHOOD
Knowledge is power and so it tends to be hoarded.
Experts in any field rarely want people to understand what
they do .and generally enjoy putting people down.
Thus if we say that the use of computers Is dominated
by a priesthood. people who spatter you with unlntelligable
answers and seem unwilling to give you straight ones.
it is not that they are different in this respect from any
other profession. Doctors, lawyers and construction engineers
are the same way.
But computers are very special. and we have to deal
with them everywhere, and this effectively gives the computer
priesthood a stranglehold on the operation of all large organiza
tions. of government bureaux, and anything else that they
r u n . Members of Congress are now complaining about
control of information by the computer people. that they
cannot get the information even though it' s on computers.
Next to this it seems a small matter that in ordinary companies
"untrained" personnel can't gel straight questions answered
by computer people; but it' s the same phenomenon.
It is imperative for many reasons that the appalling
gap between public and computer insider be closed. As
the saying goes. war is too important to be left to the generals.
Guardianship of the computer can no longer be left to a
priesthood. 1 see this as just one example of the creeping
evil of Professionalism .* the control of aspects of society
by cliques of i nsiders. There may be some chance, though,
that Professionalism can be turned around. Doctors, for
example, are being told that they no longer own people's
bodies. "* And this book may suggest to some computer
professionals that their position should not be as sacrosanct
as they have thought, cither.
This in not to say that computer people are trying
to louse everybody up on purpose. Like anyone trying
to do a complex job as he sees f i t . they don't want to be
bothered with idle questions and complaints. Indeed, probab
ly any group of insiders would have hoarded computers
just as much. If the computer had evolved from the telegraph
(which it just might have). perhaps the librarians would
have hoarded it conceptually as much as the math and en
gineering people have. But things have gone too far.
People have legitimate complaints about the way computers
a r e u s e d . and legitimate ideas for ways they should be
used, which should no longer be shunted aside.
In no way do I mean to condemn computer people
in general. (Only the ones who don't want you to know
what's going on.) The field is full of fine, imaginative
people. Indeed, the number of creative and brilliant people
known within the field for their clever and creative contri
butions is considerable. They deserve to be known as widely
a s . s ay, good photographers or wr i t e r s .
"Computers are catching h^ll from growing multitudes
who see them uniformly as the tools of the
regulation and suffocation of all things warm.
moist, and human. The charges, of course, '
are not totally unfounded, but in their most
sweeping form they are ineffective and therefore
actually an acquiescence to the dehumanization
which they d ec ry . We clearly need a much more
discerning evaluation in order to clarify the
ethics of various roles of machines in human
affairs."
Ken Knowlton
in "Collaborations with Artists--
a Programmer's Reflections"
in Nake a Rosenfeld, e d s . ,
Graphic Languages
(North-Holland Pub. Co.),
p. 399.
* This is a side point. I see Professionalism aa a spreading
disease of the present-day world, a sort of poly-oligarchy
by which various groups (subway conductors, social workers,
bricklayers) can bring things to a halt if their particular
new increased demands are not met. (Meanwhile, the Irrele
vance of each profession increases, in proportion to its
increasing rigidity. ) Such lucky groups demand more
In each go-round-- but meantime, the number who are
permanently unemployed grows and grows.
Hamburg
** Ellen Frankfort, Vaginal Politics, Quadrangle Books.
Boston Women'a Health Collective, Our Bodies, Ourselves.'
Simon a Schuster.
Thi sf s i d e of t h e b o o k . C o m p u t e r Li b p r o p e r ( w h o s e t i t l e i s n e v e r t h e l e s s
t h e s i m p l e r ! wa y l o r e f e r lo b o t h h a l v e s ) , i s a n a t t e m p t t o e x p l a i n s i m p l y a n d
c o n c i s e l y wh y c o m p u t e r s a r e m a r v e l o u s a n d w o n d e r f u l , a n d what some mai n
t h i n g s a r e i . i t h e f i e l d .
T h e s e c o n d h a l f of t he b o o k . Dr eam Ma c h i n e s , i s s p e c i a l l y a b o u t f a n t a s y
a n d i m a g i n a t i o n , a n d n e w t e c h n i q u e s f or i t . T h a r h a l f i s r e l a t e d l o t h i s h a l f ,
b u t c a n be r e a d fi r sL; I w a n t e d l o s e p a r a t e t hem a s d i s t i n c t l y a s p o s s i b l e .
T h e r e m a r k s b e l o w a l l r e f e r t o t h i s f i r s t h a l f , t h e C o m p u t e r L i b ha l f
o f Lhe b o o k .
FANDOM
Wit h t h i s book I am no l o n g e r c a l l i n g m y s e l f a c o m p u t e r
p r o f e s s i o n a l . I ' m a c o m p u t e r f a n , a n d I'm o u t l o m a k e y o u
o n e . (Al l c o m p u t e r p r o f e s s i o n a l s w e r e f a n s o n c e , b u t p e o p l e
g e t c r a b b i e r a e t h e y g e t ol d e r , a n d mor e p r o f e s s i o n a l - )
A g e n e r a t i o n of c o mp u t e r f ane a n d h o b b y i s t s i s wel l on
I t s w a y , b u t f o r t h e most p a r t t h e s e a r e p e o p l e who h a v e
h a d s ome s o r t of a n I n . T h i s i s me ant t o b e a n I n f o r t h o s e
who d i d n ' t g e t on e e a r l i e r .
T h e c o m p u t e r f a n i s s ome one who a p p r e c i a t e s t h e
o p t i o n s , f u n , e x c i t e m e n t , a nd f i e n d i s h f a s c i n a t i o n of c o m p u t e r s .
Not o n l y l e t h e c o m p u t e r fun i n i t s e l f , l i k e e l e c t r i c t r a i n s ;
b u t I t a l s o e x t e n d s t o y o u a wi de v a r i e t y o f p o s s i b l e p e r s o n a l
u s e s . On c a s e you d o n ' t know i t , t he p r i c e of c o m p u t e r s
a n d of u s i n g t hem i s g o i n g down a s f a s t a s e v e r y o t h e r
p r i c e 1b g o i n g u p . So i n t h e n e x t few d e c a d e s we may b e
r e d u c e d t o e a t i n g s o y b e a n s a n d c a r r o t s , b u t w e ' l l c e r t a i n l y
h a v e c o m p u t e r s . )
Somehow t he I dea i s a b r o a d t h a t c o m p u t e r a c t i v i t i e s
a r e u n c r e a t i v e , a s c o m p a r e d . s a y , wi t h r o t a t i n g c l a y a g a i n s t
y o u r f i n g e r s u n t i l It b e co me s a p o t . T h i s i s c a t e g o r i c a l l y
f a l s e . C o m p u t e r s i n v o l v e i ma g i n a t i o n a n d c r e a t i o n a t t h e
h i g h e s t l e v e l . C o m p u t e r s a r e an i n v o l v e m e n t you c a n r e a l l y
g e t i n t o , r e g a r d l e s s of y o u r t r i p o r y o u r k a r m a . Th e y
a r e t o y s , t h e y a r e t o o l s , t he y a r e g l o r i o u s a b s t r a c t i o n s .
So I t yo u l i k e me n t a l c r e a t i o n , t o y t r a i n s , o r a b s t r a c t i o n s ,
c o m p u t e r s a r e f or y o u . I f you a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n d e m o c r a c y
a n d i t s f u t u r e , y o u ' d b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d c o m p u t e r s . And
It y o u a r e c o n c e r n e d a b o u t p o we r a n d t h e wa y i t i s b e i n g
u s e d , a n d a r e n ' t we a l l r i g h t n o w, t h e sa me t h i n g g o e s .
THE SOCIETY
Whi ch b r i n g s u s to o u r n e x t t o p i c .
T h e r e I s no q u e s t i o n of w h e t h e r t h e c o m p u t e r wi l l
r e m a k e s o c i e t y ; i t h a s . You d e a l wi t h c o m p u t e r s p e r h a p s
ma n y t i m e s a d a y - - o r w o r s e , c o m p u t e r s d e a l wi t h y o u ,
t h o u g h y o u ma y n o t k n o w i t . Co m p u t e r s a r e g o i n g i nt o
e v e r y t h i n g , a r e i n t e r t w i n e d w i t h e v e r y t h i n g , a n d i t ' s g o i n g
t o g e t mo r e a n d m o r e s o . T h e r e a d e r s h o u l d h a v e a s e n s e
of t h e d a n c e o f o p t i o n s , t h e r e m a r k a b l y d i f f e r e n t w a y s
t h a t c o m p u t e r s may b e u s e d : b y e x t e n s i o n , h e s h o u l d c ome
to s e e t h e e x t r a o r d i n a r y r a n g e of o p t i o n s w h i c h c o n f r o n t
u s a s a s o c i e t y i n o u r f u t u r e u s e of t h e m. I n d e e d , c o m p u t e r s
h a v e wi t h a swoop e x p a n d e d t h e o p t i o n s of e v e r y t h i n g -
Bu t a v a r i e t y o f i n c o n v e n i e n t s y s t e m s a l r e a d y t o u c h o n
o u r l i v e s , n u i s a n c e s w e m u s t d e a l w i t h al l t h e t i me; a n d
I f e a r t h a t w o r s e i s t o c ome , I woul d l i k e lo a l e r t t h e r e a d e r ,
i n n o u n c e r t a i n t e r m s , t h a t t h e ti me h a s come t o b e o p e n l y
a t t e n t i v e a n d c r i t i c a l i n o b s e r v i n g a n d d e a l i n g wi t h c o m p u t e r
s y s t e m s ; a n d t o t r a n s f o r m c r i t i c i s m i n t o a c t i o n . I f s y s t e m s
a r e b a d , a n n o y i n g a n d d e m e a n i n g , t h e s e m a t t e r s s h o u l d
b e b r o u g h t t o t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h e p e r p e t r a t o r s . Pol i t e l y
a t f i r s t . B u t j u s t a s t h e a t m o s p h e r i c p o l l u t i o n f o s t e r e d b y
GM h a s b e c o me a m a t t e r f o r c i t i z e n c o n c e r n a n d a t t a c k t h r o u g h
l e g i t i m a t e c h a n n e l s o f p r o t e s t , s o t oo s h o u l d t h e p r o c e d u r a l
p o l l u t i o n o f i n c o n s i d e r a t e c o m p u t e r s y s t e m s become a m a t t e r
f o r t h e s a me k i n d s o f c o n c e r n . T h e r e a d e r s h o u l d r e a l i z e h e
c a n c r i t i c i z e a n d d e ma n d ;
THE PUBLIC DOES NOT HAVE TO TAKE
WHAT'S BEING DISHED OUT .
T h e r e i s a l r e a d y a b a c k l a s h a g a i n s t c o m p u t e r s , a n d
t h e s p i r i t o f t h i s a n l i - c o m p u t e r b a c k l a s h i s c o r r e c t , b u t
s h o u l d b e d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t v e r y s p e c i f i c k i n d s or t h i n g s .
T h e p u b l i c s h o u l d s t o p b e i n g m a d at " c o m p u t e r s " i n t h e
a b s t r a c t , a n d s t a r t b e i n g ma d a t t h e p e o p l e w h o ma k e i n
c o n v e n i e n t s y s t e m s . I t i s n o t " t h e c o m p u t e r , " w h i c h h a s
n o I n t r i n s i c s t y l e o r c h a r a c t e r , w h i c h i s a t f a u l t ; i l i s p e o p l e
wh o u s e " l h e c o m p u t e r " a s a n e x c u s e t o i n c o n v e n i e n c e y o u ,
who a r e a t f a u l t . T h e m e c h a n i s m s of l e g i t i m a t e p u b l i c
p r o t e s t - - . s i t - i n s a n d so o n - - s h o u l d p e r h a p s s o o n b e t u r n e d
t o c o m p l a i n t o v e r b a d a nd i n h u m a n c o m p u t e r s y s t e m s .
T h e q u e s t i o n i s , wi l l t h e c r u m m i e r t r e n d s c o n t i n u e ?
O r c a n t h e p u b l i c l e a r n , i n t i m e , w h a t go o d a n d b e a u t i f u l
t h i n g s a r e p o s s i b l e , a n d t r a n s l a t e t h i s r e a l i z a t i o n i n t o d n
e f f e c t i v e d e m a n d ? I do not b e l i e v e t h i s i s a n o b s c u r e o r
s p e c i a l i z e d i s s u e . I t s s h a d o w f al l s a c r o s s t h e f u t u r e of
m a n k i n d , i f a n y , l i k e a g i a n t s e q u o i a . E i t h e r c o m p u t e r
s y s t e m s a r e g o i n g l o g o o n i n c o n v e n i e n c i n g o u r l i v e s , o r
t h e y a r e g o i n g t o b e t u r n e d a r o u n d t o m a k e l i f e b e t t e r .
T h i s i s o n e o f l h e d i r e c t i o n s t h a t c o n s u m e r i s m s h o u l d t u r n .
1 h a v e a n a x e t o g r i n d : I w a n t t o s e e c o m p u t e r s u s e f u l
t o i n d i v i d u a l s , a n d l he s o o n e r t h e b e l t e r , w i t h o u t n e c e s s a r y
c o m p l i c a t i o n o r h u m a n s e r v i l i t y b e i n g r e q u i r e d . A n y o n e
w h o a g r e e s w i t h t h e s e p r i n c i p l e s i s o n my s i d e , a n d a n y o n e
w h o d o e s n o t , i s n o t .
THI S BOOK IS FOR PERSONAL FREEDOM.
AND AGAI NST RESTRI CTION AND COERCION ,
T h a t ' s r e a l l y a l l i t ' s a b o u t . Many p e o p l e , f o r r e a s o n s of
t h e i r o w n , e n j o y a n d b e l i e v e i n r e s t r i c t i n g a n d c o e r c i n g
p e o p l e ; t h e r e a d e r may d e c i d e w h e t h e r h e i s f o r o r a g a i n s t
t h i s p r i n c i p l e .
A c h a n l y o u c a n t a k e t o t h e s t r e e t s :
COMPUTER POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
DOWN WITH CYBERCRUD!
THE FUTURE, IF ANY
S i m p l y a s a m a t t e r o f c i t i z e n s h i p , i t i s e s s e n t i a l l o
u n d e r s t a n d t h e i m p a c t a n d u s e s of c o m p u t e r s i n t h e w o r l d
o f t h e f u t u r e , i f a n y : a n d t o h a v e a s e n s e o f t h e i s s u e s a b o u t
c o m p u t e r s l h a l c o n f r o n t u s a s a p e o p l e - - e s p e c i a l l y p r i v a c y
a n d d a t a b a n k s , b u t a l s o s t r a n g e new a d d i t i o n s l o o u r
e c onomi c s y s t e m ( " t h e c h e c k l e s s s o c i e t y " ) , o u r p o l i t i c a l
s y s t e m ( h a l f - b a k e d v o t e - a t - h o m e p r o p o s a l s ) , a n d s o o n .
I r e g r e t t h a t t h e r e i s not r oom t o c o v e r t h e s e h e r e .
V a r i o u s c o m p a n i e s o r e s e e k i n g w i d e p u b l i c s u p p o r t f o r
t h e s o r t s o f t h i n g s t h e y a r e t r y i n g t o b r i n g a b o u t . L e g i s l a t i o n
wi l l b e p r o p o s e d o n w h i c h t h e v i e w s o f t h e p u b l i c s h o u l d
h a v e a b e a r i n g . II i s i m p o r t a n t t h a t t h e s e b e u n d e r s t o o d
s e n s i b l y b y s o m e p a r t o f t h e e l e c t o r a t e b e f o r e t h e y a r e m a d e
t oo p e r m a n e n t , r a t h e r l h a n ma d e m a i l e r s of d u m b a s s e n t .
F i n a l l y , a n d moat s o l e m n l y , c o m p u t e r s a r e h e l p i n g
u s u n d e r s t a n d l h e u n p r e c e d e n t e d d a n g e r of o u r f u t u r e
( s e e " T h e C l u b of R o m e p . ^ f l ) . The h u ma n r a c e may
h a v e o n l y a s h o r l t i m e l e f t o n e a r t h , e v e n i f t h e r e i s n o w a r .
T h e s e s t u d i e s m u s t b e s e e n a n d u n d e r s t o o d b y a s ma ny
i n t e l l i g e n t men of good wi l l a s p o s s i b l e .
THEREFORE
Wel come t o t h e c o m p u t e r w o r l d , t h e d a m n d e s t a n d
c r a z i e s t t h i n g t h a t h a s e v e r h a p p e n e d . But we , t h e c o m p u t e r
p e o p l e . a r e n o t c r a z y . I t i s y o u o t h e r s who a r e c r a z y t o
l e t u s h a v e a l l t h i 6 f u n a n d p o w e r t o o u r s e l v e s .
COMPUTERS BELONG TO ALL MANKIND.
B . A . , p h i l o s o p h y . S w a r t h m o r e ; g r a d u a t e s t u d y U. o f C h i c a g o : M . A . , s o c i o l o g y , H a r v a r d . Mos t l y s e l f - t a u g h t i n c o m p u t e r s ,
Me mber of e d i t o r i a l b o a r d , C o m p u t e r D e c i s i o n s ma g a z i n e ; l i s t e d i n New Yo r k T i m e s Who' a Who i n C o m p u t e r s ; m e m b e r of
A s s o c i a t i o n f or C o m p u t i n g M a c h i n e r y s i n c c 1964.
R e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n t . C o m mu n i c a t i o n R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e , 1962- 3. I n s t r u c t o r i n s o c i o l o g y , V a s s a r C o l l e g e , 1964- 6.
S e n i o r s t a f f r e s e a r c h e r , H a r c o u r t , B r a c e Wor l d P u b l i s h e r s , 1 966- 7. C o n s u l t a n t lo Bel l T e l e p h o n e L a b o r a t o r i e s , W h i p p a n y , N . J . , 1 9 6 7 - 8 .
C o n s u l t a n t t o CBS L a b o r a t o r i e s , S t a m f o r d , C t . , 1 960- 9. P r o p r i e t o r o f T h e Nel s on O r g a n i z a t i o n , I n c . , New Y o r k C i t y , 1969- 72.
L e c t u r e r i n a r t , U. o f I l l i n o i s a t C h i c a g o C i r c l e , s p r i n g 1973.
L e c t u r e r i n c o m p u t e r e d u c a t i o n , Of f i ce o f I n s t r u c t i o n a l R e s o u r c e s D e v e l o p me n t , U. o f I l l i n o i s a t C h i c a g o C i r c l e , 1 973- 4. P h o t o b y Ro g e r F i e l d .
* mo e I T 'S A T
Computers are where It's at.
Recently a bank employee was accused of
embezzling a million and a hall dollars by clever
computer programming. Hie programs shifted
funds from hundreds of people's accounts to his
own. but apparently kept things looking Innocent
by clever programming tricks. According to the
papers, the program kept up appearances by
redeposltlng lhe stolen amount in each account just
as interest payments were about to be calculated,
then withdrawing It again just after. ("Chief
Teller la Accused of Theft of Si. 5 Million at a Bank
Here." New York Times, 23 March 73, p. 1.)
The alleged embezzlement was discovered, not by
bank audit, but by records found on the premises
of a raided bookmaker.
In a recent scandal that has rocked the
insurance world, an Insurance company appears
to have generated thousands of fictitious customers
and accounts by computer, then bilked other
inaurance companies-- those who re-insured the
original fictitious policies-- by fictitious claims
on the fictitious misfortunes of the fictitious
policy-holders.
In April of 1673, according to the Chicsgo
radio, a burglary ring had a "computerized" list
of a thousand prospective victims.
There have been Instances where dishonest
university students, nevertheless sble programmers,
were able to change their course grades. stored
on a central university computer.
It is not unheard of for ace programmers to
create grand incomprehensible systems that run
whole companies, systems they can personally play
like a piano, and then blackmail their Arms.
A friend of a friend of the author Is an ace
programmer at the Pentagon supposedly a private
supervising colonels. On days he Is mad at his
boss, he says, the army cannot find out Ha strength
within 300,000 men. Or three million if he so
chooses.
This awkward state of affairs, obviously
spanning both the American continent and most
realms of endeavor, has come about for various
reasons.
First, the climate of uncomprehenalon leads
men in management to treat computer matters as
"mere technicalities"a myth as sinister as the
public notion that computers are "scientific"-*
and abandon the kind of scrutiny they sensibly
apply to any other company activities.
Second most of today's computer systems are
Inherently leaky and Insecureand likely lo stay
that way awhile. Getting things to work on them
Involves giving people extraordinary and Invisible
powers. (Eventually this will change, but watch
out for the meantime.)
The obvious consequence Is simply for the
computer people to be allowed to take over
altogether. It may Indeed be that computer people
-- the more well-informed and visionary ones,
anywaycan see the farthest, and appreciate
most deeply the better ways things can go, and
the steps that have to be taken to get ther e. (And
Boards of Managers can at least be partially assured
that hanky-panky at the lower levels will be
prevented, If men In charge know where the bodies
are burled. )
That seems to be how It's going. Examples:
The president of Dartmouth College, John
Kemeny, is a respected computerman and a devel
oper of one of the important computing languages,
BASIC (see p. \(, ).
The new president of the Russell Sage Foun
dation, Hugh Cline, used to teach computing at
Columbia.
It's probably the same in Industry. In other
words, more and more, for better and for worse,
things are being run by people who know how to
use computers, and this trend is probsbly i r r e
versible.
In some ways, of course, this la s sinister
portent. In private industry It's not so bad,
since the danger is more of embezzlement and
botch-up than of public menace. But then there's
the problem of the government. The men who
manage the Information tools sre more and more
In charge of government, loo. And If we can have
a Watergate without computers, just wait. (See
"Burning Issues," p. 5g)
The way to defend ourselves sgalnst computer
people la to become computer people ourselves.
Which of course Is the point. We must all become
computer people, at least to the extent that we have
already become Automobile People and Camera
Peoplethat i s, Informed enough to tell when one
goes by or when someone points one at you.
MANY MANSIONS
The future is going to be full of computers,
for good or ill. Many computer systems are being
prepsred by a variety of lunatics, idealists and
dreamers, as well as profit-hungry companies and
unimaginative clods, all for the benefit of msnklnd.
Which ones will work and which ones we will like is
another matter. The grand and dreamy ones bid fair
to reorganize drastically the lives of mankind.
For Instance, Doug Engelbart at Stanford
Research Institute has a beautiful system, called NI,
that will allow us to use computers aa a generalized
postoffice and publication system. From your com
puter terminal you just sign onto Engelbart's System,
and you're at once In touch with lots of writings by
other subscribers. which you may call to your
screen and write replies to.
(These grander and dreamier applications are
discussed on the other side of this book.)
But the plain computer visions are grand
enough.
But while computers and their combinations
grow bigger and bigger, they also grow smaller
and smaller. A complete computer the size of an
OreoTwolde Is now available, guaranteed for
twentyflve years (and very expensive). But its
actual heart, the Intel microprocessor. Is only
sixty bucks now, and just wait (see Microprocessors,
p . */^ ) . By 19B0 there should be as many pro
grammed and programmable objects In your house
as you now have TVs, radios and typewriters;
that's s conservative estimate. But just what these
devices will all be doingah there's the question
that has many people talking to themselvea.
OTHER COMINGTHINGS?
There are a lot of tall stories about what
computers will do for the world. Among lhe most
threatening, I think, are glowing reporta of
"scientific" politics (don't you believe i t ) . We
hear how computers will bring "science to govern
ment, helping, for example, to redraw the lines of
election districts. (See Cybercrud, p . $ .)
Then you may also have heard that computers
are going to be our new mentors and companions,
tutoring u s , chatting with us and perhaps lulling us
to sleep like Hal in 2001. Worried? Good.
(See "The God-Builders," nip side. ) (t. ' ^)
6) o t z t a h i m t n p i r
A college student broke through the security of the
Pacific Telephone computer system from a terminal and,
according to Computerworld (6 June 73), stole over s
million dollars worth of equipment by ordering it
delivered to him! (Penthouse, December 73, claims he
was i n hlghschool and it was only nine hundred thousand,
but you gel the idea.)
After serving a few weeks In j ai l , he has formed
his own computer-securlty consulting compsny.
More power to him.
The new breed has got to be watched.
This is the urgency of this book. Remember
that the man who writes lhe payroll program can
write himself some pretty amazing checks-- perhaps
to be mailed out to Switzerland, next year.
From here on it's computer politics, computer
dirty tricks, computer wonderlands, computer
everything.
For anyone concerned to be where it' s a t ,
then, this book will provide a few suggestions.
Now is the Ume you either know or you don't.
Enough power talk. Knowledge Is power.
Here you go. Dig in.
The great world of time-sharing, for Instance.
("Time-sharing" means thst the computer's time is
shared by a variety of users simultaneously. See
p . i ? . ) If you have an account on a time-sharing
computer, you can sign on from your terminal
(see p. I'f) over any telephone, no matter where
you are, and at once do anylhlng that particular
computer allowscalling up programs in a variety
of computer languages, dipping into data on a
variety of subjects as easily as one now consults
a chart.
For instance, at Dartmouth College-- where
time-sharing is perhaps farthest advanced as a
way of lifethe user (any Dartmouth student, for
instance) can just sit down at a terminal and write
a simple program (In Dartmouth's BASIC language,
for Instance) to analyze cenaus data. Since Dart
mouth has a complete file on its time-shsrlng system
of the detailed sample from the 1070 census, the
program can buzz through that and report almost
immediately the numbers of divorced Aleuts or
boy millionaires in the sample, or (more signifi
cantly) the relative Incomes of different ethnic
groups when categorized according to the quea-
tioner's interests.
But simple time-sharing la only the beginning.
Networks of computers are now coming into being.
Most significant of these is the ARPANET (financed
by AAPA, the Defense Department's Advanced
Research Projects Agency, it is nonetheless non-
mtlitary In character). Dozens of large time-shsring
computers around the country are being tied into the
Arpanet. and a user of any of these can reach dir
ectly into the olher computers of the network-
using their programs, data or other facilities.
Arpanet enthusiasts see this aa the wave of the
future.
G E T T I N G - W S S T N I f i H t
The greatest hurdle for the beginner (or
"layman") is making an effort to grasp particulars
of that which he hears about.
A. WHAT IS ITS NAME? Every system or
proposal or project has a name of some sort. Make
an effort to learn i t , or you're stuck trying to refer
to "that computerish thing."
(And don't be a snob about acronyms, those
all-cap names snd terms sprung from the foreheads
of other words, like ILLIAC and PLATO and CAI.
There's a need for them. Short words are too
general to use for names, and long phrases are
too unwieldy.)
B. IN WHAT PARTICULAR WAY DOBS IT
EMPLOY THE COMPUTER? For record-keeping?
For looking stuff up quickly or fancily? For
sesrchlng out combinations? For making up combi
nations and testing their properties? For enacting
complex phenomena? As automatic typewriters?
To play music, or just to store the written notes?
It is hoped thst you will become sensitive
to these distinctions, and be able to understand and
remember them after somebody explains them.
Otherwise you're stuck just referring to
"that computer business," and you're In with the
rest of the sheep.
s
People ask me often where they can learn
about "sci ence." As In all fields, maga
zines are usually the b es t sources of
general orientation.
Science Digest Is kind of helpful for a s t a r t .
although unfortunately they pri nt summaries
of every fool study that generalizes to the
hearts of all humanity from two dozen Iowa
State freshmen.
Scientific American is the favorite. Some stuff
Is har d to re ad but some . isn't; the pi c
t ure s and diagrams ar e t e r r i f i c .
Science t Technology magazine seems to me
one of the b et t er ones- - breezy, informa
t i v e, not t ri vi al .
Science magazine is read by most actual scien
t i s t s , and i f you have a lively curiosity
and can guess at the meaningsof words,
will tell you an i ncredible amount. (This
is a main source for the science articles
in the New York Ti mes, which in t u r n . . . )
The ir ar ticles on politics of science, and
the future, are very int eresti ng, important,
and dep r es s i n g. You have to Join Am. Assn.
for the Advancement of Science. Washington,
D.C.
Daniel S. Gr eenberg' s Science and Government
Report ( s o r r y $35 a yea r) is what really
tells i t . Greenberg i s the man who knows,
both what is shaping up in science and
the insane governmental confusions and
floundering responses and grandstanding
and po r k - b a r r e l i n i t i a t i v e s . . .
Greenberg i s , incidentally, one of
the finest wr it e rs of o ur time and a great
humorist.
Science and Government Repor t ,
Kalorama Station (r eal l y?) , Box 21123,
Washington, D.C. 20009.
This is the wall that the handwriting
i s o n .
The explanations not y et fully debugged are
intended for anybody. The listings of expensive products
and services ar e intended not only as corroborative det a il ,
for a general sense of wha t' s available, but also for
business people who might find them helpful, for affluent
individuals and Qlubs who want to t ry their h a n d , and
finally as a box score of how the prices are coming down.
Because we are all going to b e able to afford these things
pretty soon.
f l ^ c c o ( n r - r )
h s , o Q ( w - i )
This diagram shows the amazing and unique way prices
drop in the computer field. The prices shown are for the f i rs t
minicomputer, the PDP-5 (and its hugely popular offspring, the
PDP-8); but the principle has held throughout the field, and the
downward trend will probably accelerate due to the new big
Integrated ci r cui t s.
Another example: an IBM 7090, a very decent million-dollar
computer in 1960, was put up for sale at a modish Parke-Bernet
"used computer auction" in 1970. If I remember ar i ght, they
could not get a $1000 b i d , because today's machines are so much
smaller, faster and more dependable.
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I T 'S A T
I H T * | I J
2 INTRO
4 "Where Its At"
fi Sources of Information
5 CYBERCRUD
9 Tills MYTH OF THE COMPUTER
10 The Power and the Glory
11 THE DEEP DARK SECRET
(Computer Basics Reduced
to One Easy Page)
12 THE NEW ERA
13 INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS
14 TERMINALS
15 COMPUTER LANGUAGES: Prelude
16 1. BASIC
IB 2. TRAC Language
22 3. APL
26 DATA STRUCTURES
27 Binary Patterns
30 COMPUTER LANGUAGES: Postscript
32 ROCK BOTTOM: Inner Languages
of Computers;
Computer Architecture
34 BUCKY'S WRISTWATCII, a sample
machine-language program
35 The Assembler
36 Your Basic Computer Structure:
THE MINICOMPUTER
38 BIG COMPUTERS
40 GREAT COMPUTERS: Sketches
of Some Specific Machines
43 List of Mini Makers
44 MICROPROCESSORS
(The New Third Kind
of Computer)
4 5 ADVANCED PROGRAMS
45 OPERATING SYSTEMS
45 TIME-SHARING
4 6 COMPUTER PEOPLE
47 Program Negotiation
47 Suggestions for Writers
4B Fun and Games
50 How Computer Stuff is
Bought and Sold
51 How Computer Companies are
Financed, Sometimes
52 IBM
57 Digital Equipment Corporation
57 Peripherals for Your Mini
58 SIMULATION
50 OPERATIONS RESEARCH
58 GREAT ISSUES
58 MILITARY USES OF COMPUTERS
59 The ABM System
60 DNA
62 DAMN THAT COMPUTER!
64 STUFF YOU MAY RUN INTO
68 THE CLUB OF ROME
THE BUCK STOPS HERE
Everywhere in the world people can pretend
that y o u r ignorance, o r position, or cr ede n ti a ls , or
pover ty, or general unworthiness, are the reasons
you ar e being pushed around o r made to feel small.
And because you ca n' t t e l l , you have to take it.
And of course we can do the same thi ng with
computers. Yes, we can do it in spades. (See
" Cy b e r c r u d ," p . 8 . ) But many of us do not want t o .
There has to be a b et t er way. There has to be a
bet t er world.
T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l ma j o r p l a c e s y o u g e t i n f o r
mat i on i n t h e c o m p u t e r f i el d: f r i e n d s , m a g a z i n e s ,
b i n g o c a r d s , c o n f e r e n c e s a n d c o n f e r e n c e p r o c e e d i n g s .
FRIENDS.
F r i e n d s we c a n ' t h e l p w i t h . But y o u m i g h t
make some a t c o n f e r e n c e s . O r j o i n a c o m p u t e r c l u b?
MAGAZINES.
T h e p r i n c i p a l m a g a z i n e s a r e ( f i r s t f ew l i s t e d
r o u g h l y b y d e gTe e o f g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t ) :
D a t a m a t i o n $15 a y e a r o r f r e e . T h e ma i n
c o m p u t e r m a g a z i n e , a b r e e z y . c l e v e r
m o n t h l y . Lot s of a d s . i n t e r e s t i n g a r t i
c l e s t h e l a y ma n c a n r e a d w i t h n o t much
e f f o r t . T w i t s IBM.
S u b s c r i p t i o n s a r e $15 i f y o u ' r e
n o t a c o m p u t e r p e r s o n , f r e e i f y o u a r e .
Da t a m a t i o n . 35 Ma s on S t . , G r e e n w i c h
CT 06830.
C o m p u t e r D e c i s i o n s . Some $7 a y e a r o r f r e e .
Some n i c e l i g h t a r t i c l e s . a s w e l l a s
h e l p f u l r e v i e w a r t i c l e s on d i f f e r e n t
s u b j e c t s . Avoi ds t e c h n i c a l i t i e s .
Co m p u t e r D e c i s i o n s . 50 E s s e x S t . .
Ro s e l l e P a r k NJ 07662.
C o m p u t e r s a n d A u t o ma t i o n . A v o i d s t e c h n i
c a l i t i e s b u t q u i t e a b i t o f s o c i a l - i n t e r e s t
s t u f f . Nobody g e t s i t f r e e ; s o m e t h i n g
l i k e $ 7 . 5 0 a y e a r . B e r k e l e y E n t e r
p r i s e s , I nc. , 0 1 5 Was hi ng t on S t . ,
N e w t o n v i l l e , Ma s s . 02160.
C o m p u t e r w o r l d ( a c t u a l l y a we e k l y t a b l o i d
p a p e r ) . Not f r e e: $9 a y e a r . Mor e
u p - t o - t h e - m i n u t e t h a n mos t p e o p l e
h a v e l i me to b e . C o m p u t e r w o r l d ,
C i r c . D e p t . , 797 Was hi ng t on S t . ,
N e w t o n , Ma s s . 02160.
Co m p u t i n g S u r v e y s . E x c e l l e n t , c l e a r l y
w r i t t e n i n t r o d u c t o r y a r t i c l e s o n a
v a r i e t y of s u b j e c t s . Any s e r i o u s
b e g i n n e r s h o u l d d e f i n i t e l y s u b s c r i b e
t o C o m p u t i n g S u r v e y s . ( Se e ACM.
b e l o w . )
Co m mu n i c a t i o n s of t he ACM. H i g h - c l a s s
M i r * *a 1' j o u r n a l a b o u t t h e o r e t i c a l m a t t e r s a n d
* e v e n t s o n t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l s i d e o f t h e
H e l d . ( Se e ACM, b e l o w . )
C o m p u t e r D e s i g n . $ 1 0 / y r . o r f r e e . C o n c e n
t r a t e s on p a r t s f o r c o m p u t e r s , b u t a l s o
t e l l s t e c h n i c a l d e t a i l s o f new c o m p u t e r s
a n d p e r i p h e r a l s . Co m p u t e r D e s i g n .
C i r c u l a t i o n D e p t . . P . O . Box A,
W i n c h e s t e r . Ma s s . 01890.
Dat a P r o c e s s i n g m a g a z i n e . O r i e n t e d to
c o n v e n t i o n a l b u s i n e s s a p p l i c a t i o n s o f
c o m p u t e r s . $10. Nor t h Ame r i c a n
P u b l i s h i n g C o . , 134 N. 13th S t . ,
P h i l a d e l p h i a , P a . 19107.
C o m p u t e r . ( F o r m e r l y IEEE C o m p u t e r G r o u p
N e w s . ) $ 1 2 / y r . T h o u g h t f u l , c l e a r l y
w r i t t e n a r t i c l e s on h i g h - l e v e l t o p i c s .
Q u i t e a b i t o n A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e
( s e e f l i p s i d e ) . IEEE C o m p u t e r S o c i e t y ,
16400 Vent UTa B l v d . , E n c i n o CA 91316.
He r e a r e some o t h e r m a g a z i n e s t h a t may
i n t e r e s t y o u . No p a r t i c u l a r o r d e r .
P C C . De l i g h t f u l e d u c a t i o n a l / c o u n t e r c u l t u r e
t a b l o i d e m p h a s i z i n g c o m p u t e r ga mes
a n d f u n . O r i e n t e d t o BASIC l a n g u a g e .
$ 4 / y r . f r o m P e o p l e ' s C o m p u t e r Com
p a n y , P . O . Box 31 0, Menl o P a r k ,
CA 94025.
C o m p u t i n g R e v i e w s . P r i n t s r e v i e w s , b y
i n d i v i d u a l s i n t h e f i e l d , o f m o s t of t he
s e r i o u s c o m p u t e r a r t i c l e s . U s e f u l , b u t
s u b j e c t t o i n d i v i d u a l b i a s e s a n d g a p s .
( Se e ACM, b e l o w . )
T h e New E d u c a t i o n a l T e c h n o l o g y . $ 5 / y r .
P r e s u m a b l y c o n c e n t r a t e s o n a c t i v i t i e s
o f i t s p u b l i s h e r : G e n e r a l T u r t l e , I n c . ,
545 T e c h n o l o g y S q u a r e , C a m b r i d g e .
MA 02139: w o n d e r f u l c o m p u t e r t o ys f or
s c h o o l s a n d t h e w e l l - h e e l e d .
T h e Ho n e y we l l C o m p u t e r J o u r n a l . So m e t h i n g
l i k e $10 a y e a r . Ho n ey we l l I n f o r ma t i o n
S y s t e m s , I n c . , P h o e n i x . A r i z o n a .
S h o w c a s e ma g a z i n e o t m i s c e l l a n e o u s
c o n t e n t ; r e a d a b l e , n i c e l y e d i t e d . Has
u n u s u a l p r a c t i c e o f i n c l u d i n g m i c r o f i c h e
( mi c r of i l m c a r d ) o f e n t i r e i s s u e i n a
p o c k e t .
IBM S y s t e m s J o u r n a l . S h o w c a s e t e c h n i c a l
j o u r n a l of m i s c e l l a n e o u s c o n t e n t ,
e s p e c i a l l y a r c a n a a b o u t IBM p r o d u c t s .
$ 5 / y r . IBM. A r m o n k , NY 10504.
IBM J o u r n a l o f R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t .
S h o w c a s e t e c h n i c a l j o u r n a l o f m i s c e l
l a n e o u s c o n t e n t . $ 7 . 5 0 / y e a r . IBM,
A r m o n k . NY 10S04.
J o u r n a l o f t h e ACM. A h i g h l y t e c h n i c a l , ma l h -
( " j A C - K ' A o r i e n l e d j o u r n a l . Hea v y o n g r a p h t h e o r y
V / a n d p a t t e r n r e c o g n i t i o n . ( S e e ACM,
b e l o w . )
Di g i t a l D e s i g n . $15 o r f r e e . About c o m p u t e r
p a r t s a n d d e s i g n s . Di g i t a l D e s i g n .
C i r c . D e p t . , 167 Co r e y Ro a d , B r o o k l i n e ,
M a s s . 02146.
I n f o s y s t e m s . A s p i r i n g m a g . $20 o r f r e e .
Hi t c h c o c k P u b l i c s t o n s , P . O . Box 3007,
Wh ea t on , 111. 60187.
T h i n k . T h i s i s t h e IBM h o u s e o r g a n .
P r e s u m a b l y f r e e t o IBM c u s t o m e r s
o r p r o s p e c t s . IBM. A r m o n k , NY 10504.
T h e r e a r e a l s o e x p e n s i v e ( s n o b ? ) m a g a z i n e s ,
b o u g h t b y e x e c u t i v e s .
C o m p u t e r A g e , $ 9 5 / y r . EDP News S e r v i c e s
I n c . , 514 10th S t . N . W . , Wa s h i n gt on
DC 20004.
C o m p u t e r D i g e s t . $ 3 6 / y r . I n f o r m a t i o n G r o u p ,
1309 C h e r r y S t . , P h i l a d e l p h i a PA 19107.
Dat a P r o c e s s i n g D i g e s t . $ 5 1 / y r . 6820
l a T i j e r a B l v d . . Los A n g e l e s CA 90045.
Hey n o w , h e r e ' s a ma g a z i n e c a l l e d Co m p u t o p i a . On l y $15 a y e a r . Un f o r t u n a t e l y i n J a p a n e s e .
Co m p u t e r Age Co. L t d . , K a s u m i g a s e k l B l d g . , Box 122, C h i y o d a - K u , T o k y o , J a p a n .
T h e b e s t r e v i e w o f w h a t ' s h a p p e n i n g l a t e l y , b y
n o n e o t h e r t h a n Mr . Whole E a r t h C a t a l o g
h i ms e l f : S t e w a r t B r a n d , " S p a c e w a r :
F a n a t i c Life a n d S y m b o l i c Dea t h a mo n g
t h e C o m p u t e r B u m s . " R o l l i n g S t o n e . 2
D e c e m b e r 7 2, 5 0 - 5 6 . He v i s i t e d t h e mo s t
h o t s h o t p l a c e s a n d r e p o r t s e s p e c i a l l y o n
t he f u n - a n d - g a m e s s i d e o f t h i n g s .
G i l b e r t B u r c k a n d t h e E d i t o r s o f F o r t u n e , T h e
C o m p u t e r A g e . H a r p e r a n d R o w . I g n o r e
t he r i d i c u l o u s f u l l t i t l e . T h e C o m p u t e r Age
a n d I t s P o t e n t i a l f o r M a n a g e m e n t ; t h i s book
h a s n o t h i n g t o do w i t h m a n a g e m e n t , b u l i s
a n i c e g e n e r a l o r i e n t a t i o n t o t h e f i e l d .
T h o ma s H. C r o w l e y , U n d e r s t a n d i n g C o m p u t e r s .
Mc Gr a w- Hi l l . T h i s i s t h e mo s t r e a d a b l e a n d
s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e t e c h n i
c a l i t i e s a r o u n d .
J e r e m y B e r n s t e i n , T h e A n a l y t i c a l E n g i n e . Random
H o u s e , 1964. H i s t o r y o f c o m p u t e r s , w e l l t o l d ,
a n d t h e way t h i n g s l o o k e d i n 1964, w h i c h
w a s n ' t r e a l l y v e r y d i f f e r e n t .
Do n a l d E. K n u t h . T h e A r t of P r o g r a m m i n g , ( 7 v o l s . )
A mo n u me n t a l s e r i e s , e x c e l l e n t l y w r i t t e n a nd
w i d e l y p r a i s e d , f o r a n y o n e w h o w a n t s to d i g
i n a n d b e a s e r i o u s p r o g r a m m e r . T h r e e of
( he s e v e n v o l u m e s a r e o u t s o f a r . a t a b o u t
t w e n t y b u c k s a p i e c e . Vo l . 1: F u n d a m e n t a l
A l g o r i t h m s . Vo l . 2: S e m i n u m e r i c a l
A l g o r i t h m s . Vo l . 3: S o r t i n g a n d S e a r c h i n g .
A d d i s o n - We s l e y .
BUMMERS
T h i s i s p e r h a p s a m i n o r i t y v i e w , b u t I t h i n k
a n y i n t r o d u c t i o n to c o m p u t e r s w h i c h ma ke6 t h e m
s e e m i n t r i n s i c a l l y m a t h e m a t i c a l i s m i s l e a d i n g .
H i s t o r i c a l l y t h e y b e g a n a s m a t h e m a t i c a l , b u t now
t h i s i s s i m p l y t h e w r o n g way t o t h i n k a b o u t t h e m .
Sa me g o e s f o r e m p h a s i z i n g b u s i n e s s u s e s a s i f
t h a t w e r e a l l .
We wi l l n ot n a me h e r e a n y o f t h e v a r i o u s
d i s a g r e e a b l e p a m p h l e t s a n d b o o k s w h i c h s t r e s s
t h e s e a s p e c t s a n d d o n ' t m a k e t h i n g s v e r y c l e a r .
K > A B O U T FREE SUBSCRI PTI ONS. Many o f t h e
m a g a z i n e s a r e f r e e t o " q u a l i f i e d r e a d e r s , u s u a l l y
( h o s e w i l l i n g t o s l a t e o n a s i g n e d f o r m t h a t t h e y
i n f l u e n c e t h e p u r c h a s e o f c o m p u t e r s . c o m p u t e r s e r
v i c e s , p u n c h c a r d s , o r t h e l i k e . ( T h e y a s k o t h e r
q u e s t i o n s o n t h e f o r m , b u t w h e t h e r y o u i n f l u e n c e
p u r c h a s e i s u s u a l l y w h a t d e c i d e s w h e t h e r t he y
s e n d y o u t h e m a g a z i n e . ) It i s a l s o h e l p f u l to h a v e
a g o o d - s o u n d i n g t i d e o r c o m p a n y a f f i l i a t i o n .
BINGO CARDS.
T h e s e a r e l i t t l e p o s t c a r d s y o u f i n d i n a l l t h e
m a g a z i n e s e x c e p t t h e ACM a n d c o m p a n y o n e s . F i l l
i n y o u r n a me a n d a n a t t r a c t i v e t i t l e ( " S y s t e m s
C o n s u l t a n t " o r " c o n s u l t a n t " i s g o o d - - a f t e r a l l ,
s o m e d a y s ome o n e may a s k y o u r a d v i c e ) a n d c i r c l e
t h e n u m b e r s c o r r e s p o n d i n g to t h e a d s t h a t e n t i c e
y o u . Yo u ' l l b e f l o od ed w i t h i n t e r e s t i n g , e x p e n s i v e l y
p r i n t e d , c o l o r f u l , e d u c a t i o n a l m a t e r i a l o n d i f f e r e n t
p e o p l e ' s c o m p u t e r s a n d a c c e s s o r i e s . And n o t e t h a t
s e n d e r s d o n ' t l ose: a n y c o mp a n y w a n t s i t s p r o d u c t s
k n o w n .
H o w e v e r , a p o s t o f f i ce b o x i s g o o d , a s i t h e l p s
t o a v o i d c a l l s a t home f r om s a l e s m e n , w a s t i n g t h e i r
t i m e a s mu c h a s y o u r s . I f y o u a r e i n a r u r a l - t y p e
a r e a w h e r e yo u c a n a s s u m e a c o m p a n y n a me w i t h no
l e g a l d i f f i c u l t i e s , so m u c h t h e b e t t e r .
A n u m b e r o f i n e x p e n s i v e g a d g e t s p u r p o r t to
l e ac h y o u c o m p u t e r p r i n c i p l e s . Many p e o p l e h a v e b e e n
d i s a p p o i n t e d , o r w o r s e , ma de lo f ee l s t u p i d , w h e n t hey
l e a r n n o t h i n g f rom t h e s e . Ac t u a l l y t h e b e s t t h e s e t h i n g s
r e a l l y c a n d o i s g i v e y o u an i d e a o f w h a t c a n b e d one
wi t h c o m b i n a t i o n s o f s w i t c h e s . Fr om t h a t t o l e a r n i n g
w h a t c o m p u t e r p e o p l e r e a l l y t h i n k a b o u t i s a l o n g , l o ng
w a y .
W O s f c C f c ^ f O ^ S '
T h a t t h e f i el d h a s no t b e e n p o p u l a r i z e d b y i t s
b e t t e r w r i t e r s may s i m p l y c ome f r om a n h o n e s t d o u b i
t h a t o r d i n a r y p e o p l e c a n u n d e r s t a n d c o m p u t e r s .
I d i s p u t e t h a t . T h r o u g h m a g a z i n e s , m i l l i o n s
o f A m e r i c a n s h a v e l e a r n e d a b o u t p h o t o g r a p h y . T h r o u g h
t h e p o p u l a r s c i e n c e - a n d - m e c h a n i c s t y p e m a g a z i n e s ,
a n d m o r e r e c e n t l y t h e e l e c t r o n i c s m a g a z i n e s , v a r i o u s
o t h e r t e c h n i c a l s u b j e c t s h a v e b e c o m e w i d e l y u n d e r s t o o d .
So f a r n o b o d y h a s o p e n e d u p c o m p u t e r s . T h i s
i s a f i r s t a t t e m p t . If t h i s b o o k w o n ' t d o i t a n o t h e r o n e
w i l l .
A n d yo u b e t t e r b e l i e v e t h a t P o p u l a r C o m p u t e r s
m a g a z i n e i s n ot v e r y f a r a w a y . Soon a f u l l y - l o a d e d
m i n i c o m p u t e r wi l l c o s t l e s s t h a n t h e b e s t h i - f i s e t s .
I n a c o u p l e o f y e a r s . t h o u s a n d s of i n d i v i d u a l s wi l l
own c o m p u t e r s , a n d mi l l i o n s mor e w i l l w a n t t o . Look
o u t , h e r e we g o .
Woops, h e r e i t i s . P o p u l a r C o m p u t i n g , $15 a y e a r
( $12 i f p r e p a i d ) , Box 2 72, C a J a b a s a s , CA 91302
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery.
This is the main computer professional
society; the title only has meaning hi st or
ically , as many members ar e concerned not
with machinery itself, but with software,
l anguages, theories and so on.
If you have any plans to stick with
the subject, membership in the Association
for Computing Machinery is highly recom
mended. ACM calls itself "The Society of
the Computing Community." Thus it properly
embraces both professionals and fans.
Dues for official students a r e $0 a y ea r,
$35 for o t her s, which includes a subscription
to Communications of the ACM, the official
mag. Their address for memberships and
magazines is ACM, P.O. Box 12105,
Church St. Station, New York, NY 10249.
(The actual ACM HQ is at 1133 Ave. of the
Americas, New York. N.Y. 10036.)
They have stacked the deck so that
if you want to subscr ibe to any ACM maga
zines you' d bet t er join anyway. Here are
the yea r prices:
Member Non-Member
Communications of the ACM free $35
Computing Surveys $7 $25
Computing Reviews $12.50 $35
Journal of the ACM $7 $30
The one drawback lo joining the ACM
is all the doggoned mailing lists it gets you
on. It' s unclear whether t her e' s anything
you can do to prevent t his, but there oughta
be.
SIGs and SICs. For ACM members
with special interests (and we all have them),
the ACM contains s ubdivisions-- clubs within
the club, of people who keep in touch to
s har e thei r int ere s ts . These ar e called SICs
(Special Interest Committees) and SIGs
(Special Interest Groups). There ar e such
cl ubs-- SICs and SIGs in numerous ar ea s,
including Programming Languages, Computer
Usage i n Education, et c. Encouraging these
subinterests lo stay within ACM saves a lot
of trouble for everybody and keeps ACM the
central society.
AFIPS.
AFIPS is the UN of computing. They
sponsored the Joints , and now sponsor the
NCC. Just as individuals can' t join the UN,
they can' t join AFIPS, which stands for
American Federation of Information Proces
sing Societies. Depending on your special
i nt er e s ts , though, you can join a member
soci e ty.
The constituent societies of AFIPS ar e,
as of J une 1973: (If any turn you o n , write
AFIPS for addresses: AFIPS, 210 Summit Ave.
Montvale NJ 07645.)
ft* ACM: the Association for Computing Machinery.
IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers. This is the professional society
of electronics guys.
Simulation Councils. This is the professional
society for those interested in Simulation
(see p . 5 3 ).
Association for Computational Li nguistics. (Where
language and computer types g a t h e r . )
American Association of Aeronautics and
Astronautics.
American Statistical Association.
Instrument Society of America.
Society for Information Display. (See flip s i d e. )
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
American Society for Information Science. (This
group is mainly for electronified l ibrarians
and information retrieval types-- see
flip s i d e . )
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Special Libraries Association.
Association for Educational Data Systems.
IFIP. This i s the international computer society.
Like AFIPS, its members are soci eti es, so
j oining ACM makes you an IFIP participant.
IFIP holds conferences around the
world. Fun. Expense.
t i n o * * .
CONFERENCES.
Conferences in any field ar e e xc i ti ng, at least
till you reach a certain degree of boredom with the
field. Computer conferences have thei r own heady
atmosphere, compounded of a sense of elitism, of
being in the witches' cauldron, and the s u re sense
of t he impact everything you see will have as it all
grows and grows. Plus you get to look at gadgets.
Usually to go for one day doesn' t cost much,
and at the bi gger ones you get lots of free l i teratur e,
have salesmen explain their t hings to you, see
movies, hear fascinaling (sometimes) speakers.
THE JOINTS! The principal computer confer
ences have always been the Spring Joint
Computer Conference, held in an
Eastern city in May, and the Fall Joint
Computer Conference, held in a Western
city in November (the infamous Spring
Joint and Fall J o i n t , or SJCC and FJCC).
In 1973, because of poor business the
previous y e a r , the two were collapsed
into one National Computer Conference
(NCC) in June (Universal Joint?) The
Joints have always been sponsored by
AFIPS (see below). The National
Computer Conference will henceforth
be annual, at least for a while.
The cost of attending is high--
while i t ' s j ust a couple of dollars lo
look at the exhi bi t s, this r i s es to
per haps fifteen dollars to go to the day' s
technical sessions or fifty for the week
(not counting lodging and e a t s ) - - but
i t ' s ver y much worth it . The lower age
limit for attendees is something like
twelve, unfortunately for those
with interested children.
Other important conferences: the annual ACM
conference in the summer; BEMA
(Business Equipment Mfrs. Assn.)
in the fall and s p r i ng (no theory, but
lots of gadgets); and other conferencs
on special s u b j ec ts . held all the time
all over . Lists of conferences and
th ei r whereabouts are in most of the
magazines; Communications of the ACM
and Computer Design have the biggest
lists.
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS.
As you may k n o w, conferences largely con
sist of separat e "sessions" in which different people
talk on specific topics, usually reading out loud from
t h ei r notes and showing slides.
Conference proceedings ar e books which
re sult from conferences. Supposedly they contain
what each guy said; in practice people say one thing
and publish another, more formal than the actual
presentation.
This leads to a curious phenomenon at the
main computer conferences (SJCC,FJCC, ACM and
now NCC) . When you re g i st e r they give you a book
(your e actually paying perhaps $15 for i t ) , contain
i ng all the papers that ar e about lo be gi ven, nicely
t ricked out by their a ut hor s. If you r u s h to a corner
and look at the book it may change your notion of
which sessions to go to.
Anyway , the r e s ult i ng volumes of conference
proceedings ar e a t r e a s u r e trove of i nt eresti ng papers
on an immense var iety of computerish and not-so-
computerish subjects. Great for browsing.
Expensive but wonderful. (Horrible when you' re
moving, though, as they are big and h e a v y . )
JOINT PROCEEDINGS. Proceedings for the
Spring Joi nt and Fall Joi nt , from the
fifties to 1972. are available from AFIPS
Pres s , as a r e proceedings of the 1973
NCC. (AFIPS Pr e s s , 210 Summit Avenue,
Montvale NJ 07645.) They cost $20-26
each after the conference is over; less
in microfilm. (At the Joint Conferences,
AFIPS Pres s often gives di scounts, at
thei r booth, on back Joint pr oceedings. )
t > > l f you want to spend money to
learn about the field. Proceedings of
the Joint Conferences a r e a fine buy.
Back ACM Proceedings. From the ACM.
Other Proceedings Often sold at counters at
conferences. Or available from various
pu b l i s h er s . Join the ACM and youll
find out soon enough.
TRY TO GET TO THE NATIONAL JOINT. J u s t as
every Muslim should go to Mecca, every
computer fan should go to a National Joint
(National Computer Conference, or NCC).
The next two ar e (check the magazines):
May 1974, Chicago
May 1975,Son Pranoitao-. Pj MA
NO QUALIFICATIONS ARE NEEDED. Think of it
as a circus for smart alecks, o r , if you
p r e f e r , a Deep Educational Experience.
V o H u r H ^ r p u f * I f y o u T i m e C P M P u r e n c e u n j e i ?
There is a lot of talk about "best" ways of teaching about computers, but in most places
the actual alternatives open to those who want to learn a r e fairly dismal.
Universities. Universities and colleges tend to teach computing with a mathematical
emphasis at the s t a r t . Indeed, most seem to r e q u i re that to get into the introductory computer
c o u r s e , you must have had higher math (at least c a l c u l u s , sometimes matrix algebra as w e l l ) .
This is preposterous, like requiring an engineering degr ee to dri ve a c a r. (Gradeschool kids
can learn lo program with no p re req u i s i t es . )
tlt seems lo be to cut down enrollment, since t h e y ' r e not set up to deal with all those
people who want to learn aboul computers. (And why not?) Also i t ' s a status thing; as if
this restriclion somehow should keep enrollment to students with "logical minds," whalever
those a r e , or "mathematical sophistication," as if that were relevant.
"Computer schools," community and commercial colleges, on the other hand, t end to
pre pare sludents only for the most humdrum business applications- - keypunching (which is
rapidly becoming obsol et e), and programming in the COBOL language on IBM b usi ness systems.
This gets you no closer to the more exciting applications of computers than you were originally.
Some experimental trends ar e more encouraging. Some colleges, for i nstance, offer
"computer appreciation cour ses, " with a wider introduction to what' s available and more var ied
programming intended lo ser ve as an introduction to this wider horizon.
Highschool courses seem to be cutting through the junk and offering st udents access to
minicomputers with quickie languages, usually BASIC. Both Digital Equipment Corp. and
Hewlett-Packard seem to be making inroads her e.
Kiddie s e t u p s , rumored to exist in Boston and San Francisco, a r e geared lo letting
grade-school children see and play with computers. Also one company (General T u r t l e , see
p . ' 5 7 ) is selling computer toys Intended to encourage actual programming by chi l dre n.
O T T O
A number of p e o p l e h a v e got t en mad at me
for co i n i n g t h e t erm " c y b e r c r u d , " whi ch 1 defi ne
as " p u t t i n g t h i n g s o v e r o n peopl e u s i n g c o m p u t e r s .
But a s l ong as it goes on w e ' l l need t he w o r d . At
e v er y c o r n e r o f o u r s o c i e t y , peopl e a r e i s s u i n g
pr onouncement s a nd ma k i n g o t he r peopl e d o t h i n g s
and s a y i n g i t s b e c a u s e o f t h e c o mp u t e r . T h e
f unct i on of c y b e r c r u d i s t hus lo c o n f u s e . i nt i mi
dat e o r p r e s s u r e . We ha v e al l got to get wi s e t o
t h i s i f i t i s goi ng t o be c u r t a i l e d .
C y b e r c r u d l a k e s numer ous f orms. All of
t h e m, h o wev e r , s h a r e t h e p a d n a of " s c i e n c e " t hat
c o mp u t e r s h a v e f o r t h e l a y ma n .
l a ) COMPUTER AS MAGIC WORD
T h e most d e l i c a t e , a nd s eemi ngl y i n noc en t ,
t e ch n i q u e I s t h e p r a c d c e or nami ng t h i n g s SO as
s p u r i o u s l y to s u g g e s t t hat t h e y i nvol ve co mp ut e r s .
Th u s t h e r e Is a ma n u f a c t u r e r of p ot - pi pe s wi t h
"Data" I n It s na me . e nd a p p a r e nt l y a p o r n o g r a p h y
house wi t h a " C y b e r - " .
l b ) COMPUTER AS MAGIC INGREDIENT
T h e above se ams s i l l y , but It i s no l e s s si l l y
th an t a l k i n g about " c o mp u t e r p r edi c t i ons " a nd
" comput er s t u d i e s " o f t h i n g s . T h e me r e f act t hat
a comput er i s I n v o l v ed i n so me t hi ng h a s n o b e a r i n g
on i t s c h a r a c t e r o r v a l i d i t y . The way t hi ngs are
done wi t h comput er s aff ect s t h e i r c h a r a c t e r a nd
v a l i d i t y . Juat l i k e t h e way t h i n gs a r e done wi t hout
c o mp u t e r s . ( I nde ed, mer el y u s i n g a comput er
of t en has no b e a r i n g on t he way t h i n g s a r e d o n e . )
Th i s same t e c h n i q u e i s easi l y magni f i ed t o
s u g g e s t , not mer el y t hat s omet hi ng i nvol ve s
c o mp u t e r s , bu t i s wh o l l y done by c o mp u t e r s . The
word "comput er i ze p e r f o r ms t hi s fat al f unct i on.
When u s e d speci f i cal l y , as i n c omput e r i z e t he
b i l l i n g o p e r a t i o n , i t can be f a i r l y c l e a r : but make
i t v a g u e , as i n co mp u t e r i z e l h e of f i ce , a nd it can
mean a n y t h i n g ,
" Ful l y c o mp u t e r i z e" i s wo r s e . Th u s we h e a r
about a "ful l y c o mp u t e r i z ed " p r i n t s h o p , wh i c h
t u r n s out t o be one wh o s e c o mput e r s do t h e t ype
set t i ng: but t hey c oul d al so r u n the p r e 6 6 e s . pa y
the bi l l s and work t h e coff ee machi ne- F o r p r a c
tical p u r p o s e s , t h e r e i s no s u c h t h i n g a s "f ul l y"
c omput e r i z ed- T h e r e i s a l ways one more t h i n g
co mp u t e r s coul d do.
BY THE AID OF THE MIRROR SHE PUT ON THE HEAD
2) WHITE LIES: THE COMPUTER MADE ME DO IT
Next come al l t h e l e et l e whi t e l i es a bout how
s u c h - a n d - s u c h i s t h e c o mp u t e r s f aul t a nd not
yo u r de ci s i o n . Th u s t he comput er i s made a
General Scapegoat at t h e sa me t i me i t ' s c o v e r i n g up
for what somebody wan t s to d o anyway.
"It ha s to be t hi s wa y . "
" T h e r e s no t h i n g we can do; t h i s i s al l
handl ed by c o mp u t e r . "
" Th e c omput er wi l l not all ow t h i s . "
"The comput er wont l et u s . "
The t r ans l at i on l a . of c o u r s e . THE STINKY LOUSY
PROGRAM DOES NOT PERMIT IT. Which means In
t u r n ; WE DO NOT CHOOSE TO PROVIDE, IN OUR
PROGRAMS AND EQUIPMENT. ANY ALTERNATIVES.
Now . i t la of t en t h e c as e t hat good and
suf fi ci ent r eason e x i s t s f o r t h e way t h i n g s a r e done.
But It i s also often t h e c a s e t hat compani es a n d t he
publ i c a r e i n c o n v en i en c ed , or wor s e, by de ci a i ons
t he comput er peopl e make a nd t hen hi de wi t h t h e i r
cl ai m of t echni cal n e c e s s i t y (See p . f t : Deal i ng
wit h comput er p e o p l e . )
More a g g r e s s i v e l y , c y b e r c r u d Is a t e c h n i q u e
f or ma ki ng p e o p l e do what you w a n t . " The com
pu t e r r e q u i r e s i t , " you say , and s o pe o p l e c a n be
made to ha n d o v e r p e r s o n a l I nfor mat i on, s e c r e t a r i e s
can be i nt i mi da t ed i nt o s c o u r i n g t he f i l e s , pa yment
s c h edul e s can b e ar t i f i ci a l l y e n f o r c e d .
THE GENERAL STATUS TRICK
St at ue t r i c k s , c ombi ni ng t he p ut down a n d
t h e s e l f - b o o s t , d a t e back to t imes I mmemor i al .
But t oday t hey t ake new f or ms . The b i g g e s t t r i c k
i s t o e l e v a t e y o u r s e l f and demean lhe l i s t e n e r a t
t h e sa me t i m e , o r , mor e g e n e r a l l y , t he t e c h n i q u e
is maki ng pe opl e feel s t u p i d whi l e a c t i n g l i k e a
b i g c h e e s e . T h u s someoneone mi ght s a y ,
" Pe opl e must be gi n to gel us e d t o t h e o b j e c
t i v e sc i ent i f i c w a y s of d o i n g t h i n g s
t h a t c o mp u t e r s now make n e c e s s a r y .
But t he t r a n s l a t i o n s eems lo be:
" Pe opl e must get us e d to t he I nf l exi bl e,
b a d l y t hought o u t , I n conve ni ent a n d
u n k i n d s y s t e ms t hat 1 a nd ot h e r
s e l f - r i g h t e o u s i n d i v i d u a l s a n d com
p a n i e s a r e i n f l i c t i n g on t h e w o r l d . "
YOU DONT ALWAYS GOTTA
T h e uni nf or med a r e b u l l d o z e d . a nd e v e n
t he i nf or med a r e p r e s s u r e d , b y t he f ool i sh myt hs
of t h e c l e v e r , i mpl acabl e a n d sc i ent i f i c comput e r
t o whi ch t h e y mu s t adapt . Peopl e a r e told t he y
h a v e t o " r e l a t e to t he c o mp u t e r . " But act ua l l y
t hey a r e b e i n g made to r el a t e lo s y s t e ms huma ns
h a v e d e s i g n e d a r o u n d I t , i n much t he same way
a swor d d a n c e Is d e s i g n e d a r ound t he s wo r d .
When e s t abl i s hme nt c omput er peopl e s a y
t hat t he c o mp u t e r r e q u i r e s you t o be s ys t e ma t i c ,
t he y g e n e r a l l y mean you have to l e a r n t h e i r s y s t e m .
But a nyone who t e l l s you a met hod " has t o b e
c hange d f or t he comput e r i s u s u a l l y f i bbi ng -
He p r e f e r s t o c h s n g e t he met hod f or t he c o m p u t e r ,
Th e r e a s o n s may be ba d o r go o d . Oft en t he
c omput er s a l es man o r I ndo c t r i n a l o r wi l l p r e s e n t
as " s ci ent i f i c " t e c h n i q u e s whi c h w e r e dope d out
o r whomped u p by a c oupl e of g u y s i n t he back
room.
He r e i s an e x a mp l e , as t ol d t o me. A f r i e n d
of mine wo r k e d i n a d r e s s f ac t or y wher e i hey had
a pe r f ec t l y good s ys t e m for bi l l i n g a nd book k e e p i n g .
Cua t ome r s w e r e l i s t ed by name a nd kept i n a l p h a
b et i cal o r d e r . T h e fast pace of t he ga r me nt i n d u s
t r y meant t h a t compani es oft en c h a n g e d n a me s , a nd
SO v a r i o u s c ompani es had a numb e r of di f f er ent
n ames i n t he f i l e . T h i s b ot he r e d nobody b e c a u s e
t he peopl e u n d e r s t o o d the s ys t e m.
Then management bought a s ma l l c o mp u t e r ,
n e v e r mi nd what b r a n d , and h i r e d a coupl e o f g u y s
l o come i n a n d p u t t h e b o okke epi ng s ys t e m o n i t .
S t i l l o k a y . I ndee d, small pr ogr a mmi ng f i r ms
c an somet i mes d o t h i s s o r t o f t h i n g v e r y w e l l ,
be ca us e t he y c a n wor k f l exi bl y wi l h t he pe opl e
a nd don ' t n e c e s s a r i l y feel commit t ed l o ma ki ng i t
wo r k a c e r t a i n way.
Wel l . t h i s was a ni c e i n s t a n c e w h e r e t he
e x i s t i n g s ys t e m coul d have been e xac t l y t r a n s
f e r r e d lo t h e c o mp u t e r . T h e fact t hat some c us t om
e r s had s e v e r a l names would c e r t a i n l y ha v e been
no pr obl em: a p r o g r a m coul d ha v e been w r i t t e n
l ha t al l owed u s e r s l o t ype a ny a c c e pt a bl e c us t o me r
name, c au s i n g l he comput e r to l ook u p t h e c o r r e c t
account ( and i f d e s i r e d , p r i n t i t s us ua l name a nd
a s k f or v e r i f i c a t i o n ) .
But no, T h e guys di d not a n s we r e mpl oye es '
q u e s t i o n s c o mp r e h e n s i b l y , n o r di d I hey w a n t s u g
g e s t i ons . T h e y Immedi at el y de c r e e d t hat s i n c e
c omp ut e r s o n l y wor ke d wi t h n u mb e r s (a f i b , b u t
a con v eni e nce to t h e m ) , e v e r y cus t ome r woul d
t h e n c e f o r t h ha ve to be r e f e r r e d to b y n u m b e r ,
Aft er l ha t the fir m h a d n o t h i n g but t r o u b l e ,
t hr ough conf us i on o v e r the mul t i pl e n a me s . a nd
my f r i e n d p r e d i c t e d t hai t hi s woul d d e s t r o y t h e
c omp a n y . I h a v e n ' t h e a r d lhe out come .
T h i s s t o r y i s not ne c e s s a r i l y v e r y i n t e r
e s t i n g ; i t me r e l y h a ppene d. I t ' s not a ma de- up
exampl e.
Moral : u n t i l we ove r t hr ow l he myth l hat
peopl e al ways ha v e to adapt lo c o m p u t e r s , r a t h e r
t han the o t h e r way a r o u n d , t hi ngs wi l l n e v e r go
r i g h t . Adapt at i ons shoul d t ake pl a c e on bot h
s i d e s , d a m i t .
EVERYBODY DOES IT
C y b e r c r u d i s b y no means t he p r o v i n c e of
c omput er pe opl e al one. Bu s i n e s s ma ni pul a t or s
and b u r e a u c r a t s have qui c kl y l e a r n e d t h e t r i c k s .
Compani es do I t l o t h e p u b l i c . T h e p r e a s . I n d e e d .
c ont r i bu t es ( see Sugge s t i ons for Wri t er s and
S p ok e s me n, p . ^ ) . But lhe c omput e r pe o p l e a r e
beat al it b e ca us e t hey ha v e mor e t e c h n i c a l i t i e s
lo s huf fl e a r o u n d magi cal l y; t h e y can pul a n y b o d y
down.
Now , c omput er peopl e do d e s e r v e r e s p e c t .
So many i hi ngs t hat peopl e do wi t h c o mp u t e r s a r e
h a r d . It can b e u nde r s t ood t ha t i hey want t o be
a p p r e c i a t e d , a nd If not for t he p a r t i c u l a r s . f or
t he machi smo ( mac hl ni s mo?) of c opi ng wi t h i n t r i
c acy. But t ha t i s no e xcus e for ke e p i n g o t h e r s In
c ont r ol l ed i g n o r a n c e . No man h a s a r i g h t t o be
p r oud t h a t he i s p r e s e r v i n g and ma ni pul a t i ng
t he I gnor a nce o f o t h e r s .
"If i t c a n ' t be done In COBOL,
I j u s t t el l peopl e It c a n ' t be d o n e b y c omput e r .
It s a ves a l ot of t r o u b l e - "
At t r i but e d to s omebody i n Ro c h e s t e r
( See COBOL, p ^ | . )
In t he movie " F a i l - S a f e , " t h e y s h o we d you
l o t s of f ake t ape d r i v e s wi l h l h e r e e l s c o n s t a n t l y
t u r n i n g i n o n e d i r e c t i o n . T h i s t h e y c al l ed a
" c o mp u t e r . " Ca l l i n g a ny s i n i s t e r box "a comput er "
i s a w i d e s p r e a d t r i c k . Gi ves pe opl e t h e wi l l l eB,
Kee ps 'e m i n l i ne .
i v p , l t o r !
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(to I i V V ' * th'-~
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You can buy l i t t l e boxes wi t h b l i n k i n g
l i ght s t hat do no t h i n g e l s e b u i b l i n k . Th e y
r ea l l y put peopl e u p t i g h t . " Ar e y o u r e c o r d i n g
what 1 s a y?" peopl e a s k . "Is It a c omput e r ? "
T h e y ' l l be l i eve s uch a box i s a n y t h i n g you t e l l t h e m.
m c x t m v
1) t o mani pul at e si t uat i ons .
2) t o cont r ol o t h e r s .
3) t o f o o l .
4) l o l ook l i k e hot st uf f .
5) t o keep o u t s i d e r s from s e e i n g t h r o u g h s o m e t h i n g .
6) t o se l l s omet hi ng.
7) t o p u l someone down .
8) to conceal .
6) g e n e r a l s e c r e t l v e n e s s .
10) l ow expect at i on of o t h e r s ' me n t a l i t y .
11) s e e k i n g to be t he b r o k e r and mi ddl ema n f or
al l r el a t i ons wi t h t he c omput e r .
12) v a g u e n e s s sounds pr of o u n d .
13) you d o n ' t have to show what y o u ' r e not s u r e of .
14) y o u r publ i c i mage i a monol i t hi c.
15) you r ea l l y d o n ' t know .
B M W B o o j i e s
C y b e r c r u d I s n ot ai med o n l y a t l a y m e n .
It c a n w o r k e v e n a mon g I n s i d e r s .
T h e o p e r a t i o n s ma n a g e r of a n a t i o na l
t i m e - s h a r i n g s e r v i c e , t o r e x a m p l e , wa s f anat i cal
a bout c l e a n l i n e s s . In o r d e r t o a s s u r e a Cl ean
C o mp ut er Room, h e s a i d , a n d h e n c e no d a n g e r o u s
d u s t n e a r t h e t a p e s o r d i s k s , h e made a r u l e
r e q u i r i n g t h a t a n y o n e e n t e r i n g t he c o m p u t e r room
h a d to w e a r cl ot h b o o t i e s o v e r hi s s h o e s .
Boot i es w e r e h u n g o u t s i d e f or t h o s e who
h a d t o e n t e r .
" And 1 h a d t h e g r e a t e s t t i me ma k i n g h i s . "
s a y s h i s w i f e , l a u g h i n g . "Wit h t he c u t e s t l i t t l e
b u n n y f ac es on t h e m. T h e b u t t o n s w e r e t h e
h a r d e s t p a r t t o g e t y o u k n o w , t he o n e s wi t h
e y e s t h a t r o l l ! " Sh e l a u g h s v e r y h a r d a s s h e
t e l l s t h i s .
" Of c o u r s e t h e r e was no n e e d f or I t . " he
now c h o r t l e s , " b u t It s u r e k e p t p e o p l e ou t of t h e
c o mp u t e r r oo m. "
( T h a i ' s a p p l i e d l ogi c f o r y o u . )
' COMPUTERS
AND THEIR PRIESTS
F i r s t g e t i t t h r o u g h y o u r h e a d t h a t c o m p u t e r s a r e b i g ,
e x p e n s i v e , f a s t , dumb a d d i n g - m a c h l n e - t y p e w r i l e r s . Th e n
r e a l i z e t h a t most of t h e c o mp u t e r t e c h n i c i a n s t h a t y o u ' r e
l i k e l y to meet o r h i r e a r e c o m p l i e a t o r s . n o t s i m p l i f i e r s .
T h e y ' r e t r y i n g t o make i l look t o u g h . Not e a s y . T h e y ' r e
b u i l d i n g a m y s t i q u e , a p r i e s t h o o d . t h e i r own mumbo-
j u mb o r i t u a l to k e e p y o u f rom k n o w i n g wh a t t h e y - - and
y o u - - a r e d o i n g . "
- - Rob e r t T o w n s e n d ,
Up Th e O r g a n i z a t i o n ( K n o p f ) , p . 36.
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% <5W 0- C V i.r as P etr
O u t s i d e r s a r e o f t en p r e y t o c y b e r c r u d t hey
d r e a m u p t h e ms e l v e 6 . I on c e k new a c ol l e gc
r e g i s t r a r ' s of fi ce w h e r e t h e y h a d b e e n g e t t i n g
a l on g f i n e f or y e a r s wi t h p a p e r f o r m s . T h e y e a r
b e f o r e t h e c o mp u t e r wa s s t a t e d to a r r i v e , ( hey
s t a r t e d u s i n g file c a r d s Tilled o u t b y h a n d , i n s t e a d .
Why? "Wel l , we t h o u g h t t h a t woul d make i t e a s i e r
f o r t he c o mp u t e r . Co mp ut er s u s e c a r d 9 , d o n ' t t h e y ?'
Note t ha t r e f e r r i n g to a c o mp u t e r as i f i t we r e
a l i v i n g c r e a t u r e i s n ot c y b e r c r u d ; t o 6ay t h a t a
p r o g r a m " l ooks a t " a d e v i c e . " I r i e s t o ef f ec t a
p r o c e d u r e , a n d " g o e s to s l e e p . " a r e a l l c o l o r f u l
b r i e f w a y s of d e s c r i b i n g w h a t r e a l l y h a p p e n s .
( See Gui de l i n e s f o r Wr i t er s a n d S p o k e s m e n . p . V7 )
H tifT JlC R E T rw etr
Jpvntv w fcsstss?
Cybercrud is, of course, just one branch of
THE GREAT GAME OF
TECHNOLOGICAL PRETENSE
that has the whole world in Its gTasp.
"Mui u e m t , 4*lf
IJ 1.14
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f n t p M ar
o r w f j A f l i p l f t
A ( i P L T V R A L E N G R A f ^
Pu b l i c t h i n k i n g a b o ut c o m p u t e r s i s h e av i l y
t i n g e d b y a p e c u l i a r i ma ge wh i c h we may c a l l t he
Myth o f t h e Ma chi ne . It goes a s fol l ows: ( h e r e i s
s o me t h i n g c s l l e d t h e Ma chi ne , wh i c h i s T a k i n g Over
T he Wor l d. A c c o r d i n g to t h i s p o i n t of vi ew
T he Machi ne i s a r e l e n t l e s s , p e r e m p t o r y , r e p e t i t i v e ,
i n v a r i a b l e , mo n o t o no us , i n e x o r a b l e , i mp l ac ab l e,
r u t h l e s s . I n h u ma n , d e h u m a n i z i n g , i mp e r s o n a l
J u g g e r n a u t , b r a i n l e s s l y c a r r y i n g ou t r e p e t i t i v e
( an d of t en v i o l e n t ) a c t i o n s . Symbol i c of t h i s
i s of c o u r s e C h a r l i e C h a p l i n , d o d g i n g t h e r e l e n t
l e s s . r e p e t i t i v e , mo n ot on ou s , i mp l a c a b l e ,
d e h u ma n i z i n g g e a r s of a ma chi ne he m u s t de a l wi t h
i n t h e film Modern T i m e s .
O r d i n a r i l y t h i s vi e w of T h e Machi ne i s
c o n t r a s t e d wi t h an i d e a of a Warm Human Be i ng ,
u s u a l l y a n i d e a l i z e d v e r s i o n of t h e p e r s o n t h i n k i n g
t h e s e t h o u g h t s .
Warm
Human
Bei ng
But c o n s i d e r s o m e t h i n g . T h e mode) of t en
g oe s f u r t h e r t h a n Ih i s . T h e Machi ne i s c o l d , the
Human Be i n g emot i onal a n d wa r m . Yet t h e r e i s
s u c h a t h i n g a s b e i n g t oo emot i onal a n d war m.
T h e r e i s i n fact a t h i r d t y pe i n I he s c h e m a , the
b e i n g who go e s t oo f a r on t h e s a me s c a l e . S t r a n g e l y ,
h e h a s at l e a s t t h r e e d i f f e r e n t n a m e s , t h o u g h t he
p i c t u r e of him i s a b s t r a c t l y t he same: ^
Y '
x---------- - x X
The Warm "Bum"
Machine Human Nigger"
Being "Hippie"
Now , " b u m s , " " n i g g e r s " a n d " h i p p i e s " a r e
not r e a l p e o p l e . T h e w o r d s a r e d e r o g a t o r y s l a n g
f or ( he d e s t i t u t e , f o r p e r s o n s wi t h a n y Af r i c an
a n c e s t r y , e n d f or p e o p l e d r e s s i n g i n c c r l a i n s t y l e s .
But t he r e m a r k a b l e t h i n g a bo u t t he s l a n g i s t ha t
al l t h r e e of t h e s e d e r o g a t o r y t e r m s se em to ha ve
t h e s ame c onnot at i on i n o u r c u l t u r e : someone who
i s d i r t y . l azy a n d l a s c i v i o u s . In o t h e r w o r d s ,
wh a t e v e r d i s t i n g u i s h e s T h e Machi ne f rom t he
Warm Human Bei ng i s c a r r i e d loo f a r b y t h e bu n c h
al t he o t h e r e n d .
In o t h e r w o r d s , t h i s c o n c e p t u a l cont i nuum
i s a s i n g l e , f u n d a me n t a l s c a l e in o u r c u l t u r e ;
why i s u n c l c a r . S i n c e most p e o pl e c o n s i d e r
t h e m s e l v e s - - n a t u r a l l y ! - - lo b e i n t h e mi ddl e
c a t e g o r y , i t a c t s a s a 9o r t of r e f e r e n c e cont i n uu m
of t wo b a d t h i n g s o n e i t h e r s i d e .
It a l s o h a s a n o t h e r eff ect : i t s u p p l i e s a
d e r o g a t o r y way of s e e i n g . On t h e r i g h t - h a n d s i d e ,
i t a l l ows many A me r i c a n s not lo s e e , o r to see
o n l y wi t h d i s g u s t , t h e d e s t i t u t e a n d t h o s e wi l h
Af r i c an a n c e s t r y a n d t h o s e d r e s s i n g i n h i p p i e s t y l e .
But t h i s book i s n ' t a b o u t t h a l .
T h e left s i d e of ( h e c on t i nu um i s o u r p r e s e n t
c o n c e r n . T h e r e , t o o . pe o p l e r e f u s e to s e e . What
pe o p l e mai nl y r e f u s e t o se e i s t h a t m a c h i n e s m
g e n e r a l a r e n ' t l i k e t h a t , r e l e n t l e s s , r e p e t i t i v e ,
mon ot on ou s , i m p l a c a b l e , d e h u m a n i z i n g . Oh. t h e r e
a r e some ma chi nes l i k e t h a t , p a r t i c u l a r l y t he
aut omobi l e a s s e m b l y l i n e . But t h e a s s e m b l y l i ne
waa d e s i g n e d t h e way i t i s b e c a u s e It g e t s ( he mo6l
wo r k o ut of p e o p l e . It g e t s t h e wo r k i t do e s o ut of
p e o pl e b y i h e way i t e x e r t s p r e s s u r e .
So h e r e we s e e t h e s ame o l d t r i c k : pe o pl e
b u i l d i n g a s ys t e m a n d s a y i n g it h a s t o wor k t h a t way
b e c a u s e i t ' s a m a c h i n e , r a t h e r ( han b e c a u s e t h a t ' s
how I d e s i g n e d i t .
To make t h e p o i n t c l e a r e r , l e t ' s c o n s i d e r
some o t h e r ma c h i n e s .
T h e aut omobi l e I s a m a c h i n e , b u t i t i s h a r d l y
t h e r e p e t i t i v e , " d e h u m a n i z e d " t h i n g we u s u a l l y
h e a r a b o u t . It g o e s u p h i l l , d o w n h i l l , l eft a n d r i g h t ,
f as t a n d s l ow. It may b e d e c o r a t e d . It i s t h e s c en e
of m a n y war m h u ma n a c t i v i t i e s . And most i mp or
t a n t l y , aul omob i l e s a r e v e r y mu c h t he e x t e n s i o n of
t h e i r o w n e r s , e x e m p l i f y i n g l i f e - s t y l e , p e r s o n a l i t y ,
a n d i d e o l o g y . C o n s i d e r t he Baj a Bug g y Vol ks wage n
an d Ihe o s t e n t a t i o u s c u s h y C a d i l l a c . Co n s i d e r t he
d a s h b o a r d o r n a m e n t a n d ( he b u m p e r s t i c k e r .
Th e Ma c h i n e , i n d e e d .
Th e c a me r a l a a ma c h i n e , b u t o n e l ha l al l ows
I t s u s e r t o f r e e z e a n d p r e s e r v e t h e v i e w s a n d i mages
o f t he w o r l d he w a n t s .
T h e b i c y c l e i s a m a c h i n e , b u l o n e t h a t b r i n g s
y o u i n t o p e r s o n a l a n d n o n - p o l l u t i n g c o nt ac t wi l h
n a t u r e , o r a( l e a s t t h a t s t y l i z e d k i n d o f n a t u r e
a c c e s s i b l e to b i c y c l e p a t h s .
To s u m u p , t h e n . T h e Machi ne i s a my t h .
T h e b a d t h i n g s i n o u r s o c i e t y a r e t he
p r o d u c t s o f b a d s y s t e m s , b a d d e c i s i o n s
a n d c o n c e i v a b l y ba d p e o p l e , i n v a r i o u s
c o mb i n a t i o n s . Ma ch i ne s p e r s e a r e
e s s e n t i a l l y n e u t r a l , t h o u g h s ome ma c h i n e s
c a n b e b u i l t wh i c h a r e b a d i n d e e d ,
s u c h a s b o m b s , g u n s a n d d e a t h - c a m p s .
T h e my t h of T h e Ma ch i n e Is a c u r i o u s a s p e c t
of o u r I d e o l o g y . Is i t e s p e c i a l l y
Am e r i c a n , o r w o r l d - w i d e ?
If we i g n o r e t h i s my t h we c a n s e e e a c h p o s s i b l e
ma c h i n e o r s y s t e m f or wh a t i l i s . a n d
s t u d y how i t t i e s i n wi t h h u ma n li f e
Tor good o r i l l . f o s t e r i n g o r l o u s i n g u p
s u c h t h i n g s a6 t he good l i f e , p r e s e r
va t i o n of s p e c i e s , l o ve a n d s e l f - r e s p e c t .
7MC
" T h e c o mp ut e r i s t h e u l t i mat e R o r s c h a c h
t e s t , F r e e d Bal es Bald t o me t w e l v e y e a r s a g o .
D r . B a l e s , a H a r v a r d p s y c h o l o g i s t , wa s s ome what
p e r t u r b e d by t he p a p e r s h e wa s g e t t i n g i n h i s
s e m i n a r o n c o mp u t e r mo d e l l i n g i n t h e s o c i al
s c i e n c e s . Somewhat n u t t y pe o pl e I n t h e s e m i n a r
w e r e w r i t i n g so me wh at n u t t y p a p e r s f o r hi m.
And t r u e r w o r d s w e r e n e v e r s p o k e n . On
t h i s p o i n t I f i n d Bal es h a s b e en t e r r i b l y , t e r r i b l y
r i g h t . T h e c o mp u t e r i s a n I n c r e d i b l e p r o j e c t i v e
t e6t: w h a t you se e In t h e c ompu t e r comes r i g h t off
t h e b a c k wal l of y o u r p s y c h e . In o v e r a d e c a d e
i n I he f i el d I h a v e n o t c e a s e d to m a r v e l a t i he way
p e o p l e ' s p e r s o n a l i t i e s e nt wi n e wi l h t h e c o m p u t e r ,
e a c h ma k i n g i l h i s o w n - - o r r e j c c l i n g i t - - In Ills
o w n , of t en u n i q u e a n d p e c u l i a r way , d e e p l y r e
f l e c t i n g hi 6 c o n c e r n s e n d wh at I s i n h i s h e a r t .
Ye s , o d d pe o p l e a r e a t t r a c t e d to ( he c o m p u t e r ,
e n d t h e b o n d s t ha t h o l d t hem a r e not t h o s e of
c a s u a l i n t e r e s t .
In f a c t . p e o pl e t e n d lo i d e nl i f y wi l h i l .
In ( hi s l i g ht we may c o n s i d e r ( he of t en-
h e a r d r e m a r k s a b o u t c o m p u t e r s b e i n g r i g i d ,
n a r r o w , a n d i n f l e x i b l e . T h i s i s of c o u r s e t r u e in
a s e n s e , b u t I he f act ( h a t some p e o p l e s t r e s s it
o v e r a n d o v e r i s an i m p o r t a n t c l u e lo s o m e t h i n g
a b o ut t h e m . My own i m p r e s s i o n i s t h a l t h e p e o pl e
who s t r e s s t h i s a s p e c t a r e t he c o m p a r a t i v e l y r i g i d ,
n a r r o w a n d i n f l e x i b l e pe o p l e .
O t h e r c o mp u t e r e x p e r t s , no l e s s w o r t h y .
( el l u s t h e c o mpu t e r i s a s u p e r t o y . t h e g r a n d e s t
p l a y ma c h i n e e v e r to b e d i s c o v e r e d . T h e s e
p e o p l e l e n d to b e t h e mor e o u t g o i n g , g e n e r o u s
a n d p l a y f u l t y p e s .
In a c l a s s i c s t u d y , p s y c h i a t r i s t Br u n o
Be t t e l he i m e x ami ned a c h i l d wh o t h o u g h t h e wa s
a m a c h i n e , who t a l k e d i n s l a c c a t o m o n o s y l l a b l e s ,
wa l k e d j e r k i l y a n d d e c o r a t e d t h e s i d e of h i s b e d
wi t h g e a r s . We wi l l not d i s c u s s h e r e t h e p r o b
a b l e o r i g i n s a n d c u r e o f t h i s c o mpl e x; b u t we
mus l c o n s i d e r l ha t i d e n t i f y i n g w i t h ma c h i n e s is
a c r u c i a l c u l t u r a l t heme i n Ame r i c an s o c i e t y ,
a n a v a i l a b l e t heme f o r a l l of u s . And it wel l may
b e l h a t c o mpu t e r p e o p l e a r e p a r t a k i n g o f t h i s s ame
s e l f - i m a g e : i n a mor e b e n i g n f o r m , p e r h a p s , a
s h i f t o f g e a r s ( as it w e r e ) from B e t t e l h e i m ' s
me c h a n i c a l c h i l d , b u l s t i l l on t h e s a me t r a c k .
Some of the computer high-chool kids I've
known. because of Iheir youth. have been even
more up-fronl about this than adults.
1 know one boy. for i nstance, whose dream
was to put a 33ASR Teletype on wheels under
radio control, and alarm people at the computer
conference by having it roll up to them and clatter
out questions impersonally. (If you knew the kid
-- aloof and haughty-seeming-- you might think
that's how he approaches people in real life.)
I know a high-school boy (nol a computer
expert) who programmed a computer to type out
a love story using the BASIC "print" command,
the only one he knew. He could not bring
himself lo write the love story on paper.
The besi example I can think of. though,
took place at the kids' booth (see p. H - ' J ) at a
computer conference. One of the more withdrawn
girls was silting al an off-line video terminal,
idly typing things onto the screen. When she
had gone a sentence remained. It said:
I love you all. but at a distance.
(On the other side of Ihis book, Dream
Machines, we will carry this matter further.
The most exciting things in the computer field
are coming from people trying to realize their
wildest dreams by computer: artificial Intel
ligence. computer music, computer picture*
making and so on.)
Forget what y o u ' v e e v e r h e a r d o r imagined
about c o m p u t e r s . J u s t c o n s i d e r this:
T h e c o mp uter i s th e mo st general mac h ine
man h as ever devel o p ed. I ndeed, it sh o ul d be
c al l ed th e A l l - P urp o se M ac h ine, but i s n t , f o r
reaso ns o f h isto ric al ac c ident ( s e e n e a r b y ) .
C o mp uters c an c o ntro l , and rec eive inf o rmatio n
f ro m, virtual l y any o th er mac h ine. T h e c o mp uter
is no t l ike a bo mb o r a gun, w h ic h c an o nl y de s
tro y , but mo re l i ke a ty p ew ri ter, w h o l l y no n
c o mmittal betw een go o d and bad in its nature.
T h e sc o p e o f w h at c o mp uters c an do i s breath
taking. I l l ustrated are so me examp l es ( al th o ugh
h aving al l th is h ap p en o n o ne c o mp uter w o ul d be
unusual ) . I t c an turn th ings o n and o f f , ri ng
b e l l s , p ut o ut f i r e s , ty p e o ut o n p rinting mac h i nes.
C o mp uters are inc redibl y do gged. C o mp ul ers
c an do th ings rep eatedl y f o rever, o r an exac t,
immense number o f times ( l ike 4 , 9 0 1 , 2 2 3 ) , do ing
so meth ing o ver and o v er , dep ending o n w h eth er
it's f inish ed o r no t. A c o mp uter's ac tivities
c an be c o mbined i n remarkabl e w a y s . One a c t i v i t y ,
rep eated o ver and o v e r , c an be p art o f ano th er
ac tivity rep eated o ver and o v e r , w h ic h c an be
a p art o f stil l ano th er ac t i vit y , w h ic h c an be
rep eated ad inf initum. T HE R E A R E DE FI N I T E
L I M I T A T I ON S o n w h at c o mp uters c an do , but
th ey are no t easy to desc ribe bri ef l y . A l s o , so me
o f th em are argued abo ut amo ng c o mp uter p eo p l e.
i .
O 0 O O O C S O O
o O O o o C 6 0
t i c k
I W t w*i
. 1m . l . i k , *r u U l e v w .
I f l e 4U- p urp o se MHnfc
Computers ar e COMPLETELY GENERAL,
with no fixed p u r p o s e or st y l e of oper at i on.
In s p i t e of t h i s , the s t r a n g e myth h as evolved
t h at comput er s a r e somehow "mathematical."
Actually von Neumann, who got the general
i d ea about as soon as anybody ( 1940s) , called
t he computer
THE ALL-PURPOSE MACHINE.
( I n d e e d , the f i r s t b a c k e r of computers af t er World
War II was a maker of mu l ti - li g h l b u l b s i g n s . It
i s an i n t e r e s t i n g p o s s i b il i t y t hat if he had not
b ee n k i l le d in an a i r p l a n e c r a s h , computers
would have been s ee n f i r s t as t ex t - h a n d l i n g and
p i c t u r e - m a k i n g mac h in e s , and only l a t e r developed
for mathematics and b u s i n e s s . )
We would call i t the Al l - Pu r p o s e Machine
h e r e , e x c ep t t hat for h i s t o r i c a l r e a s o n s i t has
b ee n s l a p pe d with the ot her name.
But t h at d o e s n ' t mean i t h a s a fi xed way
of o p er at i n g . On the c o n t r a r y .
COMPUTERS HAVE NO NATURE
AND NO CHARACTER,
s a v e t h at which h as been p u t i nto them by whoever
is c r e a t i n g the p rogr am for a p a r t i c u l a r p u r p o s e .
Computers a r e , unlike any ot h e r p i ec e of equipment,
p e r f e c t l y BLANK. And t hat is how we ha ve projected
on i t so many di ffe re nt faces .
doht'M ll
A HE L P FUL C OM P A R I SON
I t h el p s so metimes to c o mp are c o mp uters w ith ty p ew riters.
Bo th h andl e inf o rmatio n ac c o rding to so mebo dy 's o w n vi ew p o int.
N ervo us Questio n
"C an a C o mp uter
W rite a P o em? "
"C an't C o mp uters Onl y
Beh ave M ec h anistic al l y ? '
"A ren't C o mp uters
C o mp l etel y I mp erso nal ? '
Hel p f ul P aral l el
"C an a T y p ew riter
W rite a P o em? "
( Sure. Yo ur p o em. )
"C an't T y p ew riters Onl y
Beh ave M ec h anistic al l y ?
( Yes, but c arry ing
o ut y o ur i nt ent. )
"A ren't T y p ew riters
C o mp l etel y I mp erso nal ? "
( W el l , i t' s no t l ike h andw riting,
but i t' s sti l l w h at y o u s a y . )
M any o rdinary p eo p l e f ind c o mp ul ers
i nt uitivel y o bvio us and understandabl e;
o nl y th e c o mp l ic atio ns el ude th em. P erh ap s
th es e intuitivel y h el p f ul def initio ns may h el p
y o ur intuitio n as w e l l .
1. T h ink o f th e c o mp uter as a
W I N D- UP C R OSSW OR D P UZZL E .
2. A C OM P UT E R I S A DE V I C E FOR
T W I DDL I N G I N FOR M A T I ON . ( So . w h al kinds
o f inf o rmatio n are th ere? A nd w h at are th e
tw iddl ing o p tio ns? T h ese matters are w h at
th e c o mp uter f iel d c o nsi sts o f . )
3. A c o mp uter i s a c o mp l etel y general
d e v i c e , w h o se meth o d o f o p eratio n may be
c h a ng ed, f o r h andl ing sy mbo l s i n any
s p ec i f i c w a y .
THE MAGIC OF THE COMPUTBR PROGRAM
The basic, central magical Interior device
of the computer we shall call a program follower.
A program follower ia an electronic device (usually)
which reads symbols specifying operations, carries
out the step each specifies and goes on to the next.
The program follower reads down the list
of instructions In the program, taking each Instruction
In turn and carrying It out before It goes on to
the next.
Now , there are program followers that Just
do that and nothing more; they have to stop when
they get to the end of the list of Instructions.
A true computer, however, can do several
things more.
11 can Jump back to an earlier point
In the program and go on from there. Repeating
the program In this fashion Is called a loop.
It can perform tests on symbols In
the memory for Instance. to see if a loop
has been done enough times, or If some other
part of the Job has been finishedand Jump
to some other program depending on these
symbols. This la called a branch.
Finally, the computer can change
the Information stored in memory. For Instance,
It can place an answer In a specific part
of memory.
WHAT, THEN. IS A (Digital) COMPUTER?
A device holding stored symbols
In a changeable memory,
performing operations on some of those symbols
in the memory.
In s sequence specified by other symbols
In the memory.
able to change the sequence
based on tests of symbols In the memory,
and able to change symbols in the memory.
(For example, do arithmetic and
store the result In the memory.)
Rather than try to slip It to you or prove
it In some fancy way, let' s Just state baldly: the
power of such a machine to do almost anything
surpasses all previous technical tricks in human
history.
HOWCAN A COMPUTER CONTROL
SOMANY DIFFERENT THINGS?
Answer. Different as they may seem, all
devices are controlled In the same way. Every
device has an Interface, that l a, its own special
connection setup, and In this Interface are the
device registers.
These device registers look the same to the
computer: the computer program simply moves
Information patterns Into them or moves information
patterns from them to see what they contain.
Co M O T E
I V i T C t W *
--
particular symbolic signals
the device needs
r heart patient
oil refinery
musical Instrument
display screen
disk memory
T h e c o mp uter, being a mac h ine, do esn't
kno w o r c are th at devic e register 17 ( say ) c o ntro l s
a h o g f eeder, o r devic e register 23 ( aay ) rec eives
I nf o rmatio n f ro m smo g detec to rs. But w h at y o u
c h o o se, in y o ur p ro gram, to p ut I nto devic e register
17, c o ntro l s w h at th e h o gs eat, and w h at c o mes
into devic e register 29 w il l tel l y o ur p ro gram,
y o u h o p e, abo ut smo g c o nditio ns. C h o o sing h o w
to h andl e th ese th ings in y o ur p ro gram l a y o ur
business.
The computer does things over and over
by changing a stored count, then testing the stored
count against another number which Is what the
count should get t o, and going to the beginning
If the desired count has not been resched. This
is called a loop. (If there's no way 11can ever
get out, that's an endless loop.) (Actually, the
program loop Is done the same way as a program
branch: IF a certain count has not been reached,
It branches BACK to the start of the loop.)
Other things besides programs msy be stored
In the memory. Anything besides programs are
usually called d at a.
**
The Instructions of programs use the data in different
ways. Some programs use a lot of data, some use
a little, some don't use any. It is one of the fascinating
and powerful things about the computer that both
the instructions of a program. and the data they work
on, are stored as patterns of bits in Ihe same memory,
where they can be modified as needed. Indeed, the
program can modify its own patterns of bits, a very
Important feature.
WHAT DO PROGRAMS LOOK LIKE?
In what forms are these programs stored,
you ask? Well, they are written by people in computer
languages, which are then stored in some form in
the computer's fast core memory, where the program
follower can act on them. But what does a computer
language look like, you ask? Aha . ..
G o T o P A G e \<p
(If you want to see what the bottom-most level looks
like, with all the bits and things, skip ahead to p.ST.)
(
WHATEVER IT MAY DO tN THE REAL WORLD,
to the computer program
its just another device.
ANALOG COMPUTERS DISPOSED OF
There are two kinds of computers: analog
and digital. (Also hybrid. meaning a combination.)
Analog computers are so unimportant compared to
digital computers that we will polish them ofTIn
a couple of paragraphs.
"Analog" Is a shortened form of the word
"analogy." Originally an "analog" computer was
one that represented something In the real world
by some other sort of physical enactment for
Instance, building a model of an economic system
with tubes and liquids: this can demonstrate
Keynesian economic principles remarkably well.
However, the term "analog" haa come to mean
almost exclusively pertaining to measurable
electrical signals, and an "analog computer" is
a device that creates or modifies measurable
electric signals. Thus a hi-fi amplifier Is an
analog computer (It multiplies the signal), a music
synthesizer is an analog computer (it generates
snd reshapes analog signals). Thus the term has
deteriorated: almost anything with wires is an
analog computer.
Analog computers cannot be truly programmed,
only rewired.
Analog equipment le useful, important and
Indispensable. But it is simply not In the same
class with digital computers, henceforth called
"computers" In this book, which manipulate symbols
on the basis of changeable symbolic programs.
"Analog computer" also means any way of
calculating that involves measuring approximate
readings, like a slide r u l e .
L f f s C t f M S N & M W
It'* awfully aay to tool po^ l* wlUl
word*. let olona buffalo them with weird
taehnlcal-*undlng gab. The thing about tach
talk la that II can really be applied to any a n a .
{Ill trick 11 In t h i arrangement of boicar
adjective noun*. and In the vague uae of windy
term* Ihtf have connotation* In ana* particular
.- . . I- . ) a n a - - eay, the apaca prJgTUD.
Juai s m l d t r . H* might call e common
or garden spade--
A PERSONALIZED BARTH-MOVDIG
BQUIWENT MODULB
A UINHHAIOOICAL MINI-TRANSPORT
A PBHSONALIZHD STRATEGIC TELLURIAN
COMMAND AND CONTROL MODULB
AN AIR-TO-OROUND DfTBRFACB
CONTOUR ADJUSTMENT PROBB
A LEVRRAQBD TACTILE-FEEDBACK
OEOUAS8 DELIVERY SYSTEM
A MAN-MACHINE ENERGY-TO-STRUCTURB
CONVERTER
A ONE-TO-ONE INDIVIDUALIZED
GEOPHYSICAL RESTflUCrURJZER
A PORTABLE UNTT(ZED EARTHWORK
SYNTHES13 SYSTEM
AN ENTRENCHING TOOL (Ftraetgn Tbeatar
A ZBRO-8UM DIRT LEVEL ADJUSTER
A FBEDBACK-ORIENTED CONTOUR
MANAGEMENT PROBE AND
DIOQtNQ SYSTEM
A 0 RADIBNT DISEQUIUBRATOR
A MASS DISTRIBUTION N8CBNTROPR1ZHB
. " ' W - W t m i
AN EXTRA TERRESTRIAL
TRANSPORT MECHANISM.
Spadai. not word*. ihMld be uaed for
Iwelll n g . But vorda ahould help ua unearth
In lhe computer Held, the earn* thing* a n
often called by different oaaee (for Inatanee.
the IBM 1B00, a (airly ordinary mlnlcanpuler,
la called by them lhe *1BM 1B00 Data Acquisition
and Control System) , differin' thing* are often
called by the aame names, and things can be
Inalde-out and upalde-down versions of each
other In extraordinary variety. (Indeed, compu*
ler people mey find Ihla book Inslde-out. which
la okay with me. Life Is e Klein bottle.)
Sorting things out. then, means having a
few basic concepts clear In your mind, and
knowing when you see eiamplea and variations
of there.
Comput t r p t o p l t o f t t n t ay t ha t t o u nde r s t and
oomput t r t you haot t o hav t a l o g i c a l mi n d .
T h t r t ' t no t uoh t h i n g . But t a y i n g sueh t hi ng*
i n t i mi d a c t t many, t t p t e i a l l y t h o t t who havt
b u n t o l d t h t y do not havt , " l o g i e a l mi n d t . "
Wist i s se a n e , a c t u a l l y , i s i n d t t d i mpor t an t :
i n worki ng u i e h ao mpu t t r t you mut t o f t t n uork
out t h t t x a o t r a m i f i e a t i o n t o f t p t e i f i e oombi -
n at i o ni o f t h i n g t , w i t h o u t t k i p p i n g s t e p s .
But t h t o t h t r modi o f t hi mki np, t h t i n t u i t i u t ,
has i c e p l a c t i n t he aomput t r f i t l d t oo.
Vh i a h t v t r your h a b i t u a l t t y l t o f mi nd, oewpute;
o f f t r you f o o d - - and u t t n t i l t - - f o r t hought .
( V H w e u
j uir utx. CA
Jus t the way everyone can understand eaawraa, v i s . :
mk e M i t la a device you peine a t avat hi n?
t e wi l l f ul l y capture I t s appearance.*
Juat the way everyone can understand car s, v l i . i
A car l a a device people get Inside which
then 9oee u n h a n e l s e, under the wi l l ful
control of the driver.*
Hel l, how about
*A c ^ u u c la a device which manipulate!
Int on at i on and eat emal acceaaerl ee, accor
ding to a plan wi l l f ul l y prepared by a planner
N Sri& no M
HI SC E I itf K
L
j FICTIONS ABOUT WHAT COMPUTERS DO
Many p e o p l e suppose t h e r e I s no t h i n g
c omput ers c a n n o t do ( s e e p . 4S) ; soae peo
p l e , i n d e e d , t h i n k t h e r e i s n o t h i n g com
p u t e r s do n o t a l r e a d y do.
A c o u p l e o f y e a r s ago , a l e a d i n g
p i c t u r e magazi ne c a r r i e d a p i e c e a-
b o u t S t a n f o r d ' s A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i
gence L a b o r a t o r y , c l a i a i n g t h a t one
" Shakey t he Robot had been devel oped
t o ne a r - h u o a n i n t e l l i g e n c e and c a p a
b i l i t i e s . T h i s was pur e b o s h , s i n c e
r e p u d i a t e d i n Cho comput er ma gazi nes,
b u t a l o t o f p e o pl e Out Ther e i n
R e ade r l and b e l i e v e d I t . (See "The
G o d - B u i l d e r s , " f l i p s i d e . )
Once I had a l ong d i s c u s s i o n wi t h
a somewhat wi l d - e y e d young woaan who
b e l i e v e d t h a t t he g o v e r n a ent was non i -
t o r l n g h e r b r a i n wi t h c omput er s. I
t h i n k I pe r s u a d e d h e r t h a t even I f
t h i s were f e a s i b l e i t would c o s t t he
government t e n s o f thousands o f d o l l a r s
t o do i t , and t h a t pr o babl y no e x i s t i n g
g o v e r n a e n t agency was t h a t i n t e r e s t e d
i n h e r t h o u g h t s . I ' a n o t s u r e she va s
p e r s u a d e d .
Input typlata (also call ed
keypunch operators)
are clerka who copy I nt onat i on
Into lha computer (on t e n t n a l a )
(punch cards, aegnetlc di sk, e t c. )
nOTt: thaaa Job* way end in a few yeerm
whan nothing elee haa to be coplad anywor
becauee usera put things In t h ^ e l v e e .
bvnnci mvm.
Co^mter repairwan, or " f i el d engineer*,"
f l a coaput t n and chair accesaorl ee
whan soaathlng goaa wrong el ec t r i ca l l y
or In the gears.
Thr alwaya wear t i e c l i ps,
ao aa not to get pulled Into
r ot at i ng achlnry.
A NAIVE USER (no elfanaa)
Is an ordinary parson
who doamnt naad to know any of t h. aa ehlnga
In ordar to do aoMthlng uaaful wlch th* r
Creating programs to halp hU la lha from
oF ccacutt na.
HORRIBLE MISUNDERSTANDING!}
Sana people think of ooapidan aa thing*
ihow myatarl^ualy dlgwt and aaabnllale
edge. *Juat lead ll (o lha oxnputar, * 1j
Ihemooo. But whal you faad into tha computer
fuat ails t h e n unlcaa t h a ra 'i a p r ag r aa .
"How would you do that by amputar?* I*
a quaetlai p v p la oftui aak. Th* quactkm should
b*. *how would you do that ai all?* If lhara la
a method for doing aoawlhlng which can be broken
down Into simple atap*, a i d n q v l M no human
Judgment, than mayba we c a t take thoaa nepa
t d program than on * m p u t e r . But mayba we
can also Ihlnk of * dmpUr way to gat than dona.
Than Uwra i* Lha Ida* thal a eoDpnlif la
Bathing you aak qu artan *. This aaaumas, I
g u w , the earllar prvmlaa, thal the computer
ha* altaady dlgaeUd and aaaimllatad * lot of
stuff and co t eling it back al you In
WHAT YOUVB SEEN PROBABLY WASN'T
-A COMPUTER.."
0*1 out of your head the notion thal eotne
one *yalem you've seen showed you what
Computer* A n Really Like. Computer ayeime
can be as different eitemally as bat* and whalea
(Yet It'* lha aame kind of haartbaal, but Uial'e
no halp In daaling with them.)
Then what la It compuiar people know.
you may ask, that leada them lo understand
new ay stem* quickly? Aha. Computer people
eliiipty adjuat faster to whole new worlda.
Actually what nu*l hap pan, to get
quasUais* answerad, la thla: tbera must be
m o * program thal puta Input material into a
data a tru c tu n . (Baa "Data B t ructurw.') Than
you need program* thal will muni and trw*.
or whalawr, through the data structure In way*
T ^ d M i r a . T h ai you na*d a way to Mart tlwaa
tradng-and-aaarchlng programa going through
the dMa atructuro In way* you want. So you
n * d a program accapdag Input b o n a keyboard,
* , h l t *Tg ' atartlng th* other pi^ wnn
THE AUTOMOBILE ANALOGY ( aor e)
"The I n t e r s t a t e w*s b u a p er >t o - b uape r ,
bu t a f t e r we had l unch a t t he r e s t s t o p i t
c l e a r e d up t i l l we g ot t o t he t o l l b o o t n .
Then Har r y go t l o s t on t he I n t e r c h a n g e ,
anJ we had t o doubl e back on t he s e r v i c e
How i n c ompr eh e ns i bl e t o soaeone f r e a
1905. Yet how s i a p l e - a l n d e d when you un
d e r s t a n d i t . T h a t ' s how t i s wi t h com
p u t e r s .
Conput er t a l k sounds so s t r a n g e and
i n c o a p r e h e n s i b l e t o you f o l k s ou t there**
y e t t o us i n h e r e I t ' s o f t e n as si mpl e as
t h e l i n e s above** i_f you knew t he fund**
ment al c o n c e p t s .
And n o t h i n g i n t he n o r a a l everyday
worl d w i l l have pr e p a r e d you f o r t h e a .
I t s n o t j a r g o n , b u t t he s i a p l e s t
way t o e x p r e s s t ho ug ht s i n t h e s e a r e a s .
USINd A COMPUTER
SHOULD ALWAYS BE EASIER
THAN NOT USING A COMPUTER.
U It l a n 'l. you
(or your sm pa ny, or your stale)
may have been aold a bill of good*.
OR ihay may have decided
your Inconvenience I* l*t Important
than acnathlng alee.
In any case, you have a right to aak
harp queation*.
THE DAWED LIE
"Cooput ers a r e r i g i d and Inhuman."
A BETTER APPROXIMATION
Peopl e a r e sometimes ( a l l {oo o f t e n )
r i g i d and Inhuman. (Machines and
n l a a l s a r e nonhu a a n - - t h e t a r a " i n
human" a p p l i e s onl y t o p e o p l e . )
" R i g i d and inhuaan" comput er syst ems
a r e t h e c r e a t i o n o f r i g i d and Inhuaan
pe o p l e .
WHAT IS THIS SYSTEMABOUT?
Handy queationa to *ls* up
whai a cooputar la aupptmad to
be doing.
Whai daia doe* It eon lain'
When I* th* data stored?
What other data will II
link up to?
Whai Information
do you auppoae
can raaaoiubly
be derived from thal?
Whai a n the key
Input and output device*?
In whai fora*
doe* information
go In and oul?
Whai do you auppoae
Ihay might want to know?
T h e M eW E3$
A new e r a i n c omput ers i s dawning.
The f i r s t , o r C l a s s i c , computer era
i s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d equipment and voTk*
>n s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d pr obl ems.
Ci/stic dDHn/t /INe
The se co nd , o r Bar oque, computer
e r a used i n t r i c a t e equi pment f o r hard*
t o - u n d e r s t a n d p u r p o s e s , t i e d t o g e t h e r
wi t h t he g r e a t e s t d i f f i c u l t y by com
p u t e r p r o f e s s i o n a l s who c o u l d n ' t or
woul dn t e x p l a i n v e r y w e l l what t hey
t w o * i t t w r e n . Am n r . . '
t r
VT)\
C rv tro s^S
Cc' cs .
/Mvr
But a change i s c o a i n g . No one coa*
pany or f a c t i o n i s b r i n g i n g i t a b o u t , a l
t hough s oa e aay f e e l I t i s no t i n t h e i r
i n t e r e s t . I would l i k e t o c a l l i t here
t h e DIAPHANOUS age o f t he c o a p u t e r .
By "di ap ha n ou s " I r e f e r bot h t o the
t r a n s p a r e n t , u n d e r s t a n d a b l e c h a r a c t e r of
t he s y s t e a s t o c oae , and t o t h e l i k e l i
hood t h a t e o n p u t e r s w i l l be showing us
e v e r y t h i n g ( d l a - . a c r o s s e v e r y t h i n g ,
p h a l n e i n . t o show).
I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , COMPUTERS RILL
DISAPPEAR CONCEPTUALLY, w i l l becoae
" t r a n s p a r e n t " , i n t h e s e n s e o f bvi ng
p a r t s of u n d e r s t a n d a b l e whol es. More
over, t he " p a r t s " o f a comput er s y s t e a
w i l l have CLEAR CONCEPTUAL HEANING.
In o t h e r wor ds , COMPUTER SYSTEMS WILL
BE UNDERSTANDABLE. I n s t e a d of t h i n g s
b ei ng c o mpl i c a t e d , t hey w i l l becoae
Now, many peo pl e t h i n k c o a p u t e r s a r e by
t h e i r n a t u r e i n c ompr eh e ns i bl e and c o a p l l c a t e d - -
u n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h a t ' s be cause t hey have been
MADE TO BE. Usual l y t h i s i s u n i n t e n t i o n a l ,
b u t I f e a r not al ways . EXAMPLE. I n s t e a d o f
b e i ng t o l d , " t h i s i s t he mys t er i o u s XYZ c o n p u t
e r , i t has t o have t h i n g s J u s t s o , you have t o
f i l l out t h e s e DMQ f o r a s t o go i n t o t h e V 3 4 . . . " {
you w i l l h e a r such s u r p r i s i n g l y s i n p l e t h i n g s
as "Thi s s y s t e a i s s e t up f o r k eepi ng t r a c k of
who owes what t o t h e c oapany. On t h e s c r e e n
you can g e t l i s t s of a c c o un t s and o u t s t a n d i n g
b i l l s and who owes t h e a ; i f you p o i n t a t one
wi t h t h e l i g h t pe n, t h e p r i n t i n g a ac h i n e o v e r
h e r e w i l l p r i n t a b i l l a l l s e t t o go i n t h e
e n v e l o p e . '
In o t h e r words , s y s t e a s w i l l i n c r e a s i n g l y
have UNDERSTANDABLE PARTS WITH UNDERSTANDABLE
INTERCONNECTIONS.-
For one t h i n g , s m a l l e r and s m a l l e r com
p a n i e s a r e buyi ng c o a p u t e r s e r v i c e s , and t he y
w o n ' t s t a n d f o r r i d i c u l o u s c o m p l i c a t i o n s .
For a n o t h e r t h i n g , a number of pe o p l e i n t h e
c o a p u t e r f i e l d have g o t t e n s i c k o f syst ems
t h a t Bake t h i n g s h a r d f o r p e o p l e . F i n a l l y ,
t h e p r i c e o f c o mp ut e r s , e s p e c i a l l y mi c r o
p r o c e s s o r s ( s e e p . f ' j ) a r e coni ng down so
f a s t t h a t t hey can be t a i l o r e d t o f i t p e o p l e ,
r a t h e r t h a n v i c e v e r s a . But most o f a l l ,
i t ' s ) u s t vt i a e , t h a t ' s a l l .
Vji.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. L. F r e i t a s , "Making t h e Be s t Buy f o r t he
Smal l B u s i n e s s . " Coaput er D e c i s i o n * .
March 73, 22- 26.
Compares t h e r e l a t i v e c o s t s of
mi ni comput er s and t i me*sh*Tl ng; concl udes
t h a t mi ni * a r e t h a b a s t buy.
Bur t on L. K a t i , "Maki ng Mi ni comput er s Work
i n a Mt d l u m- s l t e d B u s i n e s s . " Dat a
P r o c e s s i n g . Wi nt e r 1971, 9 - 1 1.
S t r e s s e s t h e p o i n t t h a t w e l l - d e s
i gne d comput er s y s t e a s can be used by
e x i s t i n g p e r s o n n e l o f * f i n , wi t ho ut
e x c e s s i v e c o m p l i c a t i o n .
F r e d e r i c G. u i t h i n g t o n , "Cosmet i c Programming."
Dat ama t i on . Mar 70, 91- 9S. How t o aak*
s y s t e a s f r i e n d l y on t h e o u t s i d e .
12
Coaputer pr ogcsmre
fwh *"*h* Pl*n"
than chlngc ehcs
t i l l thay work.
Cowputar oparatora turn ' on and of f.
changa prograas.
change disks and tspaa,
ssl act aodaa of operation* for prograas
t hat can do aora than on thing.
(Sea p. 36.)
--- \
Mcavnn.
X m E l t f c C f i V C S Y S 1 E M 5
Used t o ba t h a t o r d i n a r y pe opl e had t o
d eal wi t h c omput ers by f i l l i n g out i n t r i c a t e
f orms, which were t h e n t r a n s l a t e d i n t o punch
c a r d s . The f orms p u t t h i n g s i n wei r d c a t e
g o r i e s ( s e e "Coded-Down D a t a , " p. Tv. ' - V. )
No l o n g e r .
Anyway, no l o n g e r n e c e s s a r y .
Co a p u t e r syst ems can now j i v e you a c t i o n ,
e x c i t e me n t - - and e x p l a n a t i o n s .
T h i s i s done t hr ough t h e magic o f t h e
TERMINAL. Ter mi n al s cone i n two conspi cuous
f l a v o r s ( t y p e w r i t e r and s c r e e n or "boob t u be ")
and a l s o have two l e s s - n o t i c e a b l e d i v i s i o n s
( " T e l e t y p e " o r " i n d u s t r y " v e r s u s "IBM t y p e . " )
Anyway, a t e r m i n a l i s s omet hi ng t h a t
al l ows a p e r s o n and a c o a p u t e r t o t ype a t each
o t h e r .
Now, c omput ers a r e a e r e l y gadget s f or
t wi d d l i n g i n f o r n a t i o n . They no more u n d e r
s t a n d E n g l i s h , o r human p s y c ho l og y, t han
p uppi es can r e a d a u s i c . (See " A r t i f i c i a l I n
t e l l i g e n c e , p . l t - I D But t h e c omput e r ' s p r o g
ram c a n , f o r i n s t a n c e , d i r e c t t h e comput er t o
t ype o u t a s i mp l e q u e s t i o n , and compare t he
u s e r ' s answer w i t h a si mpl e s e t of a l t e r n a t i v e s .
For e x a n p l e , s uppose t he u s e r i s v i s i t i n g a h o s
p i t a l . A comput er can s i g n him i n wi t h o u t t he
a b r a s i v e n e s s o f a r e c e i v i n g n u r s e , and wi t h f a r
a o r e p a t i e n c e . The f o l l o wi n g mi ght be a sample
d i a l o g u e . (Her e t h e comput er t ype s w h a t ' s i n
c a y s , and t h e usert> r e p l i e s a r e i n l owe r - ca s e- )
DO YOU JIAVE AN ACUTE PAIN? ( t , N, DX)
dk
YOUR ANSWER I S: DK FOR "DON'T KNOW."
DOES THAT MEAN YOU'RE NOT SURE
WHAT 'ACUTE' MEANS? (ANSWER A)
A PAIN COMES AND GOES? (ANSWER fl)
YOU HAVE A PAIN SORT OF ON THE
BORDER? (ANSWER C)
IS THIS PAIN IN AN EXACT PLACE YOU
CAN IDENTIFY? (Y,N,DK)
An i n t e r a c t i v e syst em of t h i s ki nd i s c a l l
ed a c o n v e r s a t i o n a l s y s t e m , i n t h a t i t " co n v e r s e s "
wi t h t h e u s e r . The s e c r e t i s t h a t t he a l t e r n a
t i v e s i n t h e comput er pr ogram a r e few and c a r e
f u l l y worked o u t b e f o r e h a n d : t h e r e a r e g r e a t p i t
f a l l s when t h e r e a r e t oo many a l t e r n a t i v e s , as
when such c o n v e r s a t i o n a l sys t e ms a r e used f or
t e a c h i n g ( s e e pp. tC-i 1 ) .
Here i s a s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d exampl e: a s y s t e n
I wi sh I had f o r b a l a n c i n g a checkbook. Note
t h a t t h e i n n e r pr ogram f o r t h i s c o n v e r s a t i o n a l
syst em c o u l d be w r i t t e n I n any of t he t h r e e l a n
guages p r e s e n t e d l a t e r .
WIIAT PROGRAM WOULD YOU LIKE TO RUN? ckbk
CHECKBOOK PROGRAM STARTS.
DO YOU WANT TO PROOF THE NEW STATEMENT FOR
MARCH? y
PLEASE LIST T1IE CHECKS TIIAT HAVE COME IN.
2 31, 239, 240, 242, 244, 245.
SUM OF INCOMING CHECKS IS $ 345. 72. DO YOU
WANT BREAKDOWN? n
PRESUMABLY BANX IS CHARGING YOU . 60 FOR
SIX CHECKS. ALSO MONTHLY CHARGE OF
FIFTY CENTS (PLEASE CONFIRM), y
ARE THERE ANY OTHER BANX CHARGES T1IIS
MONTH? n
ARE THE FOLLOWING DEPOSITS ON THIS STATE
MENT-- MARCH I SALARY, *854. 00? y
GIFT FROM AUNT AGATHA, 14 MARCH,
$ 25. 00? n
TOTAL ON STATEMENT SHOULD BE I 17S3. 21.
PLEASE CONFIRM, y
YOUR CURRENT FLOAT IS 16 5 6 . 7S. DO YOU WANT
BREAKDOWN? y
CURRENT FLOAT AS FOLLOWS--
NO. 241 IRVING'S RECORDS 7 MARCH $ 6. 75
NO. 243 SINISTER MALADROIT (LEGAL
FEES) 12 MARCH $600.00
NO. 246 DOGGIE HAIRDRESSERS
12 MARCH 5 20.00
NO. 247 SAM GRONK (REPAYMENT)
14 MARCH i 30. 00
TOTAL $656.75
ARE YOU DONE WITH CHECKBOOK PROGRAM? y
(The p a r t shown above i s e a s y . Thi nki ng
o u t t h e ways f o r t h e u s e r t o c o r r e c t h i s r e
c o r d s , a n d / o r t h e bank, i s t h e t ough p a r t . )
COMPANIES THAT WILL SET UP NIIOLE
LITTLE BUSINESS SYSTEMS
A number o f compani es make mi ni comput er s
( p a r t i a l l i s t on p . 4 } ) ; however, compani es
who want b u s i n e s s sys t ems b u i l t around mi ni
c omput ers may want t o i n v e s t i g a t e compani es
t h a t w i l l p u t t o g e t h e r whole b u s i n e s s syst ems
f o r them around mi n i s .
( I t i s hoped t h a t one c o n t r i b u t i o n of
t h i s book w i l l be t o g i ve t h e r e a d e r a b e t t e r
i d e a o f what t o ask f o r . )
Two compani es t h a t seem t o be i n t h i s
b u s i n e s s a r e :
Gene s i s One Computer C o r p o r a t i o n ,
99 Par k Av e. , NY 10016. Appears
t o use BASIC l anguage ( s e e p p . 16 - 1 7) .
Qa n t e l Corp. ( o f f i c e s i n f i v e maj or c i t
i e s ) . S e l l s a mi ni comput er of t h e i r
own ma n u f a c t u r e , u s i n g a l anguage
c a l l e d QIC ( Qa nt e l I n t e r a c t i v e Code) ,
whi ch a s a l es man t e l l s me i s " j u s t
l i k e BASIC" ( s e e pp. 16 - 1 7 ) . Mi ni
mum s e t u p i n c l u d e s a d i s p l a y t e r m i n a l ,
p r i n t e r , comput er and 6-mi 1l i o n - c h a r -
a c t e r d i s k , a t 531, 000.
TttfVNALS
t e r mi n al o r keys cope
( s ee p . DM 104 >. I t
a l i e n s t he comput er
p l a y games u i t h y ou,
q u i a you f o r i n f o r -
( or c
a l l ou
c o n t r o l ( d i s c u s s e d
THU HAW THI Kg TO
VSDl P.STAHD: u * a t i hei
do i s d e c i de d by huni
b e i n g s . not " e c i e n t i ;
p r i n c i p l e s . Hunan
coaput er at t he
Chi cago C i r c l e Canpul
Un i v e r s i t y o f I t l i n o i
'Jhat each pe r s on doet
s ha r i ng can haan l a r ge
Mot t o 1 f o r t h e new o r a :
USING A COMPUTER SHOULD ALWAYS
I BE EASIER THAN NOT USING
I A COMPUTER.
Mott o 2 f o r t he new e r a :
THE NEW FRONTIER IN COMPUTERS IS
CONCEPTUAL SIMPLICITY AND
CLARITY.-------------------------------
Peopl e who d e l i g h t i n i n t r i c a c y a r e goi ng t o
have t o l e a r n some new t r i c k s . I n t e r n a l i n
t r i c a c y i s f i n e , as l ong as the u s e r d o e s n ' t
have t o d e a l wi t h i t .
Mott o 3 f o r t he new e r a ( t o comput er
p e o p l e ) :
MAKING THINGS KASY IS HARD.
Mott o 4 f or t he new e r a ;
ANY SYSTEM FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE
SHOULD HE TEACHABLE IX TEN
MINUTES OR LESS.
Anyone who has been t a u g h t t h e us e of
some f i x ed - p u r p o s e comput er s y s t e n , such as
an a i r l i n e r e s e r v a t i o n s y s t e n , may doubt t h i s .
But perhaps t h i s book w i l l c l a r i f y t h i n g s
somewhat.
A "COOB-Gl-Y SYSTEM1-
f t r = r . . .
' CLEAR.
EASY TO USE,
Ann FRIENDLY.
ANY MAN OF COMMON SENSE CAN
DESIGN A COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR
A PURPOSE IMPORTANT TO HIM:
t he da t a s t r u c t u r e , t a r n s of
i n f o r n a t i o n , g e n e r a l o p e r a
t i o n s , r ccord- kec[ i i np. , and
But f o r some r ea s on t h i s i s
g e n e r a l l y ke pi a s c c r c l .
JOE TUWtE* USER'
i y (orar o%*jUTp!t7 >
on the mighty Dartmouth tlne-ah*rlng sys
tem, d t s s . (s.< p. y r . i
individual n m J Jo* Turkey User. This es
timable personage knows hardly anything
think* hr undaratanda what you t e l l hin
whon ha doesn' t . tends to h i t Che wrong
keys on iho terminal, and in general tends
But cha motto up there i a: I f i t ' s
not aimple enough for Joe Turkey User
i t a too complicat ed.
DTSS la a good-guy syatea.
VOOR FIRST COMPUTERCONTACT
Whan you f i r s t a l t a t a ccvputer terminal,
t i n feel i ng i a on* of shear t e r r or . Swa t and
c hi l l s , jun>lneaa and sudden cliauy nervous
potions, lunat i c abaentsdndadneaa and s i m r i n f
fear and awkwardness i nt er f er e with your abi l i t y
t o functi on or underatand the persen who Is
helping you.
I t ' s perfect l y normal.
THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPUTER TERMS FOR THE ' 70s
Here a r e some p h r a s e s t h a t w i l l c ount i n t h e
new e r a o f comput i ng, when we w i l l r un i n t o
a o r e and more comput er syst ems s e t up f or
p a r t i c u l a r p u r p o s e s .
c o n n c c t e d t o a f u n c t i o n i n g computei
( Not e t h a t t h e comput er may be i n 1
t y p e w r i t e r o r de s k i t s e l f . )
t h i n g s up f o r pr<
r a c t i v e
T)
___ ____ __ . . . i c c t e d , b u t r e s p o n d i n g t o
you. I n t e r a c t i v e sys t ems and pr ogram*
c a n r espond t o y o u r c h o i c e s an<l r e q u e s t :
c l a r i f y what t h e y want from yo u , e t c ,
remot e
r e f e r r i n g t o some t hi ng f a r away, a s d i s
t i n c t from 1_
A compui
e . g . , s k .
1,
f r o n t end ( n . ) , f r o n t - e n d l a d j . )
what eve r s t a n d s bet ween you and a s yst em.
A f r o n t end can be t he t e r i a i n a l i n your
o f f i c e , f o r exampl e, A f r o n t - end program
i s one which me d i a t e s bet ween a u s e r and
some o t h e r s ys t e m or pr ogr am, p e r ha ps
c o l l e c t i n g d a t a f o r i t by q u i i i i n g you.
d e d i c a t e d
s e t up f o r o n l y one u s e . A b i g c o a p u t e r
a t a comput i ng c e n t e r has t o have many
u s e s ; a l i t t l e comput er i n your o f f i c e
can be d e d i c a t e d . Dedi ca t ed c omput ers
a r e now h i dde n i n a l l s o r t s o f t h i n g s :
cas h r e g i s t e r s , f o r exampl e ( s e e " Mi c r o
p r o c e s s o r s , " p . 4 4 ) .
t u r n k e y ( a d j . )
t u r n e d on wi t h a key. E s p e c i a l l y ,
t ur nkey s y s t e ms , small c o a p u t e r syst ems
t h a t can j u s t be t ur ned on (key o r n o t )
and a r e f u l l y s e t up , r ea dy t o r un ,
r espondi ng t o e v e n t s i n t he wor l d a s nc cd c t
wi t h o u t d e l a y s . Computer sys t e ms t h a t c on
t r o l machi ner y, make a i r l i n e r e s e r v a t i o n s ,
p r e d i c t t he wea t he r o r r espond t o n a i v e use
a r c r e a l - t i m e . Systems l h a t can c a t c h up
o v e r n i g h t a r e n o n - r e a l - l i n e .
' ' i n t e l l i g e n t t e r m i n a l
s t u p i d t erm r e f e r r i n g t o any o b j e c t t h a t
does more t ha n a c t l i k e a p l a i n t e r m i n a l .
The t erm i s s t u p i d because i t c o n f u s e s
d i s t i n c t i o n s . Some " i n t e l l i g e n t t e r m i n a l s '
have e x t r a c i r c u i t s f o r v a r i o u s p u r p o s e s ;
o t h e r s c o n t a i n t h e i r own mi ni compu t er s ;
s t i l l o t h e r s a r c o r d i n a r y t e r m i n a l s c on
ne c t e d t o f r o n t - e n d pr ogr a ms ,
u s e r - o r i e n t e d
s e t up Tor " u s e r s " - - pe opl e who a r e n o t
programmers o r i n p u t t y p i s t s , b u t who
a c t u a l l y need s omet hi ng done,
u s e r l e v e l ( n . ) . u s e r - l e v e l ( a d j . )
"wher e t he u s e r i s " m e n t a l l y ; h i s l e v e l
o f i nvol ve me nt . User - l e v e l s y s t e m ,
syst em s e t up f o r pe opl e who a r e no t
t h i n k i n g a bout comput ers b u t a bout t h e
s u b j e c t o r a c t i v i t y t h e comput er i s s u p
posed t o h e l p w i t h ,
n a i v e u s e r ( n . ) , n a i v c - u s e r ( a d j . )
E
e r s on who d o e s n ' t know a b o u t comput er s
u t i s goi ng t o us e t h e s y s t e m. Nai v c -
u s e r sys t ems a r e t h o s e s e t up t o make
t h i n g s e a s y and c l e a r f o r s uch p e o p l e .
t i n e o r o t h e r ; i t ' s n o t h i n g t o be ashamed
o f . Though some comput er p e o p l e seem t o
t h i n k I t i s . )
i d i o t - p r o o f
not s u s c e p t i b l e t o b e i ng l ous e d up by a
n a i ve u s e r .
The h o s t i l i t y i n t h i s t er m may i n
some c as e s be r e a l . Computer pe opl e
someti mes f o r g e t , o r do n o t wi sh t o t o l
e r a t e , t he de gr e o o f c o n f u s i o n t h a t na i ve
u s e r s b r i n g t o t he ke yboar d. Thi s a t t i
t ude i s not j u s t t h e i r pr obl em b u t e v e r y
body s , s i n c e t hey l a y i t on u s .
good-guy syst em
te rm t o be u s e d her o f o r n a i v e - u s e r s y s
tems t h a t a r e f r i e n d l y , h e l p f u l , si mpl e
and c l e a r ,
s t a n d - a l o n e syst em
s yst em ( r o g a r d l e s s o f pu r p o s e ) whi ch
d o e s n ' t have t o be a t t a c h e d t o a n y t h i n g
e l s e . (May c o n t a i n i t s own c omp u t e r . )
D i e M u e u
( W t rfft 3- -*fv ^
"Modem" t a k e s t h e t e r m i n a l ' s p u l s e code
and wa r b l e s i t i n t o t h e phone as a u d i b l e
t o n e s . The comput er answer s wi t h s i m i l a r
war bl e s and t we e d l i n g ; t he modem c o n v e r t s
t h a t back i n t o a l p h a b e t i c a l c h a r a c t e r s .
t a n d a r d I n t e r f a c e .
( 3 fCelM
rxsm
i t > K K e l * M i N i C c n T O r c R . f e t r - 14')
OK4-tt(r Cinpuree. (,ec f. -n).
, depends on t he
fcJ. CC*/vTU.
T W O < . K J v O F
You would think t he fundamental dichotomy
among computer terminal* was between those that
pr i nt on ppr and thoae l hat ahow you muff on
. s c r e e n . Bul It l an' t . (That ' s l ike the difference
between people and whal ea-- much gr eal er outsi de
lhan Inelde.)
Actually the fundamental dist inct ion between
t erminals la between ASCII (pronounced "Aakey")
and IBM terminal s. ASCII is a code and scheme
of organizat ion which was adopted by "the Indus
t r y under the bleasl ng of the National Bureau
of St andards. But IBM has pointedly Ignored ihlB
s t andar d.
The princi pal terminal of t he ASCII type.
In sheer numbers , Is Ihe model 33-ASR Teletype
(trademark of Tel et ype Co r p . ) . so t hi s kind of
terminal Is cal led the "33 ASR t yp e , " o r "Teletype-
t y p e . or We even say a given terminal "looks
t o the computer like a Tel et ype. "
IBM. however, aeema to l ike changing Its
systems around a lot. for Inst ance changing Its
codes when It br i ngs out s new compuier, (For-
t unst ely. It Just happens lhat they al so Sell sdap-
l ers between them. Whew.) So IBM-type terminal s
are different by design.
There Is one main type, however, exem
plified by the IBM model 2741 terminal . Thus we
say a terminal Is an "IBM-type" or "2741-type"
t ermi nal .
Indeed, even the Sel ect ri c (IBM trademarly.
? - [' t yping mechanism appears in some
Tel etype-type terminal s -
Ther e Is s very Important performance
di fference between ASCII and IBM terminals.
The ASCII terminal can send each character typed
by the user- - each "keyst roke- - lo the o>mpuier
immediately. This means lhat highly responsi ve
programs can be wri t t en, whi ch examine the us er ' s
Input and can r epl y Inst ant aneousl y. It need be,
after anything the user t ypes.
IBM-type t ermi nal s. however, requir e
"line feed" character or an "end of transmission
character lo be typed by the user t o make it Ihe
computer'a t u r n , This locks the keyboard so (he
person can't use 11. Then the computer must t ype
some)hing, ending with lla own "unlock" signal
thal makes It the person' s t ur n again.
Why this unwieldy design? Supposedly it
r esults from the curi ous deci si on. i n the desi gn
of IBM's 380 compuier. t o make all devices
remble t he car d reader as far as ihe computer
Is concerned. Just as ihe car d r eader reads
punched carda till the last one Is done, the IBM
terminal la desi gned to send and recei ve characters
until a "fi nished" condi tion Is reached.
T&WHAy
' f o O O I C C .
All are ASCII-type unless otherwis e noted.
Nole: there a r e hundreds of types and
br ands of terminal s avail able. These a r e Just
some thoughts.
PRINTING TERMINALS-
BEST BUY? The model 38 ASR Tel etype
gives you upper and lower case, and la otherwis e
si mil ar to t he st andard model 33. $70 a mont h from
RCA Service Company . Data Communicati ons Dlv,
(offices i n major ci t i es) ; Sl S/mo. f or the coupler.
30- day cancellable but cosls $50 to put In, $24 to
t ake out.
There i s a cut e lermlnal thal behaves Just
I lka (he 33 ASR, bul Is fast er and uses NCR
pr essur e paper or a r i bbon, Int erchangeabl y.
The Emlel Series A teleprint er from Extel C o r p . ,
310 Anthony Tr ai l , Nort hbrook. III. 60062.
If you like Select rl cs, but want t o go to ASCII,
t here Is one weird possibi li ty.
A firm called Tycom Systems Corporation
(26 Just Road, Fairfield NY 07006) of fers an
Interesti ng alt ernati ve, it happens thal all Selec-
I rl cs ( anyway. Model 1 and Mbdel 11) have a seam
around the midriff a t which I he l ypewrl i er can
be unscrewed into two secti ons. Cl ever Tycom!
They make s device whi ch fi ls bet ween, looks io
the bottom l ike the top of ihe Sel ect ri c, and looks
t o (he top like the bottom. Also, i t t u r n s the
Select ri c into a terminal , receivi ng ASCII codes
from what ever computer you att ach it to and
causi ng the compuier to t ype t hem, o r aendlng out
whal you type lo Ihe computer In ASCII.
Curiousl y, IBM has given i t s bl essing to
t hi s arrangement, meani ng you can have (his
sandwi ch deal done to a Select ri c you r ent from
IBM, and servi ced under beefed-up IBM mainten
ance agreements ($72 per year , o r $16. 50 pe r hour,
as of 1970).
DISPLAY TERMINALS ( s e c r P - l,M 20- 1)
Tl i er e a r e nany b r a a . l s . Snt ic . i sc v i d e o .
The earl i er video terminal s camo wilh
dr eadful st yl i ng, li ke a 1940s science-fict ion
movie. But as an example of how t he market Is
developi ng, one of the handsomest video terminal s
I s the $1300 Mini-Tec from TEC Incorporated.
9800 North Oracl e Road, Tucs on. Arl *. 85704.
It comes covered wit h wood-grain cont act paper
and looks very nice. (You shoul d have seen
t heir ear l y models.)
The Hazel tlne 1000 video terminal rent s
for $49/mo. on s l - yea r cont ract . LOWER-CASE
OPTION; modem and coupler apparent l y nol
i ncluded. (Hazelli ne, Green l awn. NY 11740,
wil h offi ces all o ve r . )
i f you have no objection to ITT. they offer
a portabl e video terminal wilh bui l t -i n modem
and coupler, the Asci ecope. for $65/monlh.
Supposedly i here's a long wal li ng l i s t . (ITT
Data Equipment and Systems Divisi on, East Union
A v e . . East Rut herford, NJ 07073. )
see Kustom Electronics, Inc. ( ar en' t they the
rock-amp people?). Data Communications Division,
1010 West Cheslnut, Chanute, Kansss $6720.
They' ve already sel up tr avell i ng t erminal s (or
the mobile const abul ary of Kansas City (Mo.),
Palm Beach and Nashville. (Communications.
Jan. 73, ad p. 47. ) Now . of c our s e , you' ll need
a whole stationary radio setup t o run t h a t , . .
MISCELLANEOUS
Various firms r ent terminal s, some on a
Short- lcrm basi s. (Some terminal companies
are bad news, keeping up their equipment badly
and offeri ng poor s ervi ce, so watch i t . )
(The day will come, let's hope i t ' s soon,
thal you can r ent a terminal overnight o r for a
weekend l ike a movie earners. But till people
get a sense of how far and fast things a r e moving,
we' ll cont i nue to schl ock along haphazar dl y,)
Unfortunately rental people are hard io find,
since (hey are usually local , and the Yellow Pages
i diot ically lump t ogether every possibl e form of
compuier sal es and servi ce under "Dala Processi ng
Equipment and Suppl ies." and few firms f urt her
speci fy t he i r business In the l is ti ng.
Here are some names (neit her endorsed nor
cri t i ci zed):
Computer Pl anning I Suppl y, Chi cago
TTS Systems, LA
Vardon k Associates. Dallas
A good out fit , lhal r eni s both ASCII and
IBM-type t erminal s of t heir own manufact ure, i s
Anderson Jacobson Co. (1065 Morse Ave, ,
Sunnyvale. Calif. 94066. and major ci t i es) . They
have a Select ric terminal , for inst ance, whi ch
r ent s for about $100 a month (about the same as
Ihe st andar d IBM 2741) but i s portabl e-
To provi de a memory wit h your ASCII or JBM-
IBM-type t erminal , an odd machine called the
Techt r an 4100 (about $1000 from Techtr an Indus
tr i es, 580 Jeff erson Rd. . Rochester. NY 14623) can
be used for offline storage. It uses s magnetic
casset t e, Here are some things you can do wit h il:
t ype stuff into Ihe Techtr an.
la t er squi rt It lo a computer at hi gh speed
r ecei ve stuff from a computer at hi gh speed,
later type It back automaticall y on
t he terminal
t ype into ( heTecht r an. correct it, and ihen
have It typed back automatically--
no computer,
The questi on of whet her the Techtr an can be used
with Ihe Digi-Log has noi been publicly resol ved.
It happens lhal Anderson Jacobson (above)
will r ent you i hei r 2741-type Select ri c terminal ,
with a Techt ran , for about $220 a monlh lotal.
But they won't rent the Techtr an separ at el y,
A 2741-type Select ric terminal with memor y,
offeri ng these same capabil it ies, i s now avai l able
from IBM! II i s the Communicaling Mag Card
Executi ve (CMC). Since Ihe Mag Card Executi ve,
to which they have added Ihe communication
feature, cosi s over $200 a monlh, figure ihe
communication feature could cost another $100
or 30 monthl y, or pr obably half again as much
as the Anderson-Jacobson .
Honeywell (Honeywell Information Systems,
Wellesley Hills, Maas. ) has recentl y made
available a Braille program to be used with
"st andard terminal s" In their systems. (This may
be Ihe adaplsl ion developed at MIT l o do Braille
on the 33 ASR.)
For those of us lit erary t ypes who warn
upper and lower case bul are Stuck with 33ASRS.
a LOWER-CASE CONVERSION KIT i s avail able from
Dala Termi nals and Communications. Campbell,
Cali fornia.
If you'r e seri ous about keeping up with
developments In the terminal area, you might
wanl lo subscri be to Termi nals Review (126/ yr. ).
highly apoken of by Dat amation. (GML Cor p. .
594 Marrotl Rd. . Lexingt on. MA 02173.)
A "CRT Survey" Listing characterist ics
of 110 CRT displ ays (incl uding both video t er
minals and fancier pi ctorial dlaplaya-- see flip
side ! this book) Is availabl e for len bucks
postpaid from Dal apro Research Corp. , One
Corporate Cent er, Rout e 38, Moorestown, NJ
08057.
961 f.f. n).
1U VTOP, ^300.
VIDEO TERMINALS WITHOUT THE VIDEO
A very hot Item r l ghi now Is a terminal
called Ihe "Di gi- Log"-- actuall y sever al different
models-- avail able from Digi-Log Sysiems, I nc. ,
666 Davisvllle Rd. , Willow Grove, P*. 19090.
Thi s devi ce fits i n a br iefcase. Basically
Il is a keyboard with a socket for i he phone,
and an antenna wi re. You phone the computer,
drop ihe phone handsel In the slot , and cl ip the
wire lo (he antenna of a TV s e l , Presto! On ihe
TV set appears whal you and Ihe computer type
at each ot her.
This is especial ly good for travell i ng
salesmen (to communicate wilh their offices and
ordering system via time-sharing computer)
and executives who do compuier work from the
r oad. Also for people who want to show off
remote computer sysiems.
Disadvantage: only 42 charact ers per line,
which is awkward for some thi ngs, such as
programming In For t r a n.
Price: $1200 to $1400, They alao l ease, al
rates as low as $40/month (3 year s).
Also available on rent al , supposedly, from
Westwood Associates, Inc. . 50 Washington Ter r ace,
East Orange, NJ 07017.
Ann Arbor Termi nals , Inc. (Ann Arbor.
Mich.7) i s said lo offer a si mil ar unit lhal i s
The equival ent IBM-type t erminal -- keyboard,
coupl er and d i p to the TV-- Is the IPSA-100,
offered by I. P. Sharp Associates, Inc. (Bridge
Administration Buildi ng, Bridge Plaza, Ogdensbur g,
NY 13669). Unfortunately i t ' s much l arger than
the Digi-Log-- ll comes In a medium-size sull csse
-- end more expensi ve ($1700 up), However,
they offer ihe APL charact er-aet (see APL under
"Magic Languages," s an option even
a model with bolh normal and APL charact er-sel a
as a switch-select able option (costs even more).
Recent ly, of all things , plans for a do-it -
yoursel f uni t of rhis type were announced in a
popular electronics magazi ne (Don Lancaster,
"TV Typewrit er," Radio-Electron Ice, Sept . 1973,
43-52), Thia does nol include the full pl ans,
which are avail able for $2 from TV TYPEWRITER ,
Radio-Electronic s , 45 E. I7lh S i . . New York.
NY 10003-
Supposedly t hi s can be bui l t t or "around
$120"-- probably a deal more- - if you a r e a skil led
electronics builder or t echni cian. But lhal looks
to include a great deal of labor.
The finished unit holds up to 32 charact ers
per line and up to 16 lines on the screen; a second
memory can be added, lo hold a second alternati ve
screenful.
T V P E R I G HT E f L
T h e J f o g i c ^ p e w r l l K f
A number o f d i f f e r e n t s y s t e ms a r e c oni ng
on t h e ma r k e t t o a i d y o u i n e r r o r - f r e e t y p i n g .
IBM woul d h a v e y o u c a l l t h e s e "wor d p r o
c e s s i n g s y s t e m s , s i n c e t h a t makes them sound
o f - a - p i e c e w i t h t h e i r d i c t a t i o n e qui p me n t . Ac
t u a l l y t h e y r e t e x t r e g u r g i t a t i o n s y s t e m s , b u t
l e t ' s j u s t c a l l them Magi c T y p e w r i t e r s .
P r i c e s o f t h e s e t h i n g s t e n d t o r u n bet ween
$100 and $250 a mont h.
G e n e r a l l y t h e s e a r e b e i n g s o l d a s s e c r e
t a r i a l a i d s , p a r t l y b e c a u s e t h e y t e n d t o be t oo
u n g a i n l y f o r u s e b y w r i t e r s t h e m s e l v e s . A
p r i n c i p a l u s e h a s b e e n i n l a r g e l aw o f f i c e s ,
where c o n t r a c t s , w i l l s a nd s uc h a r e s t o r e d a s
" b o i l e r p l a t e " ( s t a n d a r d s e c t i o n s o f Document)
and t hen mo d i f i e d s l i g h t l y by t h e l a wyer t o
j u s t i f y t h e l e g a l f e e s .
Such s y s t e ms a l l b a s i c a l l y c o n s i s t o f
t h r e e t h i n g s :
A t y p e w r i t e r , c o n n e c t e d t o sotae s o r t o f
m a g n e t i c memor y. s u c h as a t a p e , c o a t e d
c a r d o r d i s k , and
e d i t i n g c i r c u i t r y , whi ch r e s p o n d s t o
v a r i o u s a c t s by t h e u s e r .
WHAT THEY DO: a l l o w y ou t o t ype s t u f f i n , whi ch
i s b o t h t y p e d on t h e papeT and a t t h e s a n e t i m e
s t o r e d t h e m a g n e t i c w h a t e v e r . Smal l e r r o r s
you c o r r e c t a s y o u t y p e a l o n g , g e n e r a l l y by
backspacing.
When you want a c l e a n c o p y - - P r e s t o Wa i t - o !
P u t i n c l e a n p a p e r , s t a r t t h e m a g n e t i c w h a t e v e r
a t t h e b e g i n n i n g , and t h e t y p e w r i t e r r e t y p e s i t
w i t h o u t a m i s t a k e .
I f y o u ' r e l u c k y .
U n f o r t u n a t e l y sotae o f t h e s e s y s t e ms a r e
q u i t e b a d l y t h o u g h t o u t . I n one o r two c a s e s
I an n o t s u r e w h e t h e r t he y a r e d e s i g n e d a s t h e y
a r e a c c i d e n t a l l y o r on p u r p o s e . N e i t h e r i n t e r -
p r c t a t i o n Ts n a t t e r i n g t o t he m a n u f a c t u r e r .
I have ha d e x t e n s i v e e x p e r i e n c e w i t h two
o f t h e s e s y s t e m s , t h e IBM Hag Tape S e l e c t r i c
a nd t h e IBM Mag Car d E x e c u t i v e . S u f f i c e i t t o
s a y t h a t i f I b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e s e s y s t e ms wer e
as cumbersome as t h e y a r e by a c c i d e n t , t h e n t h e
s e c t i o n s i n t h i s book on IBM and i t s p r o d u c t s
mi ght ha ve a v e r y d i f f e r e n t s l a n t . As i t i s ,
t h e s e s y s t e m s r e q u i r e a t r a i n i n g p e r i o d o f ( s a y )
a week, and r e q u i r e s uc h c o n t i n u o u s a t t e n t i o n
t o t h e i r c u r i o u s t acc hani cs t h a t t h e u s e r i s
g i v e n l i t t l e o p p o r t u n i t y t o t h i n k o f a n y t h i n g
e l s e . In b o t h c a s e s , i n my o p i n i o n , t h e s u p e r
f i c i a l p l a u s i b i l i t y o f t h e i n i t i a l d e s i g n pr em
i s e s k n o t s i n t o t a n g l e d r a t i f i c a t i o n s whi c h
v e r g e on t h e p r e p o s t e r o u s . Much o f t h i s book
was w r i t t e n on a Mag Car d E x e c u t i v e - - and I *n
damned s o r r y I b o t h e r e d .
Some s y s t e m s o f t h i s t y p e a r e :
The IBM Mag Tape S e l e c t r i c (MT/ST o r MTST).
Re cor ds on s p r o c k e t e d 16mm n a g f i l m o f t h e t y p e
u s e d f o r movi e sound r e c o r d i n g , and you ha v e two
d i f f e r e n t t a p e s t o g e t c o n f u s e d b e t we e n .
The IBM Mag Car d E x e c u t i v e . Re c or ds on a
p l a s t i c H o l l e r i t h c a r d ( s e e p . 2 & ) c o a t e d w i t h
m a g n e t i c o x i d e . V a r i a b l e w i d t h o f c h a r a c t e r s
p r e s e n t s f a s c i n a t i n g d i f f i c u l t i e s .
The IBM Mag Tape S e l e c t r i c Composer (MT/SC.
MTSC) . P r o d u c e s l o v e l y r e s u l t s w i t h t h e S c l c c -
t r i c Compos er , a ve r y f anc y S e l e c t r i c . But ha s
c o m p l i c a t i o n s w e l l beyond t h o s e o f t h e Mag Tape
S e l e c t r i c . l iven n o r e v a r i a b l e w i j t h s t h a n Mag
Car d E x e c u t i v e . Uses same n a g - f i l m c a r t r i d g e s
as MTST. K
( No t e : f o r t h o s e who l i k e t h e o u t p u t from
t h e above d e v i c e s , b u t a p p r e c i a t e a l s o t h e r e l a
t i v e d i f f i c u l t y o f t h e i r u s e , t h e r e i s A v a i l a b l e
a c omput e r p e r i p h e r a l d e v i c e whi ch r e a d s and
w r i t e s t h e s e 16mm mag t a p e c a r t r i d g e s . I d o n ' t
know who makes i t , u n f o r t u n a t e l y . )
IBM's l a t e s t i s c a l l e d t h e Ma g n e t i c Memory
T y p e w r i t e r , and seems t o s t o r e up t o o n e pa ge i n
a h i d d e n memory. A p p a r e n t l y you c a n ' t s e t i t
a s i d e , l i k e t h e c a r d s o r t a p e s .
A f i r m c a l l c d R e d a c t r o n makes magi c t y p e
w r i t e r s u s i n g e i t h e r c a s s e t t e s ( a u d i o - t y p e ) o r
mag c a r d s ( l i k e t h e Mag Car d E x e c u t i v e ) .
A f i r m c a l l e d S a v i n doe s t h e same t h i n g ,
u s i n g a Tycom S e l e c t r i c Sandwi ch ( s e c u n d e r
" P r i n t i n g T e r m i n a l s , " n e a r b y ) .
O l i v e t t i h a s one c a l l e d t h e S- 14 Word P r o
c e s s i n g Sys t em. T h e i r c a r t r i d g e ( a d i s k ? ) s t o r e s ,
t he y s a y , ISO pa ges o f t y p i n g .
Two o t h e r o u t f i t s i n t h e f i e l d a r e T r e n d o t a
and Q u i n t y p e .
Noops! Her e comes S p e r r y Remi ngt on! ( S p e r r y
Remi ngt on? ) They ha ve one t o o .
Fo r t h o s e i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s s o r t o f t h i n g ,
t h e r e i s a n I n t e r n a t i o n a l Word P r o c e s s i n g A s s o c i a
t i o n ( Ma r y l a n d Road, AHS B u i l d i n g , Wi l l ow Gr ove,
PA 19090. )
See a l s o t h e F l i p S i d e o f t h e book f o r more
h i g h - p e r f o r m a n c e t e x t s y s t e m s .
Both Tel etype- and IBM-type terminals
coma In eit her vldeo-acreen o r pr inti ng models,
from a variety Of manufact urers.
are what make computers go ' r ound.
IF your computer only did one t hi ng,
then to st ar t It you' d only need one button to
press.
If your computer only did two dozen
t hi ngs, wit hout vari at i ons, then you could
let each operation bo started by pressi ng
one of t he Keys of the terminal , and thal
would be lhat.
But that' s not what i f a about.
We have lots of different t hings lhAt we
want computers 10 do. and we want one com
mand lo work on dif ferent vari eti es of dala. or
on the r esul t s of a previous command. or even
lo chew on another command Itself; and so e
computer language Is a conlr l ved method of
giving commands to a computer l hat allows
the commands lo be enlwlned In a complex fashi on,
This means havi ng basi c operati ons that
can be bui l t into bi gger operati ons (rout ines,
subrout i nes, subpr ograms, programs).
Thus a c o mp u t e r l a n g u a g e i s r e a l l y
a met hod by wh i c h a u s e r c a n t i e t h e s e
pr ogr a ms t o g e t h e r . Comput er l a n g u a g e s
a r e b u i l t a c c o r d i n g t o c o n t r i v e d s e t s o f
r u l e s f o r t y i n g pr ogr a ms t o g e t h e r . Such
r u l e s a r c l i m i t e d o n l y by t h e i ma g i na
t i o n of t h e i r c o n t r i v e r s . Each comput e r
l anguage h a s i t s own c o n t r i v e d s ys t e m o f
r u l e s , a nd i t may be c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t
from t h e c o n t r i v e d r u l e s t y i n g t o g e t h e r
any o t h e r c o mp u t e r l a n g u a g e . ( T h a t ' s one
r e a s o n l o r h e r e p r e s e n t i n g t h r e e d i f f e r
e n t c o n p u t e r l a n g u a g e s , t o show some o f
t h e mad v a r i e t y t h a t can e x i s t . )
Comput er l a n g u a g e s t e n d t o l o o k l i k e
n o t h i n g e l s e y o u ve e v e r s e e n . Thus c o n
p u t e r p r o g r a m s , whi ch o f c o u r s e have t o
be w r i t t e n i n t h e s e co mp u t e r l a n g u a g e s ,
l ook p r e t t y w e i r d . Some pr ogr a ms l ook
l i k e o l d t r a i n s c h e d u l e s ( i n n u l t i p l e
c o l u mn s ) . Some l o o k a l i t t l e l i k e p r i n
t e d p o e t r y . I n any c a s e , a COMPUTER PRO
GRAM NO MORI: LOOKS LIKE ITS RESULT THAN
THAN THE WORD "COW" LOOKS LIKE A COW.
One o f t h e c e n t r a l c o n c e p t s o f t h i s
book i s t h a t o f a ' " p r o g r a m f o l l o w e r , a
dynami c e n t i t y whi ch somehow f o l l o w s a
p r ogram. ' . f e l l , EVERY LANCUAGE HAS A PRO
GRAM FOLLOWER FOLLOWING ITS OWN PARTI
CULAR RULES. Th es e r u l e s a r e c o n t r i v e d
f o r c o n v e n i e n c e , s u i t a b i l i t y t o a p u r p o s e ,
and " a e s t h e t i c s " o f a s o r t - - o f t e n s oa e
form o f s t a r k c o m p r e s s i o n . (The pr ogr a m
f o l l o w e r s w i r e d i n t o c o mp u t e r s a r c some
what more a k i n t o one a n o t h e r ; s e e "Rock
Bo t t om, " p . 3 2 . ) About a l l we can s a y
l a n g u a g e s ha v e i n common i s : EVERY COM-
PUTER LANGUAGE ALLOWS LOOPS. TESTS AND
BRANCHES, AND COMMUNICATION WITH EXTERNAL
DEVICES, a s me n t i o n e d on p . 11. Beyond
t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e s a r e i n c r e d i b l e .
So t h e b a s i c s e c r e t o f c ompu t e r pe o
p l e i s t h i s : i t ' s n o t t h a t t h e n e c e s s a r
i l y know s o much, b u t t h e y c a n a d a p t t o a
whole new wo r l d o f p o s s i b i l i t i e s more
m e [QUICKIE]
Everyone 9hould have some br ush with
computer pr ogrammi ng, j usl lo see what it Is
and is n' t , Whai i i is: casti ng mystical spel l s
in arcane terminology, whose exact detai ls
have exact rami fi cati ons. Whai II i s n' t : talking
or t ypi ng to the computer in some way that re
quir es Intel ligence by l he machine. Whai l l la:
an intr icat e technical a n . Whai it i sn' l : science.
Why t hr ee languages? Because one would
look loo much al i ke. Onl y by perusi ng several
do you get any sense of the vari et y they take.
Thes e t h r e e l a n g u a g e s make i t p o s s i b l e
i n p r i n c i p l e f o r you t o l e a r n c omput e r s
w i t h no c o a c h i n g . A l l you n e e d ( i n p r i n c i
p l e ) i s y o u r own t e r m i n a l , and t i m e - s h a r i n g
a c c o u n t s w i t h f i r ms r u n n i n g BASIC (Most o f
t he n d o ) , TRAC Language ( f o r a v a i l a b i l i t y
s e e p , 2 1 ) , a n d / o r APL ( f o r p a r t i a l l i s t o f
s o u r c e s s e e p . 2 5 ) .
Why theae three? Several good r easons.
One, they can be used from a t ermi nal , which
means lhal you could in pri nci pl e get a terminal
In your home and play wil h the computer from
over lhe telephone. Bui this i s expensi ve,
and al worsl fraught with accidental financial
l i abil i ti es, so the possibi lity Is minor r ight now,
Nevert heless, il should be practical and inex
pensive fai rl y soon.
Thes e l a n g u a g e s h a v e be en c h o s e n b e
c a u s e t h e y a r e i m p o r t a n t , v e r y d i f f e r e n t
from e a c h o t h e r , v e r y p o w e r f u l , i n f l u e n t i a l
and h i g h l y r e g a r d e d i n t h e f i e l d , i n t e r a c
t i v e f rom t i m e - s h a r i n g s y s t e n s , a nd v e r y
s u i t a b l e f o r maki ng i n t e r a c t i v e pr ogr a ms
and " good- guy s y s t e n s . "
Each uay b e us e d t o c r e a t e pr ogr a ms
Because t h e s e l a n g u a g e s can be us e d
from a t e r m i n a l , and t h u s l e a r n e d q u i c k l y ,
we mi ght c a l l them Q u i c k i e l a n g u a g e s .
No t e : i n t e r a c t i v e l a n g u a g e s mean y o u ,
t h e pr ogr a mme r , can c hange your pr ogr a m
from t h e t e r m i n a l ; i n t e r a c t i v e wrocr ams
a r e t h o s e whi ch i n t e r a c t w i t h u s e r s , whi ch
i s d i f f e r e n t . However, t h e s e l a n g u a g e s a r e
q u i t e s u i t a b l e Tor b o t h .
Another reason for t hese three: they
r epr esent . In a way. several major types,
BASIC i s a widespread and fairly st andard
language-- lhal i s , it i s available on computers
everywhere. Mor eover, ll looks r at her like
For t r an, which is the most important "sci enti fi c"
computer language.
TRAC Language, though wel l-known among
resear cher s, has mighty powers that are not so
well known. Moreover, it achi eves it s powers
through lha simple and highl y consistent following
ot a few simple pri nci pl es, and i s t hus both very
eaay to l ear n and an elegant intell ectual t ri umph
for Its inventor.
Moreover, i l ia a so-call ed "lisi l anguage. "
meani ng thal it can handle Information having
ext remely varied and changing form-- a very
Important feat ure lo those of ua interest ed in
computer applications like pi ct ure-maki ng and
text handli ng, which use amorphous and busy
types of data. (See "Data St r uct ur es . p p - 2 & - >
APL i s another elegant l anguage, also
worked oul handsomely from certai n basic i deas
by a very thoughtful and i nspi red i nvent or.
In the contemplation of t hese t hr ee lan
guages you may begin lo see the i nfluence of
the Individual human mind i n t he computer fiel d,
quit e cont rar y t o the st er eot ype. I would like
lo st r ess her e lhal each of t hese t hr ee languages
r epr esent s somebody's I ndividual personal ach
ievement. and i s in t ur n a foundation upon
whi ch ot he r s , wri ti ng pr ogr ams, can bui l d
Two o f t h e s e l a n g u a g e s p e r m i t t h e
c r e a t i o n o f i n t e r a c t i v e p r o g r a m s t h o t work
on a l i n e - b y - l i n e b a s i s ; i n a d d i t i o n , TRAC
Language ( p p . 18- 21) p e r m i t s t h e c r e a t i o n
o f s y s t e ms t h a t r e a c t t o a ny c h a r a c t e r t h e
u s e r t y p e s i n , r a t h e r t h a n w a i t i n g f o r t h e
c a r r i a g e r e t u r n a t t h e e n d o f a l i n e . Th i s
p e r m i t s you t o pr ogr a m u s e r - l e v e l s y s t e ms
t h a t a r e e v e n more r e s p o n s i v e .
IF YOU'RE SCARED. Don't wo r r y , l l ' a
not a t est . Fl i p the pages and look at l he exam
ples. (In part i cul ar , you might look for lhe
same program which appears in each language:
a program to cause the computer to print
"HELP, I AM TRAPPED IN A LOOP" f or ever . )
This book Is organi zed s o you can look
al It or ski p ll In any or de r , so t her e i s no
parti cular reason you have lo f ight thr ough
the next three chapters If you wani t o pr e s s on.
But if you want to st udy these I s nguagos , by all
means do 80.
Languages lhal can be used from a terminal
are call ed on-l i ne l anguages, Ther e arc a num
ber of ot her popular on-l i ne languages: JOSS
(lhe or i gi nal ) . FOCAL. LOGO. SPEAKEASY. Im
jusl s or ry t here's no room for them h e r e .
Some p o p u l a r n o n - i n t e r a c t i v e l a n g u a g e s
a r e b r i e f l y d e s c r i b e d on p p . 3 0 - 3 1 .
T i l l more and sore you gel the f ee l of I t .
Anil f i nd yourself wri t i ng proKraa lhat work
THEto r UAVto
PROGRAMS VS. SYSTEMS:
A Vague Guideline lo a Vague Distinction
A "program'- r uns on an ordinary computer, without
necessari l y i nteracti ng with lhe oulalde worl d;
a "system" Involves a whole set up, of which the computer
and a program In It are Jusl the centr al t hi ngs.
t o g e t h e r t h e f undame nt a l o p e r a t i o n s o[
l a nguage f i t s t o g e t h e r a c c o r d i n g t o i t s
s o n a l l t y and p r e o c c u p a t i o n s o f t h e p e r s o n
or p e o p l e who d e s i g n e d i t .
Modern c omput er l a n g u a g e s g e n e r a l l y can
h a n d l e a l l t h e main k i n d s o f pr ogr a nmi ngs
c o a t h a n d l i n g , nu.aber c r u n c h i n g , s t o r i n g
f i l e a on d i s k memory and g e t t i n g them b a c k ,
I n t h i a book we w i l l t r y t o g i v e you a
n a t t e r i n g o f a l l t h e s e .
The Moving Fiojfr writa; and, having writ.
Mores oo : oer ell joai Piety (X* Wit
Shall lara il back to a n a l half a Line,
Nor all your T o n vraih oul Word of it.
K h a y y a m / F t t t g g r a l d
Numerous i n t e r a c t i v e pr ogr a ms e x i s t f o r
e d i t i n g t e x t a t co mp u t e r t e r m i n a l s - - i n o t h e r
wo r d s , f o r d o i n g wh at Magi c T y p e w r i t e r s d o , b u t
u s i n g a c o mp u t e r i n s t e a d o f a s ma l l s p e c i a l -
p u r p o s e ma c h i n e .
U n f o r t u n a t e l y most o f t h e s e s y s t e ms a r e
d r e a d f u l . D r e a d f u l , t h Bt i s , f o r o r d i n a r y
hunan b e i n g s . What c o n p u t e r p e o p l e seem t o
t h i n k o f a s a p p r o p r i a t e s y s t e m s f o r h a n d l i n g
t e x t a r e t o t a l l y u n s u i t a b l e f o r p e o p l e who c a r e
and t h i n k a l o t a b o u t t e x t , a l t h o u g h t h e y may
be good i o r co mp u t e r p r o g r a mme r s .
Such s y s t e n s a l l o w y o u t o i n s e r t t e x t
( wi t h s a n e d i f f i c u l t y ) , d e l e t e ( wi t h some d i f
f i c u l t y ) , and r e a r r a n g e ( n a y b e ) .
O r d i n a r i l y t h e u s e r must l e a r n an e x p l i c i t
command l a n g u a g e , some s y s t e m o f a l p h a b e t i c a l
commands t h a t have t o be t y p e d i n t o e f f e c t any
change i n t h e m a t e r i a l . Pr ogr ammer s t h i n k t h i s
i s good f o r y ou and t o u g h e n s t h e n i n d .
The t e x t i s u s u a l l y s c u r v u a s a s e r i e s o f
a l p h a b e t i c a l and p u n c t u a t i o n c odes i n t h e com
p u t e r ' s c o r e memory. The a r e a i t o c c u p i e s i n
t h e c o r e memory i s c a l l e d a c o r e b u f f e r .
The pr ogr a m g e n e r a l l y g i v e s t h e u s e r an i m
a g i n a r y " p o i n t e r , " a ma r ke r s p e c i f y i n g what p o i n t
i n t h e t e x t t h e pr ogr a m i s c u r r e n t l y c once r ne d
w i t h .
What i s t h e p o i n t e r f o r ? I t s p e c i f i e s wher e
t h e o p e r a t i o n s a r e t o t a k e p l a c e . " I n s e r t , f o r
e x a m p l e . I f t e x t i s i n s e r t e d , i t w i l l go i n t o
t h e p l a c e p r e s e n t l y p o i n t e d a t .
Many o f t h e commands a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h c o n
t r o l l i n g t h e c u r r e n t p o s i t i o n o f t h e p o i n t e r ,
movi ng i t ba ckwar d o r f o r wa r d by a s p e c i f i c num
b e r o f c h a r a c t e r s ( i n c l u d i n g p u n c t u a t i o n n a r k s
and s p a c e s ) o r l i n e s (known t o t h e pr ogr am by t h e
c a r r i a g e - r e t u r n c odcs i n t e r s p e r s e d i n t h e t e x t ) ,
c W u t c v ? - s m e s y r r e i n .
4M jy,
a Cvrv. bvrtef;
r v ? v n w '
L |6' <6y'r ' * ^ ' J 1
Z l ) if \ DfPim (fl
E T * K
I n t h i s s i m p l i f i e d i l l u s t r a t i o n , t h e p o i n
t e r c a n be moved f o r wa r d and ba ckwar d i n t h e
t e x t by v a r i o u s commands. Typi ng "B" moves t h e
p o i n t e r t o t h e b e g i n n i n g . "Ii " t a k e s i t t o t h e
e n d . "L" moves i t t o t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e l i n e
i t ' s p r e s e n t l y on , and t h e commands C" a nd " L ,
when g i v e n w i t h numbe r s , t e l l t h e p o i n t e r t o
move f o r w a r d o r back t h e s p e c i f i e d number o f
p o s i t i o n s . For i n s t a n c e :
3C Move f o r wa r d 3 c h a r a c t e r s
4C Move backwar d I c h a r a c t c r s
2L Move f o r wa r d 2 l i n e s
- 2 L Move backwar d 2 l i n e s
and s o o n . Not e t h a t t h e s e o p e r a t i o n s a r e n o t
g o d - g i v e n , b u t t h a t t h e p a r t i c u l a r s o f how t h e y
b e have a nd work t o g e t h e r a r e d e t e r m i n e d by t h e
p e r s o n a l q u i r k s o f who programmed t hem.
An o t h e r f e a t u r e many o f t h e s e p r o g r a m s ha ve
i s c a l l e d a " c o n t e x t e d i t o r f e a t u r e . S o - c a l l e d
c o n t e x t e d i t i n g moves t h e p o i n t e r f r om i t s p r e
s e n t p o s i t i o n t o t h e n e x t o c c u r r e n c e o f a s p e c i
f i c s t r i n g o f c h a r a c t e r s : f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e n e x t
o c c u r r e n c e o f t h e word CHIAROSCURO. O f t e n s uc h
commands p e r mi t y o u , by g i v i n g t h e command p r o p
e r l y , t o r e p l a c e any g i v e n word o r p h r a s e w i t h
any o t h e r . I t was d r i l y r ema r ked j t a r e c e n t
c o n f e r e n c e t h a t t h i s woul d a l l o w a w r i t e r t o
c hange e v e r y o c c u r r e n c e o f " o r " i n h i s w r i t i n g
t o " a n d . " Yet pr ogr a mme r s seem t o t h i n k t h i s i s
a f e a t u r e w r i t e r s w a n t .
( F o r p r ogr a mme r s ' p u r p o s e s t h i s i s a v e r y
good f a c i l i t y ; i n d e e d , a whol e c o mp u t e r l a n g u a g e
SNOBOL, i s b u i l t a r o u n d i t ; - - s e e p . 3 1 . But
i t h a s n o t h i n g t o do w i t h nor mal t e x t . )
T h i s t y p e o f t h i n g i s t o t a l l y u n s u i t e d f o r
t h e l i t e r a r y t y p e s o f p e o p l e who c a r e most a b o u t
t e x t and i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ( c o n n o t a t i o n s ,
t w i s t s ) whi c h c a n n o t b e f ound by d e f i n a b l e
s t r u c t u r e d s e a r c h , ftnd who s h o u l d n o t b e f o r c e d
t o d e a l w i t h e x p l i c i t comput e r l a n g u a g e s b e c a u s e
i t t e n d s t o i n t e r f e r e w i t h t h e t h o u g h t p r o c e s s e s
t h e y a r e s upp o s e d t o b e p u r s u i n g , i f n o t make
t hem p h y s i c a l l y i l l .
%
You* F lisr tOHfUTtR (AN6UMC:
DMLTKOtfTM'.T
B A S r e
T h e BASIC l a n g u a g e , al s o c al l ed D a r t m o u t h - B u t e ,
u i n t r o d u c e d In t he s i x t i e s a t Dar t mout h Col lege b y J o h n
Kane n y a n d Thomas Kur t *. I t waa I nt ended to be a si mpl e
a nd e a s y - t o - l e * m I nt r o d u ct i o n to c omput er p r og r a mmi n g,
y e t power f ul e nough to do u s e f u l t h i n g s . It h a s g r o wn i n
u s e , I n r e c e n t y e a r s , bot h a s t h e f oremost b e g i n n e r ' s l a n g u a g e ,
a n d a s a pe r f ec t l y fine l a n g u a g e f or doi ng many si mpl e
k i n d* of w o r k l i ke cust om b u s i n e s s a p pl i c a t i o n s , s t a t i s t i c s ,
a nd " go od - gu y" s y s t e ms f or nfliv u s e r s os d i s c u s s e d e l s e w h e r e
In t h i s book.
Ksnvsny Is now p r e s i d e n t of Dar t mout h, and Kur t z
r u n s t h e i r hl g h - p o we r t i m e - s h a r i n g c omput er c e n t e r , so
BASIC has p e r ma n en t home b a s e t h e r e .
Note l hat t he name BASIC does nol r ef er to t h e bot t om-
l e v el or e l o nent al l a n g u a g e s of c o mp ut e r s . BASIC has
b e en c o n t r i v e d spe ci f i c al l y to make pr ogr a mmi n g q u i c k e r
a n d e a s i e r . II la not " b a s i c " to al l comput ers; s u c h bottom
l an gu ag e s a r e c al l ed " mac hi ne l a n g u a g e o r " as s e mbl e r
l anguage" ( see P P . j 2 .-_jl
The si mpl i ci t y of t he l a n g u a g e b e gi ns s t t he p r o gr a m
I n p u t , or e d i t i n g , l e v e l . Ea c h command r f BASIC must
be on a s e p ar at e l i n e , a n d e ac h l i n e must have s s e par at e
l i ne nu mb e r . Suppos e y o u a c c i d en t al l y type i n
SO IMPUGN Y
when you maant "INPUT" I n s t e a d of "IMPUGN." You may
r e p l a c e t ha t command a t a n y ti me by t y p i n g t he same l i ne
nu mb e r and t he new v e r s i o n of t he l i n e ,
50 INPUT Y
whi ch a ut omat i cal l y r e p l a c e s t h e pr evi ou a l y l i ne 50. i f
you wont to get r i a of t he l i n e e n t i r e l y , you type
50
a nd an e n d- o f - l i n e c o d e , a n d t he whole l i ne I s gone.
Example of a BASIC command:
153 L B T X = Y
You can choose any l i ne n u m b e r s you wa n t , b u t t h e l i n e s
a r e a ut omat i cal l y p u t Ln t h e o r d e r of t h e i r n u m b e r s . Si n ce
when you wr i t e a p r og r a m yo u d o n ' t us u a l l y know at t h e
ou t s e t what i t will look l i k e l a t e r , y ou t r y t o l e a v e e nough
g a ps In t he n u mb e r s s t t h e s t a r t to fit i n the I n s t r u ct i o ns
you mi ght want to p ut b e t w e e n them l a t e r .
THE SETTING
To b e g i n w i l h . t h e r e mu s t be a c o mp u t e r , a nd it
must have a p r o c e s s o r f or t h e BASIC l a n g u a g e , t ha t i s ,
a pr o gr a m f or c a r r y i n g oul t he ope r a t i o ns of Dar t mout h-
BASIC We will a s sume t ha t t h i s BASIC p r o c e s s o r i s a l l
sat u p i n c ar e memory r e a d y to g o .
(Note: T h i s i s how It looks
In a mi ni comput er . On
a t i m e - s h a r i n g syst em t h e r e ' s
a l ot of i r r e l e v a n t ot h e r
st uf f goi ng o n , whi ch w e ' l l
l e ave o u t . )
And we will a s s u m e , as p r e v i o u s l y ment i o ne d, t h a t you
have some k i nd frf a t e r m i n a l - - t ha t I s , a de v i ce wi t h a k e y b o a r d ,
some ki nd of pl ace the c o mp u t e r can send m e s s a g e s t o you
and v i c e v e r s a , a nd i s mor e o r l e s s s t a n d a r d .
Now t hen: a i l t ha t t s n e e d e d i s f or you t o u n d e r s t a n d
t he BASIC l a n g u a g e , a nd you can pr og r a m t h i s c o mpu t e r
wi t hi n t he c onfi nes of BASI C.
I t la one of t he s t r a n g e a s pec t s of t h i s f i el d t h a t
l an gu a g e s can be t a ug ht I n de p e n d e n t l y erf d i s c u s s i o n s of
t he machi ne i t s el f .
When y ou t yp e l n a p r o g r a m , t he BASIC p r o c e s s o r
wi l l d o c e r t a i n t h i n g s to i t ( ac t u al l y cook I t d o w n ) a n d st or e
i t i n c o r e memor y:
E v e r y ti me y ou c hange one erf t he l i n e s of t he p r o g r a m t h e
BASIC p r o c e s s o r wi l l I n s e r t , del et e or r e p l a c e l i ne s as
you h a v e c omma nded, t hen r e a r r a n g e w h a t e v e r 8 left a c c o r d i n g l y ,
i n o r d e r of t he l i ne n u mbe r s .
T h e n when y ou tel l the p r o c e s s o r to s t a r t t he p r o g r a m .
b y t y p i n g ( wi t h no l i ne numbe r )
RUN
the p r o c e s s o r will s t a r t t h e p r o gr a m g o i n g a t t h e command
wi t h t he e a r l i e s t l i ne n u mb e r , a nd y o u r I n s t r u c t i o n s wi l l
be e x e c u t e d a c c o r d i n g to t he r u l e s of BASIC.
Now we will c o n s i d e r some of t he commands (or s t a t e ment s )
of BASIC.
Th e END command
The END command In BASIC si mpl y cons i s t s of the
wo r d END. It must came l a s t l n t he p r o g r a m . Therefore
It must ha ve t he hi gh e s t l i n e n u m b e r . Example:
00 END
The PRINT command
Whenever t he p r o g r a m f ol l ower ge t s to a PRINT command,
i t p r i n t s ou t o n t he t er mi nal wh a t e v e r i s spe ci f i e d . Example:
97 PRINT "HAIL CAESAR. BIRD THOU NEVER WERT"
When a nd if t he p r o gr a m f ol l ower get e lo t h i s command,
the t e r mi n al wi l l p r i n t out
HAIL CAESAR . BIRD THOU NEVER WERT
The GOTO command ( pr o n o u n c e d "Go 2" )
Th e GOTO command t e l l s t h e p r o g r a m fol l ower the
n u mbe r of the n e x t command f or It to d o , f rom which It
wi l l go o n . Example:
02 GOTO 90
whi ch means t ha l when a p r o g r a m f ol l ower g e t s to command
#02, i t must next Jump lo 06 a n d go on f rom t h e r e , unl ess
t ha l h a p p e n s to be t he END s t a t e me n t .
A SIMPLE SAMPLE PROGRAM
Thes e a r e e nough commands lo w r i t e a sampl e p r o g r a m.
43 PRINT "HELP , I AM CAUGHT IN A LOOP"
87 GOTO 43
ee e n d
The pr o gr a m wi l l s t a r t at t h e f i r s t I n s t r u c t i o n , which
h a p p e n s i n t hi s c as e to be i n s t r u c t i o n n u m b e r 43. That
one p r i n t s a m e s s a g e . The n e x t c omma n d, b y l i n e n u m b e r ,
i s 67. T h i s t elle t he p r o g r a m f ol l ower lo go b a c k to 43,
whi ch i t d oes.
43 PRINT "HELP , I AM CAUGHT IN A LOOP" <-1
= P * 67 GOTO 4 3 --------------------------------------------------------- 1
08 END
The r e s u l t Is that y o u r t e rmi n a l wi l l p r i n t
HELP , 1 AM CAUGHT IN A LOOP
HELP. I AM CAUGHT IN A LOOP
HELP , I AM CAUGHT IN A LOOP
I nt er mi nabl y, or unt i l you do some t hi ng d r a s t i c . I t n e v e r
get s to the END s t a t e me n t . (Two s t r a t e g i e s f or d o i ng somet hi ng
d r a s t i c a re u s ua l l y to hold down t he CONTROL but t on a nd
type C, o r hold down both CONTROL a nd SHIFT b u t t o n s .
If you have the m, and t ype P . One of t h e s e u s u a l l y w o r k s . )
The LET command
The LET command pu t s some t hi ng Into a v a r i a b l e .
Example:
43 LET R = 2 .3
Whal Is on the r i ght side of the e q u a l s s i g n in t he l o s t s t a t e m e n t ,
In t h i s case 2 . 3 . Is stuf f ed Into w h a t e v e r l ocat i on of c or e
memory Is desi gnat ed on the left s i d e . In t h i s c as e a pl a ce
known to you onl y as R. With the r e s u l t t h a t somepl ace
In c o r e memory i s
The LET statement i s an e xampl e of an a s s i g n m e n t s t a t e m e n t ,
which most computer l a n g u a g e s ha v e; a n a s s i g n m e n t sta t e ment
a s s i g n s a specific piece of Infor mation ( oft en a n u m b e r ,
but of ten ot h e r t h i n g s ) to some name ( oft en s t a n d i n g f o r
a p a r t i c u l a r place In c or e me mor y) .
The LET command Ln BASIC c a n al s o b e u s e d t o d o
a r i t h m e t i c . Example;
14 LET M = 2 . 3 + (12*7009. 1)
(The a s t e r i s k h a s to be u s e d f or mul t i p l i c a t i o n be ca u s e
t r a d i t i ona l l y t e r mi n a l s d o n ' t h a v e a t i r o e s - s i g n . ) BASIC
will wo r k t hi s out from r i g h t to l eft a n d s t o r e the r e s u l t
In M.
The INPUT command
The INPUT sta t e ment a s k a t he p e r s o n s t t he t e rmi nal
for a numbe r a nd t hen s h o v e s it int o a v a r i a b l e . Example:
41 INPUT Z
whi c h c a u s e s t he t e r mi nal to t ype a q u e s t i o n m a r k , and
w a i t . When the u s e r ha s t y p e d l n a n u m b e r followed by
a c a r r i a g e r e t u r n , the BASIC p r o c e s s o r s t u f f s the number
into t he v a r i a b l e a nd p r o c e e d s wi t h the p r o g r a m . Here
Is a p r ogr a m u s i n g the INPUT s t a t e men t .
T h e s e two boys had n e v e r s een a c omput e r be f or e,
but I l oa ded It up wi l h t he BASIC l a n g u a g e p r o c e s s o r ,
s howed them a few ba s i c commands a nd t ol d them to
t u r n It off when t he y wer e t hr ough.
1 got back t en hour* l a t e r and t h e y we r e St ill a t i t .
Too ba d k i d s ha ve s u c h s hor t a t t e nt i on Sp a n 9 .
VARIABLES
The BASIC l a n g u a g e , like a numbe r of ot h e r l a ng u ag e s ,
a l l o ws you lo set as i de p l a ce s i n c ore memory a n d gi ve
t hem n a me s . Th e s e pl aces may hold n u m b e r s . Th e y can
be u s e d to c ou n t the number of times that t h i n g s a r e done
(or not d o n e ) , to hold o n s w e r s , n u mbe r s to t e s t a g a i n s t ,
n u mb e r s to mult iply by a nd so on.
I n BASIC, the s e pl a ce s a r e given na mes of one a l p h a b e t i
c a l l e t t e r . Thai me ans you can have up to 20 of them .
Examples :
A E I 0 U sometimes Y e ven X
Be ca us e these named s pa c e s in memor y may be u s e d
somet hi ng l i k e the way l e t t e r s a r e us e d i n a l g e b r a , we
^11 them v a r i a b l e s . In f a c t , each one I s a pl a ce wi t h a
l*t Act** I
13 , W l
CMklrvb
if you u s e the names B ,C a nd D f o r v a r i a b l e s i n y o u r
p r o g r a m , t h e BASIC p r o c e s s o r will aut omat i cal l y s e t u p
p l a ce s f or them to be s t o r e d .
"Jfe"
PRINT "HOW OLD ARE YOU"
INPUT A
LET B e A/ 40.0
1 25 PRINT "YOUR AGE IS", B, "TMBS THE AGE
OF THE EMPIRE 9TATE BU1LDINO."
30 END
T h i s will c a u s e Um following to happen:
Progr am t ypes:
HOW OLD ARE YOU? JO
n i - r
Progr am t ypes:
YOUR AGE IS .5 TIMES THE AGE OP THE EMPIRE
STATE BUILDING.
The IF command
The IF command Is a way of t e s t i n g what ' s st or ed
In a v a r i a b l e . Example:
88 IF M - 40 t hen 63
Thl a leat e v a r i a b l e M to see If i t cont ai ns the number 40.
If M la i ndeed 40. the pr ogram follower j umps to l i ne 63.
If n o t , It goes r i gh t on and t akee the nezl h i g he r I nst ruct i on
a f t e r 88. The IF can teet ot h e r r el at i ons lhan equal i t y,
I ncl udi ng "l ea s l h a t . " " g r e a t e r t h a n. " "not e q u a l , " "l es s
t han o r e qual t o , e t c. For i ns t anc e.
89 IF Q 7 then 102
will send t he pr ogram f ollower to command 75 If var i abl e
q c ont ai ns a number l e s s t h a n 7. (Not e t hal di f f er ent BASICS
for di f f er ent comput ers may have sl i ght l y di f f er ent r ul es
h e r e . )
The BASIC l a n gu ag e , devel oped s i Dsr t mout h, must not be
confused wilh t he u n de r l yi n g b i nary l anguagea of I ndividual
comput era ( see "Rock Bot t om, p.3<V). Thes e unde r l yi n g
codes s r e c al l ed "maehlne l anguages" ( o r . In e d r es e ed - u p
form, e as i e r to use for p r og r a mme r s , "assembl er l a nguage ") .
Thes e a r e t he basi c l a n g u a g e s . di fferent for each machi ne.
Dartmout h BASIC, or Jut pl a i n Basi c, Is a widely s vai l abl e.
st a n d a r d i z e d . simple b e g i n n e r ' s Isnguage.
V r
ANOTHER PROFOUND EXEMPLARY PROGRAM
LET Z = 25
r - - *82
; aa
u* 74
PRINT Z . " BOTTLES OF BEER tN THE WALL
LET Z = Z - 1
IF Z = 0 GOTO 74
GOTO 1 0 ---------------------------------------------------------
n
The pr ogram will s t a r t t ypi ng t husl y:
n . un t i l Z has r ea che d 0; then It will type
and then i t will st op.
You wi l l note that t h i s p r ogr am, like t he one that
pr i n t e d "HELP. 1 AM CAUGHT IN A LOOP." has a l oop,
t hat i s , a r epeat ed sequence of operat i ons. The f i r s t one
was an e n d l e s s l oop, which r epeat ed f o r e v e r . Thl a l oop,
ho we v e r . Is more wel l -behaved (by some p s p l e ' s s t a n d a r d s ) .
In t hat it al l ows an escape when a c er t ai n c r i t e r i o n has
been r ea ch e d - * In t hi s c a e e , p r i nt i n g a l i ne of t e at 25 ti mes
wi t h v a r i a n l e .
The r eason we a r e abl e lo e scape from t hl a loop is
t hat we have s t est I nst r uct i on, IF sl st ement number 62.
It Is v e r y i mportant f or lhe pr ogrammer lo Include
t est a which allow the pr ogram to gel out of a l oo p. Thi s
may be couched aa a mott o, v i z . :
LEAK BEFORE YOU LOOP.
AN AUTOMATIC LOOP
I nd ee d , for people who a r e b i g on pr ogram loops.
BASIC p r ov i des a pai r of I nst r uct i ons which handl e the
pr ogram loop c ompl et el y. Thes e a r e t he FOR a nd NEXT
I ns t r u c t i o n s . We won' t show them h e r e , b ut t h e y ' r e not
v e r y h a r d . Usi ng t he FOR c ommand. you can eaaUy di r ec t
t he comput er lo do somet hi ng a mil lion and one l i mes, aay.
Thl a can be e i h l l a r a t l n g . You can even d i r e c t it lo Include
t hat pr ogram i n something to be done a bi l l i on t i mes. r es ul t i n g
In s pr ogram loop lhat would be c ar r i e d out o v e r a t r i l l i on
l i m e s . All In a s ho r t pr ogram! Bui of c ou r s e t h i s i s Just
power on p a per ; we want o u r pr ograms lo be us e f ul , and
f i nl ah t h e i r j oba In lhe p r e s e n t c e n t u r y , and so s u c h flights
a r e Just menial e x e r c i s e s .
FAST ANSWERBACK WITH BASIC (In some v e r s i on s )
If you went a t eat a n s we r to a numeri cal q ue s t i on .
you can do It without t he l i ne n u mb e r s . t y pi ng In
PRINT 3. 1416*7124
will c aus e BASIC to p r i n t l he answer r i gh t oul a nd forget
t he wt o l e t hi ng .
TEXT STRINGS IN BASIC
The d e l u i e ve r s i o ns of t he Dartmout h BASIC
l a nguage have operat i ons f or handl i ng t e xl - -
o r what computerfolk call " s t r i n g s , t hat l a .
s t r i n g s of a l phabet i c c h a r a c t e r s and pu nc t uat i o n.
Thes e o per at i ons lend t o be gi n with $ (st andi ng
f or " St r i ng?) and I her e' a no room f or them h e r e .
Bui what they mean i s t hat BASIC can type
l e t t e r s , c ount the nouns In Gone With The Wind,
o r p r i n t out t he ni ne h un d r ed mil lion names of
God.
BASIC i s a v e r y seri ous l a n g u a g e . Advanced v ersi ons
of BASIC have i ns t r uc t i ons t h a t allow u a e r s to put In al phabet i cal
I nformat i on, and s t o r e and r e t r i e ve all ki nd s of Information
from d i s k s or t a p e. In ot her wo r ds , BASIC can be used
for t he f ai r l y simple programmi ng of a va at r ang e of probl ems
a nd "good-guy s yst ems" mentioned el s ewh e r e . Complete
BASIC systems all owi ng complex a l c u l a t i o n s can be had
for p e r h a p s 63000; a ge ner al - pu r p os e comput er r unni ng
BASIC with casset t e o r ot her mass s t o r a g e, f or bual neea
o r ot he r p u r po s es , can now be had for some 66000. Allowing
a few t housand do l l a r s for pr ogrammi ng speci fi c appl i cat i ons
In BASIC, simple syst ems can be cre at e d for a vari et y
of p u r po s es that some compani es might say you needed
a h un dr ed - t ho ua and - d ol l a r syst em f or.
Thi s Is s e r i ous b u s i n e s s . Languagea like BASIC
must be c ons i der e d by people who want simple systems
to do und e r s t an da b l e t hi ngs In di r ect ways t hat a r e meani ngful
to t h e m. and lhat d on ' t di erupt Ihel r compani es o r their
l i v e s .
Thi s has been a very hast y a nd b r i e f p r esent at i on
In whi ch I have t r i e d lo convey the feel i ng of Ihls Important
l a n g u a g e . If you ha v e the chance lo l e ar n I I . by all means
do.
SOME FUN THINGS TO TRY IN BASIC
Write a pr ogram that p r i n t s c a l e n d a r s .
Write a pr og r a m lhat c onver t s an I nput number to
Roman Numerals.
Write a di al ogue eyst on t hat wel comes the u s e r to
the s ani t ar i um, a s ks him ques t i o ns , Ignores the a n swer s
and I nsul t s him. (Use lhe INPUT st st ement for r ecei vi ng
numeri cal a n s w e r s . Since t he anawer a a r e I gnored they
can all be st or ed In one v a r i s b l e . )
WHERE TO GET IT
(Feat ur es of t h e BASIC l anguage v a r y conal derabl y
from syst em lo s y s t e m . Which ones offer the hi ghl y de s i r ab l e
al phabet i c commands and mass sl o r s g e have to be checked
oul I ndi vi du a l l y. )
BASIC i s offered on many If not most l i me- shari ng s e r v i c e s ,
so you can us e il from your home on a t e r mi nal . (Bui note Ihst
thia can be e xpensi ve and even da n g e r o u s . If youre pay i n g
y our sel f ; t h e r e a r e not pr esent l y adequat e cost saf e g uar d s lo
p r ev e n t you from r u nn i n g up huge b i l l s . )
BEST BUY? Rumors p e r s i s t of a t i me- s h a r i n g s e r vi ce
somewher e t hst of fers BASIC for $5 an h o u r , t ot s l , with di sk
st or a ge thr own I n. I have not been abl e to veri fy I hl s .
DEC of fers mini comput er - based syst ems which llme-
s h a r e BASIC among sever al t ermi nal s si mul t aneousl y. (Bui
you have to buy t he whole bi g s y s t e m. ) The o nes that
r u n on t he PDP-8 a r e marketed mainly to achool s, and for
t hl a r eason a r e c a l l e d , somewhat pecul i ar l y . EDUSYSTEMS
T h al r mul t l l erml nal system for lhe PDP-11 Is cal l ed R5TS
(pronounced " R l a s t l a s , " ) a nd Is market ed mainly to b us i n e s s e s .
Hewl et t - Packar d offers BASIC, I bel i eve, on all of
Its mi ni comput er s. Of speci al I nt er est Is s n odd computer
c al l ed t he Ser i es 8800 Model 30. You' r e only allowed to
pr ogram In BASIC. ( It ' s act ual l y a mi cr oprocess or; see
p . i v . )
Many ot her mini comput er manufact urers now offer
BASIC. Dsta Gene r a l ' s NOVA Is one.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kemeny s n d Ku r t c , BASIC Pr ogr ammi ng. Wiley, 1967.
DEC'S Edusysiem Handbook la a v e r y nice Introducti on
to BASIC, q u i t e pl easant and whimsi cal; It may be
a good I nt roduct i on even 1/ y o u ' r e us i n g o t her pe op l e' s
BASIC s ys t e ms . I t ' s $5 from DEC, Communicati ons
Se r v l ce a. P a r k e r S t . . Maynar d, Masa. 01754.
Ther e ia al so a pr ogrammed t e xt on BASIC by Albrecht
( publ i shed by Wi l ey) . For t hose of u s who freeze
at numeri cal - l ooki ng manual s, pr ogrammed texts
can t ake away a lot of a n x i e t y .
MY COMPUTER LIKES ME (when I speak In BASIC) .
Thi s book ha s evi dent l y been pul t oget her by the Peopl e' s
Computer Company , and ha s some Ideal i st i c f er vor behi nd i t .
$1.19 from Dymax, Box 310. Menlo P a r k , Cal . 94025.
BASIC Is a good exampl e of an "al gebr ai c" t ype of
l anguage, t hat I s. one f ormul at ed more or
l e s s to look l i k e hlgh- school a l g eb r a and
permi t easy c onver si on of c er t ai n al gebr ai c
formulas i nt o act ual r unnabl e p r o g r a m s .
The mosl wl d e l y - us ed l anguage of t h i s type is
FORTRAN ( s ee p . 3 l ) . Th us BASIC Is
often r e f e r r e d to as a " For t r an - t yp e language.
The klcker oo a n d If you un d e r s t an d t hi s I t ' s half
l he b a t t l e Is that a l i ne of BASIC o r FORTRAN
d i r ec t s a c er t a i n event to t ake p l a ce , while
a st at ement In al g eb r a Just de s c r i b e s r el at i ons .
The s l r a n g e r esembl ance bet ween t he deacri pt l ve
l anguage ( al ge b r a) and t he p r e s c r i p t i ve
I snguage ( For t r an o r Basic) Is that al gebr ai c
operat i ons (whi ch a r e J ust recombi nat i ons
a nd r es t at e me nt s ) can be mimicked by the
comput er l angu ag e , and t hi s e ar l y obaessi on
of mathy compulerfolk led to maki ng the
comput er l anguage look l i ke a de s cr i pt i ve
a l g eb r a. Especially with t he wei r d us e of
t he e q u a l e - s l g n to mean "Is r epl a ce d now b y. "
In hi nds i ght t h i s was s r i di c ul ous idea;
some of l he more r ec ent l anguagea ( s u ch as
APL) us e a l e ft -poi nt i ng arr ow Inst ead of an
e q u a l s - a l g n . showi ng that an act i on Is bei ng
c al l ed f o r . r a l h e r than a r el a t i ons hi p b ei ng
de s cr i b e d .
A tW YS,
(available
n BASIC, APL a nd many o t h e r l anguages)
A r r a y s a r e Information s e t u p s wi t h numbered
posi t i ons. T h e posi t i ons can cont ai n al l s o r t s of
di fferent t h i n g s , however: n u m b e r s , l e t t e r s or
ot h e r d a t a, depend i n g on t he dai a s t r u c t u r e s
allowed i n t he I snguage.
r J~ t ' Z 3 r __________ ( - i) ^
I LIT 11
fa-I)
- r f c n
'NHL
U ________
THUE6- . b1MI Ml noNH
A one-di mensi onal a r r a y i s l i ke a r o w, a two-
dimensional a r r a y is like a l abl et op , a t hr ee -
di mensi onal a r r a y Is like a bo x, a nd for more
di mensi ons you can' t vi s ual i ze.
Ar r a y s a r e handy f or wor k i ng wi l h a lot of
di fferent t h i n g s one al a l i me. They can be given
names j us t l i ke v ar i abl es .
Suppos e you have a one-di mensi onal a r r ay
named SAM. Then in a pr o gr a m you can usual l y
ask for t he t h i r d element In SAM by r e f e r r i n g lo
SAM(3). Bet t er than l hal: you can r e f e r by t ur ns
to e ver y el ement of SAM by us i n g a c ount i ng
vari abl e and changi ng it s v a l u e . SAM(JOE) can be
any one of t he elements of t he a r r a y , i f we set the
val ue of JOE. t he c ount i ng v a r i a b l e , lo ihe number
of t he posit ion we want to poi nt to.
For a r r a y s hs vi ng more lhan o ne dimensi on.
Ihe pr i nci pl e i s lhe same. You may r e f e r i n a
pr ogram to any space in t h e a r r a y by gi vi ng a
number in p a r e n t h e s e s , o r s u b s c r i p t . speci f yi ng
t he s p a ce ' s posi t i on in each di mensi on. Suppose
you have an a r r a y named PRICES , whi ch gi ves
Ihe p r i ce s of . s a y. v a r i ou s s i z es and br a n d s of
TV s e t s .
Mf r . Mf r . Mfr. Mfr.
T h i s is PRICES(3,2)
b e ca u s e i l ' s t he item in row 3. column 2.
Suppos e you have a t wo- di mensi onal a r r ay
gi vi ng t he tel ephone n u mb e r s , s a l ar i e a and ages
of s e v er al di f f er ent empl oyees of a company. You
have de ci de d lo call t h e a r r a y WHAM.
^ r r
T e l . n o . I 1 I
S a l a r y _______ 1
A*e 1 1 1 I ~
You can r e f e r lo any s i n gl e e n t r y In t h i s a r r a y aa
WHAM(IRV,JOE), wher e IRV a nd JOE a r e two
c ount i ng v a r i a bl e s y o u' v e d e ci de d to set up.
If y ou s e t IRV and JOE bot h to 1,
WHAM(IRV, JOE) is real l y WHAM( l . l ) , which
r ef e r s you lo t he t el ephone number of employee A.
If you c hange JOE lo 2. l hat gi v e s you WHAM( 1 , 2 ) .
gi vi ng you Bs phone; whi l e WHAM( 2. 1) would be
A' s s a l a r y .
T h e s e a r e J ust t h e mechani cs . What you
choose to do wi l h t hi s s o r t of t h i n g Is y ou r own
afTalr. Count i ng a r ou nd i n a r r a y a ( and core
memory, wh er e t h e y ' r e s t o r e d ) Is cal l ed i ndexi ng.
If you wri t e (he pr o gr a m.
t H e S L Uf l HG GI ANr
A mil d- mannered man l n C ambridge, M assac h usetts,
w h o o w ns h is o w n very s ma l l busi ness, i s th e c r eat o r o f o ne
o f th e mo st extrao rdinary and p o w erf ul c o mp uter l anguages
th ere I s, tto ugh l o ts o f p eo p l e l n th e f iel d do n't r e a l i z e I t.
T h e l anguage I s f airl y w el l - kno w n amo ng p ro f e s s io nal s , but
i t s real p o w er I s h ardl y susp ec ted.
I f BA SI C I s a f ai rl y c o nventio nal p ro gramming l anguage,
s tro ngl y resembl ing FOR T R A N , T R A C ( T ext R ec ko ning and
C o mp il ing) L anguage i s f ai rl y unusual .
T h e name o f it i s "T R A C L anguage, " no t j ust T R A C
bec ause I t's a regi stered brand name ( l ike K l eenex T i s s u e s ) .
W ith in th e rul es, th e w o rd T R A C " is an adj ec tive and no t a
no un. T h us T R A C i s i ts f i r s t name, L anguage i s its l ast; so
w e c an ref er to "T R A C L anguage" instead o f h aving to
p rec ede it w ith th e.
I t is inc l uded h ere f o r s eve ral reaso ns.
1) I t i s extremel y eas y to l earn, at l eas t f o r begi nners.
E xp erienc ed p ro grammers o f ten h ave tro ubl e w ith I t.
2) I t i s extremel y p o w erf ul f o r no n- numeric tasks. I n
f ac t, it is ideal f o r buil ding y o ur o w n p erso nal l anguage.
3) I t o f f ers p erh ap s th e best c o ntro l o f mass sto rage,
and y o ur o w n s t y l e o f inp ut- o utp ut, o f any l anguage.
4) I t I s sup erbl y do c umented and exp l ained w ith th e new
"T h e Beginner's M anual f o r T R A C L anguage" w h ic h i s no w
avail abl e.
5) I t i s l ikel y to c atc h o n o ne o f th ese day s. ( So me
l arge c o rp o ratio ns h ave been investigating it e x t e n s i v e l y . )
It is not so much the basic idea
of TRAC Language, bul the neatness
with which the idea has beerr^elaborated,
thal is so nice.
As a side point, here is an
important motto for thinking in general
about computers (and about other things
in general):
MAKING THINGS FIT TOGETHER WELL
TAKES A LOT OF WORK AND THOUGHT.
Let Calvin Mooers' TRAC Language be a
shining example.
T R A C L anguage i s great f o r c reating h igh l y I nterac tive
s y s t e ms f o r sp ec i al p urp o ses, I nc l uding turnkey s y s t e ms f o r
inexp erienc ed us ers and "go o d- guy " s y s t e ms . I t c o mbines
th is w ith go o d f ac i l i t i e s f o r h andl ing text, and w h at i s needed
al o ng w ith th at, te rr if ic c o ntro l o ver mass sto rage. I t is
al so exc el l ent f o r simul ating c o mp l ex o n- o f f s y s t e ms ; rumo r
h as it th at T R A C L anguage w as used f o r simul ating a maj o r
c o mp uter bef o re it w as buil t.
A gainst th ese advantages w e must bal anc e T R A C
L anguage's l e s s f o rtunate c h arac teri sti c s. Fo r numeric al
o p eratio ns it i s ext remel y s l o w , I f no t terribl e, c o mp ared to
th e mo st p o p ul ar l anguages. T h e s ame ap p l ies to h andl ing
numeric al array s and c o ntro l l ing l o o p s, w h ic h are c o mp ara
tivel y aw kw ard in T R A C L anguage.
Final l y , many p ro grammers are inc ensed by th e
number o f p arenth eses th at turn up in T R A C p ro grams; l n
th is it resembl es th e l anguage L I SP . But th is i s an aesth etic
j udgement.
T h e T R A C L anguage h as been th o ugh t o ut in great
detail f o r to tal c o mp atibil ity o f al l p arts. ( M o reo ver, by
standardiz ing th e l anguage exac tl y , M o o ers h ero ic al l y
a ssur es th at p ro grams c an be mo ved f ro m c o mp uter to
c o mp uter w ith o ut d i f f i c u l t y . )
* T R A C is a re gi stered s e r v i c e marie o f R o c kf o rd R esearc h ,
I nc . Desc rip tio n o f T R A C L anguage p rimi ti ves adap ted by
p ermissio n f ro m "T R A C , A P r o c edure- Desc ribing L anguage
f o r th e R eac tive T y p ew riter", c o p y righ t 1966 by R o c kf o rd
R esearc h , I nc .
I am grateful t o C . A . R . Kagan, of Western Electric
Engineering Research Center , for his extensive
(and finally successful) efforts to interest me in
TRAC Language.
I n th e w el l - th o ugh t- o ut ramif ic atio ns o f its bas ic c o nc ep t,
th e T R A C L anguage i s s o el egant as to c o nstitute a w o rk o f
art. I t beautif ul l y f ul f i l l s th is rul e:
. . th e f a c i l i t i e s p ro vided by th e l anguage sh o ul d be
c o nstruc ted f ro m as f ew basic ideas as p o ssi bl e, and
. . . th ese sh o ul d be general - p urp o se and I nterrel ated
l n th e l anguage l n a w ay w h ic h avo ided sp ec i al c ase s
w h erever p o s s i b l e . " ( Harriso n, Data- Struc tures and
P ro gramming, p ub. Sc o tt, Fo resman, p . 251. )
T h e f undamental idea o f T R A C L anguage, w h ic h h as
been w o rked o ut in detai l w ith th e deep est c are, th o ugh t and
c o nsi stenc y , I s th is:
A L L I S T E XT .
T h at I s, al l p ro grams and data are sto red as s trings o f
c h arac ters, in th e s a me manner. T h ey are l abel l ed, sto red,
retrieved, and o th er w i s e treated in th e s ame w ay , as
s tr ings o f text c h arac te rs.
Data and p ro grams are no t kep t in binary f o rm, but
remain sto red in c h arac ter f o rm, muc h th e w ay th ey w ere
o riginal l y p ut in. T h e p ro grams are examined f o r exec utio n
as text s tr ings , and th ey c al l data I n th e f o rm o f text s tr ings .
T h is gi ves r i s e to c ertain interesting kinds o f
c o mp atibil ity .
a) C o mp l ete c o mp atibil ity exi sts in th e c o mmand
struc ture: th e re s ul t s o f o ne c o mmand c an bec o me ano th er
c o mmand o r c an bec o me data f o r ano th er c o mmand.
A L M OST N OT HI N G C R E A T E S A N E R R OR C ON DI T I ON .
I f eno ugh I nf o rmatio n I s no t sup p l ied to exec ute a c o mmand,
th e c o mmand i s igno red. I f to o muc h inf o rmatio n i s sup p l ied,
th e extra i s igno red.
b) C o mp l ete c o mp atibil ity exi sts in th e data: l et ter s and
numbers and s p a c e s may be f reel y intermixed. Sp ec ial
terminal c h arac ters ( l ike c arriage returns and bac ksp ac es)
are h andl ed j ust l ike o th er c h arac ters, giving th e p ro gram*
mer c o mp l ete c o ntro l o f th e arrangement o f o utp ut o n th e
p age.
c ) C o mp l ete c o mp atibil ity al so exi sts f ro m o ne c o mp uter
to ano th er, s o th at w o rk o n o ne c o mp uter c an be mo ved to
ano th er w ith eas e . By th e trademark T R A C , M o o ers
guarantees it an I nno vatio n.
C OM M A N D FOR M A T
A T R A C c o mmand h as th e f o l l o w ing f o rm. T h e c r o s s -
h atc h o r sh arp - si gn is th e w ay th is l anguage identif ies a
c o mmand's beginning.
#( N M , arg2, arg3, a r g 4 , . . )
N M i s th e name o f any T R A C c o mmand. I t c o unts as th e
f i r s t "argument, " o r p i e c e o f inf o rmatio n sup p l ied. A rg2,
arg3, etc . are w h atever e l s e th e c o mmand needs to kno w to
be c arried o ut.
W e w il l l o o k f i r s t at examp l es th at use th e arith metic
c o mmands o f T R A C L anguage, no t bec ause I t i s p artic ul arl y
go o d at arith metic , w h ic h it isn't, but bec ause th ey 're th e
s i mp l e s t c o mmands. T h e arith metic c o mmands are A D
( add) , SU ( subtrac t, M L ( mul tip l y ) , DV ( divide) . E ac h
arith metic c o mmand takes th ree arguments, th e c o mmand
name and tw o numbers. E xamp l es:
#( A D, 1, 2)
i s a c o mmand to add th e numbers 1 and 2.
#( SU, 4 , 3 )
i s a c o mmand to subtrac t th e number 3 f ro m th e number 4.
#( M L , 632, 521)
I s a c o mmand to mul tip l y 632 by 521.
#( DV , 100, 10)
I s a c o mmand to divide 100 by 10.
N o w c o mes th e I nteresting p art.
T h e w ay T R A C c o mmands may be c o mbined p ro vides
th e l anguage's extrao rdinary p o w er. T h is i s based o n th e
w ay th at th e T R A C p r o c e s s o r examines th e p ro gram, w h ic h
I s a string o f c h arac ter c o des. W atc h as w e c o mbine tw o
A D instruc tio ns:
#( A D, 3, #( A D, 2, 5) )
T h e answ er i s 10. M i rac ul o us!
Ho w c an th is be?
r A comma ends an argument
in the TRAC language?
Ah, that all arguments
could be ended so e a s i l y .
My grandfather.
The s e c r e t ol combining TRAC commands Is lhat
every command, when executed, la repl aced by i t s ans wer :
and what ever may r es u l t Is In t ur n executed.
Ther e Is an exact p r ocedur e f o r this:
SCAN FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
UNTIL A RIGHT PARENTHESIS;
[* RE SOLVE THE CONTENTS OF THE
PAIRED COMMAND PARENTHESES
I (execute and r epl ace by the command' s resul t );
| STARTING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE RESULT,
KEEP SCANNING LEFT-TO-RIGHT
|______ UNTIL A RIGHT PARENTHESIS. j
WHEN YOU GET TO THE END, PRINT OUT
WHATS LEFT.
The beauty pa r t Is how It all works so good.
An a r i t hmet i c exampl e so you get the pr ocedure.
*(AD,2, MAD, 3,4))
___________f i r s t r ight parent hes i s
found.
execute what ' s In lhe
command parent hes es
*7 & repl ace
with t hei r answer , leavi ng;
*(AD, 2,7)
s can to next r ight parent hes i s
execute & r epl ace
1
find no mo r e parent hes es
p r i n t oul what ' s left .
You might t r y t hi s your sel f on a l onger exampl e:
((AD, *(SU, *(AD, 3, 4) , *(SU, 7, 3) ) , 1)
Here la an I nt er est i ng case:
(AD,1)
T h e r e ' s r o t hi r d argument to add to the 1 twt t hat s
okay In TRAC Language. 1 It r ema i n s .
PULLING IN OTHER STUFF
The c o r e memor y avail able lo t he use Is divided Into
two a r e a s , which we may cal l WORKSPACE and STANDBY.
(ML,*(AD,7,3),#(SU,ie,9))
A
WORKSPACE
STANDBY ~ |
St ri ngs with Names j
The St andby a r e a contai ns slrlngB of c har ac t er s with names.
Here could be some exampl es:
names s t r i ng s
[ h a r o l d I
\ 5 4 3 2 I 1
[pr o g r a m)-!
(/( PS. HELP: 1 AM TRAPPED IN A LOOP)#(CL, PROGRAm T]
[GALOSH E S|
| I MUSTN' T FORGET MY GALOSHEsJ
Ther e Is an I nst r uct i on that moves things f rom the
Standby a r e a to the Workspace. Thi s Is the CALL
Instructi on.
(CL, what ever)
The CALL I nst r uct i on pulls In a copy of the named s t r i n g
to r epl ace 11, the cal l I nst ruct i on, In the work a r e a . The
st r i ng named In the call I nst ruct i on also s t a y s In the Standby
a rea until you want to get rid of It. Example:
*(CL, HAROLD)
would be r epl aced by
54321
Suppose we say In a pr ogram
#( AD, 1,(CL, HAROLD))
Then the r es u l t Is:
54322
Now l e t ' s do a pr ogram loop usi ng t he CALL. If we
type In to o u r TRAC p r o ce s s o r
(CL, PROGRAM)
It shoul d type
HELP; I AM TRAPPED IN A PROGRAM LOOP
HELP; I AM TRAPPED IN A PROGRAM LOOP
HELP; I AM TRAPPED IN A PROGRAM LOOP
Indefinit ely.
Why Is t h i s ? Let ' s go through t he s t eps.
We noted t hal In our St andby a r e a we had a s t r i n g
named PROGRAM which consi st ed ol
'( PS, HELP; I AM TRAPPED IN A PROGRAM LOOP)(CL, PROGRAM)
The TRAC p r o c e s s o r scans a c r o s s It to the f i r s t r ight parent hes i s.
(PS, HELP j J AM TRAPPED tWA PROGRAM LOOP)*(CL. PROGRAM)
and now execut es thllsT ~~~ ^
II happens t hat PS Is the PRINT STRING inst ruct i on.
PRINT STRING pr i n t s out Its second argument , and forgets
Ihe r e s t . But the only argument a f t e r PS Is
f e l t s Ojfgh i t s f i l r hMl t i / j
# ( P O W f )
IT'SSUKKliMevMXf
HELP; I AM TRAPPED IN A PROGRAM LOOP
so It pr i nt s t h a t . If It had sai d
HELP, I AM TRAPPED IN A PROGRAM LOOP
ihe PRINT STRING command would only have pr i nt ed
HELP
si n c e a comma ends an argument In TRAC l anguage.
Now, t he PRINT STRING command leaves no r es ul t , so
1116 vaporUed; al l we have l efl In the work a r e a Is
(CL, PROGRAM)
which Is now scanned. But t h a l ' s anot her CALL, and when
It Is executed by f etching the obj ect call ed PROGRAM, Its
repl acement In (he work a r e a Is
(PS, HELP; 1 AM TRAPPED IN A PROGRAM LOOPWCL, PROGRAM)
and guess what. We done It again.
(Another exampl e of TRAC Language' s consistency:
suppose 11 execut es the command
(CL, EBENEZER)
when t he r e Is no s t r i n g cal l ed EBENEZER. The r es u l t Is
nothing; so that command di s a pp ea r s , leavi ng no r e s i d u e . )
THE FORM COMMANDS
Let us be a Utile mor e p r e c i s e . The St andby area
Is real l y call ed by Mooers "forms s t or age, and a s t r i ng -
wl t h-name lhat is kept t here Is cal l ed a l or m, One r eason
f or this t ermi nol ogy Is thal t hese s t r i n gs can consi st of
pr ogr a ms o r arr angement s that we may want to fit t ogether
and combine. Thus (hey a r e "f or ms " .
1. CREATING A FORM
To c r e at e a form, you us e the DEFINE STRING
command:
*(DS, formname, c ont ent s)
The argument s used by DS give a name to (he f orm and
specify wha( you want (o have s ( o r e d in II. Example:
*(DS, ELVIS, 1234)
cr e at e s a form named ELVIS with content s 1234.
(e l v Is L
_,^ 4l234[
(Note lhal (o gel a pr ogram into a form without Its being
executed on the way r equi r es some pr eparat i on. F o r t his,
"prot ect i on" Is used; s e e end o l a r t i cl e . )
It t ur ns oul lhat DEFINE STRING is the cl oses t TRAC
Language has to an assi gnment st at ement (as In BASIC,
LET A - WHATEVER). If you want to us e a v ar i abl e A,
s a y, to s t o r e the c u r r ent r es u l t of somet hi ng, In TRAC
Language you c r e a t e a f orm named A.
*(DS, A, WHATEVER)
Whenever the value of A Is changed, you redefi ne f orm A.
2. CALLING A FORM.
As noted al ready,
#(CL, ELVIS)
will then be r epl aced by
1234
But a wonderful extensi on of t hi s , lhat ha s n' t been
mentioned yet , Is
2A. THE IMPLICIT CALL.
You don' t even have lo say CL lo cal l a f orm. If the
f i r s t argument of a command thal Is, the f i r s t s t r i n g
Inside the command pa r e nt hes es Is not^ a command known
to TRAC Language, why, the TRAC p r o c e s s o r concludes
l hat the f i r s t argument may be the name of a f orm. So row
11 you type
*(AD, *(HAROLD), *(ELVIS))
V *
It will f i r s t note, on reachi ng lhe r l g ht - p ar en of the
HAROLD command, that s i n c e HAROLD Is 54321, you
evident ly want ed this:
(AD, 54321, I (ELVIS))
I
r escan of r es u l t
and then will do the s a me with ELVIS:
#(AD, 54321,1234)
so that p r et t y soon I t ' l l type f o r you
55555
Thi s Impl i ci t call Is the t r i c k that allows people lo c r e at e
t h e i r own languages very quickly. In not vei y long, you could
c r e a t e your own commands s a y ZAPP, MELVIN and some
mor e; and while at f i r s t ll Is mor e convenient lo type In the
TRAC f ormat
*(ZAPP, (MELVIN))
ll Is very Utile troubl e In TRAC Language to c r e at e new
s ynt axes of your own Ukc
ZAPP ! MELVIN
thal a r e I nt er pr et e d by (he TRAC p r o ce s s o r as meani ng the
s a me thing.
2B. FILLING IN HOLES.
Another (hlng the CALL command In TRAC Language
does Is fi l l In holes thal exls( in f orms. Let us r e p r es e n t
a hole as follows:
I I
Now suppose ( h er e is a TRAC f orm with a hole In l(, like
t hi s .
C w 0R DN i i t !
Additional argument s in (he cal l get pl ugged into hol es In
the f o r m. Examples:
c al l r esul t
(CL, WORD) HT
(CL. WORD.O) HOT
(WORD, A) HAT
(WORD.OO) HOOT
Now, a f o r m can have a number of di fferent hol es.
Lc( us denote t hese by
(11 [21 [3| HJ . . .
Now suppose wc have a form
[ WQRD> - ^ r ------------------ n
---------- - 7 U)H| 2)T13)]
which we might call numerous ways:
cal l resul t
(WORD, W, I, E) WHITE
*(WORD, , OO, OWL) HOOTOWL
(Not e lhal pulli ng nothing between (wo
commas made nothing the argument . )
*(WORD, ( W0 R D, . 0 ) S, 0 ) HOTSHOT
Per haps you can think of o t h e r exampl es.
Thi s f l l l - l n t echni que is obviousl y useful f or p r o g r a m
ming. If a f orm contai ns a pr og r a m, Its holes can be made
to accept varyi ng numbers , f orm names, text s t r i n g s ,
o t h e r p r o g r a m s . Example: Suppose we want to c r e a t e a
new TRAC command, ADD, lhat adds t h r ee numbers i nst ead
of Just two. F a i r enough:
[addK^ ______
^ S^"*)*IAPU]i *(AD, | 2 | , jjijl)] and t h e r e you a re.
Thi s br i ngs up anot her exampl e ol how nicel y TRAC
Language wor ks out. Suppose you have the following In
l o r m s s t or a ge:
T r y a ct i ng lhl6 one oul with p e nci l and paper . Suppose you
t ype In
*(ZOWIE, 5, 7)
It happens t hal the a rgument s 5 and 7 will be pa s s ed neatl y
f rom ZOWIE to ZIP to ZAP to t he final execution of the AD;
al l through the smoot h plugging of t o l e s by the impl i ci t call
and the Magic Scan pr o ce d ur e of the TRAC pr oc e s s o r .
This language is marvelously suit ed lo data base management.
management information systems, interactive query systems,
and the broad spectrum of "business" programming.
For large-scale scientific number crunching, not so good.
With one exception: "Infinite precision" arithmetic, when
people want things to hundreds of decimal places.
Chugga chugga.
\
an interp retive l anguage
( eac h step c arried o ut direc tl y
by th e p ro c esso r w ith o ut c o nversio n
to ano th er f o rm f irst) ;
an extensibl e l anguage
( y o u c an add y o ur o w n c o mmands
f o r y o ur o w n p urp o ses) ;
a l ist- p ro c essing l anguage
( f o r h andl ing c o mp l ex and amo rp h o us
f o rms o f data th at do n't f it in bo xes
and array s) .
I t I s o ne o f th e f ew suc h l an
guages th at f its l n l ittl e c o mp uters.
3. DR I L L I N G T HE HOL E S
T h e h o l es ( c al l ed by M o o ers segment gap s) are c reated
by th e SE G M E N T ST R I N G I nstruc tio n.
#( SS, f o rmname, w h ateverl , w h atever2 . . . )
w h ere 'Yo rmname" I s th e f o rm y o u w ant to p ut h o l es in and
th e w h atevers are th ings y o u w ant to rep l ac e by h o l es.
E xamp l e: Sup p o se y o u h ave a f o rm
I I N SUL T f ______________________
^ j YOU A R E A C R E E P ]
Yo u make th is mo re general by means o f th e SE G M E N T
ST R I N G instruc tio n:
#( SS, I N SUL T , C R E E P )
resul ting in
f l N SUL T k _______________ _
^ YOU A R E A [ ]|
w h ic h c an be f il l ed in at a mo re ap p ro p riate time.
Ful l er examp l e. Sup p o se w e ty p e into th e T R A C
p ro c esso r th e f o l l o w ing:
#( DS, T HI N G Y, ON E FOR T HE M ON E Y A N D T W O FOR T HE SHOW )
#( SS, T HI N G Y, ON E , T W O, )
^ - - - - - - - no te sp ac e
W e h ave no w c reated a f o rm T HI N G Y and rep l ac ed p arts o f
it w ith segment gap s. Sinc e eac h o f th e l ater arguments o f
SE G M E N T ST R I N G sp ec if ies a dif f erentl y numbered gap ,
w e w il l h ave gap s numbered [ l j , [2], and [3j . T h e gap [1]
w il l h ave rep l ac ed th e w o rd ON E , th e gap [2] w il l h ave
rep l ac ed th e w o rd T W O, and a l o t o f gap s numbered [9] w il l
h ave rep l ac ed al l th e sp ac es l n th e f o rm ( sinc e th e f if th
argument o f SS w as a sp ac e) . T h e resul ting f o rm I s:
[t h i n g yJ
( [ l l [ ^ Fb R i3iT HE [3]M ON E Yr3]A N Df 3][2][3l FOR f 3l T HE [3j ST OW ^
W e c an get I t to p rint o ut I nterestingl y by ty p ing #( C L ,
T HI N G Y, R UN , HI DE ) ( sinc e af ter th e c al l , th e p l ugged- l n
f o rm w il l stil l be in th e f o rms sto rage. ) T h is is p rinted:
R UN FOR T HE M ON E YA N DHI DE FOR T HE SHOW
o r p erh ap s, if w e use a c arriage return f o r th e l ast
argument , w e c an get f unny resul ts. T h e c al l
# ( T HI N G Y, N OT A FI G , T HA T , [c arriage return]
sh o ul d resul t in
N OT A FI G
FOR
T HE
M ON E Y
A N D
T HA T
FOR
T HE
SHOW
T E ST C OM M A N DS I N T R A C L A N G UA G E
T h ere are test c o mmands I n T R A C L anguage, but l ike
every th ing e l s e th ey w o rk o n strings o f c h arac ters. T h us
th ey may w o rk o n numbers o r text. C o nsider th e E Q
c o mmand ( test if equal ) :
#( E Q, f irstth ing, sec o ndth l ng, Uso , if no t)
w h ere "f irstth ing' and "sec o ndth l ng" are th e strings being
c o mp ared, and Uso and if no t are th e al ternatives. I I f irst
th ing is th e same as sec o ndth l ng, th en Uso I s w h at th e
T R A C p ro c esso r do es, and if no t I s f o rgo tten. E xamp l e:
#( E Q, 3, #( SU, 5, 2) , HOOR A Y, N UT S)
I f it turns o ut th at 3 I s equal to #( SU, 5, 2) , w h ic h I t is, th en
al l th at w o ul d be l ef t o f th e w h o l e string w o ul d be
HOOR A Y
w h il e o th erw ise th e T R A C p ro c esso r w o ul d p ro duc e N UT S.
T o mo st c o mp uter p eo p l e th is l o o ks c o mp l etel y insl de-
o ut, w ith th e th ing to do next ap p earing at th e c enter o f th e
test instruc tio n. Oth ers f ind th is f eature at- trac - tl ve.
DI SK OP E R A T I ON S
N o w f o r th e j uic y disk o p eratio ns. Sto ring th ings o n
disk c an o c c ur as an o rdinary T R A C c o mmand.
#( SB, name. f o rml , f o rm2, f o rm3 . . . )
c reates a p l ac e o ut so mew h ere o n disk w ith th e name y o u
give it, and p uts in I t th e f o rms y o u've sp ec if ied. E xamp l e:
#( SB, J UN K , T OM , DI C K , HA R R Y)
and th ey 're sto red. I f y o u w ant th em l ater y o u say
#( FB, J UN K )
and th ey re bac k.
Bec ause y o u c an mix th e disk o p eratio ns I n w ith every *
th ing el se so nic el y , y o u c an c h ain p ro grams and c h anging
enviro nments w ith great ease to travel smo o th l y amo ng
dif f erent sy stems, c irc umstanc es, setup s.
Here I s a stup id p ro gram th at sc ans al l inc o ming text
f o r th e w o rd SHA ZA M . I f th e w o rd SHA ZA M ap p ears, It
c l ears o ut every th ing, c al l s a w h o l e no th er disk bl o c k, and
w el c o mes its new master. Oth erw ise no th ing h ap p ens. I f
y o u h ave ac c ess to a T R A C sy stem ( o r real l y w ant to w o rk
o n it) , y o u may be abl e to f igure I t o ut. ( R E ST A R T must
be I n the workspace to begin.)
/R E ST A R T I .________________________________________ .
- - - - - - - - - - - - 1 | ( DS, T E M P , * ( R S) ) * ( SS. T E M P . ) * ( R P T ) |
I rp tT ^ ,_____________________________________________
^ ^ | * ( E Q. SHA ZA M . * ( T E ST ) . ( #( E V E N T ) ) ) #( R P T ) 1
T E M P . ( I ( R E ST A R T ]) ) !
If v f k t FI. __ _
1- - - - - - - - - ^ N * ( DA ) * ( FB, M A R V E L ) i>f P S. W E L C OM E O M A ST E R ) !
I n th is examp l e, h o w ever, y o u may h ave no tic ed mo re
p arenth eses th an y o u exp ec ted. N o w f o r w h y .
P R OT E C T I ON A N D ON E - SHOT
T h e l ast th ing w e'l l tal k abo ut is th e o th er tw o sy ntac tic
l ay o uts.
W e've al ready to l d y o u abo ut th e main sy ntac tic l ay o ut
o f T R A C L anguage, w h ic h I s
#( )
It turns o ut th at tw o mo re l ay o uts are needed, w h ic h w e may
c al l P R OT E C T I ON and ON E - SHOT . P ro tec tio n i s simp l y
( )
w h ic h p revents th e exec utio n o f any th ing betw een th e
p arenth eses. T h e T R A C p ro c esso r strip s o f f th ese p l ain
p arenth eses and mo ves o n, l eaving beh ind w h at w as in
th em but no t h aving exec uted it. ( But it may c o me bac k. )
A n o bvio us use I s to p ut aro und a p ro gram y o u're designing:
# ( DS, P R OG , ( #( A D, A , B) ) )
strip p ed strip p ed
but o th er uses turn up af ter y o u've exp erimented a l ittl e.
T h e l ast T R A C c o mmand arrangement l o o ks l ike th is
* * ( )
and y o u c an p ut any c o mmand in it, exc ep t th at I ts resul t
w il l o nl y be c arried o ne l evel
l #( C L , ZOW I E , 3, 4)
resul ts I n ( using th e f o rms w e def ined earl ier) ,
I n T R A C L anguage, every c o mmand
is rep l ac ed by Us resul t
as th e p ro grams exec utio n p ro c eeds.
T h is is ingenio us, w eird and h igh l y ef f ec tive.
#(ZIP,3,4)
which Is allowed to survive as Is, because the moving finger
of the TRAC scanner does not r e - s c a n the r e s u lt .
It Is left to the very curious to t ry to figure out why
this Is needed.
V
Wh at e v er c a n b e e x e c u t e d
I s r e p l a c e d by
I t s r e s u l t .
T h i s may o r may not
y i e l d s o m e t h i n g
wh i c h i s I n t u r n
e x e c u t a b l e .
When n o t h i n g l e f t I s e x e c u t a b l e ,
w h a t ' s l eft
i s p r i n t e d o u t .
T h a t s t h e TRAC l a n g u a g e ,
\
me. P R i m n v f s 1
FAST ANSWERBACK IN TRAC LANGUAGE
TRAC Language can be used for fast answerback to
simple problems. Typing ln long executable TRAC expr es
sions causes the result, If any, to be printed back out
Immediately.
For naive us er s , however, the special advantage is In
how easily TRAC Language may be used to program last
answerback environments of any kind.
A SERIOUS LANGUAGE; BUT BE WILLING
TO BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE
TRAC Language .Is, besides being an easy language to
l earn, very powerful for text and storage applications.
Conventional computer people don't necessarily believe
o r like It.
For instance, as a consultant I once had programmed,
ln TRAC Language, a system for a certain Intricate form
of business application. It worked. It ran. Anybody could
be taught to use It In five minutes. The client was consider-
Ing expanding It and installing a complete system. They
asked another consultant.
It couldn't be done In TRAC Language, said the other
consultant; that' s some kind of a "university" language.
End of project.
HOW TO GET IT
There have been, until recently, certain difficulties
about getting access to a TRAC processor. Over the years,
Mooers has worked with his own proc essors in Cambridge.
Experimenters here and there have tried thei r hands at
programming It, with little compatibility In their results.
Mooers has worked with several large corporations, who said
sai d they wanted to try processors to assess the value of the
the language, but those endeavors brought nothing oul to
the public.
FINALLY, however, TRAC Language ser vice is pub-
llcally available, In a fastidiously accurate proc es s or and
with Mooers' blessing, on Computilitytimesharlng service.
They run PDP-10 ser vic e ln the Boston-to-Washington
ar ea . (From elsewhere you have to pay long d i s t a n c e . )
The charge should run $12 to $15 p e r hour In business hours,
less elsewhen. But this depends to some extent on what
your program does, and Is hence unpredictable. A licensed
TRAC Language proc es s or may be obtained from Mooers
for your own favorite PDP-10. Proce s s ors for other com
put er s, including minis, ar e In the planning stage.
TRAC Language is now nicely documented ln two new
books by Mooers, a beginner's manual and a standardization
book (see Bibliography).
Since Mooers operates a small business, and must
make a livelihood from It, he has adopted the standard
business techniques of ser vice mark and copyright to
protect his Interests. The s er v ic e mark "TRAC" s erv es
to Identify his product in the marketplace, and Is an
assur ance to the public that the product exactly meets the
published standards By law, the "TR AC mark may not
be used on programs o r products which do not come from
Rockford Research, Inc.
OUTPUT.
PS, st ri ng
PRINT STRING: prints out the second argument.
INPUT.
RS
READ STRING: this command is replaced by a s t r i n g of
characters typed ln by the us er , whose end is signalled by a
changeable "meta" character.
CM, arg2
CHANGE META: f i r s t cha ra ct er of second argument becomes
new meta character. May be c a r r l a g e - r e t u r n code.
RC
READ CHARACTER: this command Is replaced by the next
character the u s er types in. Per mi t s highly responsive i n t e r
active systems.
DISK COMMANDS.
SB,blockname,forml,form2 . . .
STORE BLOCK: under block name supplied, s t o r e s forms llstc
FB, blockname
FETCH BLOCK: contents of named block a r e quietly brought in
to forms st orage from disk.
MAIN FORM COMMANDS.
DS, formname, contents
DEFINE STRING. Discussed In text.
CL, formname, plugl,plug2, plug3 . . .
CALL: brings form from forms storage to working program.
Plugl is fitted Into every hole (segment gap) numbered 1,
plug2 Into every hole numbered 2, and so on.
SS, formname,punchoutl, punchout2 . . .
SEGMENT STRING: this command replaces every occurrence
of punchoutl with a hole (segment gap) numbered 1, and so on.
INTERNAL FORM COMMANDS.
(All of these use a little pointer, o r form pointer, that marks a plac
In the form. If t her e is no form remaining after the pointer, these
instructions act on their last argument, which is otherwise i gnored. )
IN, formname, st ri ng, default
Looks for specified s t ri n g IN the form, st art i ng at pointer. If
not found, pointer unmoved. (NOTE: s t ri n g s e a r c h can also be
done nicely with the SS command.)
CC, formname, default
CALL CHARACTER: brings up next cha ra ct er In form, moves
pointer to af t er it.
CN, formname,no.of characters, default
CALL N: brings up next N ch a r a c t e r s , moves pointer to after
them.
CS, formname, default
CALL SEGMENT: b r i n ^ up everything to next segment gap,
moves pointer to it.
CR, formname
CALL RESTORE: moves pointer back to beginning of form.
MANAGING FORMS STORAGE
LN, divider
LIST NAMES: replaced by all form names In forms storage,
with any divider between them. Divider is optional.
DD, namel, name2 . . .
DELETE DEFINITION: destroys named forms In forms s t orag
DA
DELETE ALL: gets rid of all forms In forms storage.
TEST COMMANDS.
EQ, firstthing, secondthlng, If so, Ifnot
Test s if EQual: If firstthing Is s ame as secondthlng, whats lefi
is Ifso; If not equal, what' s left Is ifnot.
GR, firstthing, secondthlng, ifso, Ifnot
Test s whether firstthing is numerically GReater than second-
thing. If so, what's left is ifso; if not, what's left Is ifnot.
OH YEAH, ARITHMETIC.
(All these are handled in decimal ar ithmetic, a c h a ra ct er al a time,
and defined only for two integers. Everything el s e you write your
s elf as a shorty p r o g r a m. )
AD -v
> mentioned In text.
DI J
BOOLEAN COMMANDS.
(Several exist ln the language, but could rot possibly be understood
from this wr it e up. )
* Description of TRAC language primitives adapted by per mission from
"TRAC, A Procedure-Describing Language f o r the Reactive Typewriter, "
copyright 1966 by Rockford Research, Inc.
Following IBM, he is using copyright to protect his
documentation and programs from copying and adaptation
without authority.
Mooers also stands ready to accommodate academic
students and experimenters who wish to try their hands at
programming a TRAC processor. An experimenter' s
license for use of the copyright material may be obtained
for a few dollars, provided you do not Intend to use the
r esulting programs commercially.
For Information of all kinds, Including lists of latest
l i t e r a t u r e and application notes, contact:
Calvin N. Mooers
Rockford Research, Inc.
140-1/2 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, Mass. 02136 Tel. (617)676-0776
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Calvin N. Mooers, The Beginner's Manual for TRAC Language.
300 pages, $10.00, from Rockford Research, Inc.
(See "Where to Get I t . ")
Calvin N. Mooers, Definition and Standard f o r TRAC T-64
Language, 86 pages, $5.00, from Rockford Research, Inc.
Calvin N. Mooers, "TRAC, A Procedure-Describing Language
for the Reactive Typewri t er, " Communications of the ACM.
v. 9, n. 3, pp. 215-219 (March 1966). Historic pape r, out of
print. This paper is copyrighted, and the copyright is owned
by Rockford Research, I n c . , through legal assignment from
the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.
And for those who want to understand the depth of the st andardi za
tion problem, Mooers offers freebie r e pri nt s of:
Calvin N. Mooers, "Accommodating Standards and Identification
of Programming Languages," Communications of the ACM.
v . l l , n. 8, pp. 574-576 (August 1968).
22
s t a r k . r i- ic veie^
Af L
Some people call it a "scientific" language.
Some people call it a "mathematical" language.
Some people are most struck by its use for inter
active systems, so to them i t 1s an interactive
language. But most of us just think of it as THE
LANGUAGE WITH ALL THE FUNNY SYMBOLS,
and here they are:
p u n a c i w t | a \ = 0 ; r V M
" - <Kfi2:=>)v: i _ ( +T- m~0?1 -
123B46S7]9.BF[ UN+ITOQD-t
PRVCAZ*WYEMQ/ XL, SJGKH
Enthusiasts see it as a language of incon
ceivable power with extraordinary us es , Cynics
remark that it has all kinds of extraordinary
powers for inconceivable usesthat is, a weird
elegance, much of which has no use at a l l , and
some of which gets in the way.
This is probably wrong. APL is a terrific
and beautiful triumph of the mind, and a very
useful programming language. It is not for every
body , but neither is ch e ss . It is for bright chil
dren, mathematicians, and companies who want
to build interactive systems but feel they should
stick with IBM.
APL is one of IBM's better products, probably
because it is principally the creation of one man,
Kenneth Iverson. It is mainly run on 360 and
370 computers, though implementations exist
for the DEC PDP-10 and perhaps other popular
machines. (Actually iverson designed the lan
guage at Harvard and programmed it on his own
initiative after moving to IBM; added to the pro
duct line by popular demand, it was not a planned
product and might in fact be a hazard to the firm,
should it catch on bi g. )
APL ia a language of a r r a y s , with a fascinat
ing notation. The array system and the notation
can be explained separately, and b o they will.
Let's just say the language works on things
modified successively by operators. Their order
and result is based upon those fiendish chicken
scratches, Iverson notation.
THAT NIFTY NOTATION
The first thing to understand about APL
is the fiendishly clever system of notation that
Iverson has worked out. This system (sometimes
called Iverson notation) allows extremely complex
relations and computer-type events to be expressed
simply, densely and consistently.
(Of course, you can't even type it without
an IBM Selectric typewriter and an APL ball.
Note the product-line t i e - i n .)
The notation is based on operators modifying
t hings. Let's use alphabetic symbols for things
and play with pictures for a minute.
t au/ f t i f -
In considering the successive meanings of thiB
rebus we are proceeding from right to left, aa
you note, and each new symbol adds meaning.
This is the general idea.
You will note, in this example, the curious
arrangement whereby you can have several
pictures, or operators, in a row. This is one
of the fun features of the language.
TWO-SIDED OPERATORS
In old-fashioned notations, such as ordinary
arithmetic, we are used to the idea of an operator
between two t hings. Like
or in algebr a,
2 + 2
t X y
These, too, occur in APL; indeed, APL
can also nest two-sided operators that i s , put
them one inside the other, like the leaves of
a cabbage. Old-fashioned notations nest with
parentheses. But APL nests leftward. It works
according to a very simple right-to-left r u l e .
i x y X 2 * 2
the result of this^,
i s operated on by
the next thing and operat or,
yielding another result
which is in turn operated on by
the next thing and operator,
yielding final res ul t .
ONE-SIDED OPERATORS
We are also used to some one-sided operators
in our previous life. For instance:
SAME SYMBOLS WORK BOTH WAYS
Now, one of the fascinating kickers of APL
is the fact that most of the symbols have both a
one-sided meaning and a two-sided meaning; but,
thank goodness, they can be easily kept straight
Here is a concrete example: the symbol T
or "ceiling." Used one-sided, the result of
operator |" applied to something numerical is the
integer just above the number it i s applied to:
p 7.2 i s B. Used two-sided, the result is which
ever of the numbers it' s between i larger:
10 f 6 is 10. (There is also , floor, which you
can surely figure out.)
Now, when you str i ng things out into a long
APL expression, Iverson' s notation determines
exactly when an operator is one-sided and when
it is two-sided:
As you go from right to l eft ,
another thing?) OP THING
another op? I*^________________ _
you generally start with a thing on the right. Then
comes an operator. If the next symbol is another
thing, then the operator is io be treated as a two-
sided operator (because i t s between two things).
If the object beyond the first operator is another
operator, however, that means APL is supposed lo
stop and carry out the f ir st operator on a one-sided
basis. Example:
means the negation of 1;
( 1)
means negating t hat.
APL can also nest one-sided operat or s.
<^>A
rator is
result is worked on by
fourth operator,
yielding final result.
Conclusion:
Its two-sided.
Interpretation:
"subtract B from A."
A + - B
Bs
* thing,
op,
op
stop. Conclusion:
The first operator
is one-si ded.
Interpretation:
"negate B."
Then take next symbol .
A Utl R J ) e x w t e , T HE if * w i t h ru e K w i o V.
Just for ki cks, let us make up a notation
having nothing to do with computers, using these
Iverson principles:
1) If an operator or symbol ia between two
names of t hings, carry it out two-sidedly.
If not, carry it out one-sidedly.
2) Go from right to left.
The best simple example I can think of involves
file cards on the table (named A, B, C . . . ) and
operators looking like this:
0) 45} 90} 180) 455 90T 1005
to which we may assign the following meanings:
ONE-SIDED: ROTATION OPERATORS
0} A do nothing to A
451 A rotate A clockwise 45*
90^ A rotate A clockwise 90
e t c .
TWO-SIDED: STAPLING OPERATORS
B 451 A staple A (thing named on the right)
to B (thing named on the left)
at a position 45* clockwise from
middle of Bs centerline.
W - T
*
sllp/t ( o -
And equivalently for other angleB.
Now, using these r u l e s , and letting our things
be any file cards that are handy, here are some results:
A 0 ) B ^ ___|
a 90} b r - -I
r j .
A 90} 9 0} B [ j l ~ ]
90} A 90} B
455 A 90) B
:c
z>
o - A
455 A 90} 90) B ^
B 0) 45) A
A r
1
C 45) B 0) 90) A
It' s hard to believe, but there you are. This
notation seems adequate to make a whole lot of
different stapled patt erns.
Exercise! Use this nutty file card notation
to program the making of funny patt erns. Practice
with a friend and Bee if you can communicate
patterns through these programs, one person
uncomprehendingly carryi ng out the others
program and being s u r p r i s e d .
The point of all this has been to show the
powerful but somewhat startling way that brief
scribbles in notations of t h i B type can have all sorts
of r es ul t s .
(n* ($*> fxf
Su p p o s e we h a v e a s i mpl e u s e r p r o g r a m ,
Y + - Z
S t a r l i n g a t t h e t i g h t o f t h i s u s e r p r o g r a m , t he
mai n APL p r o g r a m p u t s Z i n t o t h e wo r k a r e a . T h a t ' s
t h e f i r s t t h i n g . T h e n , s t e p p i n g left l n t he u s e r
p r o g r a m , t h e APL p r o c e s s o r f ollows t h e r u l e s a n d
d i s c o v e r s t h a t t h e n e x t o p e r a t i o n ma k es It
wh i c h h a p p e n s t o me an, " t h e neg at i o n of Z . " So i t
c a r r i e s t h i s o ut on Z a n d r e p l a c e s Z w i t h t he r e s u l t ,
- Z . T h e n , c o n t i n u i n g to s c a n l e f t wa r d , t h e APL
p r o c e s s o r c o n t i n u e s to r e p l a c e what w a s l n t h e wor k
a r e a w i t h t h e r e s u l t of e ac h o pe r a t i o n i n t h e s u c
c e s s i v e l i n e s o f t h e u s e r p r o g r a m , tLU t he p r o g r a m
i s c o mp l e t ed.
A P L Prt>cVSVr
0 '3 r v - )
pie*- htl
' i + - 7 .
-
u r<jj/
- Z
L1 -
v + - 2 "
SOME APL OPERATORS
It wo ul d b e i n s a n e t o e n u me r a t e t hem a l l ,
b u t h e r e I s a s a mp l i n g o f APL' s o p e r a t o r s . T h e y ' r e
a l l on t h e pocket c a r d s ( s e e Bi b l i o g r a p h y ) .
F o r o l d t i mes ' s a k e , h e r e a r e o u r f r i e n d s :
(And a c o u s i n t h r o wn i n f o r s y m m e t r y . )
+A p l a i n A
( w h a t e v e r A s h o u l d h a p p e n to b e )
A+B A p l u s B
( w h a t e v e r A s h o u l d h a p p e n to B.
h e h h e h )
- B n e g a t i o n of B
A-B A m i n u s B
a B t h e s i g n of B
( e x p r e s s e d a s - 1 .0 o r 1)
A i B A t i m es B
And h e r e a r e some g n i o v l e s :
! A f a c t o r i a l A
( 1 * 2 * 3 . . . u p to A)
A! B t h e n u m b e r o f p o s s i b l e
c o mb i n a t i on s yo u c a n g e t f rom B
t a k e n A at a ti me
?A a r a n d o m I n t e g e r
t a k e n f rom a r r a y A
A?B t a k e some I n t e g e r s at r an do m
f r o m B . How many? A.
B u t , of c o u r s e . APL goes o n a n d o n . T h e r e
a r e d o z e n s mor e ( I n c l u d i n g symbo l s made of more
t h a n o n e w e i r d APL s y m b o l , p r i n t e d on t op of e ac h
o t h e r to ma k e a new s y m b o l ) .
C o n s i d e r t h e I n c r e d i b l e p o w e r . Si n g l e APL
symbo l s g i v e y o u l o g a r i t h m s , t r i g on o me t r i c
f u n c t i o n s , ma t r i x f u n c t i o n s , n u m b e r s y s t e m c o n v e r
s i o n s , l o g s to a n y a r b i t r a r y b a s e , a n d p o w e r s of e
( a m y s t e r i o u s n u m b e r o f wh i c h e n g i n e e r s a r e f o n d ) .
O t h e r w e i r d t h i n g s . You c a n a p p l y a n o p e r
at i on to a l l t he e l emen t s o f s n a r r a y u s i n g t h e /
o p e r a t o r : +/ A I s t h e s um o f e v e r y t h i n g I n A, >/A
i s t he c o mbi ne d p r o d u c t o f e v e r y t h i n g In A. And
so o n . Whew.
As y o u may s u s p e c t , APL p r o g r a m s c a n be
I n c r e d i b l y c o n c i s e . ( T h i s Is a f r e q u e n t l y - h e a r d
cr i t i c i s m: t ha t t he c o n c i s e n e s s ma k es t hem h a r d
to u n d e r s t a n d a n d h a r d t o c h a n g e . )
MAKE YOUR OWN
F i n al l y a n d g l o r i o u e l y . t h e u s e r may de f i ne
h i s own f u n c t i o n s , e i t h e r o n e - s i d e d o r t w o - s i d e d ,
wi t h a l p h a b e t i c a l n a m e s . For i n s t a n c e , yo u can
c r e a t e y o u r own o n e - s i d e d o p e r a t o r ZONK. a s ln
ZONK B
a n d e v e n a l wo- 8i d e d ZONK,
A ZONK B
whi c h c s n t h e n go r i g h t i n I h er e wi t h t h e b i g boys:
A $ ZONK B
Don' t a s k what i t m e a n s , b u t i t ' s a l l owed .
s w i n e p rekc 5!
An APL m a c h i n e . a mi ni t h a t does n o t h i n g b u t APL.
I s now a v a i l a b l e f rom a Ca nadi an f i r m f or t he me r e p i t t a n c e of
THRBE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ,
t he p r i c e o f many a me r e t e r m i n al . T hi s a c c o r d i n g to
C o m p u t e r w o r l d . 10 Oct 79.
R u n , d o n ' t w a l k , t o Micro Comput er Ma ch i ne s , I n c . ,
4 i A n s l n g S q . . Willow d a l e . M2J 1T1. On t a r i o , C a n a d a . T h a t
$3500 g e t s y o u a 16K memor y, t h e APL p r o g r a m , k e y b o a r d a nd
n u me r i c a l k e y b o a r d , a n d pl a s ma d i s p l a y . Ca s s e t t e ( whi ch
a p p a r e n t l y s t o r e s a n d r e t r i e v e s a r r a y s b y name w h e n c a l l e d
b y t h e p r o g r a m ) i s $1500 e x l r a . RUNS ON BATTERI ES. S o r r y ,
no g r e e n s t a m p s . (Note t ha t t h e APL p r o c e s s o r t a k e s u p most
of t he 16K, b u t y o u c a n ge t m o r e . )
T h e r u m o r t h a l IBM h a s APL o n a c h i p , i n s i d e a S e l e c t r i c
wh i c h t h e r e f o r e do e s a l l t h e s e t h i n g s wi t h no e x t e r n a l
c o nn ec t i o n t o a n y ( e x t e r n a l ) co mp ut e r - * r ema i n s u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d .
T he r u m o r h a s b e e n a r o u n d f or some t i me.
But i t ' s q u i t e po s s i b l e .
Th e t h i n g i s , It woul d p r o b a b l y d e s t r o y I BM' s e n t i r e
p r o d u c t l i n e - - s n d p r i c i n g e di f i ce .
APL THINGS, TO GO WITH YOUR OPERATORS
As we s a i d , APL h a s o p e r a t o r s ( a l r e a d y
e x p l a i n e d ) a n d t h i n g s T h e t h i n g s c a n b e p l a i n
n u m b e r s , o r A r r a y s ( a l r e a d y me nt i o ne d u n d e r
BASIC). T h i n k o f t he m a s r o w s , b o x e s a n d
s u p e r b o x e s of n u m b e r s :
2 4 6 8 10 a o n e - d i m e n s i o n a l t h i n g
2 4
3 5 a t wo- d i me n s i o n a l t h i n g
X
0 8 a t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l t h i n g ,
s e e n f rom t h e f r o n t . Maybe
we b e t t e r l ook a t t h e l evel a
s i d e b y si de:
1 3 2 4
5 7 6 6
APL c a n h a v e T h i n g s wi t h f o ur d i m e n s i o n s , f i ve a nd
s o o n , b u t we w o n ' t t r o u b l e yo u h e r e w i t h p i c t u r e s .
Oh y s s . a n d Anal l y a n o - d l me n s l o n a l t h i n g .
Exampl e:
75. 2
It i s c a l l e d no - d l t ne n s t o n a l b e c a u s e t h e r e I s onl y
o n e o f i t , so i t Is not a r ow o r a b o x .
S e r i o u s l y , t h e s e a r e a r r a y s , a n d I v e r s o n ' s
APL w o r k s t hem o v e r , t u r n s t hs m I n s i d e o u t , t w i s t s
a n d s a p s t h r o u g h to w h s t e v e r t h e a n s w e r s a r e .
As In BASIC a n d TRAC, t h e a r r a y s o f APL
a r e r e a l l y s t o r e d l n t he c o m p u t e r ' s c o r e memo r y ,
a s s o c i a t e d wi t h t h e n a me y ou g i v e t h e m . The
a r r a y s may b e of a l l d i f f e r e n t s i t e s s n d d i me n
s i o n a l i t y :
H o e / , ________________
--------' l 2 . 5 7 . 1 88. 006^
/ n o r a ] ___
[ w o o p s l e l } ^ * 1 *)
[ a b c d e f l [ ( (. W )
ISAM
1 ^ 1
(empt y a r r a y , b u l a n ame Is
s a v e d f or I t . )
[ n u m \
[371416]
(a z e r o - d i m e n s i o n a l a r r a y ,
s i n c e i t ' s onl y o n e n u m b e r . )
Each a r r a y I s r e a l l y a s e r i e s o f me mor y l o c at i on s
wi t h I t s l a bel a n d b o x i n g I n f or ma t i o n d i m e n s i o n s
a n d l e n g t h s s t o r e d s e p a r a t e l y . One v e r y n i c e
t h i n g a b o u t APL i s t h a t a r r a y s c a n k e e p c h a n g i n g
t h e i r s i z e s f r e e l y , a n d t h i s n e e d b e of no c o n c e r n
t o t h e APL p r o g r a m m e r . ( The a r r a y s c a n a l s o be
b o x e d a n d r e b o x e d l n di f f er en t d i m e n s i o n s j u s t b y
c h a n g i n g t he b o x i n g i n f o r mat i on wi t h a n o p e r a t o r
c a l l e d " r a v e l . " )
He r e l a a n o t h e r e xampl e s h owi n g how we c h u g
a l ong t h e r ow o f s y mb ol s a n d t a k e i t a p a r t . Agai n,
t he a l p h a b e t i c a l e n t i t l e s r e p r e s e n t t h i n g s .
E>(|
^ ______ f i r s t o p e r a t i o n (on e - s i d e d),
s e c o n d o p e r a t i o n ( t wo- s i ded)
T r y d i v i d i n g u p t h e s e e xampl es:
( p ROMEO
ELEANOR < 2 > SAM SUSIB
One mor e t h i n g n e e d s to b e n o t e d . Not onl y
c a n we wo r k o u t t he s e q u e n c e s o f o p e r s t l o n s . from
l i g h t to l e f t . b e t w e e n t he s ymb ol s ; t h e c o mp ut e r can
c a r r y t h s m ou t i n a s t a b l e f a s h i o n . Which i s of
c o u r s e e s s e n t i a l .
INSIDE
T h e t r u t h o f t h e ma t t e r i s t ha t APL l n t h e com
p u t e r I s a c o n t i n u i n g s u c c e s s i o n of t h i n g s b e i n g
o p e r a t e d o n a n d r e p l a c e d I n t h e wo r k a r e a .
f i r s t t h i n g
. . . UG ^ jZf ' y ARG^
I t h i n g wh i c h r e s u l t s
[ f rom o p e r a t o r $
I don e on YAAOH,
t h i n g t h a t r e s u l t s f rom o p e r a t i o n Lv
d o n e to t ha t b y UG V
a n d ao o n .
What l e ef f ec t i ve l y h a p p e n i n g i s t h a t t h e APL
p r o c e s s o r i s h o l d i n g what i t ' s wo r k i n g o n i n a
h o l d i n g a r e a . T h e way It c a r r i e s ou t t h e Bean of
t he APL l a n g u a g e , t h e r e o n l y h a s to b e one t h i n g
i n t h e r e a t a l i m e .
Few people Know al l of APL. o r would want t o.
The oper at i ons a r e dl veree and o b e c u r e .
a nd many of them a r e comprehens i bl e only
to peopl e In mathematical fiel ds.
However, i f y ou know a dozen o r so you can
r ea l l y get off Ihe g r o u n d .
A* In BASIC, you can u s e s u bs c r i p t s to
get at speci f i c el ements In a r r a y s . Re f er r i ng to
the exampl es a b o v e . If you type
JOE [ 2]
you get back on yo ur t ypewri t er Its value
7.1
and If you t ype
NORA 2. 4J
T h e r e a r e basi cal l y four kl nda of Information
used by APL. and all of them can be put In a r r a y s .
Thr ee of t h e s e t yp e s a r e numeri cal , and a r r a y s of
them look l i ke Ihls on paper:
I nt ege r a r r a y e ; 2 4 - 6 6 10 2040
Scal ar a r r a y s : 2.5 -3.1416 0.001 2705333.1
(a e csl ar Is something thal can be
measur ed on a r ul e r - l t k e s cal e,
wh er e t here a r e always poi nt s
i n bet weeen. )
Logical a r r a y e ; 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
( t hese a r r a y s of ones snd z er oes a r e
cal l ed "logical" for a vari et y of
r ea s ons ; In Ihls caae we could cal l them
"l ogi cal " simply because they a r e used
for pi cki ng and ehooalng and d e ci d i n g . )
Theae t h r e e numeri cal t ypes of I nformation may be
freel y Int er mi xed In your a r r a y e . One more t ype,
however. Is al l owed. Its hard to f i gur e out from
t he msnual a. but evi dent l y thia type can' t be
mixed In wi t h t he ot he r s too f r e e l y . We r e f e r lo
Ihe a l phabet i cal or "l i t er al " a r r a y , as in
The qui ck br own fox Jumped over t he lazy dog.
Now. p r e - wr i t t e n APL programs can pr i nt out
l i t er al Informat i on, and accept It from a u s e r at
a t e r mi n al . whi ch Is why APL Is good for the
creat i on of s y st ems for nai ve ue er s (see "Good-Guy
Sys t ems. p . i j ) .
Li t eral vect or s may be pi cked a p a r t .
r e a r r ang e d a nd assembled by all t he r e g u l a r APL
oper a t o r s . T h a t ' s how we t widdle our t ent .
CRASHING THE SYMBOLS TOGETHER
It wo r ks on a r r a y s , si ngl y and In p a i r a .
a ccordi ng to t hose funny-l ooki ng symbol s. a s the
APL pr oce s s o r s eana r l g ht - t o- l ef t .
IVERSON'S TAFFY-PULL
A n umbe r of basi c APL operat or s hel p you
a t r et ch. aqul eh a nd pull apar t your a r r a y a .
Consi der t he lowly comma (called " r a v e l , " which
means t he aame as " u n r a v e l " ) .
A f orgel A' s old di mensi ons,
make It one-dl menal onal .
A. B make A and B one long
one-dimensi onal a r r a y .
Here la how we make t hi ngs appear and di s a p p e a r .
( "Compr es s i on. ")
A/ B A must be a one-dlmenalonal
a r r a y of ones and t e r o e s .
The r es u l t l a t hose el ement s
of B selected by the o n e s .
Example:
1 0 1 / c a 1
r es ul t s In
c t
The opposi t e s l a s h ha s t he opposit e eff ect .
I nser t i ng e x t r a null elements where t here
ar e zaroea:
1 1 0 l \ 3 5 B
r es ul t s in
3 5 0 9
Her e' s a not her sel ect or . Thi s operat or
takes t he f i r s t o r l ast few of A. dependi ng on si ze
and si gn of B:
B t A
and B ^ A Is t he opposit e.
If you wanl to know Ihe rel at i ve posi t i ons of
numbers of d i f f er ent si zes In s one-di mensi onal
a r r a y .
^ (name o f a r r ay )
will t ell y o u . It gi ves you the posi t i ons. In or d er
of s i z e, of t he numbe r s . And 4 does It for
descendi ng o r d e r .
These are Just samples. The lin g o e s on
M
Here is an APL p r o gr a m t hal t ypes out
b ackwar ds what you t ype I n . Fi r s t look at the
pr ogr am, then t he e xpl ana t i on below.
V REV

V
Expl anat i on. The do wn- p ol n l l ng t r i angl es
( "del s" ) symbol ize t h e be g i n n i n g and end of a
pr ogrsm. which In t hi s caae we have c al l ed REV.
On Line 1. the "Quot e-Quad" symbol (on the r i g h t )
c auses t he APL pr oce s s or to wal l for al phabet i cal
i nput . Presumabl y Ihe u s e r will t ype somet hi ng.
The u s e r ' s l i ne of I nput Is st uf f ed Into t h i n g o r
a r r a y 1. The u s e r ' s c a r r i a g e r e t u r n t el l s t he APL
pr oces s or he haa f i ni s he d , so It cont i nues i n the
pr ogram. On Ihe second l i n e . APL l akes a r r a y 1
and doea a one - s i ded to II. which h appens to
mean t ur ni ng il a r o u n d . Lef t - ar r ow into Ihe
quot e-quad symbol means p r i n t II out.
Because of APL' a compac t n e s s , i nd e ed . Ihls
magnificent pr ogram csn el l go on one line:
^ REV
[ ]
V
Fi rst the i nput goes into I . t he n Ihe p r o ce s s o r does
s 1 ( r e ver s a l ) a nd put s i t oul .
And here Is o u r old f r i e n d . t he fort une- cooki e
1 0 0 - 'HELP. I AM CAUGHT IN A LOOP1
[ i ] - > 1
On line 1 the pr ogram pr i n t s out whal ev c r ' s In
quot es. And line 2 causes It to go back and do
l ine 1 agai n. For ever .
frte mnVL
II shoul d be mentioned at t hi s point that
branchi ng t e s t s a r e c onduct ed i n APL pr ograms
by speci f yi ng condi t i ons whi ch a r e ei l hc r t r ue or
f al se, and APL' s ans we r is 1 if i r u e . 0 if f al se.
(This i s snol her t hi ng t hese l ogical a r r a y s a r e f or . )
Example:
3>2
Thi s operation l e s ves t he nu mb e r 1. because 3
i s gr eat er than 2. So you c oul d br an c h on a test
with something l ike
which br snches to l i ne 7 in t he pr ogram i f A Is
gr eat er than B. and Is ignor ed (as an unexeculabl e
br anch to line zero) if B la g r e a t e r than A.
THE APL ENVIRONMENT
Aside from the APL l anguage i t s el f , to
pr ogram in APL you must l e ar n a lot of "system"
commands, al phabet i cal commands by which lo tell
t he APL pr oces s or what y ou want to do l n general
whal to s t o r e , what lo b r i n g fort h from at orage.
and so on.
Ordi nari l y you have a wor k s p ac e , a collec
tion of pr ograms and dat a whi ch you may summon
by name. When il comes- - t h a t i s . when t he com
pu t e r haa fetched thia mat erial and announced on
yo ur terminal lhat It ia r e a d y - - you can r u n the
programs and us e t he dat a l n y ou r works psce.
You can also have pas s wor d s f or y ou r different
works pacea, so ot he r s at ot h e r t ermi nal s cannot
t amper wilh yo ur st uff.
Thia i s not t he pi ece to go into the system
commands. If yo u ' r e s e r i o u s , you can l e ar n them
from t he book or t h e APL s al es man.
Ther e a r e ma ny . many di f f er ent e r r o r
mesaages that t he APL p r o ce s s o r c s n send you.
dependi ng on the ci r c u ms t anc es . It Is poaslble
lo make many, many mi s t akes i n APL. and
t h e r e a r e e r r o r messages for a l l of I hem. All
of them, that I s , l hat look to t he comput er like
e r r o r s ; If you do somet hi ng p e r mi s s i b l e t ha t ' s
not what you i nt ended, t he c ompui er will not
tel l y o u .
But It i s a t ermi nal l a n g u a g e . desi gned to
hel p people muddle t h r o u g h .
Smvf o e MISlOoMbttfUt
C H o i e e j o f m t t t s
I v e r s o n ' s notation is built around the
cur i ou s pr i nci p l e of having t he same symbols mean
two t hi ngs dependi ng on cont ext . (Goodness
knows he u s e s enough different symbol s; doubling
up s i l east means he doesnt need any more.) It
t u r n s out t hat ihia notation r epresentsTconsisieni
s e r i e s of op e r a t i o ns in astounding combinations.
The overal l APL language, really, la the
c a r r y i n g t h r o ug h of t his notation to create an Im
mensel y power f ul programmi ng language. The
i mpetus obvi ousl y came from the desire lo make
v a r i ou s i n t r i c at e mathematical operations easy to
command. The r e s u l t , however, le a programming
l anguage with gr eat power for simpler t asks as well.
Now. t he consequences of ihls overall Idea
wer e nol det er mi ned by God. They were worked
oul by I v er ao n. v e r y thoughtfull y, so as lo come
oul s ymmet r i cal -l ookl ng and easy lo remember.
What we see i s t he c l ever exploitation of apparent
b u t Inexact symmel r l es In the Ideas. Often APL'a
on e - s i ded a nd t wo- si ded p a i r s of operators are
more s u gg e s t i v e l y si mi l ar than really the same
I hi ng.
When I v er s on sssl gn6 one-alded and two-
s i ded meani ngs to a symbol , often the two meanings
may look n a t u r a l onl y because Iverson Is such sn
a r t i s t . Exsmple:
two- si ded one-si ded
AX B a B
A t imes B the si gn of B
Thi s makes s e n s e . To a r gue thal It ia inherent in
" t aki ng away hal f t he idea of mult iplicat ion."
however, i s du bi ous .
Some symmet r i es I ver son hss managed to
come up with a r e t r ul y r emar kabl e. The a r r o w ,
f or I nst ance. T h e left arrow:
Aaaignment statement ; B (whi ch
may have been computed d u r i n g
Ihe l eft ward scan) ia assi gned
t he name of A:
and Ihe r l ghl arr ow:
The Jump st at ement , wh er e B
(whi ch may have been com
put ed d ur i n g the l eft war d s c a n )
Is a statement number: the
pr ogram now goes a nd e x ec ut es
that l i ne.
Thi s symmetry Is myst ically i n t e r es t i ng be ca u s e
t he asaignmenl a nd Jump statement s a r e so ba s i c
to programmi ng -
Or c onsi der this:
< - x
p r i n t X.
x-n
-> e/ a
(one way of wri t i n g . "Jump lo A if B Is t r u e " )
Is a special case of t he '' compressi on" o p e r a t o r .
( Berr y 360 p r i m e r . 72 and 165. ) T hi s i s v e r y
h a r d to u n d e r s t a n d , although i t seems c l e a r w h i l e
yo u' r e r ea di ng i l .
On Ihe ot he r h a n d , t h e r e i s e v er y i n di c a t i on
t h a l APL l a ao deep y o u keep f i ndi ng new t r u t h s
i n i l . (Like the above p a r a g r a p h . ) The whole
t hi ng is Just un bel i evabl e. Hooray for a l l t h a t .
APL FOR USER-LEVEL SYSTEMS
(See "Good-Guy Syat eme. " p . )
Because APL can soli cit t e xt Input from a u s e r a nd anal yze I t .
t he l anguage ia powerful for Ihe creat i on of u s e r - l e v el envi ronment s
a nd s ys t e ms - - with the d r s w b a c k , u ni v e r s a l to al l IBM t e r mi n al s ,
t hat i npul linea must end wi t h speci f i c c h a r a c t e r s . In ot h e r words ,
It can' t be aa fully I nt er act i ve a s comput er l anguages t hat uae ASCII
t ermi nal s.
Needless to s a y . Ihe mathemat ical elegance and power of the
syst em Is completel y un ne c e s s a r y for most u s e r - l e v el s y s t e ms . But
I t ' s ni ce to know i t ' s t h e r e .
APL Is pr obabl y bes t f or syst ems with wel l -defi ned and seg
r ega t ed fileB-* " a r r a y - t y p e pr ob l ems , " like payrol l , accounts and
s o o n. Il Is not s ui t ed for much l a r g e r amorphous and evolutionary
st uff, the way l i s t languages l i ke TRAC a r e . Don't use APL If
y o u ' r e goi ng 10 s t or e l a r g e e vol vi ng t ext s or huge broker age data
b a s e s , like whal tanker a a r e f r e e i n t he Mediterranean.
The qui c kes t payoR may l i e i n usi ng APL t o r epl ace b usi ness
forms s n d haat en the flow of I nformation thr ough a company. A
sal esman on the r oad with an APL t er mi nal . for Inst ance. can at once
e n t er hi s o r d e r s i n t he comput er from the cust omer' s offi ce, checking
i nvent or y d i r e c t l y . If t he pr ogram i s up
*[;}]
ROUND (n obscure and donnish Joke)
p , the Greek letter " rho, " Is an APL operator
/ for (eating th else of a rr ay s . Whan used
In the one-elded format. II f i ves lha s i t es
of each dimensi on of an a r r a y .
Thus
M . when A Is
Is 2 2 .
And now
n 'YOUR BOAT'
I equala 0, since there are 9 l etters
in t he a rr ay 'YOUR BOAT':
'YOUR BOAT'
Is 1,
si nce p 9 la 1. and
M 'YOUR BOAT'
' Is likewise 1.
I f '
Thi s language Is superb for "scienti fic" programming,
Including heavy number crunching and exper
imentation with dif ferent formulae on small
dale bases. (Big dsia bases s r e a problem. )
It Is also not bad for s vari et y of simple business
applicati ons, such a s payroll , accounting,
bill ing and Inventory.
WHERE TO GET IT
IBM doesn't sell APL s ervi ces. Thei r time*
shari ng APL is a vai l abl e. however. from vari ous
suppl i er s. Of c our s e, lhat meana you probably
have to have an IBM-type termi nal . unl ess you find
a s ervi ce lhat offers APL to Ihe other hi nd- - an
addition which seems to be becoming fashi onable.
Usual charge la about ten bucke an hour
o>nnect char ge, glue processi ng, which depends
on whai you' r e ckilng. It can easil y r un over $15
an h o ur , though, and more for heavy crunching
or pr i nt out . eo watch I t .
The aalesman will come lo your house or
ofnce. verify that your terminal will work (or
tell you where you can renl on e ) . patiently show
you how to sign o n . leach you t he language (or
maybe an hour if h e' s a nice guy. snd proffer
ihe contract .
^APL servi ces a r e probably safer lo sign
onto. In lerme of r i sked expenses. than moat other
ti me- shari ng syst ems. (Though of course ell
ti me- shari ng Involves financial r i s k . ) Because
the system is r est ri ct ed only and exactly to APL.
you' r e not paying for capabilit ies you won't be
u s i n g, or for massive disk storage (which you'r e
not allowed In moel APL aervlces anyway) . or
for acr es of core memory you mlghl be templed
to f ill.
]n other worda. APL is a comparatively
st r ai ght proposition, snd highly recommended if
you have a lol of tnalh o r statist ics you'd like lo do
on a fairly small number of e s ses. Also good for
a varl el y of other thl nga. though. Including fun.
PAST ANSWERBACK IN APL
If you want quick anawers. the APL terminal
Just gives you Ihe r ei ul t of whatever you type In.
For Inslsnce.
3 i 4
will cause It to pr i nt oul
12
and the same goes for far leaa comprehensible
st uff like
1 ^ ^ ^ ? 1 2 3 4 (carriage r et ur n)
t yped-l n array
PROGRAMS IN APL
But lhe-l arger function of APL Is lo create
programs that ean be e t ored. named and carri ed
oul at a lat er lime.
For t h i s . APL allows you to define pr ograms.
a line al a time. The programs remain stored In the
system s s long s b you wanl. Using the "Del
operator ( V ) you tell the system thal you wanl lo
put In a program. Del cauaes the terminal to help
you along In vari ous way s .
A nice feeture is lhal you can lock your APL
pr ograms, lhat Is, make them Inaccessible and
unreadable by olhere. whet her Ihey are
programmers or not. In thla case you define a
program st ar t i ng wilh ihe mystical sign del-t llde
( l ^ i ) Instead of del ( V ) and Invoke Ihe names
of d ark s pi r i t s .
Different vendors offer i nterest ing vsrlsli ons
on IBM's baalc A P L \ 360 package, as noted below.
In ot her words. t hey\ ompel e with each olher in
part by adding features lo the baalc APL\ 380 pr o
gr am, vying for your busl nees. Each of Ihe ven
dor s listed also offers various programs In APL
you can use i nteractively al an IBM-type terminal ,
In many cases usi ng a n ordinary lypeball and not
seei ng the funny char act er ! ; though how cl ear and
easy iheBe programs a r e will vary.
And r emember. of course, that you can do
your own t hi ng. or have ol hers do II for yo u ,
usi ng APL.
APL Is also avail able on the PDP-10. and
presumably other non-IBM bi g machi nes.
THE VENDORS
Scientific Time-Sharing Corporati on (7316 Wiscon
si n Ave. . Belheada MD 20014) call s He
versi on APL'PLUS. They' ll send you a
nice pocket car d summarizing the commends.
APL*PLUS offers over twentyfl ve
concentrators around the count ry, pe r
mitting l ocal -call servi ces In such metr o
politan cent ers aa Kalamazoo and Rochester.
(Firms with offi ces In both c i t i e s . please
note.)
They also have en "AUTOSTART"
feature which perml is Ihs chaini ng of pro
grams Into gr and complexes, so you don't
have lo call them all Individually.
APL*PLUS charges the following for
storage, if you can dig It: $10 PER MILLION
BYTE-DAYS. (A byte Is usually one
c har act er . ) The census Is probably taken
once a d a y .
Thi s firm also servi ces ASCII t e r
minals. which some people will consider
to be a bi g help. Thai means you can have
Interacli ve uaera of APL programs at ASCII
terminal s, and that you ean also program
from (he few APL terminelB lhat ar e n ' t of
the IBM t yp e .
APL, like BASIC, can be classed aa an "algebraic"
l anguage-- but ihle one la bulll to pleeee
real mathematicians, wilh high-level stuff
only they know about, like Inner and Outer
Products.
Paradoxi cal l y, Ihls makea APL t errific for teaching
theae deeper mathematical concepts, helping
you see the consequences of operadons and
tha underlyi ng s t r uct ure of mathematical
thl nga. Matrla al aebra. for Instance, can be
vlaual lced a lol bet t er by worki ng up t o It
with leaser concepta (like vectors and
Inner products) enacted on an APL terminal .
It would be really swel l If eomeone would put to
get her a tour-guide book of higher mathem
atics at the gTade/hlghschool level for people
with access to APL.
Inter est i ngl y. Alfred Bork (U. of Cal . at I rvi ne)
is t skl ng a si milar approach to t eaching
p h ys i c s , usi ng APL aa a fundamental
language In his physi cs courses.
SNEAKY REPEATER STATEMENT IN APL?
One of t he APL operat or s. "lota" ( i ) .
seeme lo make Its own program loop within a li ne.
When used one-si ded, ll furni shes a seri es of
ascending numbers up to lhe number I t's operating
on. Thi s until t he laat one l a reached.
You type: I n T
APL r epl i es: 3 6 9 12 15 18 21
In ot her words, one-si ded lota looks to be
doing Its own little loop, Increasing Its st art i ng
number by 1. until II gets to the val ue on Us r i g h t .
and chug* on down t he line with each.
Vary sneaky way of doing a loop.
However! II i sn' t really looping, exact l y.
What the Iota doea Is croaie a one-dimensional
a r r a y . a row of Integers from 1 up lo th* number
on Its r i g h t . Thla reault la what then moves on
l eft ward.
Time Sharing Resources. Inc. (17? Nort hern Bl v d . .
Great Neck. N.Y. 11022) offers a lot of APL
servi ce. Includi ng text syetems and verlous
kinds of file hendllng, under lhe name
TOTAL/APL.
Among the Interesting features
Time Shari ng Reaourcee. Inc. have added
ia an EXECUTE command, which allows an
APL si r i ng ent ered al the keyboard In
uaar on-line mode to be executed as alraight
APL. Thla Ib heavy.
Perhaps the most vereati le-aoundlng APL servi ce
ri ght now is offered b y . of all people. a
subsidi ary of t he American Can Company.
American Information Services (American
Lane. Greenwich CT 06630) call s Iheir
versi on VIRTUAL APL. meaning lhat It can
run In "vi r t ual memory"-- a popular
mienomer for virtually unlimited memory
and consequently lhe programmer Is hardly
subject to spaee limitations at a l l . Moreover,
f iles on t he A1S syst em are compatible with
other IBM l anguages, so you can use APL lo
iry things oul quickly and then convert lo
Fortran, Cobol or what ever. ( Or. conversel y,
a company may go from those ol her languages
to APL wllhoul changing Ihe way thei r files
are stored on t hi s s e r v i ce . ) APL may Indeed
Int ermi t with these other l anguages, how
is unclear.
And the pri ces look especial ly good:
$8.75 an hour connect. f IS a monlh minimum
(actually t hei r minimum di sk space rental
- - 1 IBMc yl i nder so for lhat amount you
get a lot of s t or age) . But remember there
are etill core c har gee, and $1 pe r thouaand
char act er s pri nt ed or t r ans ferr ed lo storage.
In the Weei. a bi g vendor la Proprietary Computer
Systems. I n c . . Van Nuys. California.
TERMINALS
For an APL terminal , you might Juat wanl a
2741 from IBM (about a hundr ed a monl h. but on a
year cont ract ) .
Or see Ihe list under "Terminals" ( p . \ H ) .
or aak y our f ri endl y APL company when you si gn up.
Two more APL t erminal s mentioned here
Instead of under "Terminals" for no apeclal reason:
Tekt roni x offers one of i l s greenle gr aphi cs
terminal s (Bee n i p si de) tor APL (the model 4013).
Thi s permi ts APL to draw pi ct ur es for you. 11
seems lo be an ASCII-type u n i l .
Computer Devices. Inc. supposedly makes an
an APL terminal usi ng t he nice NCR thermal p r i n t e r .
which Is much fast er and qui et er lhan a mechanical
typewri t er . Spooki er, though. And lhe special
paper coals a lot of money.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Iverson has a formal book. Ignore ll unless you'r e
a mathematician: Kenneth E. Iverson.
A Programming Language. Wiley. 1662.
Paul Be r r y. APL\ 360 Pr i mer . Sludent Tent .
Available "through IBM br anch offi ces. " or
IBM Technical Publications Depart ment.
112 East Post Road. While Pl ains. NY 10601.
No IBM publication number on It. which Is
sort of odd. 1966.
- +Thl s Is one of l he most beauti full y
wri t t en, simple, clear computer manuale
lhat Is lo be found. Such a statement may
astound r eader s who have seen olher IBM
manual s, but I t's Irue.
A.D. Falkoff and K.E. I verson. APL\ 360 Users'
Manual, AIbo avail able from IBM. no
publication number.
POCKET CARDS (giving very compressed sum
mari es) a r e avail able from both:
Scientific Time Shar i ng Corp.
(see WHERE TO GET IT)
Technical Publ ications Dept . , IBM,
112 Eesi Post Road. While
Pl ains. N.Y. 10601.
ABk for APL Reference
Data card S210-0007-0. May
cost a q ua r t e r o r something.
Paul Ber ry. A P L \ l l 3 0 Pr i mer . Adeplcd from 360
menual. Same pu b . Bui (or versi on of APL
t hat r uns on the IBM 1130 minicomputer.
Roy A. Sykes. "The Use and Mieuse of APL."
$2 from Scientific Time-Sharing C o r p . ,
7316 Wisconsin Ave. . Belheada MD 20014.
A Joker for you mst h ( reeks. Trenchard More.
J r . . "Axioms and Theoreme for a Theory o(
Ar r ays. " IBM Journal o( Reach- 4 Devi. .
MBi-ch 73. US-157. Thi s Is a high-level
t hi ng, a sort of massive eel theory of APL.
Intended lo make APL operators apply lo
a r r ay s of a r r ay s , and lead ultimately to the
provabil ity o( programs.
"Get on Target with APL." A suggestive ci rcul ar
sales t h l n gy . IBM GS20-2439-0.
IBM has a videotaped course In APL by A,J . Rose.
(Done 1966.)
^ > W h a l you really need to gel elerted la Ber ry' s
Primer. Felkoff end Iverson's manual, and a pocket
c ar d. PIu b of course lhe syetem and the (ri end to
Power and simplicity do not oflen go t oget her .
APL Ib an extremely powerful language for
methemallca, physi cs, st at i st i cs, simulation
and so o n .
However, It Is not exactly simple. It' s not easy
to debug. Indeed. APL programs s r e hard
to underst and becauee of t hei r densi t y.
And the APL l anguage doea not fit very wel l on
APL ia not Just a programmi ng language.
It le also used by some people as a definition or
deecrlpl lon l anguage, that l a, a form of notation
for staling how thlnga work (laws of nat ure,
algebrai c syst ems, compulers or whsl ever ) .
For Inst ance, when IBM's 360 computer
came o u l . Iverson and his f ri ends did a very
hlgh-cl aea art i cl e descr i bi ng formally in APL
Juat what 360s do (the machl ne'e archi t ect ur e).
Bui of course this was even less comprehensible
lhan the 360 programming manual .
Falkoff. A . D. . K.E. Iveraon and E , H.
Susaengulh. "A Formal Deecrtpdon
of Syetem/360." IBM Systems Jou r n al .
v . 3 no. 3, 1964.
The formal descripti on in APL.
IBM System/360 Operat ing System: Assembler
t anguage. Document Number
C26-6S14-X ( where X Is a number
si gni fying t he l at est edi t i on) . IBM
Technical Publ ications, While Plalne
New York.
The Manual.
j W A ^ T P OC T O^
I M F O R M P 0*1 i c t v r s
One of t he commonest and most de s t r uct i ve
rov t h . a bout comput ers Is the Idea t hat t hey "only
" e l wi t h n u m b e r s . " Thi s Is TOTALLY FALSE.
Not only Is i t a ghast l y mi s under s t a ndi ng, b ut It is
often an I ntent ional mi s represent at i on, and as s uch,
not only i s It s mi s represent at i on but It Is s dsmned
l i e . a nd anyone who t elle il Is us i ng "mat hematics"
as s wet noodle to beat the r e s d e r wi t h.
Comput er s deal with symbol s snd p a t t e r n s .
Comput er s deal with symbol s of any Kind-*
l e t t e r s , musi cal not es. Chi nese i deograms, a r r o ws .
lee cream f l av or s , and of c ourse numbe r s . (Num
be r s come al so In vari ous f l avor s, simple end
b a r oque. See choeolate b o a , p. 2.1.
Data s t r u c t u r e means any symbol s s n d pa t
t e r ns Bet u p f or use In a comput er. It means what
t hi ngs a r e b ei ng t aken into account by a c omput er
pr ogram, a nd how these t hi ngs are set u p what
symbol s and arr angement s a r e used to r e p r e s e n t
them.
The pr obl em, obviousl y . Is Repr esent i ng
The Information You Want Ju s t The Way You Want ft.
In all Us t r u e compl exi t i es.
( Thi s Is often f orbi ddi ngl y st at ed a s "maki ng
a mathemat ical model"*- but t h a t ' s usua l l y in lite
r h e t o r i c a l , far -f et ched and s s t r s l s e n s e i n which
all r el a t i o ns a r e "mat hematical and l e t t e r s of Ihe
a l phabet a r e consi der ed lo be s speci al di st ort ed
ki nd of n umb e r . )
Now it happens that t here are many ki nds of
dat a s t r u c t u r e , and they a r e Inter changeabl e in
i nt r i cat e ways.
The same ds t a . with all it s r el at i ons hi ps snd
i n t r i c a c i e s , csn be sel up in a vast v a r i e t y of a r
rangement s and at yl es which a r e i ns i de- out and
ups i de - down versi ons of e sch ot her. The same
t hi ng ( s a y . the seri al number. 24965, of a n auto
mobil e) may be r epr esent ed in one d s t a s t r u c t u r e
by a set of symbol s (such as Ihe decimal di gi t s
2. 4, 9. 6 . S in Ihst o r d e r ) , snd in a n ot her dsl a
s t r u c t u r e by t he posit ion of something e l se (such
as t he 24965th name in a i i s l of automobile owner s
r e g i s t e r e d with Ihe manufact urer) .
Fu r t h e r mo r e . many different forms of data
may be combined o r t wist ed toget her in t he same
overal l s e t u p .
The ds t a st r u c t u r e chosen goes a l ong way
in i mpos i ng t echni ques and st y l es of ope r a t i on on
Uie pr o gr a m.
On t he o t h e r hand, t he computer language
you us e ha s a consi der abl e efTect upon t he dat a
s t r u c t u r e s you may choose. Languages t e n d to
Impose s t y l e s of handl i ng Information. The de ci
sion to pr og r a m a given problem i n a spe ci f i c l an
guage . s u c h as BASIC or COBOL o r APL o r TRAC
Lan gu a ge . e i t he r locks you i nt o s peci f i c t y p e s of
d s t a s t r u c t u r e , or ener i s consi der abl e p r e s s u r e lo
do i t s c er t a i n w a y . In most casea you c a n ' t set It
up Just any way you want , b ut have to a dj uat to
Ihe l a nguage you are us i n g - - although t od a y ' s
la nguages t end to allow more and more t y p e s of
dat a.
An a r r a y (al so c al l ed a t a b l e ) la a secti on
or c o r . m w . 1 * * 0 P W " <=
l o r I I* P " * " < P> f * m ' P lh s P ^ C E H Cl)
SPENCER is t he name of I he a r r a y , t hen SPENCER (1)
f . T . . memory . l o , i n I I. S P ^ C E < 2 , I . Ihe
cecontl. a nd . o on u p lo ho we v e r bi g it I . .
(You can get a feel f o r how t h i s o r di n-
s r i l y r el at es lo i nput from o u t s i d e - - s e e "How
Data Comes. Co e s , snd S i t s , " n e a r b y . )
The cont enl s of a n ume r i ca l f i e l d , or
pi ece of dat a coming I n , can si mpl y be stuffed
by Ihe p r ogrammer into a v a r i a b l e .
The cont ent s of a r e c o r d , o r uni fi ed
s el of fiel dB. can get pul i n t o an s r r s y . The
pr ogram can then pi ck i nt o it f or s epar at e
va r i a bl e s , 1/ d e s i r e d , o r j u s t l eave them
t he r e to be worked o n .
Then you t wi ddl e y o u r v a r i a bl e s with
y ou r program s s d e s i r e d .
When yo u ' v e done one r e c o r d , you
r ep e s l . Thai s how lots of b u s i n e s s pr ograms
go. Some ot h e r r out i ne k i n d s , too.
FANCY STRUCTURES
Many forms of a dvanc ed programmi ng are
bas ed on Ihe i dea t hat t h i n g s dont have lo be st or ed
next lo each o t h e r , o r In a ny p a r t i c u l a r o r d e r .
If t hi ngs a r e n ' t nem to e ac h o l h e r . we need
a not her way Ihe pr ogram can t el l how t hey belong
t oget her.
A p o i n t e r . t h e n - - somet i mes cal l ed a l l nk- -
1s s piece of dat a that t elle wher e a not her pi ece of
dat a I s, In some form of memory . Poi nt er s often
connect pieces of dal a.
Poi nter
i f
' pi ece]
) at a |
A poi nt er can be an a dd r e s s i n c or e memory; il
can be an a d d r e s s on di s k (d l s k p o i n l e r )i It can
poi nt to a whole s t r i n g e t d a t a . s u c h s s a name.
when t here is no way of k nowi ng in a dvsnce how
l ong ihe s t r i n g may be (s l r i n g p o l n t e r ) .
A s e r i e s of pi eces of d a t a whi ch point to each
ot h e r i n s cont i nui ng s e quence i s cal l ed s t hr eaded
For t h i s r eason Ihe ha ndl i ng of dat a hel d t oget her
by p o i n t e r s - - even t hough it may make all s or t s of
di fferent p s l t e r n s - ' is call ed l i s t p r o c e s s i n g . (The
(The term "l i st p r ocessi ng mi ght seem to go a-
gai nsl common s e n s e , as it might suggest something
l i ke. s a y. a laundry l i s t , which is s t r u c t u r e d in a
very simple bl ocklike form. But t h a t ' s whal we
calf i t . )
Prominent l i s t - pr o c es s i ng languages include
SNOBOLi I 6 and LISP ( see p - 3 1 > Ther e i s sr g u-
menl as to whet her TRAC Language ia a l i s t - pr oc
e s s i ng l anguage.
Here a r e some I nt er es t i ng s t r u c t u r e s that
pr ogrammers creat e by l ist pr ocessi ng:
RINGS (or c y cl e s ) . Thes e a r e arr angement s
of poi nt er s that go around in a c i r c l e to t hei r f irst
item agai n.
FAST-CHANCING DATA
One o f t h e u s e s of such sl r ucl ures is in
s t r a n ge t ypes of pr ograms where Ihe Interconnec
t i ons of i nformat ion a r e changi ng quickly and
u n p r e d i c t a b l y . Such operations happen fast In
c o r e memory. In t h i s kind of programming (for
which l a nguages l i ke LISP. SNOBOL and TRAC
Language a r e especi al l y conveni ent ), the pointers
a r e changed ba ck and fort h In core memory, every
whi ch w a y , all t he l i me. Presumably according to
Ihe p r o gr a mme r ' s fi endi sh master plan-- i f he's
got t en t he bu gs o u t . (See Debuggi ng, p . 30 ,)
FANCY FILES
But t hese s t r u c t u r e s a r e not rest ri ct ed to
dat a in core memor y. Complex and changeable
f iles can be kept on di s k in vari ous ways by the
same ki nd of t h r e a d i n g (called "chaining" on mass
s t o r a g e) .
CHAINED FILE ON DISK
Anot her way of h a n d l i ng changeabl e files is
t h r o ug h s ao-caJJed d i r e c t o r y bl ock, which keeps
t r s c k of wher e all t h e ol h e r bl ocks are st or ed.
i f o t t
I M . J f . k
But t hese t e c h n i q u e s , you s e e. may be used
In both fast and slow o p e r a t i o n s , a nd for any pur*
p o s e . so t r y i ng lo c at egori ze them tends not to be
hel pful . (Not e al so t hat ihese t echni ques work
whet her y o u ' r e d e al i n g with b i t s , o r c har ac t er s ,
o r any ol h e r form of d a t a . )
Note: By decent s t a nd ar ds Of Engl i sh,
the word dala shoul d be pl ur al , datum s i n
g ul ar. Bul ihe mat t er i s too far gone: dat a
is now ut t erl y s i n g u l a r , like " cor n and
"information. " a g r an ul a r collecti ve which
may be scooped, pour ed o r counted.
But I draw Ihe l i ne al medi a. Media
are many, "media" i s plural !
" Computers put e v e r y t h i n g into p i ge on ho l e s . ' '
Wrong. People put t hi ngs i nto p i ge on
holes. And d e s i g n e r s of comput er pr og r a ms
can set up l ousy pi geonhol es. If you let 'em.
More s ophi st i cat ed programmi ng can often
avoid pigeonhol es e n t i r e l y .
TREES. Thes e a r e s t r u c t u r e s lhat fan o u t .
( Ther e a r e no r i ng s in a t r ee s t r u c t u r e , t echni cally
s pe a k i n g . )
P l a i n l y . t h e n , It is t hese overal l s t r u c t u r e s
thal we r ea l l y car e about; but to u n de r s t and o ve r
all s t r u c t u r e s , we need an Idea of all t he di fferent
forms o f d a t a t hat may be put in t hem.
VARIABLES AND ARRAYS
T h e e ar l i e at dat a s t r u c t u r e s in c o mp u t e r s ,
and s t i l l t h e predomi nating onea, e r e v a r i a bl e s and
a r r a y s . (We met them e a r l i e r u nd e r BASIC, see
{P-lfc-17' a nd APL, see q . )
A v a r i a b l e i s a space o r locat ion in core
memory. ( For conveni ence, most pr ogrammi ng
l anguages allow t he pr ogrammer t o call a v a r i a b l e
by a name, so that he doesn' t have to keep t r ac k
of i ta numer i cal a d d r e a s .)
/ \
o n n _ n
GRAPH STRUCTURES ( sometimes call ed
p l e x e s ) . Here the word " g r a p h i s not us e d i n the
o r d i nar y way , to mean a di agrammat i c s or t of p i c
t u r e , but to mean a ny s t r u c t u r e of connect ed
poi nt s . Ri ngs and t r ee s a r e spe ci a l cas e s of gr aph
s t r u c t u r e s .
Graph s t r u c t u r e s
can go any whi ch way.
People who want to feel With It
occasi onal l y us e t he t erm "bU" for
any old chunk of i nformat ion, like a
name o r a d d r e a s . Thi s is Wrong.
A Bit i s t he smal l e s t pi eee of bi nary
I nformat i on, an Item lhat can be one
of two thingB, l i ke heads o r t a i l s ,
X o r O, one o r zero; and all ol her
informat ion can b e packed into a
count abl e number of b i t s . (How many
may depend on t h e dat a s t r u c t u r e
c h o s e n . )
As a handy r u l e of thumb:
e ver y l et t er of t he al phabet o r punc
t uation mark la ei ght bi t s (aee ASCII
bo x) ; f or heavy s t or a ge of ever yday
decimal n u mb e r s , e v er y numeri cal
di gi t can be f u r t h e r packed down (to
f our bi t s in BCD code) .
ACONCRETE EXAMPLE. Suppose we want
t o r e p r e s e n t t he geneal ogy o f (he monarchs of Eng*
Engl a nd , b o f a r a s Is k n o wn . In a comput er data
S t r u c t u r e . NOTE THAT A DATA STRUCTURE IS
DIFFERENT FROM A PROGRAM: If s e v er al pr ogram-
mere agr e e befor ehand on a dat a s t r u c t u r e . then
( hey can go s epar at e ways a nd each can wri t e a
pr ogram (o do something di f f er ent with i t If t hey
have r ea l l y ag r e ed on a complete a n d e xact l a yout ,
which t hey may onl y t h i n k t he y' ve done.
F i r s t we consi der t he subj ect ma t t e r . Gen
eal ogy Is concept ual l y si mpl e to u s , but as dat a
i s nol as t r i v i a l as It mi ght seem at f i r s t . Every
pe r s o n h a s two p a r e nt s a nd a speci f i c dat e of b i r t h .
Each p a i r of p a r e nt s can have more t han one chi l d,
and Indi vi dual par e nt s can at di fferent times a har e
parent hood wi t h di f f er ent ot he r I ndi vi dual s.
Pr esumabl y we woul d like a dat a s t r u c t ur e
t hal al l ows a pr ogram to f l nd out who was a gi ven
p e r s o n ' s p a r e n t , who we r e a gi ven p e r s on ' a c hi l
d r e n , what br ot h e r s a nd s i s t e r s each pe r s o n ha d,
a nd s i mi l a r mat t ers (so f a r a s is known by h i s t o r
i a ns - - a not her di f f i cul t y).
Note t hat Juat b ecause It ia simple to put t hi s
Information in a wall c h a r t , lhat does not mean ll
la simple to f i gur e out an adequat e dat a s t r u c t u r e .
Note t oo. thal any aspect of t he dat a which
Is l eft out cannot then be handl ed by Ihe p r o gr a m.
What' s not t he r e i s nol t h e r e .
The easy way oul Is to use a l anguage l i ke,
s a y , TRAC Language, and use Its ba s i c uni t s (In
t hi s c a s e , "forma11) lo make up a dat a s t r u c t u r e
whose i ndi vi dual sect i ons would show pa r e nt age ,
d a l e a , b r o t h e r s and s l a t e r s and so o n .
The b r a v e r a ppr oa ch ie to t r y to aet it up
f or somet hi ng l i ke FORTRAN or BASIC, l anguages
which t r e a t core memory more l i ke a numeri cal l y-
a d dr e s s ed a r r a y o r b l o c k , as doee rock-bottom
machi ne l anguage.
Let ue assume t hat we have deci ded to use
an a r r a y - t y p e data s t r u c t u r e , f or Inst ance to go
wi t h a pr og r a m In t he BASIC l anguage on a 16-
blt mi ni comput er . We do not have much room
i n c ore memor y, so for each person In ou r data
s t r u c t u r e we a r e goi ng lo have to st or e a s e pa
r at e r e c o r d on a di s k memor y, and call It into
core memory as r eq u i r e d .
Aft er much h e ad - s cr at ch i n g , we might
come up with something l i ke the following. It
la not a v e r y good dal a s t r u c t u r e . It la not a
v ery good dal a s t r u c t u r e on pur poae.
It u s e s a block of 28 wor d s , or 448 b i t s ,
p e r i n di v i d ual , not counl i ng t he lengt h of his
name, which Is an addi t i onal 6 bi t s p e r c h a r
act er o r spa ce . However, t hi s In I tself Is n e i
t h e r good no r ba d. I t ' s more l han you might
e xpect , but l e s s t han y ou might need.
( I nci dent al l y, out of concern for st or age
s p a ce , some dat a flel da s r e packed more than
one lo e 16-blt comput er word. Thi s Is s c o r n
f ully cal l ed bi t - f i ddl i ng by computerfolk who
work on bi g machl nea and don' t have to worr y
about s uc h mat t er s . )
1 monarch n o. (If a n y) , a e x - - ( l b l
I n d i vi du a l ' s own 2 s e r i a l ho.
(name) 3, at ri ngpoi nt er -------------
4 (two 16-bit words long) 0
mother 5 . s e r i a l no.. _
f at her 6 1 aer i al no. _
br ot h e r s 7 ^ s e r i a l no.
(up to flve) 6 1
9 : *
10 i
l l :
s i s t e r s 12 seri al no.
( up lo five) 13 ,
14
15
16 . ----------------
dale of l e t r e i g n , i f any 17 _ s l e r t Q l bi t e) | n o . months^
date of 2d r e i g n . If any 18 :__s t a r t (11 b i t s ^ i n o . months
female c h i l dr en . 19 ' s e r i al no.
u p to flve 20 |
21 I :
22 <
U - -
male c hi l d r e n . 24 , s e r i al no.
u p lo flve 25 |
26 I :
27 |
28 I---------------------------J
As expl ai ned a l r e a d y . that was t he basi c
bl ock. We sti ll have lo keep t he names some
w h e r e , In a s t r i n g a r e a . Whether lo keep thla
I n c ore all t he t i me, o r on d i s k . Is a deci si on
we n e ed n' t go Into h e r e .
m-MSN ( riM
on u t t W evew terms
Hera a r e some aaeumpt i ons 1 have embodied
I n t hi a dal a s t r u c t u r e . That i s , I had them In
mi nd. ( The p a r t s you d i d n ' t have In mi nd are
what get you l a t e r . )
Par ent s and c hi l dr en of monarcha
a r e i nc l ud e d, as well as
monarcha.
All monarchs have a se p ar at e mon
a r c h numbe r .
No monarch r ei gne d more than
t wi ce. (?)
No monarch o r p a r e n t of a monarch
h ad more than flve c hi l dr en
of one s e x. (Note t he da n ger
of t he s e assumpt i ons . )
We a r e not i nt e r es t ed In gr a n d c h i l
d r e n of monarchs u nl e s s they
a r e al so monarcha. o r al bl i n gs .
o r p a r e n t s of monarcha.
The informat ion about the di fferent
peopl e can be I nput in any
o r d e r , as t he ye ar s of r ei gn
can b e st epped t hr ough by a
p r o g r a m lo And the o r d e r of
r e i g n .
If t hi a seems l i ke too much b o t he r , t hal i s
In a way the poi nt . Data s t r u c t u r e s must be
thought o u t . Si nce compul ers have no I nt r i ns i c
way of o pe r a t i n g o r of handl i ng dat a (though
p a r t i c u l a r l anguages will r e s t r i c t you i n p a r t i c
ul a r w a y s ) , you will ha ve to work all Ihls out ,
and a c ar e l e s s l y chosen dal a s t r u c t u r e will leave
somet hi ng o u t . o r fail to di st i ngui sh among im
por t ant di f f er enc es , o r ot herwi s e have Its r evenge.
(For i ns t anc e, i f you ha ven' t noticed yel:
we left out l egi t i macy. For many p u r po s es we
want lo know which k i n g s were b a s t a r d s . )
(Self-teBl: i s flve bi t s long enough to e x
p r e s s Ihe gr ea t es t number of months any Engl i sh
monarch r ei gned? - - see "Bi nary P a t t e r n s . " Or
do we have to fix t h i s dat a s t r u c t u r e on that
score al so?)
To gi ve you a s e n s e of the s o r t of pr ogram
t h i s dal a s t r u c t u r e allows:
A pr ogram lo as ce r t ai n how many ki ngs
were t h e s ons of ki n g s would look al each ent ry
t hat had a monarch n u mb e r , t eat whet her the
monarch was male, and i f male, would look al
t he male p a r e n t ' s s e r i a l number. Then It would
look up l hat parent ' B e n t r y , and see whet her il
in t u r n had a monarch numbe r , and if s o . add
one lo t he count it was maki ng. Then il would
go back to the enl ry il had been l ooking a l .
and s t ep on to the one aft er t hat .
T h i s is act ual l y a pret t y l ousy dal a s t r u c
t u r e . T he c l umsi ness of this approach to such
da t a- - a nd you a r e welcome to t hi nk of a be t t e r
one - - s hows some of Ihe difficul ties of handl i ng
complex dal a about t he r eal worl d. Thi ng s like
l engt hs of names and numbers of r el at i ves p r o
duce gr ea t i r r e g u l a r i t i e s , but make t hese ki nds
of dat a no l e s s wort h of our at t ent i on.
We could add lotB of t hi ngs to o u r dala
s t r u c t u r e (and so make il more unwi e l dy ) . For
Inst ance, we might want to mark each s e r i al
number speci al l y if it r e f er r ed to someone who
was Ihe of fspr i ng of a monarch. We could si m
pl y sel a pa r t i c u l a r bit to 1 in the s e r i al number
for them (called a f l ag o r l a g ) . We could also flag
dal es a nd geneal ogi es l hal a r e r e g a r de d as u n
c er t ai n . Ther e is no limit lo t he exact ness and
complexilv with which informat ion may be r e p
r esent ed , But doi ng ll rl ghl can . as a l ways,
be tr oubl esome.
A lot of comput er people wanl to avoid
deal i ng with complex dat a; pe r h a ps you can be
gin to se e w h y . out we must deal with lhe
t r u e compl exi t i es of informat ion; theref ore l an
guages and syst ems l hal allow complex informa
tion s t r u c t u r e s must become b el t er - known and
e as i e r lo u s e .
THE FRONTIER: COMPLEX FILE STRUCTURE
T he arr ange me nt s of whole f l i es gr oups
of r e c o r d s o r ol he r info c h u n k s - - s r e up to the
pr og r a mme r . The s t r u c t u r e of flleB I s cal l ed,
nol s u r p r i s i n g l y , file s t r u c t u r e , and It Is up lo
the p r ogrammer to deci de how hla files shoul d
be a r r a n g e d .
Habi t s di e h a r d . The notion of s e q uenc e- -
even f al s e, imposed s e qu en c e Is deep In Ihe
r aci al unconsci ous of comput er peopl e. An i n t e r
e s t i n g concr et e t erm shows t hi s ni cel y. Because
c omput er people of t en t hi nk any file shoul d have
a basi c s e qu en c e, (hey us e Ihe t erm i n ve r t ed
f ile for a file t hat h a s been changed from it s
ba s i c s e quenc e (o a n o t h er s equence. But i nc r e as
i n g l y , all t he se qu en c es a r e falae and a r t i f i c i a l .
Where now a r e I nv er t e d flies? All fllea s r e In
v e r t e d If t h e y ' r e a n y t hi ng .
F o r t u n a t e l y , t he f inal f ront i er of dat a
s t r u c t u r e la now I ncr easi ngl y r ecogni zed as the
c ont rol of complex s t o r a g e of f lies on d i s k mem
or y . T he l at est fancy term f or t hi s Is dat a base
sy a l em. meani ng pl anned- out overal l s t or a ge lhal
you can send y o u r p r ogr ams to like me s s e nger s .
T he facl that IBM now has moved into t hi s
a r e a (wi t h Its I nt r i cat e "access met hods" and all
t h e i r I ni t i al a) means complex st or a ge cont rol has
filially a r r i v e d , a l t hough the pi oneer i ng work
waa done by Bachman at GE some y e ar 6 ago
(aee b i b l i o g r a p h y ) . T i l l the l ast few y e a r a ,
e x t er nal s t o r a g e, wi t h poi nt er s and e v e r y t h i n g,
has not been conveni ent l y u n de r the p r ogrammer' s
c ont rol except in c r u d e ways. Fi nall y we a r e
s eei ng syst ems b e g i nn i n g lo gel aro un d that
aut omat i cal l y handl e complex file s t r u c t u r e s in
v e r s a t i l e ways t ha t pr ogrammera can us e more
e as i l y .
" T h e r a i s a gr owi ng feel i ng that dat a p r o ce s s i ng people
would benefi t if they wer e to accept a r ad i c al l y new
poi nt of vi ew, one t hat would l i ber at e Ihe appl i cat i on
p r o g r a mme r ' s t hi nki ng from the cent r al i sm of core
s t or a ge and allow him t he freedom lo act a s a na v i g a
t o r wi t hi n a dat abase. Thla r eor l ent al l on will
c aus e as much a ngui s h among pr ogrammers a6 the
hel i ocent r i c t heory di d among ancient a st r onomer s and
t h e ol o g i a n s .
Char l es W. Bachman
(piece cited in Bi bl i ogr aphy)
Remember t he song that had
a poi nt er dat a s t r uct ure?
( in al phabet i cal o r d er )
ANKLE BONE
BACK BONE
FOOT BONE
----- > H t A U BONE
HIP BONE
KNEE BONE
NECK BONE
SHIN BONE
SHOULDEII B<
THIGH BONE
Malcolm C. Har r i son, Dsi a-St r uct ur es and
Pr ogr ammi ng. Sc on , For esman. 1973.
- Thi s book can be r ecommended to
ambitious be g i n n e r s . It has useful sum
mari es of di fferent languages, as wel l as
fundament al treat ment of dat a s t r u c t u r e s
as Ihey Int er t wi ne with speci f i c l s n g u e g es .
An o bs c u r e and i nt r i cat e study of t he i n t e r -
changeabi l i t y of dal a s t r u c t u r e s - - how Ihey
fundament al l y i nt e r conve r t has been the
longti me r es e ar ch of one Analol Holt, who
callB his work Mem-Theory, Mem la from
memor y. and al so, c onveni ent l y, s Hebrew
l e t t e r .
Thi s Is an extremely ambitious s t u d y ,
as it in pr i nci pl e embraces nol Just much
o r all of comput er s c i ence, but p e r ha p s
mathemat ics It sel f. Math f r e aks a t t ent i on:
Holt has sai d he i ntended to d eri ve al l of
symbol ic logic and mathematics from
r el at i ona and p oi nt e r s t r u c t u r e s . Let ' s
h e a r It for t u r ni ng Russel l on hi s h e a d .
I don' t know if Holt has publ i s hed
anyt hi ng on it i n t he open l i t er at u r e o r not .
However, he does have a game
a vai l abl e which seems wei rdl y to embody
t h e s e p r i nci pl es . The game of Mem Is
a vai l abl e for $6.50 postpaid ($6.86 to
Pennsyl vani ans) from St el l edar, I n c . .
1700 Walnut S t . . Phl l a. PA 19103. It has
beaut i ful l y col ored pl ecea, l ooks de cept i ve
ly s i mpl e, a nd Is unl i ke a n y t hi ng , except
d i s c r e t e abal r act i ve thi nki ng i t s el f . Recom
mended .
Ch a r l es W. Bachman. "The Programmer as Navi
g a t o r . " CACM Nov 1973.
Bachman was the prime mover In the
devel opment of l a r g e l i nked di s k da l a s y s
tems at General Electric; he la t he Pi oneer.
T h i s is about b i g n- dl mensl onal st uf f .
Davi d Lefkovit z. Fi le St r u c t u r es t or On-Li ne
Sy s t ems . Spar t an- Hayden Books, $12.
Alfonso F. Ca r dena s . "Evaluation of Fi le Or g a n
i zat i on- - a Model and Sys t em. " CACM
Sep 73. 540-548. Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , it
t u r n s out t hal di f f er ent file organi zat i ons
have di f f er ent advant ages.
Edgar H. Si bley and Robert W. Tay l or . "A Data
Definit ion a nd Mapping Language. " CACM
Dec 73. 750-759.
Example of c u r r en t sophi st i cat ed
approaches: a whole l anguage for nai l i ng
t he dat a Jusl t he way it shoul d b e . Has
hel pful f ur t h e r ci t at i ons.
Dal a Is p u n c h e d Into c a r d s a c c o r d i n g to
some pl a n a s s o c i a t e d wi t h t he p r o g r a m.
MAGNETIC STORAGE
Beyond t h o s e si mpl e ma t t e r s t h e r e Ih no
p r e o r d a i n e d a r r a n g e m e n t f or Informat i on on a
p u n c h c a r d ; It ai l d e p e n d s on whal t he pr ogr a m
c al l s f or - But e a c h aeP8r al e pi e c e o r sect i on
o f I nf or ma t i on- - e ac h b u n c h o f cons ec ut i ve
c h a r a c t e r s t hal t o g e t h e r ha ve a s peci f i c meani ng
- - a r e c al l ed a f i e l d .
A f i el d can be a na me, a n u m b e r , an
amount o f m o n e y , a n al phabe t i c al code r e p r e
s e n t i n g s ome t hi ng, a nume r i ca l code r e p r e s e n t
i ng s ome t hi ng, o r o l h e r st uf f . When t he c a r d s
go Into t he p r o g r a m , i he p r ogr a m can pi ck ofT
t he Infor mat i on i t n e e d a one f i el d at a ti me
pul l i ng t he f i el d l n col umns 1 lo 17 Into one
pr o gr a m v a r i a b l e , t he f i el d from col umns ni ne
to t en Int o a n o t h e r p r o g r a m v a r i a b l e , a n d so
ITM
S o n e n n t s n
Dat a u s ua l l y has to b e ma r s hal l ed Int o
r o ws , o r e v en r egi ment s and ba t t a l i ons , befor e
It can go Int o a comput er.
(Some peopl e Just get t h e i r d a t a i nt o a
comput er b y s i t t i ng at a t ermi nal s n d t yp i n g
it I n . p e r h a p s a n s we r i ng que s t i ons t ype d t o them
by a f r o n t - e n d p r o g r a m. But t h e y ' r e t he l ucky
o n e s . Most of us have lo gel t he da t a s e l up
on some Kind of hol di ng s ur f a ce be f or e i l get s
fed I n . T h a t ' s an I nput medi um. )
DATA MEDIA
A d a l a medi um ( "medium" Is t h e s i n g u l a r
of "medi a" ) Is anyt hi ng t hal hol ds Ihe m a r k s of
dat a o u t s i d e Ihe core memory of a c omp ui e r .
Th u s p u n c h e d c a r d s and punc h ed p a p e r l ape
may b e u s e d aa Input me di a . us e d f or put t i ng
Infor mat i on Into a comput er. (Each medium
ne eds a c o r r es p o n d i n g I nput o r out put d e v i c e ,
to wh i s k a c r o s s the aurf ace and I r a nal al e it s
ma r ks o r hol es Into t h e c or r es pond i n g el ect r oni c
p u l s e s . )
T h e r e a r e t h r ee t ype s of dat a media;
Input , o u t p u t a nd s t or a ge medi a. An i nput
medium c a r r i e s t he dal a I n. An out put medium
r e c e i v e s t h e r esul t s of a pr ogr am; f or i ns t anc e,
a s h e e t o f p a p er coining out of a p r i n t i n g devi ce
Is an ou t p u t medium, as Is a p u nc h ed c a r d o r
p u n c h ed p a p e r t ape.
St o r a g e media a r e out put medi a t h a t may
be u s e d as i np u t media l a t e r on. Th u s punched
c a r d s a n d pun c h ed p a p er l ape can be s t or age
medi a. Bul Ihe b e t t e r s t or a ge media u s e mag
net i c r e c o r d i n g (whi ch Is f as t er and l e s s b u l k y ) ,
l ike magnet i c t ape and d i s k s , o r Just pl ai n
" d i s k s " a s we gener al l y cal l t hem. (See f ul l er
l i s t of mag media u n d e r " P e r i p h e r a l s . " p . 5 7 )
Th e u n i t s and a r r angement s of da l a used
for i n p u t . out put and s t or a ge a r e In pr i n c i p l e
not n e c e s s a r i l y ihe t r ue ones of t h e da l a s t r u c t u r e
us e d b y t h e p r o g r a m. The bl ocks a n d r ec o r ds
of s t o r a g e , f or i n s t an c e, may ha ve i r r e g u l a r
dat a wi t h p o i nl e r e si t t i ng i n t hem. ( Unf or t un
at el y t h e r e i s some c a r r y o v e r , in t ha t p r ogr a m
mer s a r e t empt ed t o use ds t a s t r u c t u r e s whi ch
a r e e a s y lo s l o r e and r un i n and o u t . r a t h e r
t han h a n d l i n g t he t r ue compl exi t i es o f t h e s u b
j e ct . T h i s i s al ways a t empt at i on. )
Let u s co n s i d er t he uni t s and ar r ange me nt s
f dat a u s e d l o r Input and out put and s t o r a g e .
Thes e a r e , r es p e ct i v el y , f i el ds, r e c o r d s , f li es
and b l o c k s .
THE PUNCH CARD
Le t ' s b e gi n wil h a fun exampl e; t hat
hoa r y ol d medium for i nput a nd o u t p u t , t he
punc h ed ( or "punch" ) c a r d . The p u n c h c a r d
wil l show u s what a field i s .
Th e p u n c h c ar d Is gener al l y b e l i e ved lo
have b e e n I nvent ed by Herman Hol l eri t h ( al
though t h e a u t h o r ' s I n-l aws had b i t t e r r ec o l l e c
t i ons i o t h e c o n t r a r y ) . It was f i r st u s e d on a
b r oad s c al e t o count up t he c ens us of I960, and
l a t e r b ecame an e ar l y c or ner s t one of IBM, b ut
t hat s a n o t h e r s t o r y .
T h e p u n c h e s on a c ar d r e p r e s e n t s row
of Infor mat i on ( s uch aa a row of t yped l e t t e r s ) ,
t h i s la not obvi ous because t he c a r d l a a r e c
tangl e r a t h e r l han a l i n e . However, t h e l engt h
of i he c a r d 1b act ual l y d i vi de d i nt o ei ght y posl
bo n a , each of whi ch may hol d one n u mb e r ,
al p h ab e t i c c h a r a c t e r or punct uat i on ma r k .
Th es e p o s i t i ons a r e act ual l y n a r r ow col umns ,
ei ght y o f t hem, wi t h di f f er ent posi t i ons I n whi ch
hol es may b e pun c h ed . One hole In a col umn
r e p r e s e n t s a numeral ; whi ch posi t i on i n the
col umn s p e ci f i e s what n u mbe r . Two hol es In
a col umn g e n e r a l l y mean a l e t t e r of t he a l phabe t ,
t h r e e h ol e s i n a column mean a punct uat i on
mark.
---
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I j o m
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i i u i i i l l l " *
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T he pu n c h c a r d i s an I mpor t ant exampl e
of a n i n p u t uni t I n f l u e n c i n g t he s t r u c t u r e of
c omput er p r o g r a ms , It I s c onveni e nt lo u s e
f i el ds on a punc h c a r d a s I he b a s i c da t a s t r u c
t u r e of a pr ogr a m a n d s a y . " T h a i ' s Ihe way it
ha s to be f or t he c o mp u t e r . In t he wor s t cas e s
we se e t h e wo r k i n g s o f t he " punch c ar d men
t al i t y" o r " 80- col umn mi nd" ( see b o x ) .
- * Peopl e wi l l of t en t h r u s t a p u nc hed dat a
c ar d at yo u s n d a s k , "What does t hi s mean?"
Who knows? It may h a v e l e t t e r i n g ba nged al ong
t he l op. showi ng what c h a r a c t e r s t he hol es r e p
r e s e n t . but If t he s e c h a r a c t e r s dont shqw a n y
t hi ng u n d e r s t a n d a b l e , s u c h a s t he p e r s o n ' s name,
y o u ' r e i n t he dar K. T h e c a r d may have p r e
pr i nt e d sect i on l i n e s d i v i d i n g i t u p , bul t he s e
a r e r a r e l y s e l f - e x p l a n a t o r y . I t ' s of t en Im
p os s i bl e J us t t o l ook a t a p u nc hed c a r d a nd
t el l b y e y e whal t he I ndi vi dua l f i el ds a r e f o r ,
o r even wher e i hey b e g i n a n d e nd; al l l hal
depends on t he p r o g r a m . Only someone who
u n d e r s t a n d s t he p r o g r a m , o r al l east knows
what f i el ds Ihe c a r d i s di vi de d Inlo and whal
t he c h a r a c t e r s r e p r e s e n t t h e r e , can hel p.
Somet i mes, i n di s mal sys t ems we e ncoun
t e r d a y - t o - d a y l i ke f o r u n i v e r s i t y r egi s t r a t i on
a punc h c a r d wi l l h a v e a p e r s o n ' s name i n
t he f i r st few col umns , o r wo r s e , s pe r s ona l
s e r i al n u mb e r . O t h e r Infor mat i on cont i nues
from t h e r e . Th e s e may o r may not be r ec og
ni zabl e. e i t h e r from r e a d i n g t he hol es by e ye,
o r from de s i gnat i ons p r e - p r i n t e d on t he c a r d .
ASCII code. You can f i gur e out from
t he t abl e t he bll p a t t e r n f or any l e t t e r , or
whal any gi ven combi nat i on of s e ven bi t s
Exampl e. Fi nd i h e capi t al l e t t e r G
In the t abl e. For t he f i r s t t h r e e bi t s of the
c ode, look s t t he t op of t he column: 100.
For t he next f o u r , look s i de ways lo the
left; 0111. So G Is; IOOOIU.
(An ei ght h bi t Is uBed as a c heck on
t he number of one s In t h e code: t h i s i s
c al l ed t he p a r i t y b i t , a n d e i t h e r r ounds to
an e ven numbe r of b i t s ( eve n pa r i t y) o r an
odd number o f bi t s ( odd p a r i t y ) . T h u s If
a code comes t hr o u g h t o t h e c omput er wi t h
a wrong number of o n e s , t h e comput er
can t ake r emedi al a c t i o n . )
Those f unny mul Ul e t t e r codes a r e for
c ont r ol l i ng t e r mi nal s a n d l i k e t hat .
Pocket c a r d c o u r t e s y of Comput er
T r a n s c e i v e r Sys t ems , i n c .
The seme pr i nci pl e of fiel ds appl ies in
o t h e r dat a medi a, especi al l y magnet ic tape and
d i s k . We may ext end the noti on of a field to
e xpl ai n r e c o r d s and f i l es.
A f i e l d , ge ner al l y spe aki ng, Is a section
of pos i t i ons o n some medium r eser ved for one
p a r t i c u l a r pi ece of inf or mat i on, o r lha data In || ,
A r ec or d i s a bunch of fiel ds st ored on
some medium whi ch have some organized use.
( For I ns t ance, t he account i ng Information held
by an e l ec t r i c ut i l i t y company about a part i cular
cust omer Is l i kel y t o be s t or ed as a r ecord with
at l e as t t he s e fi el ds: account number; Iasi name;
I ni t i al s; a d d r e s s ; amount c ur r ent l y owed.)
A Ole i s a whol e b i g complete bunch of
i nf or mat i on l hal Is Bt ored s omepl ace. In many
a ppl i cat i ons a fil e I s composed of numerous
s i m i l a r , cons ec ut i ve r e c o r d s . For I nstance,
an e l e c t r i c company may wel l s t or e ihe records
f or a l l o f i t s cus t omer s on a magnet i c l ape,
o r d e r e d b y a ccount numbe r ( account 000001
f i r s t ) .
S t or i ng s e q u e n c e s of si mi l ar r ecords In
long f i l es i s t ypi c a l of b u s i n e s s pr ogr ams,
t hough p e r h a p s t h i s shoul d be gi n l o change.
I t ' s es pec i al l y s u i t e d to bat ch pr oces s i ng,
t hat i s , ha ndl i ng many r e c o r d s In ihe same
way a t t he same t i me. (See "Syst em Progr ams. ")
Now, the d i v i s i o n s of f i el d, r ecor d and
f il e a r e concept ual : t hey a r e what t he pr ogram
mer t h i n k s about , b a ae d on t he Informati on
ne eds o f a s pe ci f i c c omput er pr ogr a m.
f t t - t
j h t i :
BLOCKS
A bl ock Is s omet hi ng e l s e , whi ch may be
r el at ed onl y lo q u i r k s of i he si t uat i on.
A bl ock i s a sect i on of s t or e d ma t e r i a l ,
di vi ded e i t h e r acc or di ng to t he di vi s i ons of t he
dal a o r pe cul i ar i t i e s of the devi ce hol di ng i t ,
s uch as a di s k d r i v e . Shor t r ec or ds may be
s t or e d many to a bl oc k. If r e c o r d s a r e l ong
t hey may b e made up of many bl ocks.
- I n p a r t i c u l a r , t ape bl ocks can b e al most
a ny s i z e, whi l e di s k bl ocks often ha ve a cer t ai n
fi xed si ze ( number of c har ac t er s o r bi t s ) based
on t he pecul i ar i t i es of Ihe I ndi vi dual devi ce.
( Thi s can be a pai n In t he n e c k . )
On t hs ot he r ha n d , due to. t he q u i r k s of
magnet ic r ec or di ng, y o u r pr ogr am usual l y c a n t
Just change somet hi ng i n t he mi ddl e of a bl ock;
the whole di s k bl ock o r t ape file has to be r e
p l aced. Thi s Is l es s t r oubl e wil h a s h o r t di s k
block lhan a l ong t ape fil e.
TRADITIONAL CONVEYER-BELT PROGRAMS
Many t r adi t i onal b u s i n e s s p r o g r a ms a r e of
t h i s t y p e , r ea d i n g In one dal a r e c o r d a t a t i me,
doi ng somet hi ng t o i t (Buch as not i ng t hat an
i ndi vi dual ha s pai d t he e xac t amount of h i s ga s )
and wr i t i n g out a new r e c o r d f or t hat cust omer
on t he c u r r e n t mont hs t a p e .
THE PROBLEM
St anda r di ze d f i e l d s , bl oc ks a n d r e c o r d s
a r e oft en n e ce s s ar y o r conveni e nt . But , on the
ot h e r h a n d , t he ki n d s of c omput er pr ogr ams
peopl e find o p p r e s s i v e of t en have t h e i r r oot s l n
t h i s ki nd of dat a s t o r a g e a nd i t s ass oci at e d st yl es
of pr ogr a mmi ng, e s peci al l y t he us e of fl xed- f l el d
r ec or ds as t he be - a l l a n d e n d - a l l . The more
i n t e r e s t i n g us e s of t he comput er ( i nt e r a ct i ve,
o b l i g i n g , a r t i s t i c . e t c . ) u s e a g r e a t e r var i et y
of d a t a s t r u c t u r e s .
----------------- \ >
Peopl e' s nai ve I dea of "pr ogr ammi ng" la of t en a r easonabl e
approxi mat i on t o t he not i on of " dat a s t r u c t u r e . " Dat a st r uct ur e
l a how Informat i on Is s e t u p . Aft er i t ' s s e t u p . pr ograms
can t wi ddl e it ; b u t t he t wi ddl i ng opt i ons a r e ba s ed on how
t he inf or mat i on Is s e t u p t o b e gi n wi t h .
tf c K *$ IC OFM TA
How does a comput er pr og r a m
p r i n t somet hi ng out on a p r i n t i n g
machi ne? It s e n d s t he code f or each
l e t t e r out to t he p r i n t i n g machi ne.
How does a comput er pr ogram
r es pon d t o s omet hi ng a u s e r t ype* in?
II compar es t h e codes t hat come in
from t h e l e t t e r s he t y p e s wi t h a
se r i e s of c odes I n memor y. a n d when
it Bnds a match bet ween l e t t e r s ,
n u mb e r s , wor d s o r p h r a s e s , b r a n
ches to t he c o r r e s p o n d i n g a ct i on.
How does a c omput er pr ogram
measur e somet hi ng? ft t a k es in
numeri cal codes from a de v i ce which
has a l r e ad y made t he measur ement s
and c o nv er t ed t hem to codee.
DOE9 NOT COMPUTE!
Some TV w r i t e r ' s
Idea of a comput er
announces t h l e when
dat a a r e I nsuff i ci ent o r
c o n t r a d l c l o i y . Ho hum.

A N W * W H 0 / t - P M I
Codes a r e pa l l e me o r symbol s which
a r e a s s i g ne d me ani ngs . Someti mes we
make u p s pe ci a l codes lo c u t down Ihe s -
mount of inf or mat i on that h a s to be s t or e d.
On y o u r d r i v e r ' s License, f or i ns t anc e.
Ihey may r ed uc e yo ur h a i r col or lo one
decimal d i gi . ( four b i t s of i nf or mat i on),
si n c e t h e r e a r e l e as lhan n i ne possi bi l i t i es
for q u i c k i dent i f i cat i on of h a i r - c o l o r a nyws y.
Obv i o u s l y . codes can be any d a r n
thing*, any s e l of symbol s l hat i s l e s s than
whai you s t a r t e d wi t h. But by compreas l ng
Information t hey lose i nf or mat i on, so that
s ub t l et i es d i s a p p e a r ( con s i der t he u s e of
l el t ere A lo F to g r ade s t u d e n t s ) . When
you d i v i d e a cont i nuum i nt o c a t e g o r i e s , not
Just l he f ewnes s of t he c at e g o r i es , b ut the
p l aces you d r a w t he l i n e - - cal l ed " br e aks "
o r " c u t l l n g - p o i n t s " - - p r e s e n t p r obl ems . Such
c hoppi ng f requent l y b l u r s o ul I mportant d i s
t i nct i ons . Codi ng Is al ways a r b i t r a r y , f r e
que nt l y d e s t r u c t i v e and s t u p i d .
Lola of way s now e x i s t to handl e wr i t
t en Information by comput er. Thes e often
p r e s e n t b e t t e r ways lo o p e r a t e l han by us i ng
codes of t h i s t y p e . Bui many comput er p r o
gr ammer s p r e f e r to make you use codes.
(NOTE: t h e r e s r e two o t h e r s e n s e s of
"code us e d he r e aboul s : 1) t he b i n a r y p a t
t e r n s made to s t a n d for any I nfor mat i on,
e s pec i al l y on i np ut and out put ; 2) what
comput er p r o g r a ms consi st of. lhat i s , l i nes
of commands. )
"Logical d educt i on" r ea l l y c o ns i s t s of t ech
n i q u e s f or f i ndi ng oul wha t ' s a l r e ady
i n a dal a s t r u c t u r e .
"Logical I ncons i s t ency" means a data
s t r u c t u r e con t r a d i c t s i t s e l f . Rar el y
doe s It h a pp en I J u t comput er he l p s
y ou d i s c o v e r somet hi ng new about a
sub j e ct t h a l y ou d i d n ' t sus pe ct o r see
comi ng wi t hout lhe comput er; aft er
a l l . you have lo sel u p a st udy In
s u c h a way as to make room to find
t h i n gs o u l . a nd you can onl y make
room to f i nd some t hi n gs o u l .
I F V b U W A N T H 0 t \ 5 t K 5 ,
W E G 0 T
Th e ba s i c k i n d s of n u mbe r oper at i ons
w i r ed i nt o aU comp ut e r s a r e few; Ju s t add
(and sometimes s u b t r a c t ) b i n a r y n u mb e r s .
However, up above t h e mi ni comput er r a n g e ,
a c omput er may ha v e mul t i pl y, d i v i d e , and
mor e. P a n d e r c omput ers o f fer more t yp e s
and ope r a t i o ns on them.
PLAIN BINARY-* Ver y i mpor t ant f or c oun
t i n g . Re pr es e nt s nu mb e r s aa
p a t t e r n s of l ' s a nd 0' s ( or X's
and Oh s . i f you p r e f e r ) . How
to handl e negat i ve numbers ?
Two ways;
TRUE NEGATIVE b i n a r y n umbe r
with a s i g n bit at t he b e g i n
n i n g , followed by t he n u mb e r .
b t i i i i m
Tr ou bl e I s , t he a ri t hmet i c Is
h a r d e r to wi r e f or t hi s k i n d,
b e ca u s e t h e r e a r e two z er oes
( p l u s and mi nus ) bet ween 1
and - 1 .
ADDABLE NEGATIVE t h i s syst em
does s s o r t of Qlp a nd be g i n s
a n e gat i v e number wi t h ail
o n e s . It means t hal t he ma
chi ne d oe s n ' l have to have s u b
t r a c t i o n c i r c u i t r y : you J u s t add
t h e Ql pped negat i ve v e r s i o n of
a n u m b e r , and t hal act ual l y
s u b t r a c t s I t . T h i s ha s now
c au gh t on g e n er al l y . ( I t ' s
u s u a l l y cal l ed "t wos complement
n e g a t i v e , " which ha s some ob
s c u r e mathemat ical meani ng. )
BCD ( Bi na r y- Code d Deci mal ) -- lhe accoun
t a n t ' s n u mb e r i ng s yst em. Used by
COBOL ( see p . 3 1 ) . I t ' s pl a i n old
deci mal , wi t h e ver y numeral s t or e d
i n f our bi t s ; t h e machi ne o r l anguage
ha s to add t hem one n ume r s l at a
t i me. I nst ead of c r un c h i n g t oget her
full bi n a r y wo r ds .
FLOATING POINT-- t h e s c i e n t i s t ' s number
t echni que f or any t h i n g t hat may not
come out e v e n . E x pr es s e s any
quant i t y s s an amount a nd a s i z e.
i * l Ze- _#
( m m i t I
The "amount " p a r t cont ai ns Ihe ac
t ua l bi n a r y nu me r a l s . Ihe " el s e" Is
Ihe n umbe r of pl aces In f ront of or
a ft er t he deci mal poi nt l hat t he num
b e r s t a r t s . Ver y i mpor t ant f or a s
t ronomi cal a nd i nf i ni t esi mal ma t t e r s ,
si nce s f l oat i ng- poi nt numbe r can be
b i g g e r , s s y , t han
9, 876, 543, 210. 000
o r sma l l e r t han
.00000001234S67
Fo r some peopl e even t h i s i s n ' t p r e
ci s e e no u gh , s o I hsy pr o gr a m up
"inf i ni t e pr s c l s l o n a r i t h me t i c . " which
c a r r i e s o u t ari t hmet i c to as many
p l aces a s t hey want . II l a k es mueh
l o n g e r , t ho u g h .
WHAT'S AVAILABLE IN
MACHINES AND LANGUAGES
Some ma ch i n es . l i ke t he 360. a r e
m o r e - o r - l e s s w i r e d u p lo hand l e s e v e r s l
numbe r t ypes : b i n a r y , f l oat i ng p o i n t , BCD.
Litt le machi nes u s u a l l y onl y ha v e pl a i n b i n
a r y . so ot h e r t y p e s have t o be ha n dl ed by
p r og r a ms bui l t u p from t ha l fundament al
b i n a r y .
Languages make up f or thle by
p r o v i d i n g p r o gr a ms to handl e n u mb e r s i n
some o r al l of t h e s e f ormat s. T h e r e a r e
l anguagea t ha t o f fer even more k i n d s of
n u m b e r s - -
IMAGINARY n umbers
( t wo - pa r t numbe r s
f ol l owi ng c er t a i n r u l e s )
QUATBRNIONS
(Uke I magi nar y numbe r s
b u t wor s e)
a nd goodness knows what e l s e .
On lhe o t h e r h a n d , some l an gu ag e s
r e s t r i c t what n u m b e r f aci l i t i es a r e avai l
a bl e for s i mp l i c i t y ' s s a k e . BA9IC, for
i n s t a n c e , do e s n ' t d i s t i n g u i s h bet ween
i n t e g e r s (count i ng nu mb e r s ) and t hose
wi t h deci mal po i n t s ; all n u mb e r s may have
decimal p o i n t s . TRAC Languags only
g i v e s you I nt e g e r s to s t s r t , si nc e I t ' s easy
e no ug h to p r o gr a m ot he r k i n d s of n umbe r
b e h a v i o r In ( l i ke i nf i ni t e p r e c i s i o n ) .
ptw Hew & nmw 'rf
Punch c a r d s a r e not i nl r i ns l ca Uy e vi l .
Th ey ha v e s e r v e d many us e f ul p u r p o s e s .
But t h e p u n c h - c s r d ment al i t y i s s t i l l ar o un d.
T h i s wi l l be s e en In (he pr og r a mme r who
h a b i t ua l l y s e t s t h i ng s up so we have to use
p u n c h c a r d s ( when o t h e r me di a , o r I n t e r
a ct i ve t e r m i n a l s , would b e b e t t e r ) ; who i n
s i s t s on t he u s e r o r victim put t i n g down
n u mb e r s ( when wi t h a l i t t l e more e ff ort the
pr og r a m c oul d handl e t e x t , whi ch i s e as i e r
t o r t he huma n , o r e ven look u p lhe I nfor
mation i n dat a It ha s a l r e a d y ) ; who I ns i s t s
t h s t peo pl e s l a s t names be c u t down to
e l even l e t t e r s be ca u s e he d o e s n ' t feel like
l e avi ng a l o n g e r f i el d o r h a n dl i n g except i ons
i n hi s p r og r a m; who I n s i s t s on Ihe o ut s i d e r
c u t t i n g hi s i nformat i on i nt o s n a r f y l i t t l e codes ,
when s u c h d i g e s t i o n , i f n e e d e d at a l l , coul d
b e b e t t e r done b y t h e pr o g r a m; a nd so on.
T he p u n c h c a r d ment al i t y i s r e s p on s i b l e
f or many of t h e woes t ha t h a v e been blamed
on " c o mp u t e r s . "
For h i s t o r i c a l r e a s o n s c omput ers have
be en u s e d most l y wi t h n u mb e r s up to now;
bu t l h a t i s g o i n g to be t h or oughl y t u r n e d
s r o u n d . Within a few y e a r s t h e r e may be
more t e x t w r i t t e n p r o s e a nd p o e t r y
s t o r e d on c o mpu t e r s l han n u mbe r s .
D u r i n g t h e r e c ent massi ve l awsui t by
Cont rol Dai s a gai n s t IBM. l l was r eveal ed
l hat IBM h a d a n awesome n umb e r of l e t t e r s
and communi cat i ons s t o r e d on magnet i c
memor y.
When I l i v e d in New Yo r k, I had a
d r i v e r ' s l i c e n s e wilh i h s s t a g g e r i n g s e r i a l
number
NO 5443 12903 3-4121-37
Now i t may v e r y wel l b e . as In some
s e r i a l n u m b e r s , that Information is hi dden
i n t h e nu mb e r t hat I n s i d e r s can dope o u t .
l i ke my c r i m i n a l r ec o r d o r automobile a cci
d e n t s , If a n y . (N Is my i ni t i a l , and two
of t he d i g i t s show my dat e of b i r t h , a handy
check a g ai n s t al t erat i on by t h i r s t y mi nor s.
But t h e r e s t of i t Is r i di c ul ou s . ) The fsct
t ha t t hal l e a v e s 15 more decimal d i g i t s means
( if no o t h e r cod es a r e h i dd e n) l hal New York
Sl at e h a s p r o v i s i o n i n t h e i r l i c e ns e numbe r i ng
f or u p lo 999. 999. 98 9, 99 9. B99 I nhabi t ant s .
It i s doubt f ul t ha l t h e r e will e v e r be lhat
many New Y o r k e r s , o r I ndeed t hal many
human b e i n g s whi l e t he s p e ci e s e n d u r e s .
In o t h e r wo r ds , e i t h e r New York
St ate Is p l s n n l n g on havi ng ma ny, many
more o c c u p a n t s , o r an awfully i nefficient
code ha s be en a dopt ed, meani ng a lot of
memory s p a c e Is wast ed ho l di ng those
si l l y b i g n u mb e r s f or mi l l i ons of d r i v e r s .
However, l h a t do e s n' t r e p r e s e n t a lot of
mone y. 10 mi l l i on decimal s pa c e s t hese
d s y s f i t s on s couple of d i s k d r i v e s . Bui
I t ' s an awf ul p a i n In t h e neck when you
want lo c a s h a check.
i^ ut m CUTfUT
Dat a ha s to get I ns i de Ihe machi ne
somehow, a nd r e s u l t s have to g e t b a ck o ul .
Two mai n t yp e s of c o d e s - - t ha t I s , s t a n
d a r d i z e d p a t t e r n s - - e x i s t , al t hough wh s l
forms of dat a p r o gr a ms work on i nsi de
v a r i e s c o n s i d e r a b l y . ( The I nput dat a can
be compl et el y t r ans for med b e f or e I nt er na l
wo r k a l a r t s . )
1. ASCII ( p r onounc ed " As k ey , "
Ameri can S t an da r d Code for I nformat i on
E x cha nge. T h i s al l ows a l l t he k i n d s of
n u mb e r s a n d a l phabe t s you coul d p os s i bl y
want (for i n s t a n c e , Swahi l i ) f or g e t t i n g
I nformat i on In and out of c o mput er s.
ASCII i s us e d lo a nd from most
Tel et ype t e r m l n s l s a nd key s co pe a.
Howev e r , ASCII Is al so u s e d for
I n t er na l s t o r a g e of a l phabe t i c al d a l a In
many non-IBM s ys t e ms , andl t Is al s o the
r u n n i n g f orm o f a nu mb e r of pr ogrammi ng
l a n g u a g e s , s u c h as TRAC l a ng uage (see
p . \ 3 ) , TBCO a n d GRASS
( s ee p . * 3 i ) .
IBM' s d e l i b e r a t e und e r mi n i n g of the
ASCII code Is a sou r ce of wi de s pr e ad a n g e r .
(See IBM, p . 5*2..)
2. EBCDIC ( p r onounc ed " E b s ad l c k, " )
Ext ended Bi nar y Coded Deci mal . T h i s was
t he code IBM br ought out wi t h t he 360,
p a s s i n g ASCII b y . (IBM s eems to t hi nk of
compet l bl l l l y as a p r i v i l e g e t h a t musl be
e a r n e d , i . e . . pai d f o r . ) EBCDIC al so al
lows n u m b e r s , Ihe Engl i sh a l p h ab e t , and
v a r i o u s p unct uat i on ma r k s . T h i s i s us e d
to a nd f rom most IBM t e r mi n al s ("2741
t y p e " ) .
HOLLERITH, meani ng l he column
p a t l e m s t h s t go i n on p u nc h ed c a r d s .
( They c a n al s o come out t ha t w a y , If you
want t hem l o. )
CARD-IMAGE BINARY. If f or some
r ea s o n yo u wanl exac t b i n a r y p a t l e m s
from y o u r p r o g r a m, t hey can be punc hed
out as r o ws o r col umns on pu nc h c a r d s .
STERLING. J u s t lo show you how
comical t h i n g s can g e t , I hs o r i g i n a l PL/I
s p e ci f i c at i o ns ( see p - 3 p al lowed numbe r s
to be I np u l a n d out put i n t e r ms of Pounds ,
S h i l l i n gs a n d Pence (12 pence to t he s h i l
l i n g , 20 s h i l l i n g s t o t h e p o u n d ) . No p r o
vi si on wa s made f o r Gui neas (the 21- ahl l -
Ung u n i t ) , o r f s r t h l n g s . u nf or t u nat e l y.
I W S& mGwzz
A c omput er l a nguage i a syai epi for c as t i ng s pe l l s .
T h i s ! nol me t a p h o r b u t t n exact l y t r ue s t a t e ment . Each
l anguage h w a v o c ab u l a r y of commands, l hal I s , di f f er ent
o r d er * you can g i v e t ha t a r e fundamental lo lhe I s nguage ,
a nd a i y n l , t h a l i s . r u l e s about how to gi ve t he commands
r i g h t , a nd how you may fi t them t oget her and ent wi ne i hem.
Lear ni ng to wo r k wi l h one l anguage d o e s n ' t mean
you ' v e l e ar ned a n o t h e r . You l e ar n them one al a rime,
but al t er t ome e x p e r i e n c e i l gel s e a s i e r .
Ther e a r e c omput er l anguages f or t es t i ng r ocke t s hi ps
and cont rol l i ng oi l r e f i n e r i e s and maki ng p i c t u r e s . Ther e
a r e comput er l a n g v - g e s for sociological s t a t i s t i cs and desi gni ng
aut omobi l es. And t h e r e a r e comput er l anguages whi ch
wil l do any of t h e s e t h i n g s , and mor e, b u l wi l h mor e di ffi cul t y
b ecaus e they h a v e n o pu r pos e bui l t i n . (Dul each of these
ge n er al - p u r p o s e l anguagea l ends to h a ve i t s own out l ook. )
Most p r o g r a mme r s have a f avor i t e l anguage o r Iwc,
and t hi s i s n o t o r at i o n al mi l l e r . T h e r e a r e many di f f er ent
computer l a n g u a g e s in fact t housands but what t hey
al l have In common i s act i ng on Beries of i n s t r u c t i o n s .
Beyond l h a t , e v e r y l anguage i s di f f er ent . So f or e ac h l anguage,
lhe quest i on* a r e
WHAT ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS?
HOW DO THEY FIT TOGETHER?
Most comput er l anguages i nvol ve somehow t ypi ng
in t he commands of y o u r spel l lo a computer s e t u p f or t hat
la nguage. ( Th e comput er i s sel u p by put t i ng i n a b i gge r
pr o g r a m, cal l ed t h e p r o c e s s o r for l hal l anguage )
* A COWIM#
chews t he I nst r uct i ons
of l he l anguage
inl o anot her form
l o b e pr oces s ed l a t e r .
1 WA >
f & r n t C f f ' f o ' / j j
if? ep'Z
Th e n , after v a r i o u s St ep s , you gel l o t r y your p r o g r a m.
Once you k now a l anguage you con c as t s pe l l s in
il ; b u t l hal d o e s n ' t mean i t ' s e as y. A spel l cast in a comput er
l anguage wil l make t h e comput er do what you wa nl - -
IF i l ' s p o s s i b l e l o do ll
wi t h l hal comput er;
IF i l ' s p o s s i b l e lo do it
i n l ha t l anguage:
IF you u s e d t h e vocabul ary
and r u l e s of Ihe language
c o r r e c t l y ;
and IK you l ai d oul i n the spell
a p l a n l h a l would effecti vely
d o whai y c j hs d in mi nd.
BUT i f you make a mi s t ake i n cast i ng your s pe l l , l ha t i s
a BUG. (Aa you s e e from the iFs a Love, many t ype s of
bug are p o a s i b l e . ) Pr ogr am bugs call cause unf or t unat e
r es u l t s . ( Supposedl y a bi g NASA r ocket fai l ed i n takeoff
once because of a mi s p l ac t d dol l ar s i gn i n a p r o g r a m. )
Get ti ng [he bugs o u t of a pr ogram i s Called debuggi ng.
It'S v e r y h a r d .
DESIGNING COMPUTER LANGUAGES
Ever y p r o g r a mme r who' s desi gned a l a nguage , and
creat ed a p r o c e s s o r f or i i . had cer t ai n typi cal us e s i n mi nd.
If you want l o c r e a t e y o u r own l anguage, you f i gur e oul
whai aorls of o p e r a t i o n s you woul d l ike lo have bn basi c.
In l l , and how you woul d l i ke i l all lo f i t toget her s o as
Id allow the v a r i a t i o n s you have i n min d. Then you pr ogram
your pr o ce s s o r ( wh i ch i s usual l y v e r y h a r d ) .
{\ IxVjrtfci'- ervitt cuf,
f i| w t i \ s
J)
kl Ol K , ?
Basi cal l y t h e r e a r e two di fferent met hods.
A compi l i ng l a nguage , 3uch as FORTRAN or COBOL,
h a s a compi l er pr ogr am, whi ch s j i s In the comput er, and
r ec ei ve s lhe input pr ogram . or " sour ce pr ogr am. " the way
t he as s embl er does. II a nal yzes t he source pr ogr am and
s ubs t i t ut e s for it an obj ect pr ogram . in machi ne Isnguage.
whi ch l a a t r ans l at i on of the s our ce p r o g r a m. and can actuall y
be r u n on t he comput er, The r el at i on of t he hi gher l anguage
i s not one- t o- one t o machi ne l anguage: many Inst ruct i ons
i n machi ne l anguage are often needed l o compi le tt singl e
i ns t r uc t i on of the sour ce pr ogram . (A sour ce pr ogram of
100 l i n e s can easi l y come oul a t housand l i nes l ong In lie
out put v e r s i o n . ) Mor eover, because of t he i nt erdependency
of t he i nst r uc t i ons i n l he s our ce pr ogr am . l he compiler
usual l y has t o check vari ous ar r angement s all ov e r the
pr ogram before i t can gener at e t he fi nal c o d e .
Most compi l ers come In s e v e r a l st ages . You have
t o put t he f i r s t s t a ge of I he compi l er Inlo t he comput er,
t hen r u n In t he sour ce pr ogram . and t he f i r s t sl age pul s
out a f i r s t i nt er medi at e ve r s i on of t he program , Then you
pu t t h i s v e r s i on Into a second s t a g e , which pul s out a second
i nt er medi at e ve r s i on; and so on t hr ough va r i ous st ages.
T h i s i s done f ai r l y automat i cal l y on bi g compul er s , bul
on l i t t l e machi nes i l ' s a pai n.
(In f a c t , compi l ers l end t o b e ve r y slow pr ogr a ms ;
but t hal depends on t he amount of "opt i mi si ng" t hey do,
t h s t i a , how effi ci ent t hey t r y lo make the object pr ogr am. )
An i nt e r pr e t i ve l anguage wor ks di f f e r e n t l y , There
s i t s in core a pr ocessor for the l anguage call ed an i nt e r p r e t e r ;
t h i s goe s t hr ough t he pr ogram one st ep al a t i me, actuall y
c a r r y i n g out each operat i on In t he l i s t and goi ng on to the
n e x t . TRAC and APL a r e i nt e r pr e t i ve : it s a good way
to d o qui cki e l anguages.
I nt er pr et e r s a r e perhaps Ihe eaBler method of the
two l o g r a s p , si nce t hey seem to c or r es pond a l i t t l e bet t er
l o t he way many peopl e t hi nk of c omput ers. That doesn't
mean t h e y ' r e be l t e r . For pr ogr a ms that have t o be run
o v e r and o v e r , compi l i ng is u s ua l l y more economi cal In
l he long r u n ; but for pr ograms t hat have t o be r epeat edl y
changed , i n t e r p r e t e r s a r e often s i mpl er l o work wi l h.
A BLACK ART
Making l anguage p r o c e s s o r s , especi al l y compi l ers ,
i s wi del y r ega r de d as a bl ack a r t . Some people have ( ri cks
l hat a r e vi r t ua l t r ade ma r ks ( s ee bel ow) .
Act ual l y, the de s i gn of a l anguage- - especi al l y lhe
s y n t a x , how i t s commands fi t t o g e t h e r - - st r ongl y i nf l uences
t he desi gn of i t s pr ocessor - BASIC and APL. for i ns t ance,
work l e f t - l o- r i ght on each l i ne , and top- t o- bot t om On a
pr ogr a m. Both act on somet hi ng s t or e d in a work a r e a .
TRAC, on t he ot her h a n d , works l eM-IO-rl ght on a t ext
s t r i n g l hat changes s i ze l i ke a r u b b e r b a n d , Ot her l anguages
exhi bi t compar sbl e di f f er ences.
MIXED CASES AND VARIATIONS (for l he whi msi cal )
Ther e a r e a lot of mixed c a s e s . A l oa d- a nd- go compi l er
( s uch a s WATFOR) i s put into the comput er wi t h t he pr o gr a m ,
compi l es I t , and then s t a r t s i t goi ng immedi at el y. An i n t e r p r e t i ve
compi l er looks up what l o do wit h a gi ven i nst r uct i on by i n
t e r p r e t i n g it i nlo a s e r i e s of st eps , bul compi l i ng t hem i nst ead
of c a r r y i n g them Out . (A firm call ed Digitek i s wel l known
for maki ng ve r y good compil ers of I hi s t y p e . ) An I ncr ement al
compi l er j usl r u n s along compil ing a command at a time;
t h i s can be a l ot f as t er bul ha s d r a w b a c k s .
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
David Gr l e s . Compil er Const ruct i on for Digit al Co mput er s
Not for be gi nner s , but a beaut i ful book. Good on
abs t r act t heory of l anguages, too.
A pr ogram Is l i ke a nose:
Soma times l l r u n s , someti mes It blows.
At t r i but ed lo Howard Rose.
(Dat amat i on. 1 Sep 71. 33. )
Accordi ng to t he g r a p e v i n e . ..
a pr est i gi ous Sout her n uni vers i t y
had a pr ogram
wher e t h e number of months
was car el e s s l y set t o 10
(as a di mensi on i n an a r r a y ) .
In November .
nobody got t h e i r checks
ti l l t h i s e r r o r was found,
j e g O G 6ikl < s-
candid photos
Debugging means changing and j i* program t i l l i t vcr k s the oay you
Thie i s the p a r t o f prograprring people l i k e the l e a s t .
You run your program and then t r y t o f i n d o u t uhat v e n t urong. I t could be
a mistake i n the b a s i c th i n k i n g ( " l o g i c e r r o r " ) , o r a c l e r i c a l e r r o r i n the
p a r t i c u l a r c hoice o f cormands t o carry o u t a u e l l - t h o u g h t - o u t process
("coding e r r o r " ) .
Some systems al l ot ) you to debug i n t e r a c t i v e l y , from a t erminal. Thi s helps
a l o t . You can run p a r t s o f your program, g e t i t t o s t o p a t c e r t a i n p o i n t s
to l e t you look around, and so on.
No pr ogram i s e v e r f ul l y debugged.
- - folk sayi ng
For e v e r y bug l hal goes out .
t wo mor e bugs go In .
- - folk sa yi ng
c a r r i e s out each i ns t r uc t i on
as I t's enco un t e re d .
A c e r t a i n n umb e r o f c omput er l a n gu ag e s
a r e v e r y wi del y a c c ep t e d a n d us e d ; I l i s t them
he r e . If you want t o l e a r n a n y of t h e m. ! b e l i e v e
t hat Dani el McCr acken h a a wr i t t e n a manual on
e ver y one of t h e m. (Not the v a r l a n t e l i s t e d ,
t hough. )
Why t h e i r names a r e al ways s p e l l e d wi t h
capi t al l e t t e r s I do n t k n ow. ( Ge ner a l l y they
get l et down In l o n g e r a r t i c l e s , t h o u g h . )
W o w
FORTRAN wa s c r e a t e d i n t h e l a t e f i f t i es,
l argel y b y J o h n B a c k u s , ae a n a l g e b r a i c pr o
gr amming sys t e m f or t h e ol d IBM 704. ( However,
Ihe usual s t o r y I s t ha t It s t a n d s f or FORmal a
TRANal ator. )
F o r t r a n l a " a l g e b r a i c , " t ha t I s , H usea
a n a l gebr ai c s o r t of not a t i on a n d was most ly
s ui t ed, In t h e b e g i n n i n g , to w r i t i n g p r o g r a ms
t hat c a r r i e d o u t t h e s o r t s of f ormul ae t h a t you
use In hl ghachool a l g e b r a . I t ' s s t r o n g on n um
be r s c a r r i e d to a l ot of deci mal p l a c e s ( "sci ent i f i c"
numbers ) a n d t he h a n d l i n g of a r r a y s , wh i c h Is
somet hi ng e l s e ma t hemat i ci ans a n d e n g i n e e r s do
a lot ( see A r r a y s u n d e r BASIC).
F o r t r a n h a s g r o wn a nd g r o wn , however;
a ft er F o r t r a n I came F o r t r a n I I, F o r t r a n 111 a nd
For t r a n IV; aa wel l as a lot of v a r i a n t s like
For t r a n FI ( " I r r a t i o n a l , a n d some wher e bet ween
111 a nd I V" ) . WATFOR a n d WATFCV.
The l a r g e r F o r t r a n s t h a t I s , l a nguage
p r o ce s s or s t ha t r u n on t he b i g g e r c o mp u t e r s - -
now have many o p e r a t i o n s not c ont empl at ed l n
t he o r i gi na l F o r t r a n , I ncl u di n g op e r a t i o n s for
handl i ng t e xt a n d s o o n .
BASIC, p r e s e n t e d e a r l i e r , i s In some r e s
pect s a s i mpl i f i ed v e r s i o n of F o r t r a n .
Circle. Be woo amused by my prw-
c<un-n tioa o f alphabetizing phone num-
e Si iljll li *, and urote a progran to do i t
" " m i . . . t>W eU^ u l
S S r that
P - . . . . . . -
I ! r i i i i i r l i i i i r i i i r i i i r
T T s b T ' S b : r tioi ! i s k s * ........... - ................ ..............................
srainsss:
s a - s r ' i . , . . . . . ............................ ,
W O L I P S T ,
ALGOL i s c o n s i d e r e d b y many lo be
one of the b e s t " s ci ent i f i c " l a ng u a g e s ; ll ha s
been widely a c c ept e d l n E u r op e, a n d I s the
s t andar d " pu bl i c at i on l a n g u ag e " In wh i c h p r o c e d u r e s
for doi ng t h i n g s a r e p u b l i s h e d i n t h i s c o u n t r y .
It Is d i f f er ent f rom FORTRAN l n many wa y s ,
but a key r e s p e c l I s t h i s : whi l e i n FORTRAN
the pr ogr a mme r must l a y out at t he b e g i n ni n g
of hi s pr og r a m exac t l y whal s pa c e s of core
memory a r e to h a v e what na mes , In ALGOL
the spaces i n c or e memor y a r e not g i v e n names
except wi t hi n s u b s e c t i o n s of t he p r o g r a m ,
o r " p r o c e d u r e s . " When ihe p r o g r a m f ollower
get s t o a spe ci f i c p r o c e d u r e , t he n Ihe l a nguage
pr oce s s or names t h e s p a c e s l n c o r e memor y.
Thi a h a s s e v e r a l a d v a n t a g e s . One ia
t hat It can b e u e ed f or s o - ca l l e d " r e c u r s i v e "
p r o gr a ms , o r p r o g r a m s t hal cal l new v e r s i o n s
of t hemsel ves i nt o o p e r a t i o n . I g u e s s we b e t t e r
not get Into t h a t . But mat hemat i ci ans l i ke
Or i gi nal l y t hi a l a n g u a g e wa s c al l ed IAL.
for I nt er nat i onal Al g e b r a i c L a n g u a g e , b u t t hen
as It gr ew a n d got p ol i s hed b y v a r i o u s i n t e r
national commi t t ees i t w a s g i ven I t s new name.
0 don' t know I f a n yo ne con s ci ou s l y named
It a f t e r Al gol , t he s l a r . )
It h a s gone t h r o u g h s e v e r a l v e r s i o n s .
Algol 62, t he p ub l i c a t i o n l a n g u a g e , Is one
thi ng; Algol 70. t he 1070 v e r s i o n . I s much
more compl i cat ed a n d s t r a n g e .
Se ve r a l v e r s i o n s of ALGOL ha v e got t en
popul ar In t hi a c o u n t r y . One, d e vel o p e d at
the Un i v e r s i t y of Mi c hi ga n , i s c al l ed MAD
(Michigan Al gor i t hm Dec od er ) ; Its s ymbol Is
of c ou r s e Al f r e d B. Newman. Ano t h e r f avor i t e
(for i t s na me, a n y wa y ) i s JOVIAL ( J u l e s ' Own
Version of t h e I nt er n a t i o n a l Al ge br a i c L a n g u a g e ) ,
devel oped u n d e r J u l e s Sc h wa r t s ( an d sup po s e dl y
named wi t hout h i s c o n s u l t a t i on ) at Sys t em Devel
opment Cor po r at i on .
When IBM a n no un ce d i t s Sys t em 360 h a c k
In 1904. t h e r e h a d b e e n hope t h a t t h e y would
s u p po r t t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e commi t t ees
and make Al gol t he b a s i c l a ng uage o f t h e i r new
comput er l i n e . No s u c h l u c k . I ns t e ad t hey
announced PL/ I ( Pr o gr a mmi ng Lang ua ge I ) , a
comput er l a n g u a g e l h a t was goi ng to b e all
t hi ngs to a l l men.
l n p r o gr a mmi n g s t y l e i t r es e mb l e d COBOL,
bu t h ad f ac i l i t i es f o r v a r i e t i e s o f "s ci ent i f i c "
numbers a n d some good d a t a s t r u c t u r e s y s t e ms ,
i t Is a v ai l abl e f or t he 360 a n d f or c e r t a i n b i g
Honey wel l c omp u t e r s ; i n d e e d , t h e o p e r a t i n g s y s
tem f or MULTICS ( aee p . { S ) was wr i t t e n l n
PL/ I . Whet her t h e r e a r e peopl e who l ove t he
l a nguage 1 d o n ' t know; t h e r e a r e c e r t a i n l y
people who h a t e I t .
, T 5
C$5 O U
Re s e a r c h a n d ho bb y t y p e s h a t e COBOL o r
i g n o r e I t , b u t i t ' s t h e main b u s i n e s s pr og r a mmi ng
l a n g u a g e . Yo ur Income l a x , y o u r c h e c k i n g a c
c o u n t , y o u r aut omobi l e l i c e n s e - - al l a r e p r e s u m
a b l y h a n d l e d b y p r o g r a m s i n I he COBOL l a n g u a g e .
COBOL, o r COmmon B u s i n e s s Or i e n t e d Lan
g u a g e , wa s mor e o r l e s s d e man de d b y t he Dep a r t
ment of Def e n s e , a n d b r o u g h t I nto b e i n g by a
commi t t ee c al l ed CODASYL, wh i c h i s a p p a r e n t l y
s t i l l g o i n g . COBOL u s e s most l y de ci mal n u m b e r s ,
i s d e s i g n e d b a s i c a l l y f or b a l ch p r o c e s s i n g ( d e s
c r i b e d e l s e w h e r e ) , a n d u s e s v e r b o s e a n d p l o n k i n g
command f o r mat s .
J u s t b e c a u s e I t ' s s t a n d a r d f o r b u s i n e s s
p r o g r a m m i n g d o e s n ' t mean i t ' s t h e b e s t o r most
ef f i c i ent l a n g u a g e f or b u s i n e a s p r og r a mmi n g;
I ' v e t a l k e d to p e o pl e who a dvoca t e b u s l n e s a p r o
g r ammi ng l n FORTRAN, BASIC. TRAC a nd even
APL. Bul t hen y o u g e l i nt o t h o s e e n d l e s s a r g u
m e n t s . . . a n d i t t u r n s out t ha t a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n
of b u s i n e s s p r o g r a m m e r s onl y know Cobol , whi ch
p r ag ma t i c al l y s e t t l e s t h e a r g u me n t .
T h e r a a r e peop l e who s a y t h e y ' v e d i s c o v e r e d
h i d d e n b e a u t i e s i n COBOL; f or I n s t a n c e , t ha l I t ' s
a s p l e n d i d l a n g u a g e f or compl ex p o i n t e r mani pul at i on
( s e e Dat a S t r u c t u r e s , p . Xlff ) T h a t ' s what makes
h o r s e r a c i n g .
JCL
e * / / f J t o p i t k k k j
Joe e * i l !f
"After you study i for six months, i t makes
H enthusiast.
1 t h which you l u l a i t pr o g r i
p u t e r . s u h n i t * l a r i g h t . I
duplication*/ which many call unnecessary* syabollz
the career of eubuleaion to IBM upon which the 360
SNOBOL i s t h e f avor i t e c omp ut i n g l a n g u a g e
of a lot of my f r i e n d s . It la a l l a l - p r o c e s s i n g
l a n g u a g e , me ani ng Its good f or a mo r ph ou s d a t a .
(It d e r i v e s f rom s e v e r a l p r e v i o u s l i s t - p r o c e s s i n g
l a n g u a g e s , e s p e c i a l l y IPL-V a nd COMIT.)
SNOBOL Is a b i g l a n g u a g e , a n d o nl y r u n s
on b i g c o m p u t e r s . The main c on ce p t of It Is
t h e " p a t t e r n m a t c h . " wher eby a s t r i n g of symbol s
Is ex ami ned to s e e i f ll ha s c e r t a i n c h a r a c l e r i a t l c s ,
i n c l u d i n g any p a r t i c u l a r c o n t e n t s , r e l a t i o n s bet ween
c o n t e n t s , o r o t h e r v a r i a t i o n s t he p r o g r a m m e r can
s pe ci f y; a nd t he s t r i n g s u b s t i t u t i o n , wh e r e some
s p e ci f i e d s t r i n g of symbol s la r e p l a c e d b y a n o t h e r
t h a t Ihe p r o g r a m m e r c o n t r i v e s .
ia p r o b a b l y t h e f e v or i t e l a n g u a g e o f t h e a r t i f l c i a l -
I n t el l i g e nce f r e a k s ( s ee A f o n d n e s s s for
LI SP, i n c i d e n t a l l y , i s not c o n s i d e r e d to r e f l e ct
on y o u r ma s cul i n i t y.
LISP Is a " cu l t " l a n g u a g e , a n d I t s a d h e r e n t s
a r e somet i mes c a l l e d Ll s p i a n s . Th e y eee c ompui er
a c t i vi t i e s i n a s omewhat d i f f er en t l i g h t , a s com
p o s e d of e v e r - c h a n g i n g c h a i n e o f t h i n g s c al l ed
" c a r s " a n d " c u d d e r s , " whi ch wi l l n o t be e x pl ai n ed
h e r e .
LISP was d e vel o pe d b y J o h n McCart hy at
MIT, b a s e d l a r g e l y on t he Lamb da- n ot a t l on of
Al onzo C h u r c h . It al l ows t he c h a i n i n g of o p e r
a t i o n s a n d d a t a I n de ep l y I nt e r mi n g l e d f or ms .
While It r u n s on e l ega nt p r i n c i p l e s , most peopl e
o b j e ct to ite i n n u me r a b l e p a r e n t h e s e s ( a f ea t u r e
s h a r e d t o some e x t e n t by TRAC L a n g u a g e ) .
J o s e p h Wei senbaum, a l s o o f MIT. h a s
c r e a t e d a l a n g u a g e c al l ed S U P , somewhat r e s e m
b l i n g LISP, wh i c h r u n s i n FORTRAN. T h a t means
you can r u n LI SP- l l k s p r o g r a ms wi t hout havi ng
a c c e s s t o a LISP p r o c e s s o r , wh i c h I s he l p f ul .
v m 's
If you f ee l l i k e maki ng p r o g r a m s r u n f a s t ,
a n d not t a k e u p v e r y much c o r e me mo r y , yo u go
to mach i ne l a n g u a g e , t h e c o mpu t e r s v e r y own
w i r e d - u p d e e p - d o wn syst em of commands (see
P* ^52, ). It t a k e s l o n g e r , u s u a l l y , b u t many peo
p l e c o n s i d e r It v e r y s a t i s f y i n g .
T h e n , of c o u r s e , If y o u ha v e a p a r t i c u l a r
s t y l e a n d a p p r o a c h a nd s e t of I n t e r e s t s , you
wi l l p r o b a b l y s t a r t b u i l d i n g u p a c ol l ect i on of
i n d i v i d u a l p r o g r a m s f or y o u r own p u r p o s e s .
T h e n y o u ' l l wo r k o ut s i mp l i f i ed wa y s of
c a l l i n g t h e s e I nt o o pe r a t i o n a n d t y i n g t h e i r
r e s u l t s a nd d a t a t o g e t h e r .
Which me a n s y o u ' l l h a v e a l a n g u a g e of y o u r
Behold eare o f the eomUnaticms. The recipient pieke out the one he likee from 2* oaaes of them
E S S : S s i E k i S E j s H S S E = S s i : :;S i
E E i s S i i l s i l S ! S S ! 8 S i S i ! : ! S
S 5 3 S S 5 5 S S 3 2 : : r : g - * 3 s 3 S 2 S
S s : S S = j S S j E j j S 3 | j ; = ; S g i 2 3 = 3 E E j j E
2 5 i H S S : i siiii S 3 S S S S S S S S H i i i S S S S S S S S S 3 :
g p : K j s ;ax: a s srx
Belou: Nellee' program to calculate the date o f Easter.
The language i s Algol.
\. - - T - r r r - , . - . T/ r. ' T. T. r. v. r . cv- r vt . t - . t ~ - t t ..................... ..........
'ftfGIM' INTfC' #' Yeit. v6*. *, SU"SrS 5TARTI 1MINTEGER10. VEMl' l I _ . _ . . . . . . . .
UpMt | l t N T f r . f ( i n . ' I F * *TufN1 GOTO* u t t : :
1 i - i : ; ; , . ; ; j : :
OCiO ___________ipe : ruvo, . v e a j t : xt: i : i- ___! _ __
Vi " !? T ' *i*lS*C6NT-CrST' /*. -ieCFNTl3l*/Ji
_00r r . __j _________. . * . j . .. i ________
i - 4 | i ! s . :S ; s i ; : r i . . .
_ : ___J ' GOTO' ALI8! 1/1 l EZ2l _ l]_________I______
- - - - - EAUTiE^Tcsi / <(AV. ?/ i : . Ci i er<i : ' I f Cu*vs>-eP?
_____s i a i : c ww : cii i ; K4v: *vii COiO1 fiOt : _______________________ _____ _
. s s ; : s s s ; s s : : | c
* SMlfl f* *w: t SrEO' IN ILnUTSCP-l 'DO* | .............. |
" 0 0 1 * ______f -GIH* | ._____
' o o r n ' f n e a s i e r i / h . i / j s " i
__| _______ _ At . F ^ n e m/ R i t . j / t i _______
n o ^ s r f Mr ' m/ ^ i v . ^ / i i . En s TEs i / * . ? / ! ! 1
j w * ___ 1__________L. *ST5R(r t . . Vl ! . i - - - [ _________I_______________
S ---- --------------------------
00C*> ___________ : RFCIN1 I F1 FSTf Rt/< y, I / 1 TMEH' ____|_______________
10P41* ' ' OUTSTRINit I . ! *4arN >l -El se- " 1
_________ _ r e g i n * Di t r sr ai sc11. *i *pi<i i " i ' l l __J_______ I____
onrt* . C*<ffB(/y. i/| i . f*5i E0(/<i *T. U-Sl '
"C' 1** ________ _ _ _ f'UTlNT: f . CRt l . E\ STf l ( / HT. l / m ___________________
I Z L T _ _ _ r i
ooo r i r r i aai ci MM. i r r ; i 11 s r s * t r c i . n , n -eno* H
r: ri - i i - - - i: j ; ' - H - h - - - - - - - -
t u u o t i b *
n w l 6 H r l A X W J W S
Brery e mp u l a r U wi r ed to accept *p-
m *yn*m of command*. When lh**e commands
i n rtor*d In th* computer'* memor y, *nd l h
c mp u t a r ' r p n g r m follower gala lo thm. Ihay
cause U to respond di rect l y by electr onic reflex.
Thi* la caUed mac hi nt language lhe vary lan
guage of (ha machi ne Itaalf.
in moat availabl e mmpul er e th machine
language* are bi nary, meani ng composed of only
two *lt*m*l iv* symbol*- Bi nary because It* *
sensi ble w*y of organis ing tha machine' * st r uc
t ure; It pa mi l * progrero* lo be reduced to *
Ingle common form of Information, snd permits
pr ograms to be *i ored In bi nar y memory- Each
Individual ln*1ruction or command ordinaril y
occupies ana memory *lot. t hough some compu
ter* have annmanda of va ryi ng length.
Different romp u t e r i have different machine
languages, but th* inst ruct i ons of all computers
are basically simil ar. Big cxnnputer* have more
commands, wit h more vari at i ons. and carry
them out Faaler; but Ihoee v a r i a t i o n are Jusl
ext ra way* of saving st ep*, not qualitatively
different feature*.
Ths deep-down operati on* ARE ALL THE
TKINO3 THE COMPUTER HVER DOES. However.
In t hei r comblnallcst* lhe*e lnatr ucti one can be
woven Into chains and di sdains of complex acti ons.
ALL COMPUTER PROGRAMS ARB EVEN
TUALLY WRITTEN OR ENACTED IN THE MACHINE'S
PARTICULAR BINARY LANGUAGE,
Now, ll Is enti rely possi bl e lo write your
program* si t hi s leva], consi der i ng aAd arr an
gi ng rock-bottom commands. This Is called
machine-language programmi ng (and assembly
pr ogramming: see eaamples a lit tle laler on).
Indeed, working al this level Is very highly
reapeeted In some quart e r a . Other* avoid l l .
Thla Is a very seri ous mail er of tast e and whsl
you'r e worki ng on.
Higher-level l anguages, seen on ear li ar
pages, have more convenient forms for people,
but must be i r msUt ed, ei t her ahead of lima or
on a runni ng basi s, lo Ihe bottom-most codes
thal make things happen l h the machine. All of
them are buil t out of machine language. Writ
i ng (he language pr ocessor s, programs lhal
enact or t ranslat e these hi gher- l evel languages.
Is consi dered a black a r t . (Bee p . J O . )
Every programmable device has a "machine
language." or rock bottom code system thal acti
vate* the t hi ng di rectl y; ita program follower
responds electr icall y 10 these codes, and enacts
them m e inst ructi on al a t i me.
True compulers are programmable devi ces
thal can modify t heir own Inal r uct i ons, change
Ihelr sequence of operati ons and do olher versa
tile stuff.
t v * W * 4 M b
Computers are basicall y al i ke. Ignore Ihelr
appearances: a roomful of r oar i ng cabinet* may
have a gr eat deal In common with a small bl inki ng
boa; Indeed, Ihey may have the aame archi t ect ure,
or s t r uct ure, and therefore be Ihe same comput er.
The st ruct ure of computer*, In i hel r gl orious
similarit ies and fi udnat i ng dif ference*, i s called
computer archi t ect ure.
(For the archit ecture of a begi nner 's com
put er , see p . J *; tor (he archi t ect ur e of some
famous compulers, seef p. 1-} . )
Computer archit ecture covers three main
things: register* (place* where something happens
to Information); memories (places where nothing
happens to Information); t hei r Interconnections;
and machi ne language, oil lhe bott om-l evel I nst ruc
t ions (for (hi* l ast see "Rock Bot tom," p . 3 2 , ) .
REGISTERS AND MEMORIES
Computers are made, basi cal l y, of two
thing*: regis ter* snd memories. A r egi st er is
where something happens to Information: a memory
i s where nothing happens lo informat ion. Let's
go over lhal alowly.
A r egi s t er 1* a place wher e something
happens to Information: lhe information ean be
flipped around, t est ed, changed by arithmet ic,
o r what ever. (We noted ear l i er lhal r egis ters
are whai connect a computer 10 it s accessories.
They are also princi pal part s of the computer
i t s el f . )
A memory la a place where nothing hap
pens to Information. A program pula the Infor
mation t here, end there ll al ays IUI some pr o
gram pull s 11 out again or r epl aces it .
A main or general r egi s t er (often cal led
lhe accumulator, for no good r eason) Is where
the program bri ngs Ihings lo be worked on.
t est ed, compared, added lo and so on. There
can be several of them In a computer.
Other regis ter* perform ot her functi ons In
the comput er; * given computer' s desi gn, or archi
t e c t u r e . i s l argely lhe arr angement of r egis ters
and lha operations lhal lake place between them.
The reason we don't Juat have aU regis ter*
and no memories *t ail 1* thal r egi st er s t r adi
tionally coal more lhan memories. (However, some
machines are being tried lhat have aU working
r egi s t er s Instead of memory. See ST ARAN. p . H J . )
Memories come In all s i zes and apeeda.
So lola of compulers have bi g slow memories,
such as disk memories, along wit h Ihelr small
faat memories.
A memory consists of numerous holding
pl aces or st or age locat ion*, each holding one
st andard piece of Information f or Ihe computer,
a word having a specific number of bi t s (eee p.
.) We must Blress: a "COMPUTER WORD"
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ENGLISH WORDS OR
ALPHABETICAL CHARACTERS. The term refer*
to * specific machine' s st andard memory slot,
having a Axed number of bit position*.
One Important reason (or I hl s standardi sa
t i on I* lhal each holding pl ace, o r memory loca
t i on, can bo given a number or addre**. If
ever y slot i n the memory ha* an a d dr e s s , Infor
mation can be st ored In speci fic place*:
and gotten back on ilace*:
i*o*r*W 71
A core memory has a defini te rhythm or
c ycl e . Into which tl divide* the passi ng time.
The memory cycl e of a core memory Is so Im
portant that it s durati on i s often cal l ed the
cycle lime of (he confer. A request lo ihe core
memory mde at lhe begi nni ng of the cycle
i s honored al lhe end of the cycle. Core cycles
a re very fast , being these day* about one
microsecond, or millionth of * second.
A core memory can only perform one act
( store or fetch) dur i ng one memory cycl e.
Core cycle* dur i ng whi ch nothing la
r equest ed of Ihe memory simply go b y .
One last point about core memories. The
number which speci fies an address t o lhe mem
o r y i s a bi nary pat t ern- - Jusl like al l t he olher
Information (see "Binary Pa t l e ms , " p , 3 } ) .
(Or more exact l y, what ever bi nary pat t ern Is sup
pl i ed lo Ihe memory as the address to st or e or
from which t o fet ch, thal patt ern will be tr eated
a s the address to store or from which to fet ch,
t hat pat t ern wil l be tr eated as a bi nary number
whet her it was supposed to be or not . It could
be (he al phabeti c word ORINCH which got there
by mistake (see "Debugging." p. ) . bul Ihe
memory will tr eat 11 as an address number and go
to the address specified by lhat pat t ern.
The word length
(number of bi t -spaces In a main
r egi s t er and memory slot)
The number of main r egi s t er s
and what (hey can do; i . e . . how
they are sel up and what operati ons
can lake place In and among them:
i . e . ,
the Instruction Sel (see near by);
The amount of memory;
The accessories or peripherals;
The cycle time.
Here' s the computer, Ihen. in ai l Its glory:
a device with a symbol ic pr ogram, st or ed In a
memory, bei ng stepped through by a program
f ol l ower,
The commands of the program cause the
program follower to car ry oul the indivi dual
st eps request ed by each command of the program.
How, you aak desperai al y. do** thl* innar-
mo*l program follower work? The on* lhat la
buil t Into l h* m n p u t a r t
Aha.
Basical ly II consi st * of two pacific regis
t ers , the Program Count er (usual ly abbreviated
PC) and the I nstr ucti on Register (usually abbre
viated IR), and ot her electr onic Ruff, loosely
termed " deoi dl ng l ogi c.
(Since we are alr eady vi sual icing the
program foll ower aa a Uttle hand. 1*1'* think of
the index f i nger aa the program counter and
Imagine t hat t he thumb ean (Up an Instruction
inlo a l i t t l e cup. the Instr ucti on Regul ar or CR.
Whai lhe he ck. )
WHEN a program la set into operation, tiw
bi nary pat t ern specif ying Ha Ural addreaa in
memory 1* put Into lhe program counter.
Then the inst ruct i on *1 lhal address Is
fetched lo the program follower (lhal 1*. pul in
the I nstr ucti on r egi s t er ) , decoded and carri ed
THEN THE PROGRAM COUNTER AUTOMAT
ICALLY HAS ONE ADDED TO IT, SO IT POINTS
TO THB NEXT INSTRUCTION.
The i nst ructi on pull ed from memory ia
held in the command or Instructi on regis ter
and t here decoded by the system' s electronic*.
II Is of no concern to lhe programmer how
thia la done eleci nxi l caUy. (And Indeed elec
t ronics Is general l y of lit tle concern lo computer
people, unl ess ihey are t r yi ng to design or op
timise compulers or ot her devi ce* themselve*.
Indeed, lhe electr onic techni que* are constant ly
c hangi ng. )
All we need lo know Is that an electrical
decoding syst em (cal led the logic cir cuit s) c ar r i es
out lhe specif ic i nst ruct i on for Inst ance, by
hut t i ng off the path to Ihe memory, t urning on
the addi ng ci rcui t , and opening path* through
Ihe addi ng ci rcui t and back lo the main r egi s t er .
Now lhat the program counter holds (he
number of the neat Instr ucti on i t In t ur n 1*
accordingl y ret ched and executed.
And so It conti nues.
When an i nst ructi on call s for a Jump or
branch In the pr ogram, whai happens?
The jump command causes a new number
lo be stuffed Into the program counter, that' s
what , and so ( hat ' s where Ihe program goes next .
ALTERNATING CYCLES
Many Instr ucti ons (ell the program follower
(o take a data word (al so a binary pat t ern) from
memory and put It In a main r egis ter or vice
Such an Inst ructi on Is tr anslat ed by the
decoding logic Into a request to (he memory.
Since a core memory can only do one
t hing dur i ng one of It s cycl e*, the next i n s t r u c
tion In l he program cannot be fetched unlll the
date has moved to or from lhe memory.
Instr ucti on cycle (fetch (he next)
Dala cycle
(dala goes t o or from memor y) ,
Instr ucti on cycle,
Data cycle,
R J ^ tM l A rL
o f
A0WTMmM X
V A S c 9 T T o O f t J ? O l ,
YOUR BASIC COMMANDS. NOW
( Coaput an exist whi ch do Uttle more lhan these,
and yet they can In pri nci pl e do anything
f onder comput er* can d o . )
TO BE BHOWN; Th* tallowing a r e the rock-bonotn
basi c operation* of computer*, avail able aa
a pacific Inal ructi ons In al l computers (with
some vari ati on).
The Br*t seven l i st ed below will be
used in th* extended exampl e In the next
spread.
LOAD a binary patt ern from core memory to a
main regl at er.
STORE a bi nary patt ern i n core memory from a
main regi st er.
ADD TWO binary patt ern* t oget her. (Thl*
cause* them to be t r eat ed a* number*,
whet her they were lo begi n with or not . )
Go to another p a r t of (he pr ogram
end forget you were he r e .
TEffT TWO bi nary pat t erns against each other,
and b r a d i or not i n (he program depen
ding on tha resul t.
NOT TO BE SHOWN: Here a r e the r es t of lhe
utt erly fundamental commands of computer*.
(These are not used In the forthcoming
TEST ONE SPECIFIC blnsry pat t er n, and branch
in lhe program depending on the resul t .
SET AN ACCESSORY IN OPERATION/TURN IT OFF.
REVERSE ( or "COMPLEMENT") a bi nary p a t t e r n -
chsnglng aU lh* X* to O'* and vice versa.
SLIDE (or "SHIFT") a bi nary pat t ern eldel ong
through a r egi s t er .
FLIPPER (or "LOGICAL") operati ons between (wo
bi nary patt ern*, especi al l y--
OR ( or "INCLUSIVE OR" o r "tOR ) ~
r esul t Is an X where eit her
original patt ern waa an X.
AND (or "MASK") r esul t 1* an X
FANCY OPERATIONS
The following operati ons are desi r abl e bul nol
atrl cUy necessary, and many computers, es
pecially minicomputer*, don't have them all .
SUBTRACT. (Can also be done If necessary
with combination of adds and f l i ps. )
MULTIPLY. (Can also be done if necessary
wilh combination of adds, shi ft s and t esl a. )
DIVIDE, (Con also be done i f necessar y with
combination of subt r act s, ahlft* and t eal s. )
MORE FLIPPER ("LOGICAL") operati ons:
XOR- (or "EXCLUSIVE OR") resul t
la an X only wher e one patt ern
had an X, but not both.
NAND-- reversed AND.
NOR-- reversed OR.
SUBROUTINE JUMP
"Go to another pa r t of t he program
b ut remeroernber t hi s place because youll
be coming back on your own."
RETURN FROM SUBROUTINE-
"Oo back lo wher ever it was i n lhe
program thal you l ast came from. "
PUSH (on Stack machi nes onl y, see p . )
t ake * bi nary patt ern and pul It on top
of the St ack.
POP (an St ack machine* onl y, aea p. ) -
t ake what ever binary patt ern la now on
the lop of (he Sl ack.
ADD ONE ( or "INCREMENT") (Useful when
you'r e counti ng the number of time* some
t hi ng ha* been done.)
SUBTRACT ONE (or "DECREMENT." nol "excre
ment ")- - (Also useful when you'r e count
i ng the number of time* something has beei
done. )
ASTRONOMICAL/INFIN1TBSIMAL ARITHMETIC (or
"FLOATING POINT" arit hmet ic)-- operat es
on a certai n number of Significant Digits
and keepa separat e tr ack of lhe decimal
point- - actuall y a Binary Point, since ll' a
r ar el y If ever don* decimally.
V e r y Important In the physi cal
sci ences.
Almost any operati ons can be "buill i n " ." The
sky i s of course the limit, since any el ec
tr onic operati on ean be added t o a compu
t e r ' s Inst ructi on-set If desi r ed *ay, "t urn
on Ihe electr ic bl ender" or "mul ti ply quat
erni ons " but the former is mere eaaUy
done aa an output i nst ructi on, and lhe
la t t er aa part of a pr ogram.
Somehow \
LOADING. STORING, \
MODIFYING J
AND TESTING I
BINARY PATTERNS
DOESN'T SEEM I
TERRIBLY FRAUGHT I
WITH POSSIBILITIES: \
bul the endles* vari ati on* and ramifications [
make cheas look like ll c- t ac- t oe. |
And p a r t of the power, of course, la i n \
Ihe great s pe ed, Ihe teeny fract ion of a second \
each alep t akes; five hundr ed operation* ye( 1
lake only about a thousandt h of * second. So I
no matter how Intr icate the enactment lo which /
these liny st eps are buUt. It atill happens J
awfully f as t . /
A comput er, t hen, int emaUy Just consists
of certai n pl aces to work on information (main
r egi s t er s ) . cer t ai n pl aces lo keep ll lhe real of
the time (memori es), cert ai n pathways and i n t e r
connect ions between them, an i nst ructi on-set
having cer t ai n power s whose Instruct i on* can be
operated on oul of memory, and * program fol
lower that c ar r i es oul the I nstr ucti on* of t hat
Inst ruct ( on-set .
INSTRUCTION-SET.
Tha system of command pat t ern*
designed and wi r ed i nt o a pa r t i cul ar conput er ,
each with i t s exact r esul t *.
(The i nst ruct i ons In t h* sel a r e th* vocabul ary
of a machi ne l a nguage . )
H W K J j - W
a ^ O 5 W O ( ^ P U Z Z L E
We look at l u t at whal really bap pant
Im M* given computer. It mult be a specific
computer because thara la no single Innar li -
guage tor all computer*. For simplicity' s aaka
Olka moat Introductory teats) we hereby pre
sent a fictitious machine.
T f l C
F H > 0 *
(Faithful Instrument. Domesticated and Obliging).
Tha FIDO la a Iwelve-bll mac Kin*. The
main raglaier (ll haa only ona) la twalva blia
long, and ever y memory slot la twalva blls l n g .
Bvary Inaiructlon la twelve blia long;
vary dala word la twalva blta long, though of
course muh longar placaa of data can be pul
Bgetber by taking n o n lhan ona twelve-bll
word.
Some rudlmantary inalmctlone of lha FIDO
a n Uatad In a nearby box. Tha Inelmcllone of
lha FIDO a r t of two types: plain onee thal Just
uaa tha main raglalar (like CLBAR). and Ihe
divided onea, which select a memory alot or
output device. On the FIDO lhaee are divided
Into an operation code (opcode) of Ave blta
lha blta thal tell (lie program follower whal Ihe
operation Is to be; and an addreaa of leven
blta. specifying which memory elot (or ei lemal
device) la lo be operated on.
These atvsn blta allow exactly 120 differ
ent patlema, (from OOOOOOO lo XXXXXXX).
which means we can sels d among exactly 128
different memory alow. (See Binary Patterns,
p . . ) ( H kR*.>
Tha Fide cornea wilh one row of llghta
and switches; the row of lights can ehow the
conlenta of any speclAe working regis ter or
memory alot. When Ihe computer la slopped,
Ihls la helpful for debugging programs (sa
Ah, if only we could lell you all about lh<
FIDO here! lie many more Instructions. The
option blta In the commands lhal allow fancy
varlatlona, or ihe option bits In the Inlerfeces.
spoken of ear lier, which allow Ihe program to
give different commands lo external devices.
WQ.W
HSl C iK Sl R o c r * B Cf T * | r f ' . y OW f f
pattsm pattern selecting
selecting wh en to perform
operation) operation)
. . . OPCODE yj ADDRESS
Jil. >I* C-.
0 0 X O 0 C
X X 0 0 0 o
0O O O X e
OPBRATION CALLED FOR
CLEAR AC
Thia instruction causes the AC to be
filled with eeroes.
ADD (from memory lo AC)
This adda Ihe contents of Ihe speci
fied memory location io the conlenta of lha
AC. Reaull remains In the AC. Whatever
was In the memory before Is etlll there.
This Instruction is also used lo bring e
new psttem to the AC. copying 11 from ihe
specified memory location; bul you have to
CLEAR the AC fi rst, ao youre adding II to
STORE
This Instruction copies ihe contents
of Ihe AC lo lha specified memory tocal lm.
Whatever waa In Ihe memory location Is
destroyed.
Whatever n the AC Is silll there
address goes here
addreaa goes here
sddress goes here
INPUT*
Thle Instruction copies the contents
of a specified device regis ter io Ihe AC.
OUTPUT*
This Inaiructlon copies Ihe contents
of Ihe AC lo a specified device register.
JUMP
This Instruction makee the program
follower lake Its nexl Instruction al ihe
specified addreas and go on from there.
TEST. SKIP IF EQUAL**
This la a common leal Inaiructlon,
permitting the program lo branch depen
ding on various conditions. The contents
of the AC are compared wilh the specified
core memory location. If they are not the
eame. Ihe program continues snd takes ihe
neat Instruction In Ihe normal fashion. IP
Ihe two patterns are Ihe ti me, the pro
gram follower SKIPS the next Inaiructlon
and goea on lo the one after.
Whatever the noxl Instruction is.
then, determines Ihe course of events
If the two pstterns l u m oul to be Ihe
For Instance, lhat middle Inatruc-
an be a JUMP Inaiructlon. taking
i whole nother part of
lory and s new aeries of even's
D " njefl0nB "*** bee
AcluaJiy 1( _ not ' '
* 1,8 man 12-bj, efficient
U yvu want Information on lha machine
language and aaaanbly Language of my given
machine, write Ihe manufacturer for Uie g n r
arammlng manual. Thar a may also be a
pockel car d.
I W tYto M L W r
An occult aspect of compuier deaign la the
matter of how lo pack Into the so-many bi ts of
an Inaiructlon word all the options Ihe [
f t
i*j Tt vcivs
For no parti cular reason the Instruction
select bits sr e usually on the left, the address
bits on Ihe ri ght. and option blls (no room for
them In this book, unfortunately) In the middle.
The number of bits In the address det er
mines the number of places In Ihe memory lhat
the programmer can choose among. IS bite in
the addreaa means a choice of 32,768 memory lo
cations. 7 bits meane a choice of only 128,
(See "Binary Pst terns. " p. 3 3 .)
Generally a specific nmpuier haa more lhan
one instruction layout.
Deciding what the Instruction layouts are
lo be hinges on the architectural deaign of the
computer (eee p . 72. ) and ihe Inslr ucllon-sel.
It all gets worked out together,
Its ultimately a matter of deaign elegance,
bul Ihe consequences are very concrete. An
elegant Inslrucllon-sel Is easy lo use and there
fore savea a lot of time and money. (Anyone
Inlereated in studying the matter might want lo
compare the PDP-11, a 16-bll compuier wilh a
brilliantly designed inslrucllon-sel. wilh some
other 16-blt computer, )
GUESS WHAT!
The FIDO is nothing bul a stripped-down
version of lhat beloved family pooch of compulerdc
'ifePDP-?-
(Described p . ' jo )
If you buy a PDP-8 from Digital Equipment
Corporation, you get all Ihls and more. (Except
for the external devices. ) And ihc PDP-8. of
course, allows much bigger memories ihsn 128
slola. bul that' s too complicated for her e. ) Arf.
are what Ihe computer operatee on deep down. "Binary*
Just mean* (bat only two symbols are uaed (Just as
"decimal1Beau* lhal ten symbols are uaed) . Patterns
of binary symbol* happen lo be electrically omvenlenl.
t o thats how computers are bulli . bul that would
change If tome mere convenient at of symbols came
Binary patterns are vary systematic and May
to deal with. Consider Ihe number of binary symbols
you csn have In Just four spaces. LET'S USB THE
LETTERS X AND 0 . AND PUT THEM IN ALPHABETICAL
ORDER. SO YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
PATTERNS , RATHER THAN NUMBERS.
O O O O
O 0 | Q X
o o xlo
0 X
X 0
o l xj x X
lw,'00o
o o X
0 X 0
0 X X
X 0 o
X 0 X
X X o
X X X
You csn see thal the pattern repeats In certain
fntarestlng ways . Each column repeats Itself as you
r v d down; adding a new position lo the left doubles
ll* number of possible pattern* you can have in the
These are lha Infamoua "blia" you have heard
of. Aa you a n see. there 1* nothing hard or compli
cated about them. The number of bit* In a thing
i n the number of spaces which can be either Xor
Now, the moat basic facl about any computer
Is He word length; thal I s . Ihe number of spaces
In a standar d momory elot of thal computer.
I Z - V T O ' - t ' V
a i l i i i i n m
I t - m M'-.r't-*- we*A
l 1 M I I I Cl I I 1TTI
A *11-1111 conputar* u i u lha PDP-8) haa moaery
vot f a that are all twelve blta long. A "16-bll
omputc r (like lha PDP-11) haa memory word* thal
are all l e b l t a U*ig-
Actually computers with small ward lengths
like these sr<i called mlnlcomputera. Big computers
have much bigger word lengths. The IBM 360
ha* a 32-bll word langth. The Control Dala 6600
haa a 60-bll word.
Now, It is an Interesting facl lhat nol only
r e conpuier memories divided up Inlo *loit, or
locations, of equal length.
can be found. And these numbers are binary.
Many forma of Information are kepi In binary
patterns which ara nol numbers . For Instance,
letters of the alphabet are usually stored aa 8-
bit pstt er ns.
U I | o | | o | o | o M
All compute can
In principle do
Ihe eame things,
eotne (eater.
However, some a n
loo alow or too small
ever lo do whal olher* can.
though Ihe types of Ihelr
operations are slmllsr.
Some computers (and Ihelr
languages and fadlltlee)
are much mere convenient
for programmer* lhan oi hen.
because ihelr InMruction-set*
This Is no small mailer.
(But ll' e a big matter of
laata and argument
among computer people. )
However, we will have lo stop using these
X's and 0 ' s . It' s not really done, so we will
switch to Ihe more usual way of writing binary
patterns with l ' s and taroes. (Apologies to reader*
who hate numbers; but remember that these patterns
while we may write them cut a* l ' s and zeroes,
may repr esent wholly non-numerical kinds of
Information.) Thai means the letter Q is
M i l o l - W W I
but It' s nl l l the letter Q.
Of course, blta may alao represent numerical
Information. And so we pass on te
BINARY NUMBERS.
These are the same old binary paiterne,
bul when we decide to treat them as numbers,
they are binary numbera.
Let' s count. Note thal t hese are Ihe eame
atmblnahona of bit* as before. merely pul In the
more usual notation
decimal number binary number
0 000
1 001
2 010
3 Oil
4 100
6 101
6 110
7 111
08 1000
00 1001
10 1010
11 1011
12 1100
13 1101
14 1110
15 1111
A> you observe, the higher n u mwn need more
and nor * blls lo hold l han.
Thl* br ings up some Iniereellng f acu.
CERTAIN NUMBERS ARE SPECIAL because
they are Ihe number of things lhal can be specified
by a cer tain number of bits.
Special number
2 one bit Q
4 two bite
c m
0 thr ee bll*
r m
10
32
four blls
five bit*
n i t ~j
r r i I r *\
64 six bits
128 seven blls
t k -
250 eight blls
612 nine blls
1024 len bits
("ONE K" Is 1024: memories and everything
else c-amo in K' s. or multiples of 1024.)
Actually Ihs term "k. " standing for " k i l o - s h o u l d
mean one thousand, and the term BK, or Binary K,
1a used by fussy people to stand for Ihe very Important
near by number 1024. Bul computer people generally
use expr ess ions ending In K (or the following special
numbera:
THAT' S HOWMANY
NUMBER COMBINATIONS FIT IN
2048 ("2K ) eleven blls
4000 ("4K") twelve bits
8102 ("OK") thirt een bits
16,304 ("16K") fourteen bile
32,708 ("32K") (lfleen blls.
Abovs thl* number they Increase very fast , and
we generally have to look than u p , bul Ihe Idea la
Ihls: the number of bits used lo select something
limits the number of things ou can select among.
For I nstance, If you have a computer memory wilh
32K dUTereni locations, you need fifteen bit* eiaclly
ID specify a location Ln memory.
Hare ai h im ramifications:
The word length of a compuier determines
hew large a number ll can hold. A compuier wilh
a twelve-bit word can only hold number up to
4006 tn one memory location (since we use 000 000
000 000. the fi r st combination, to stand (or zero);
If wo want lo use longer numbers we have lo set
si de two or more word locellons per number. (A
16-bll computer can hold number up lo 6S.63S In
one memory location. )
ln designing dala s tr ucture s. If you use
binary codes (rBlher than, say, alphabetical char acter s) .
you have to allow enough bi ts (or all ihe allemaUve*
lhal might tur n up.
In Ihe design of Ihe wir ed- In Instructions
for a compuier , therefore. Ihs number of bits sel
aside to specify an address In core determines whether
thal Instr uct ion can select from ihe whole memory.
or Juat a pari of It.
*va$yv R j m w e< *
T h e r e ia a cer t ai n folk hero whom the
people al l c al l Bucky. It le eal d t h a l h e wea r s
t h r ee wrl at wat chea: one t or wh er e he a n ow.
one f or wh e r e he will be n e xt , a nd one t hat
Mil s what ti me It i s at blfl home-
Well n o w . Her e' s an exampl e of a l i t t l e
probl em on whi ch to t r y o u r FIDO c omput e r .
L et ' s wi r e up a magic wrl et wat ch t or
Bucky t he Fol k Her e, one t hat will u s e a teeny
FIDO on a c hi p ( t he coming t h i n g ) . at t a ch e d to
t h r ee r o ws of numeri cal r eadout s (l i ke t hose
on pocket c a l c ul a t o r s ) .
T h i s appl i cat i on le nol so a b s u r d a s you
might t h i n k .
It ia obviousl y quit e si mple In p r i n c i p l e .
It * u i l et u a see ewoe of t he wa y s t ha t
t he rock- bot t om machi ne l a nguages of c omput ers
a r e u s e d .
Nat ural l y t h i s got saved for l a s t , a nd
what la p r e s e n t e d h e r e shows l l .
The exampl e waa meant to be a c as e of
n o t - ver y - n umer i c al pr ogrammi ng t hat would
ahow t h e a b s t r ac u i ea e of it e l l . The p r og r a m
I tself ha s no i nt r i n s i c quality r el at ed to t he
problem; l hat much shoul d be v i s i bl e.
Anyhow. I programmed t h i s myself a few
weeke ago in t h e FIDO l anguage, and was v e r y
pl eased wi t h I t , bul then di scover ed a coupl e
of a ppal l i ng b u g s . As dme cl osed In on t h i s
pr oj ect I a s k e d my f ri end Mike O' Bri en t o code
t h s p r o gr a m, a nd he ki ndl y consent ed, t a k i n g
time out of hi e pr evi ous weekend pl a n s . Her e
Is Mike's p r o g r a m , for which I am gr at e f u l .
HowEVer, aft er ll was eet In t ype, Mike
r e all t e d t ha l 11 loo haa some g r o s s flaws and
would nol work aa he r e p r es e n t e d. We t hought
of havi ng chocolate chi p cookie cont est f or
c o r r ec t i o ns , e en di ng oul chocolate chi p cooki es
lo e n t r a n t s f i xi ng ll u p , bul we don' t have
euch a c omput er and we woul dn' t r u n t he p r o
gram U we ha d one anywa y . s o see If you can
gel lhe b a s i c i dea of i t . and If you a r e a r ea l
wlee guy Ax t he pr ogram for y ou r own s a t i e -
faction, a nd t ha t will be t hat .
The b a s i c Idea le that we have a FIDO.
pr esumabl y on a si ngl e I nt egr at ed ci r c ui t c hi p,
at t ached t o t h i r t e e n e xt er nal devi ces ( o r p e r i p h
e r a l s , o r I npu t - ou t p ut d e vi ce s , o r I/O de vi ce s
o r wh at ev e r ) . Thes e devi ces a r e a t i mer o r
c l ock, whi eh r e a che s zero once p e r mi nut e
t hl e Is a c omput er cl ock, meani ng a t i m e r , not
something l hal people can r e a d - - and t he t h r e e
rows of n umer i cal readout s t hat a r e the d e s i r e d
Super wat ch.
For s i mpl i c i t y ' s sake we assume h e r e t hat
each numeral l e int er faced to do ei t he r Inpul or
outpul; t h u s i he FIDO computer can ask any
gi ven n ume r a l what i t s a y s , and change Its c on
t ent s.
The f i ni s hed Wrlstwatch Is goi ng to gi ve
dme on a t we nt yf our - hour b a s i s , nol t wel ve, like
al NASA a nd s uchl i ke pl aces. Aft er 12: $9 comes
13:00. Aft er 23:59 comes 01:00.
J j 0 MK
r ,< :r
^ * e h .
The b u l k or lhe pr ogram la occupi ed with
t e s t i ng t he numeral * and changi ng them. How
e v e r , in p r o po r t i on s of act i vi t y, t he poor t hi ng
la going to s p e nd most of it s dme s a y i ng . "la
ll lime yet? I s li dme yet? Ia It di se yet ?"
( Thai ' s t he s e c o n d , t h i r d and fourt h I n s t r u c t i o n . )
Because t he FIDO sel ect s t he pa r t i c u l a r
i nput - oul put de v i ce with t he l aat seven b i t s of
an input o r o u t p ut i ns t r uc t i on, t hi s haa been
done with " a d d r e a s modif ication" arit hmet ic:
c r eat i ng an ou t p ut I nst r uct i on to a d dr e s s a p a r
t i cul ar devi ce b y addi ng (he I nst r uct i on to t he
name of t he d e v i c e . Thi s ia an anci ent and- -
honorable programmi ng t r i c k .
In s e v e r a l c a s e s , the pr ogram chooses a
devi ce lo e xami ne, o r f i l l , by t aki ng a bl ank
i nput o r o u t p ut I nst r uct i on (kept al l ocat ions
X OXO XOX a nd X OXO XXO. reapect l vel y) a nd
j d g j i t . In t he AC, to a counting number t hat
la bei ng u s e d to et ep around In t he a r r a y of
n umeral s. ( Thi s count i ng number la "N, "
o r e d in locat i on X OXO XXX.) ( These I n at r uc -
d on s wer e p u l Into t he slot s In octal form, aa
60MB" a nd "62MB" r espect i vel y. The s l a s h e s
a w meant l o di s t i n g u i s h zeroes from Ohs The
endw.(ln ** aMembly Usi l ng) means
' t r an s l at e t b . s e
n n n b . to B l n u y . u u , t h . m i h r e , b l i . , , ,
t t M - H l l cmnea out to XXO OOO OOO OOO.)
Note t h a t I n t h i s f lowchar t
A v - 3
neans, ' s t u f f t he n i a b e r 3
i n t o the v a r i a b l e A. * A
v a r i a b l e l a a n a n d l o c at i o n
I n cor e M n r y .
Coo*iTiNi q a e r
k w Avi a
0 0 - 0 0
b<Vtff x v i n tcviti sxv*
5 7 6 S
0 0 - 0 0
bewrt jsvkc svi<
12, -Ll l o f
O 0:0 0
s E 5
? T
t e s t i n g wh et her t h e ri ght most digit 1b a nine.
(ll onl y has lo l est one . si nce mlnul es a r e lhe
same r ound t he w o r l d . ) If I t ' s nol ni ne, il
j u s t a d ds one lo each a pa r i of Ihe program
c al l ed ADMIN, s t a r t i n g al XXO 0 X0 . If i l ' s
ni ne, however, ll se l s t he l lnal di git s all to
z er o , and t hen t e s t s Ihe l ens digit to see If Il' s
a f i v e , meani ng t he e nd of a n hour . (The num
b e r f i ve ha s been I ngenuousl y st or ed in a loca
tion which Mike has c al l ed FIVE, which assem
bl ed lo slot number X 0 X 0 0 X 0 . If you look
( h er e, you will see lhal Ihe slot d oes. Indeed,
cont ai n Ihe b i n a r y pa t t e r n t or the number S.)
Whai a pi l y t h e r e is no lime to lake you on
a gui ded l o u r of t hi s pr of ou nd , magnif icenl pr o
gr am. If you d i g t hi s s o r t of t hi ng, however,
you mighl Ju s l be abl e to dope il out-
Anyway, yo u' ve h ad y ou r t a s t e . Hope you
want more.
- .//
i t f h S :
e k e i r n t
4- let TUT-I
f r - 3
Mi en
- t v e
l H*U !(WV.
Hi k e OB r i e n s
s l i g h t l y d i s g r u n t l e d
p o s t s c r i p t t o t h e p r o g Pi
I!
II Lo o p
Ii
ii v l W t
t m i s )
c W d o r?
- * l | $
L
l o o p .
N-tr -tut
N . V . ~ V
r j
UfVt
" * * * KJ
U *rWl
g
in
t o x o x x x __
Thl * whal O' program looks l ike in Ihs
computer' s core memory. (A prlnloul
like the following la cal led a machlne-
laniruagB Hat i ng. )
Since all ihe addresses a r e filled I n, thia
program la said lo be In absolute
b i n a r y . Lf they wer en' t filled I n, It
would be call ed relocat able b i n a r y .
Hachine-l anguage l i st i ngs come In different
f l avor s. A bi nary l i st i ng (or dump)
Ifl generall y In ones and zer oes. An
octal l i s t i ng gr oups (he bi t s by threea
and subst i t ut es the numbers zero
t hrough seven for ihe di fferent com
bi nati on a of t hr ee bl l s. The olher
main ki nd, Ihe hexadeci mal li sti ng
or dump (an IBM t hi ng) , groups Ihe
bl ls by fours and substi tutes t he num
ber* 0-9 and the let t ers A t o P. for
the sixt een di fferent combinations of
four bli a.
W t e i f
g ! K ( M X
o w m v r s
Thia la What the program looks like when
you sel ii up for ihe Assembl er ,
which la the easier way.
A program laid oul like Ihle la call ed an
Assembly Listing. St udying l l may
help you debug (see p . J O ) .
An easy-lo-remember alphabetical code i s
used to r epresent each final I nst r uc
tion dee 1red . Such an abbreviation
Is called a mnemonic; usuall y t hey' r e
more crypt i c. The mnemonics arc
t ur ned by Ihe assembler Into the
bi nary opcode.
You don'l have lo know ihe actual addresses
In core memor y. you j us t use al pha
betical names or l abel s, and t he Ag
ue mbler figures oul where they r eal l y
go and put* in the binary addresses .
Desi red numbers, such as B, are pl ugged
Into Ihe address part s of Inst ructi ons.
YOUR OWN COMMENTS (here set off with
slashea) can stay here too.
l n Ihls FIDO example, ihe Assembler follows
two common practices: il recognizes
a label because II ends In a comma,
and recogni zes a comment because It
begins with a sl ash.
B u e t s i I k j r ' i f iv.
p k > Cp w v i i s
QoteHEMQJK
o o o XXXXXOOOOOOO
o o x x x o o o o o o o o o o
o x o o o o o x x o o x x o x
o x x x o x o o o o o o o o x
x o o x x o o o o o o o o o x
x o x o o o o x x o x o o x x
x x o x o x o o o x x o o x o
XXX XXXXXOOOOOOO
OOX OOO XXOOXOOOOOOX
OOX OOX XXOOXOOOOXOO
OOX 0X0 XXOOXOOOXOOX
OOX OXX XXOOOOOOOOXO
o o x XOO OOOOXXOXOOXO
OOX XOX XOXOOOXXOXXX
o ox XXO XXXXXOOOOOOO
OOX XXX XXOOXOOOOOXO
0X0 OOO XXOOXOOOOXXO
0X0 OOX XXOOXOOOXOXO
0X0 0X0 OOXOOXOXOXXX
0X0 OXX OOXOOXOXOXOX
0X0 XOO OXX OOOXOOOOX
0X0 XOX OOXOOXOOXXXO
0X0 XXO OXXOOOXOOXXX
0X0 XXX OXXOOOXXXXXO
OXX OOO XXXXXOOOOOOO
OXX OOX OOXOOXOXOXXX
OXX 0X0 OOXOOXOXOXXO
OXX OXX OXXOOOXOXXOX
OXX XOO OXXOOOXXOOOO
OXX XOX OXXOOOXXXXOX
OXX XXO OOXOOXOOXXXO
OXX XXX OXXOOOXOXOXX
XOO OOO OXXOOXOOOOOO
XOO OOX OOOOOOOOOOOO
XOO 0X0 OOOOXXOXOOXX
XOO OXX XOXOOOXOOXOX
XOO XOO XOXOOOXXXXOO
XOO XOX OOOOXXOXOOOO
XOO XXO XOXOOOXOXKXX
XOO XXX OOOOOOOOOOOO
XOX OOO OOOOXXOOXXXX
XOX OOX XOXOOOXOXXXX
XOX QXO XXXXXOOOOOOO
XOX OXX OOOOOOOOOOOO
XOX XOO OOXOOXOOXXXO
XOX XOX OOOOOOOOOOOO
XOX XXO XOXOOXOOOOOX
XOX XXX OOXOOXOOXXXO
XXO OOO OOOOOOOOOOOO
XXO OOX XOXOOXOOOOOX
XXO 0X0 OOXOOXOOXXXO
XXO OXX XXOOXOOOOOOX
XXO XOO XXOOXOOOOXOX
XXO XOX XXOOXOOOXOOX
XXO XXO XOXOOOOOOOOX
XXO XXX OOXOOOOOXXXO
XXX OOO XXOOXOOOOOXO
XXX OOX XXOOXOOOOXXO
XXX 0X0 XXOOXOOOXOXO
XXX OXX XOXOOOOOOOOX
XXX XOO XXXXXOOOOOOO
XXX XOX OOOOOOOOOOOO
XXX XXO OOOOOOOOOOOO
XXX XXX OOXOOXOOXXXO
XOOO OOO OOOOOOOOOOOO
XOOO OOX XXXXXOOOOOOO
KOOO 0X0 OOXOOXOXOXXX
X OOO OXX OOXOOXOXOOOX
X OOO XOO - OOOOXXOXOXOO
X 0 0 0 XOX XOXOOXOOXOXX
X OOO XXO XXXXXOOOOOOO
X OOO XXX OOXOOXOXOXXX
X OOX OOO 00X00X0X0000
XOOX OOX OXXOOXOXOXXX
XOOX 0X 0 XOXOOOOOOOOX
XOOX OXX OXXOOXOXOXXX
X OOX XOO XOXOOOOXOOXO
X OOX XOX OOOOOOOOOOOO
K OOX XXO OOOOOOOOOOOX
X OOX XXX 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0
XOXO OOO OOOOOOOOOOXX
X 0X0 OOX 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0
X 0X0 o x o o o o o o o o o o x o x
X 0X0 OXX 00000000X0X0
X 0X0 XOO OOOOOOOOXXXX
X 0X0 XOX XXOOOOOOOOOO
X 0X0 XXO XX0 0 X 0 00 0000
X 0X0 XXX OOOOOOOOOOOO
START, CLEAR
CHKCL, INPUT 0 /CLOCK IS I/O SLOT IOOOOOOO.
TEST ZERO / A NEW MINUTE?
JUMP CHKCL /NO, CHECK CLOCK AGAIN.
INPUT 1 /YES. READ MINUTE SLOT OF 1ST WATCH.
TEST NINE / i s IT A 9?
JUMP ADMIN /NO. GO TO MINUTE INCREMENTEH
L a y ? CLEAR /YES. SET EACH
M T T ^ 5 3 OUTPUT 1 /TEN-MINUTE DIGIT
- O ' OUTPUT 4 /TO ZERO,
T OUTPUT 8
INPUT 2 /CHECK TEN-MINUTE DIGIT,
TEST FIVE /NEW HOUR?
JUMP AD2TEN /NO. GO TO TEN-MINUTE INCREMENTER,
CLEAR /YES. SET EACH
OUTPUT 2 /TEN-MINUTE DIGIT
OUTPUT 6 /TO ZERO.
OUTPUT 10
ROUND. ADD N /GET CLOCK-NUMBER COUNTER
ADD INPUT /AND FORM INPUT INSTRUCTION
STORE INI /PUT IT WHERE IT BELONGS.
ADD ONE /FORM OTHER INPUT INSTRUCTION.
STORE IN2 /PUT IT WHERE IT BELONGS.
STORE IN2P1 /HERE TOO.
CLEAR
ADD N /GET COUNTER AGAIN.
ADD OUTPUT /AND FOHM OUTPUT INSTRUCTION.
STORE OUT1 /PUT fT HERE WHERE IT BELONGS.
STORE 0UT1P1 /AND HERE.
STORE 0UT1P2 /HERE TOO.
ADD ONE /FORM OTHER OUTPUT INSTRUCTION.
STORE 0UT2 /PUT IT WHERE IT BELONGS.
STORE OUT2P1 /HERE TOO .
INI,# /BECOMES "INPUT N"
TEST NINE / IS HOUR DIGIT A 9?
JUMP PAST /NO. TEST AGAIN
JUMP AD10HR /YES. GO FLIP IO-HOUR DIGIT
PAST. TEST THREE / IS HOUR DIGIT A 3?
JUMP INCHR /NO. GO INCREMENT HOUB.
1N2.0 /BECOMES "INPUT N*l. "
TEST TWO / IS TEN-HOUR COUNTER A TWO?
JUMP INCHR /NO, INCREMENT HOUR NORMALLY
CLEAR /YES, IT WAS 23: S9. SO SET
OUT2.0 /TIME TO 01: 00. ''OUTPUT Nln IS HERE.
ADD ONE /SET AC TO 1.
OUT1.0 /AND "OUTPUT Nn HERE.
JUMP INCN /GO INCREMENT CLOCK-NUMBER COUNTER
INCHR. ADD ONE /ADD 1 TO HOUR
OUT1P1.0 /BECOMES "OUTPUT N".
JUMP INCN /GO INCREMENT CLOCK-NUMBER COUNTER
ADMIN, ADD ONE /ADD 1 TO MINUTE DIGIT.
OUTPUT 1 /AND PUT IT
OUTPUT 5 /IN ALL
OUTPUT 9 /THE MINUTE DIGITS.
JUMP CHKCL /THEN GO BACK TO CLOCK-WATCHING.
AD2TEN. ADD ONE /ADD 1 TO TEN-MINUTE DIGIT
OUTPUT 2 /AND PUT IT
OUTPUT 6 /IN ALL
OUTPUT 10 /THE TEN-MINUTE DIGITS.
JUMP CHKCL /THEN GO BACK TO CLOCK-WATCHING,
AD10HR, CLEAR /FIRST CLEAR
0UT1P2, 0 /HOUR DIGIT (BECOMES "OUTPUT N")
1N2P1, 0 /THEN GET TEN-HOUR DIGIT
ADD ONE /AND ADD 1 TO IT.
OUT2P1.0 /BECOMES "OUTPUT N+l".
INCN. CLEAR /ROUTINE TO GET NEXT CLOCK NUMBER.
ADD N /ADDING FOUR TO CLOCK NUMBER
ADD FOUR /TAKES US TO NEXT CLOCK.
TEST FTEEN /HAVE WE RUN OUT OF CLOCKS (N=1S)?
JUMP STORN /NO. GO STORE N AND RETURN
CLEAR /YES. SET
ADD N /N=3
ADD THREE /AND RETURN
STORE N /TO START OF PROGRAM
JUMP CHKCL /(WE'VE DONE CHECKING CLOCKS).
STORN, STORE N /STORE NEW CLOCK-NUMBER COUNTER
JUMP ROUND /AND SERVICE NEXT CLOCK . END OF MAIN PROGRAM.
ZERO, 0 / THESE ARE CONSTANTS.
ONE. 1
TWO. 2
THREE. 3
FOUR, 4
FIVE. $
NINE. 9
FTEEN, IS
INPUT. 6000B /RAW INPUT INSTRUCTION, (OCTAL)
OUTPUT, 6200B /RAW OUTPUT INSTRUCTION. (OCTAL)
N, 0 /COUNTER FOR WHICH CLOCK WE'RE ON,
IP THl *
T M o ver.
Ten minut es aftor starli ng 10 program In
Machine Language you wil l pr obably want Assem
bl y Language.
Its a pain t r yi ng 10 tJe< 811 lhe oncs and
zeroes r i ght . (xj Ot} H*
It' s a pai n t r yi ng to keep track of binary
numbers for where t hi ngs a r e sl ored.
SO: lel' 9 give Ihetn alphabelical names.
Thats assembly l anguage. (And the conversi on
program we pul our al phabet i cal Into, 10 turn
them back i nt o ihe bi nary patt erns lhat reall y
r un ihe machi ne-- lhal conversi on program ia
call ed ihe Assembl er. )
An assembler i s a dir ect and non-tr icky
t r ansl at or, i ntended mainly lo handle the detai ls
of exact tr ansposit ion between inst ructi on code
words and the exactl y correspondi ng machi ne-
language program t hat you intend.
IT WORKS LIKE THIS: The assembler
scans t hrough the assembly-l anguage pr ogram,
t est i ng the successi ve alphabeti cal char act er s.
After fi ndi ng the key punctuat ion marks or
deli mit ers (shown as comma and slash for the
FIDO assembl er ) , it scans for the alphabelical
inst ructi on mnemonics, and tranalalea them by
a table i n core memory Into the correspondi ng
binary codes. (It Ignores everything on a line
after a s l a s h , which i s l ucky, since ln the
comments you may use words which a r e the same
as inst ruct i on mnemonics. )
The assembler also counts the i nst ructi ons,
and ( st art i ng wher ever you say) f igures where
i n core memory the Instr ucti ons (and any data
o r spaces you put In) go. Then it makes a Hat
of these addresses , called a symbol table (also
call ed e name Hal al l ess elegant pl aces) .
An assembler Is i he simplest form of
compil er (see p . 3 o ) . Basically it tr ansl at es an
sssembly-language program, which cannot be run
di r ect l y. Into a bi nary program which can,
Then from t hi s symbol table ll fi ll s Ihe
resul t i ng bi nary addresses Into Iho bi nary com
mands of t he program.
Aren't you glad you don'l have lo?
Cenerally the assembler then sends oul
the bi nary program lo some ext ernal devi ce,
such as a dlak memory or paper tape punch.
Than It can be pul Into core memory when you
wanl t o run l l ,
(You can pul a pr ogram Into core memory
one bi t at a lime t hrough lha front -panel switches;
but nobody likes doing this except for leeny pr o-
(Nole: an assembler for one computer (say
the PDP-B) lhat runs on a different computer
( say. ihe 380) Is cal led a cross assembl er . )
t o y o u see
w h v w e u s e
t u
"Assembl y l anguage programming Is good for the BOul."
Folk saying
Thia is a PDP-11, one of the world's best-designed minicomputers (see p. If*).
The PDP-11 is a 16-bit machine. Shown ie Model 45, the fastest PDP-11, which
has various special features. Stripped, with 4K of core memory (that's 4096
locations), it costs about $13 grand. A smaller PDP-11 goes for some $5000.
Minicomputers are now being found
in highschools; active marketing to
highschools is now being done by both
DEC and Hewlett-Packard.
Children's museums in Brooklyn
and Boston have recently obtained PDP-
11s for the kids to interact with. In
the Brooklyn case, the computer will
even demonstrate the exhibit and help
the child discover things about it, in
ways worked out by Gordon Pask (see p.
J M 3 ) *
In the future, networks of minis
may be the systems to offer low-cost
information services to the home (for
speculations, see 51).
But minis will alsA start to make big
ger and bigger incursions on the terri
tory of the big machines. For instance,
one group proposes a time-sharing sys
tem which will simply consist of Novas
interconnected in a ring, the so-called
STAR-RING, which will supposedly com
pete with big time-sharing.
A minicomputer simply means a
small computer, no different in
principle from the big ones (see
next spread), and it can do all the
same things except as limited by
speed and memory capacity.
(Mind, we are talking about
real computers, not the little cal-
culators you "hold in your hand that
just do arithmetic. A real compu
ter is one which works on stored
programs and all kinds of data,
working not merely on numbers but
on such other things as text, mu
sic and pictures if supplied with
appropriate programs; see flip side.)
There is some argument over
what constitutes a minicomputer;
basically we will say it's any com
puter with a word length of.18 bits
or less (see "Binary Patterns,1* p.
27). (Some companies, like Data-
craft and Interdata, are trying to
peddle their worthy computers as
"minicomputers" even though they're
24 and 32 bits, respectively, but
that's very odd. Interdata says
any computer under ten thousand is
a mini-- which means all computers
will be minis by and by; a vexing
thing to do to the term.)
Traditionally minicomputers
come with much less. In the old
days pretty much all the programs
you got with it were an assembler
(see p, 35) and' a debugger (see p.
Jo) and a Fortran compiler (see p.
54-) if you were lucky. Today,
though, with minis having highly
built-up software like (see pp. Y0 -y
for descriptions) the PDP-8, the
PDP-11 and the Nova, you can get a
lot of different assemblers, to
gether with Fortran, BASIC, and a
little disk or cassette operating
system (see p . tfS') to make your
life a little easier.
The idea of owning a computer
may* seem strange to some people,
but with prices falling as they are
it makes perfect sense. Numerous
individuals own minis, and as the
price continues to drop the number
will shoot up. For several families
with children to pool together and
buy one for the kids makes a lot of
sense. One friend of mine has an 8,
another is contemplating an 11.
(I've been trying to get ray own for
years; perhaps this book...) Any
how, the general price range is now
$3000 to $6000 plus accessories,
and that's dropping fast. Rental
is usually a great mistake: prices
are very high and after six months
or so you'll have paid for it with
out owning it. (But names of rental
places will be found in this book,
and some of them may offer good ar
rangements.) Minis may now be had
in quantity for $1000 each-- price
of the PDP-8A in May 1974-- and soon
that will be the consumer price.
Unfortunately, the price of the
computer itself is dropping faster
than that of the accessories, such
as the basic terminal you'll need,
which still weighs in at $1000-5000.
Moreover, as soon as you want to do
anything serious you'll need a disk
(starting around $4 500) or at least
a cassette memory (starting around
$1500). But these prices too will
come way down as the consumer market
opens.
Some of us minicomputer freaks
see little real need for big computers.
Minicomputers are splendid for inter
active and "good-guy" systems (see
P* 13) as personal machines, to han
dle typing and bookkeeping; even for
business systems, if you recognize
the value of working out your own in
BASIC or, say, TRAC Language.
Minicomputers are being put in
side all manner of other equipment
to handle complex control. (However,
for repetitive simple tasks, the lat
est thing is microprocessors (see p.
tf lf) , which cost less but are harder
to program.)
Here's that selfsame PDP-11
in its overall setting. With
peripherals shown, plus the
magnificent Vector General
display (shown later on in
book, & elsewhere),
this setup cost well over a
hundred grand. (This is the
Circle Graphics Habitat, oth
erwise known as the Chemistry
Department Computer, U. Illi
nois at Chicago Circle. Why
do chemists need such things?
See p. 1.)
The good o V PDP-8, perhaps
the most popular minicomputer
(12 bits). Full PDP-8b now
cost about $3000, "kits" less.
Shown here with a Sykes cas
sette tape deck a nice,
rather reliable unit and a
screen display (see ppPn2Z~3)
Courtesy Princeton University ,
& H.E.S.I.S.T.O.R.S. (see p.
Kids love computers.
They belong together.
This lad flips panel
switches on a Nova,
perhaps the third most
popular mini after the
8 and 11 (26 bits; see
P. *fi j .
t W H R t s u r e i t s ,r t e & i f T f t y
^ - 2 " A a ^ n u L H T o g j '
^ ________ h e t i f i o r t t s wl 'cA , t . f j n cT u i f L , usa*^
0 0 fgfi
0 d L V *
> . v
J ) ! ^ : 3 K o v e r v i e y r
There is great confusion as between
various types of small computer, with the
latest stupid term, "microcomputer," add
ing to the confusion. We have:
minicomputer or mini
Traditionally, any computer hav
ing an architecture (memory and
main registers) of 18 bits or
less. Lately, unfortunately,
some people have been adver
tising their 24-bit and even
32-bit computers as minis. This
is just confusing.
(They base this on the fact
that "minicomputer" has also re
ferred to a machine sold without
a lot of programs. But that's
really a separate issue.)
microprocessor
Two-level computer (see p. )
microcomputer
Crummy term apparently being used
to mean any tiny computer, regard
less of its structure. Thus all
computers will be "microcomputers"
in a few years. This clarifies
nothing as to their structure or
u se.
midi computer
Remember midi skirts? Well, this
term has been used for computers
larger than 16 bits or faster than
usual, by people seeking to give
the impression that their machines
are bigger than minis and less than
biggies. Even the PDP-10 (a genuwine
biggie) has sometimes been called
a mi d i .
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A e f t * L > J * * * * * s * .
A p r o d uc t c a l l e d C l i ng Free
c o mes s c e nt e d i n a s p r a y c a n ,
f o r p r e v e n t i n g s t a t i c i n y o ur
l a u n d r y i s s a i d to el i mi nate
s t a t i c e l e c t r i c i t y i n c arp eted
c o mp ute r r o o ms . Sp r ay it al l
o v e r t h e r u g , e s p e c i a l l y n e a r
t h e c o mp ut e r , a nd y o u w o n't
z ap p t h e c o mp ute r w i th s p a r k s
f ro m y o u r f i n g e r s .
op o | W Pensl i evj l i
Ci p. N
HE Y, SOM E M I N I R E N T A L S M A Y BE R E A SON A BL E
N o va mi ni c o mp ut er s are l e a s a b l e f ro m:
R ental E l e c t r o n i c s , I n c .
( a s u b s i d i a r y o f P e p s i c o )
99 Hart w el l A v e .
L e x i n g t o n, M A 02173
f o r a s l i ttl e as $ 2 5 0 / m o . , l o n g - t e r m .
A long but incomplete list of minicomputer manufacturers is at the bottom of p. Lj 5
-FOM OF X^BuG6| HG- O K
h u UK. P'A t ohTri|
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fta [ o*iov ok
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The mini man is like a rock climber,
chimneying and twisting to squeeze through
to his goal not his body, of course, but
his program.
* IreaJLov- p o k c ^ . ^T**' :
tin* t.
^BIGGIE
The operator muses at the console of the main computer at the University
of Illinois at Chicago Circle. It is an IBM 370 model 156, which rents for
about $50,000 a month, including all accessories and a dozen or so terminals
in the parlance of big-computer people, a "medium-sized installation."
This is a big computer.
In principle its no different from a small one; but it has
bigger memories, more registers, more program followers. There
are more specialized parts.and more things happening at once.
(Thus the term "digital computer complex is sometimes used for
a big computer.) It comes supplied with a monitor program or
operating system (see p. ^5) and a variety of other utility pro
grams and language processors.
Biggies have many ominous and seemingly incomprehensible
things to scare the layman.
For one thing, where is the computer? All you see is a lot
of roaring cabinets. Whicli is it"?
Answer: all of them. "The computer" is divided among the
different cabinets (note diagram and cluster of pictures locating
the operator among them, below).. The external devices or peri
pherals (see p. 5*7) are usually in separate housings. Usually
there is one single box or "mainframe" containing core memory,
mafn registers, program-following circuitry, etc., as in the ma
chine illustrated, but these things dont have to be in one box,
and sometimes aren't.
Operator's console of
this particular setup.
The operator may use the
keyboard or light^-pen
(see p. J M 2 3 ) to select
among waiting programs,
submitted by various
programmers and depart
ments .
The parts of a computer are set
up to be gotten at, to be refilled and
repaired. Their innards swing open
like refrigerators. Similarly, the
wiring of computers is in separate sec
tions or modules ("module" merely be
ing today's stylish term for "unit),
having very orderly connections among
them. Individual circuits are on cir
cuit sheets or cards" which plug in
sideways and may be replaced easily.
Theres nothing really computerish
about this, its merely sensible con
struction; but it is traditional in
other fields to build something as a
tangle of wires. (When TV makers fol
low these rational practices, they
call it "space age construction.")
Why are the different parts so
far apart? So there's room to swing
them open, refill or change them, sit
down and repair them. Refrigerators
could, and perhaps should, also be
built in separate sections, but it's
not traditional. Automobiles can't
be spread out because they have to en
dure the jostles of the road. But
computers like this baby aren't going
anywhere.
Also intimidating is the fact
that you have to step up as you enter
a computer room. That"^ because com
puter rooms ordinarily have raised
floors, permitting cables to be run
around among the pieces of equipment
without your tripping.
Computer rooms are generally lit
by millions of fluorescent bulbs,
making them garishly bright. This is
simply tradition.
Big computers can have millions
of words of core memory. Moreover,
there are usually several disk drives
and tape drives, as seen in the pic
tures, used to hold data and programs.
(Some of the programs are the system
programs, especially the language pro
cessors and the operating system--
see p. ^5*-- but otheT programs and
most of the data belong to the users.)
AN OPERATOR IS NOT A PROGRAMMER
Cindy Woelfer is the day-shift operator of Circle's big computer.
The job mainly consists of changing dinks and tapes, starting and stop
ping different jobs listed on the scope, and restarting the computer
when the system crashes (gratuitously ceases operation).
Ms. Woelfer, a thoughtful person, says she does not find her job
very stimulating. She can program, but the job doesn't involve pro
gramming. It's also a lonely job. Non-systems people, except Mayor
Daley, aren't ordinarily allowed around. About the only people to talk
to are the systems programmers who stop through to look at the scope
and see whether their programs are up next.
C o a t m e m o r y
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Ii used to be traditional for
machines like this to have many many
rows of blinking lights, showing what
was in all the main registers at any
fraction of a second. But there's
really no point in seeing all that,
since about all you can tell from it
is whether the computer is going or
not (if it's not, the lights are stop
ped) and other high-level impressions.
For that reason some big computers,
beginning with the CDC 6600, started
doing away with the fancy lights and
bringing written messages to the op
erator on a CRT scope instead (for
lots more on the glories of CRTs,
see the flip side, pp. |)P\ 2.1<
B i g computers can have multiple
program followers and sets of regis
ters (a program follower and its
main registers are together called a
CPU, Central Processing Unit). A
computer with two CPUs, i.e., two
sets of program followers and regis
ters to carry the program^5ut, is
called a dual processor; a computer
with more than two CPUs is called a
multi-processor.
Separate independent sections of
core memory may be put in one computer,
allowing separate program followers
and data channels to work at the same
time. (Note: a "bank" of core memory
is an independent section. Except in
this sense of "core memory bank" or
"core bank," there is no other correct
usage of the layman's vague term
"memory bank." Computer people only
say "memories," and distinguish fur
ther among core, disk, tape, etc.
Note that "<Iata banks" are a separate
issue-- see "Issues," p.J? .)
DINOSAURS?
Many computer people, the author
included, entertain certain doubts a-
bout the long-term usefulness of big
computers, since minicomputers are
cheaper, especially in the long run,
and can actually be in the offices and
homes where people create and use the
information. Big computers are neces
sary for time-sharing (see p. 45) and
huge "number-crunching" jobs (see
"Grosch's Law," nearby). However, it
will soon be cheaper to put standard
ized number-crunching jobs in stand
alone or accessory hardware; see "Mi
croprocessors," p. 4^.
Fans of big computers also argue
that they are necessary for business
programming, but that only means tra
ditional business programming-- non-
mteractive and batch-oriented. For
tomorrow's friendly and clear business
systems, networks of minis may be pref
erable. But makers of big computers
may be unwilling to adroit this possi-
billty.
Tends t o happen s e v e r a l t i mes a da y.
Mi ni comput er s a r e s o ni f t y l h a t we may a s k
why h a v e bi g c omp u t e r s at a l l . T h e a n s we r i e
t hat t h e r e a r e c o n s i d e r a b l e e conomi es , esp ec i al l y
In a ppl i c at i ons t h a t r e q u i r e many r e p e t i t i v e Oper
at i ons and don' t n e e d I nt er a ct i on wi t h u s e r s .
A hypot he s i s a bout t he economy of bi g
comp u t e r s was f or mul at ed a l ong t i me ago by
H e r b e r t J . R . Gr os ch, onet i me d i r e c t o r of IBM' s
Watson Lab a nd now a h e a v y d e t r a c t o r of IBM.
T h u s I t i s c al l ed G r o s c h ' s Law. T h e i dea i s
b a s i c a l l y t hat t h e r e i s a e q u a r e - I a w r el a t i ons h i p
be t wee n a ma chi ne' s s i z e a n d It s p o w e r ( nar r o wl y
de f i ne d in t e r m s of t he c os t of mi l l i ons of o p e r a t i o n s ,
a n d wi t hout c o n s i d e r i n g t he a d v a n t a g e s of i n t e r a c t i v e
s y s t e ms or o t h e r f e a t u r e s wh i c h may b e of more
ul t i mat e valu^). A n y w a y , wh e n I a ake d him r e c e n t l y
f o r h i s formul at i on o f G r o s c h ' s Law , I got the f ol
l owi ng:
"G r o s c h ' s Law ( for mal ) : Economy i n c omput i n g i s a s t h e
s q u a r e r oot o f t he s p e e d .
( i nf or ma l ) : I f y o u wa n t t o do i t t e n l i mes
a s c h ea p, y o u ha v e t o do it a h u n d r e d t i mes
a s fast .
( i n t e r p r e t i v e ) : No ma t t e r how c l e v e r t h e
h a r d wa r e boys a r e , t he s of t war e boys p i s s It a wa y ! "
J D M t
H e r e , t h e n , a r e some t h u m b n a i l d e s c r i p
t i o n s o f some g r e a t , c l a s s i c o r p o p u l a r com-
p u t e r s , e x p a n d i n g o u r b a s i c d i a g r a m s a s n e e d e d .
I n d i v i d u a l c o m p u t e r s r e p r e s e n t v a r i a t i o n s
o f t h e p a t t e r n s s h o wn s o f a r .
Th e p a r t i c u l a r s t r u c t u r e o f r e g i s t e r s ,
me m o r i e s a n d p a t h w a y s among t h e m i s c a l l e d t h e
a r c h i t e c t u r e o f a c o m p u t e r ( s e e p . OZ, ) . The
b i n a r y i n s t r u c t i o n s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e p r o g r a m
mer a r e c a l l e d t h e i n s t r u c t i o n - s e t o f t h e
p a r t i c u l a r c o m p u t e r ( s e e p . 3 3 ) . ( Th e w o r d
" a r c h i t e c t u r e " i s o f t e n ^ s e d t o c o v e r b o t h ,
i n c l u d i n g t h e i n s t r u c t i o n - s e t a s w e l l . )
The p r i n c i p a l v a r i a t i o n s among c o m p u t e r s
a r e t h e wo r d l e n g t h ( i n b i t s - - s e e " b i n a r y
p a t t e r n s , " p . 3 ^ ) * n d t *'e nu mb e r a n d a r r a n g e
me nt o f m a i n r e g i s t e r s . Th e n come t h e d e t a i l s
o f t h e i n s t r u c t i o n - s e t , e s p e c i a l l y t h e way s
i n w h i c h i t e m s a r e s e l e c t e d f r o m c o r e memory
- - t h e a d d r e s s i n g s t r u c t u r e . Th e n t h e i n s t r u c
t i o n - s e t , wh os e c o m p l i c a t i o n s a nd s u b t l e t i e s
c a n b e c o n s i d e r a b l e i n d e e d .
The i n d i v i d u a l c o m p u t e r i s t h e c o m p l e x
r e s u l t o f a l l o f t h e s e . I f t h e y f i t t o g e t h e r
w e l l , i t i s a g o o d d e s i g n . I f t h e y f i t t o
g e t h e r p o o T l y , i t i s a b a d d e s i g n . A b a d d e
s i g n i s u s u a l l y n o t s o much a m a t t e r o f o v e r t
s t i n k y f e a t u r e s a s o f r a m i f i c a t i o n s w h i c h f i t
t o g e t h e r d i s a p p o i n t i n g l y . ( G l i t c h i s a t e r m
o f t e n u s e d f o r s u c h s t i n k y f e a t u r e s o r r e l a
t i o n s h i p s . )
The p o s s i b l e w a y s o f o r g a n i z i n g c o m p u t i n g
h a r d w a r e a r e v a s t , a n d o n l y p a r t l y e x p l o r e d .
(An a s i d e t o c o m p u t e r g u y s : o n t h e I n t e l c h i p
d e b u g g i n g c o n s o l e s t h e y h a v e a n a d d r e s s t r a p
( t r a p p i n g on a p r e s e t t a b l e e f f e c t i v e a d d r e s s )
a n d a p a s s c o u n t e r ( t r a p p i n g a f t e r n p a s s e s ) .
How come we h a v e n t s e e n t h e s e s o o n e r ? )
The m a c h i n e s m e n t i o n e d h e r e a r e a n a r b i
t r a r y s e l e c t i o n . Some o f t he m a r e t h e G r e a t
Nu m b e r s , c o m p u t e r s s o i m p o r t a n t t h a t f o l k s u s e
t h e i r n u m b e r s a s p r o p e r n o u n s , w i t h no b r a n d
n a me :
"Do y o u h a v e a 360 up t h e r e ? "
" P e r s o n a l l y , I ' d r a t h e r wo r k o n a 5 S 0 0 . "
He r e i s w h a t t h e y a r e t a l k i n g a b o u t .
The PDP-8 warn designed by Gordon Bell
(in it* original version, the PDF-5) about
I960. Originally it cost about $25,000| am
of May 1974'that price ia d o n to about $3 0 0 0 ,
or learn than a thousand dollar* lf you want
to buf the eircuita and wire It all up your-
If* Top, her* come* that Bsathkit.
The PDP-8 baa boon D E C * hottest seller)
you'll find t h a in industrial plant* and
M o a i , or oven hidden in the weirdest equip
at, from typesetting devices to big disk
drive*. At universities all over there are
kids who loo t h a Inside out.
Today the PDP-8 s e w archaic, with its
ons a e c w l a t o r and awkward addressing ickeatti
you can only get to ZS6 different addresses in
core a a o r y directly, and it's chopped up into
page*. But for its time it was a brilliant
design, packed like a parachute, and even to
day there are people who swear by it. (But
look at what Bells done latelyi the PDP-11.)
So many programs exist for the FDP-fl,
tlwwigh , and so m e h sentimental fondness, that
It will be with us for the foreseeable future.
Ttaa the teclcy's Wristvstch1 example (seen,
dl-ft is not totally frivolousi we may aeaume
that a PDP-8 on one or two wristwatch-sized
chips is only a year or so away. But let's
hope they do the 11 first.
(Look*likes available from Digital Coaputer
Controls and Pabrl-Tek.)
%
S t L1J)
The IBM 7090 was the classic computer.
Introduced about I960 and mostly gorte by '66,
it was simple and powerful, with clean and
decent instructions. With its daughter the
7094, it became virtually standard at uni
versities, research institutions and scien
tific establishment*. At many installations
that went on t- 3 6 0 s they long for those
clearminded days.
The 90 had three index registers and
fifteen bits to specify core addresses.
(Thia mesnt, of course, that core memory
could ordinarily be no longer than 32,768
word* (a32KB see "Binary patterns,* p. 73.)
A later model, the 94, went up to 7 index
registere, since there were three bit* to
eelect them with.
Though these were million-dollar a a .
chinee ten year* ago, you now hear of them
being offered free to anyone who'll cart
them away) partly because they needed a lot
of power, airconditioning and oso on. But
they were great number crunchers. (If you
want a 90, 1 believe that 90 lookalikes are
still available from Standard Machines in
California.)
U n i v a c ' s 1106 a n d 1108 a r e f a s t , h i g h l y
r e g a r d e d m a c h i n e s . I n d e s i g n i n g t h e c o m p u t e r
U n i v a c d i d a c l e v e r t h i n g : t h e y b u i l t a n u p
g r a d e d 7 0 9 4 . T h i s m e a n t ( a s I u n d e r s t a n d i t )
t h a t a l l t h e p r o g r a m s f r o m t h e o l d 7094 w i l l
r u n on i t . B u t i n s t e a d o f t wo m a i n r e g i s t e r s
t h e y h a v e 2B.
( Where t h e y f o u n d t h e b i t s i n t h e i n s t r u c
t i o n wo r d t o s e l e c t among a l l t h o s e r e g i s t e r s
I c a n ' t t e l l y o u . )
The 1 1 0 8 i s a l a r g e r v e r s i o n , w i t h t w i c e
a s many m a i n r e g i s t e r s .
T
(o
DEC' S PDP-10 i s i n some wa y s t h e s t a n d a r d s c i e n t i f i c
c o m p u t e r t h a t t h e IBM 7094 was i n t h e s i x t i e s .
Th e PDP-10 i s e x c e l l e n t f o r m a k i n g h i g h l y i n t e r a c t i v e
s y s t e m s , s i n c e i t c a n r e s p o n d t o e v e r y i n p u t c h a r a c t e r
t y p e d b y t h e u s e r .
I t i s a f a v o r i t e b i g c o m p u t e r among r e s e a r c h p e o p l e
a n d t h e w e l l - i n f o r m e d . The ARPANET, w h i c h c o n n e c t s b i g
c o m p u t e r s a t some o f t h e h o t t e s t r e s e a r c h e s t a b l i s h m e n t s ,
i s l a r g e l y b u i l t w i t h PDP - l Os . T h e r e a r e PDP*10s a t MIT,
II. o f U t a h , S t a n f o r d , Y a l e , P r i n c e t o n a nd E n g e l b a r t s s ho p
( s e e p . ) The W a t k i n s Box ( s e e p . ^ -* } ) hooks t o a 10.
D i g i t a l E q u i p m e n t C o r p o r a t i o n , a wa r e t h a t i t s c o mp u t e r
t r a d e m a r k "PDP" c o n n o t e s m i n i c o m p u t e r s t o t h e u n i n f o r m e d ,
now w a n t s t h e 10 t o b e c a l l e d D E C s y s t e r n - 10 r a t h e r t h a n PDP.
W e ' l l s e e i f t h a t c a t c h e s o n .
Who d e s i g n e d i t i s n o t e n t i r e l y c l e a r . I ' v e h e a r d
p e o p l e a t t r i b u t e i t v a r i o u s l y t o t h e Model R a i l r o a d i n g Cl ub
a t MI T, t o Go r d o n B e l l , a n d o n e A l a n Ko t o k .
O r i g i n a l l y i t was t h e P D P - 6 , w h i c h a p p e a r e d a b o u t 19 64 ,
a n d wa s t h e f i r s t c o m p u t e r t o b e s u p p l i e d w i t h a t i m e - s h a r i n g
s y s t e m , w h i c h wo r k e d f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g , i f r o c k i l y . Now
i t ' s g o o d a n d s o l i d . DEC' s o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m f o r i t ( s e e p .
45 ) i s c a l l e d TOPS, b u t DBN s e l l s on e c a l l e d TENEX, a l s o
h i g h l y r e g a r d e d . The 10 d o e s t i m e - s h a r i n g , r e a l - t i m e p r o
g r a mm i n g a n d b a t c h p r o c e s s i n g s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , s w a p p i n g t o
c h a n g e a b l e a r e a s o f c o r e memor y. ( T h i s f e a t u r e s h o u l d s o o n
b e a v a i l a b l e , a t l a s t , on IBM c o m p u t e r s ( " V S 2 - 2 " ) . )
PDP - 1 0 t i m e - s h a r i n g w o r k s e v e n i f y o u d o n ' t h a v e a d i s k ,
u s i n g DECt a pe ( DEC' s c u t e l i t t l e t a p e s ) . Of c o u r s e , w i t h o u t
d i s k i t s r e a l l y h o b b l i n g , b u t t h i s c a p a c i t y i s n e v e r t h e l e s s
n o t e w o r t h y .
Th e PDP-10 h a s d e b u g g i n g commands w h i c h wo r k u n d e r t i m e
s h a r i n g a n d w i t h a l l l a n g u a g e s , a n d h u g e l y s i m p l i f y p r o g r a m
m i n g .
U n l i k e t h e IBM 3 6 0 , w h o s e h a r d w a r e p r o t e c t i o n comes i n
o p t i o n s , t h e 10 h a s s e v e n l e v e l s o f p r o t e c t i o n : t h e u s e r c a n
s p e c i f y who may r o a d h i s f i l e s , r u n t h e m , c h a n g e t h e m , a n d do
f o u r o t h e r t h i n g s . The PDP-10 d o e s h a v e j o b c o n t r o l c o mma n ds ,
b u t t h e y a r e n o t e v e n c o m p a r a b l e i n c u m b e r o s i t y t o IBM s JCL
L a n g u a g e ( s e e p . 3 1 ) , a n d t h e y a r e t h e same f o r a l l t h r e e
modes o f o p e r a t i o n : t i m e - s h a r i n g , r e a l - t i m e a n d b a t c h .
The PDP-10 h a s 36 b i t s b u t h a s i n s t r u c t i o n s t o o p e r a t e
on c h u n k s , o r b y t e s , o f a n y l e n g t h . I t h a s s i x t e e n m a i n r e g
i s t e r s , a s J o e s t h e 3 6 0 , b u t u s e s t h e m mor e e f f i c i e n t l y .
The PDP-10 a l s o h a s u n l i m i t e d i n d i r e c t a d d r e s s i n g : a n
I n s t r u c t i o n c a n t a k e i t s e f f e c t i v e a d d r e s s f r o m a n o t h e r l o
c a t i o n , w h i c h c a n i n t u r n s a y t o t a k e i t s e f f e c t i v e a d d r e s s
e l s e w h e r e , a d i n f i n i t u m . F o r y o u r h e a v y t i g h t e l e g a n t s t u f f .
P e r h a p s m o s t i m p o r t a n t , t h e 10 h a s a f u l l s e t o f s t a c k
i n s t r u c t i o n s ( s e e " Th e M a g i c o f t h e S t a c k , " p . 4 2 ) , a l l o w i n g
p r o g r a m m e r s t o u s e m u l t i p l e s t a c k s f o r p u r p o s e s o f t h e i r o w n .
( The o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m ' s own s t a c k s a r e p r o t e c t e d . ) P r o g r a m *
me r s d o n o t h a v e t o s a v e e a c h o t h e r ' s r e g i s t e r s , a s o n t h e 3 6 0 .
P r o g r a m m e r s a r e r e l a t i v e l y s a f e f r o m e a c h o t h e r .
St.
H A * r - 1 2 -
rp-ro
wrntv<t(o( ^ L.f*
H.
Some t h i n k o f t h e PDP-6 a n d 10 a s a g l o r i f i e d 709 4 ( w i t h
I B a d d r e s s i n g b i t s , i n s t e a d o f 1 5 ) . I n t h i s c a s e we m i g h t
c o n s i d e r t h e 360 a s t r i p p e d - down v e r s i o n o f t h e 6 , s i n c e IBM
t h r e w o u t t h e s t a c k a nd i n m o s t m o d e l s t h e memory n a p p i n g .
P D P - l Os a r e o r d i n a r i l y s o l d w h e r e t h e v i e w s o f s c i e n t i s t s
a n d e n g i n e e r s a r e c o n s i d e r e d i m p o r t a n t , a n d c o m p t r o l l e r s do
n o t h a v e f i r s t c h o i c e . N e v e r t h e l e s s , some s a y t h a t i t s b u s i -
n e s s - p r o g r a m m i n g f a c i l i t i e s ( i . e . , COBOL, d u h ) a r e j u s t a s g o o d
a s t h o s e o f c o m p a n i e s who c l a i m t o h a v e d e s i g n e d c o m p u t e r s " f o r
a l l p u r p o s e s . " F i r s t N a t i o n a l C i t y Ba nk o f New Yo r k h a s f o u n d
t h a t t h e PDP-10 ma kes a s p l e n d i d b a n k i n g c o m p u t e r f o r i n t e r n a l
u s e , p r o f i t a b l e a t an i n t e r n a l c h a r g e o f J 3 . 7 S a n h o u r p l u s
p r o c e s s i n g c h a r g e s . P r i c e s f o r a PDP-10 s y s t e m w i t h d i s k s t a r t
s t a r t a b o u t $ s00, 000, o r $15 g r a n d a m o n t h , a n d go up i n t o t-he
m i l l i o n s .
H o w e v e r , DEC s a l e s m e n a r e n o t l i k e I B M ' s , who c a n r e p u t e d
l y s e l l E s k i m o s t o i c e b o x e s . Fo t o n e t h i n g , DEC s a l e s m e n a r e
o n s a l a r y . T h a t f i t s DEC' s d e m u r e , a w - s h u c k s i m a g e , b u t i t
d o e s n ' t e x a c t l y s e l l b i g c o m p u t e r s .
( F o r y o u F i r e s i g n T h e a t e r f a n s , t h e m u t t e r i n g s o f t h e
d y i n g c o m p u t e r on t h e " B o z o s " a l b u m a r e v a r i o u s PDP-10 s y s t e m
t h i n g i e s , a r t i s t i c a l l y j u x t a p o s e d . )
i l f r A W ( } l ^ M ) , 8 L i( ? , H i f e j
' * oerporatien ^ t m m U u l l a a o^i t ar Uks Oti*. - - a eil ert .
The IBM 360 (now c al l ed 370 because we r e In the 70s) is
the c o B o n w t and most successf ul l i n e of coapute r In t h e world
Thi s does not ne c e s s a r i l y mean I t Is the b a s t . Ther e a r e those
who a p p r e c i a t e IBM t ypewr it er s b ut not t h e i r c o ^ u t o r s .
360s a r e bought because the r epa i r s e r v i c e 1s g r e e t i be*
cause IBM has very tough salesmen; and p o s s i bl y f or ot he r r ea
sons { s ee pp. SZ- 6) .
A s t r a n g a unseen curse seems to haunt the 360 s e r i e s ; I n
deed, s o u cyni cs even think i t r e s u l t s f r oa d e l i b e r a t e p o l i
c i e s o f IBM! Yet the 360 (and i t s sof twar e) seen soaehow or*
f a n ! t e d t o sake pr ogr aas I n e f f i c i e n t and slow; t o aake pr ograas
b i g , needi ng l o t s of core memory (wit h nuaerous e n t i c e a e n t s f or
the programmer t o teke up mor e); to pr event the c o a p a t i b i l i t i e s
t h a t a r e so widely a dv er t i s e d , except thr ough expensi ve o p t i ons ;
t o a i e thi ng* exce s s i v e l y compli cat ed, thus J oc l i ng in froth I t s
c ust omers and the employees o f I t s c us t oaer s t o p r a c t i c e s and
i n t r i c a c i e s t h a t a r e somehow unnecessary on o t h e r brands of
c o a p ut e r . ~
I k C l a s s i c L J t T C L
M i ~ )
' ( i 0
riw r w t h* _
Contr ol Dat a' s 6600 coapute r was the
f i r s t r e a l l y bi g coapute r. The f i r s t one
d e l i v e r e d around 194S. The aachine and i t s
op e r a t i n g s y s t e a , CHIPPEWA, were c r e et e d by
Seyaour Cray and hi s t e s a i n h i n t e r l a n d Min-
E i t r e ae speed was desi gned I nto the coi
p u t e r i n a number of ways. The aal n coaputi
has no input or output a t a l l ; t h i s i s hand
le d by dat a channels which have been b u i l t u)
I n t o f u l l - s c a l e a i ni c oaput e r s or " p er i p h e r a l
pr oce s s or s ' ' of l g b i t s .
7 ***( (l>Ifc) Im
s f f t s c h s : * ! ' V - g *
ffOtUK u l .
The de s i g n o f the 360, which was b a s i c a l l y decent , Is gen
e r a l l y a t t r i b u t e d t o Amdahl, Blaauw and Brooks. Those who hate
i t , and t h e r e a r e many, base t h e i r compl aints l a r g e l y on the
r e s t r i c t i o n s and compli cat ions as s oci at e d with i t s oper at i ng
s y s t e a OS, which i s not or i ousl y I n e f f i c i e n t ( s ee p. <15 ) .
The a r c h i t e c t u r e of the 360 was q u i t e s i a l l a r t o the PDP-6
(now t he PDP-10) , desi gned about the sa ae t i a e : s i x t e e n aaln
g e n er al - pur p os e r e g i s t e r s of over t h i r t y b i t s , and using the
16 a a l n r e g i s t e r s as e i t h e r accuaula tor s or index r e g i s t e r s .
A c u r i o u s f o r a of addre ssing was adopted, c a l l e d "bas e-
r e g l s t e r a d d r e s s i n g . 1 This had c e r t a i n advantages f or the oper
a t i ng s y s t e a t h a t waa planned, and was thought to be s u f f i c i e n t
ly power f ul t h a t you wouldn' t need I n d i r ec t Address ing. Two
a al n r e g i s t e r s wer e r equi r ed, one holding a "base " aor e o r less
equal t o t h e p r o g r a a ' s s t a r t i n g a ddr ess, end an " l n d e i r e g i s t e r , "
whose c o n t e n t s a r e added to the base t o specif y an addr e s s .
Oft en a t h i r d nuaber , or o f f s e t , " la added as wel l .
Tli* i d e a o f t h i s te chnique I s t h a t pr ogr aas can be " r e l o
c a t a b l e , ' 1 o p e r a t i n g anywhere In core aeaory. A few i n s t r u c t i o n s
a t t h e be g i nni ng o f each program can a s c e r t a i n where i t i s run*
Ding f r o a , and e s t a b l i s h the Base accordingl y.
The b a s i c i de a of the. 360 se ea s t o have been doped out for
B u l t i p r o g r a n i n g , o r the simultaneous running o f s e v er al pr o
grams i n c o r e , a f e a t u r e IBM has pushed heavi l y wi t h t h i s coa-
HAT' S WRONG HITH THE 360T
The main d i f f e r e n c e s between the 360 and the PDP-6 snd 10
r e p r e s e n t c ons ci ous and l eg i t i mat e and arguable des i gn d e ci s i ons .
To f ans o f t h e PDP-6 and 10, he re are the 360' s a al n drawbacks:
NO INDIRECT ADDRESSING. Thi s was because, wi t h i n t he ad
d r e s s i n g scheme a dopt ed, i n d i r e c t addre ss es could not be adj us t ed
a u t o ma t i c a l l y . (But i t al s o makes pr ograas more i n e f f i c i e n t ,
thus more p r o f i t a b l e to IBM.)
NO STACK. Why? Too expensi ve, s a i d Amdahl, Blaauw and
Brook* I n t h* IBM Sys te as J o u r n a l . Funny, they have s t a ck s on
ISOOO P DP - l l s - - and i t wouia nave saved everybody a l o t of
money on programming.
HO MEMORY MAPP1NC ( except on c e r t a i n a o d e l s ) . Where the
PDP-6' s s u c c e s s o r , t he PDP-lo, a u t o a a t l c a l l y ta kes car e o f r e
d i s t r i b u t i n g a ddr e s s es i n core t o s e r vi ce ever y program a* i f
i t wer e o p e r a t i n g f r o a l oc at i on t e r o on up, the 360 l e f t t h i s
ge ner al pr oblem t o l o c a l p r o g r a n e r s and (on c e r t a i n l e v el s ) to
o p e r a t i n g s ys t ems .
Handl i ng t h i s a ut o a a t l c a l l y i n the PDP-10 s herdwar e ob
v i a t e s t h e c ompl i c at i ons of base- lndec addr essing and makes pos
s i b l e t h e e f f i c i e n c i e s of I n d i r e c t addre ssing.
360 l o e k a l l k e s were sol d by RCA and Univac. Now t h a t RCA
no l o n g e r makes computers, Univac i s s e r v i ci n g the ones they
made.
And Amdahl, no l m g e r wit h IBM and no* head of the Amdahl
Cor p. . 1* coming down the pi ke wit h a s u p e r - 360 o f h i s own. in
p a r t backed by J apanese nosey, i t wi l l be b i gge r than IBM' s
b i g g e s t - - and chea per . (See Heah Nie ner , "Outdoing IBM: the
Amdahl C h a l l e n g e , Computer Deci si ons. March 73, 10-20. )
- * S
fW'fiW** f ce wi o o (M
ntng speed, nuch f a s t e r than the usual Micro
second or t o . However, since core aea ory is
nuch slower than the aal n r e g i s t e r s , a t r i c k
i s used: pr ogr aa i n s t r u c t i o n s are drawn f roa
c or e I nt o a s u p e r f as t i n s t r u c t i o n l i s t f oft en
c a l l e d a cache) , and any Juaps or loops wl t h
in t h i s seven-word cache can be executed at
unt hi nkabl e speeds- - perhaps te ns of a i l l i o n s
of t i n e s per second.
The machine i s e s p e c i a l l y gear ed f or
f l o a t i n g - p o i n t numbrrs ( see p. 9 SI) Because
of the i nte nse speed of the f a s t i n s t r u c t i o n
cache, aany i n s t r u c t i o n s (such as n u l t t p l i e a -
p l i s h e d ( a s t e r by a shor t pr ogra a than i f
They 6600 becaae ilie s t a r t of a whole
l i n e , including the 6400, 6800 and others *
The 6400 i s used by PLATO ( see p. JMI ifl.
( i t i ^ i )
d eai ga wbich
The beaic design of tha
and alaple four maio r(Ul
well-designed Inetructiooa.
think) the flret eoput<
Grand Bus (o , <
haa caught an rather widely.
Data General (the coapuj mentioned)
haa used a vary Interesting marketing atrat-
e*y. Inatead of bringing oat a variety of
new eonputere aa tine gone on, they eoacea-
tr<t on makiitf tk* leva /# ter aad jaaJler.
They began by competing against PEC es
pecially In *the OgM Market, purchasers 4to
are burying minicomputers In larger equipment
they ia turn eake but more recently they
here actually started to market asalnat IBM
with taislaeaa eyateaa. la reeeat aDtk,
Data General ado have ridiculed tbe complex*
Ity and mystery of IBM aystws, arguing quite
rightly that minicomputers progressed la
BASIC are a reaaonable alternative for a wide
variety of business applioatons.
Tbe lova's instructloo-set Is oleaa
tad straightforward. Hey examples (first
bits only)!
00000 Jump (thus an allaero in-
atruetloa Jumpe to loo 4)
00001 Subr outi ne Jump
OOOIO lacraait, skip if aero
OOOIX Doormasnt, skip if aero
OOI Load AC
0X0 Stare AC
X Instructions among registers.
One competitor, Distal C<pnter Con
trols, aella a Bora looksLike. Whether Data
taertl will soil yon its profrana to run os
it is another ae*tioo.
A c oaput er named the L1NC, no*
r e f e r r e d t o as " t he c l a s s i c l i n e , "
the f i r s t minicomputer. I t was an
f or er unner of o u t hig hl y I n t e r a c t ! '
t oday, not abl y Includi ng t oday' s gi
pla ys wi t h double pr ogr aa f o l i c -----
. . \ >.L> . CCar .V. k i . k . i
( ' ! Uj)
-A
us ua l l y
was perhaps
impor tant
e s y s t e a s of
aphic d i s -
t a c t ? i e
Perhaps a o s t i a p o r t a n t l y , i t was desi gned
wit h none of tbe b i a s e s t hat cre ep in f r oa the
t r a d i t i o n s o f bus i nes s computing.
I t was c a l l e d the Line because i t was
designed a t Lincol n Labor atori es (about i 960) ,
f or "biomedical r es e ar ch - - a c t u a l l y i t was
t he s o r t of computer you d wan*, f or hooking
up to a l l s o r t s of inputs and o >t put s , t o
aake a u s i c , t o run your darkr ooa, but only
a ed i c al s c i e n t i s t s ceuld af f o r d I t , so t h a t ' s
what th ey sai d i t was f or .
The UNC had two
I t was pr obably the f 1:
Igned wit h a b u i l t - i n i
s i d e ) . I t al s o caae wj
dr i v e , designed f or re:
ponse, t h a t was suppos<
i r e s t i n g i n n ova t i ons .
coaput er to be des*
di spl ay ( see f l i p
a funny l i t t l e tape
> i l i t y and high r cs -
is k and be r e l i a b l e even
in dusty or ' Bes s y envl r onaent s . Thi s was the
LINCtape, s t i l l o f f e r e d as an access or y by one
coapany. DEC adapted i t soaewhat and Bade i t
the DECtape, handy pocket tape u n i t of the PDP
computer l i n e .
I t was never s ol d c o a a e r c i a l l y . A doien
or so wer e Bade up s p e c i a l l y out of DEC nod
u l e s and d e a l t out t o vari ous s c i e n t i s t s , and
the gener al hope was t h a l DEC would take the
nachine up as p a r t of i t s product l i n e , but
t h a t s not what happened. DEC I ns t ead pushed
i t s PDP-8 and aave us i ns t ead, by and by,
* ( il C -8
( i t I t .
V f i r - 8 HC- )
A h o r r i f y i n g and wei rd p i c t u r e of an e x p e r i
ment al monkey s i t t i n g on a PDP-12 and making
l i k e the Cr eatur e f r o a the Black Lagoon i s
to be s een in Time. 14 Jan 74, p. S4. I t
looks very s c i e n t i f i c .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The c l a s s i c book: C. Gordon Bell and All en
Newell, Computer St r u c t u r e s : Readings
and Exaaples . RcGraw-lll 11, I TTT
Note t h a t Bell desi gned var i ous
of the PDPs, and Newell pioneer ed In
l i s t pr oces s i ng ( see p. Zf c) .
Computer Ch a r a c t e r i s t i c s Review keeps you
in toucn wu n ina t r a i t s of a v ai l ab l e
computers and p e r i p h e r a l s . $ZS/year
(3 I ssues ) GH. Cor p. , S94 Mar r et t Rd. ,
Lexingt on, MA 02173.
Other f i r a s , such as Auerbaeh,
o f f e r s o r e expensive s e r v i ce s of the
saae n a t ur e .
B. Be l t e r , The Ar c hi t e ct ur e and Enal neerl na
of Dl a l t a l iQBPUter~CoBpTeesT t*ienua
T't b s s T 2 voTs . 7 J*0.
Heavier than Bell and Newell. A
c at a l o g o f thousands of s t r u c t u r e s and
t r i c k s , s ap h as l t i n g the t r a d e o f f s among
them.
DEC was o f f e r e d the opti on of bui l di ng
Lincol n Lab o r a t o r i es c l a s s i c LINC, but d e c i
ded I ns t e ad to coat une i t , in the n l d - s k x t i e s ,
wit h the a l r e ad y - s u c ce s s f u l PDP-8. That way
a l l the PDP-8 pr ogra ns and nosl of the LINC
pr ogra as would work on i t . The r e s u l t i s kind
o f s t r a n g e , but very popular in b i o a ed i ca l r e
s ear ch: two coapute r s in one, handing cont r ol
back and f or t h as needed. You can wr i t e pr o
gr aas on the Line wit h sect i ons f or Ihe 8, and
v er s i on i s c a l l e d the PDP-12.
Hhil e you e i g h t h a l f - t h l n k t h a t both
s i de s o f the comput er could o r i j l mul t aoeous l y,
giv i ng you doublo speed. I t d o e s n ' t work t h a t
way. Tn e r e ' s only one core aeaor y, and t h a t
s e t s the ba s i c speed; e i t h e r a PDP-9 i n s t r u c
t i o n or a Line i n s t r u c t i o n can be underway at
once, bu t not both.
Neve r t hel e s s , we see here the double
s t r u c t u r e t h a t pla ys such an impor tant p a r t
In hig hl y i n t e r a c t i v e coaput er d i s pl ays (see
P< )* I ndeed, Line pr ogr aaner s o f t en
use the nachine J u s t t h a t way: the PDP-8 r un
ning an a c t u a l p r ogr aa, the Line p a r t running
the CRT d i s p l a y in conjunct ion wit h i t .
6000
' 1,5*00-
p r a i s e d aaong computer peopl e t h a n Che Bur
roughs 5000 ( r e p l a ce d by the 5500) . The 5000
vas de s i gn ed about 1960 by Edward Gl a s e r and
Bob BaYton. I t was des i gned t o be used only
wi t h h i g h e r l a nguage s . not a l l owi ng p r o g r a a-
E 7 7 a c c e s s t o the Bi nar y I n s t r u c t i o n s them
s e l v e s . I ndeed, I t was p a r t i c u l a r l y des i gned
to be us e d wi t h ALGOL, which would have been
th e s t a n d a r d la nguage I f IBH had al l owed i t
( s ee p. S t ) *d i s s t i l l the " i n t e r n a t i o n a l "
l a ng ua ge .
Because of t h i s appr oach, i t s s a i n r e g i s
t e r s wer e t o be hidden f r o a t he p r o g r a n e r ,
and a t t e n t i o n c en t e r e d i n s t e a d upon Che s t a c k ,
a h i g h - l e v e l pr ogr a aa i ng devi ce ( s e e box on
S t a c k s ) . However, index r e g i s t e r s wer e added
t o aake i t b e t t e r foT F o r t r a n .
The S000 was a a r k e t e d as an " a l l - p u r p o s e "
c o a p u t e r wi t h an o p e r a t i n g s y s t e a , a n t i c i p a t i n g
IBM' s 360 o f a few ye ar s l a t e r . I ndee d, a f t e r
th e 360 was announced, Burr oughs s a l e s pic ked
up, becaus e IBH s a l e s a e n wer e a t l a s t - p r o a o t i n g
th e con ce pt s t h a t c u s t o a e r s hadn t under s t ood
when th ey h ear d about t h e a f r o a Bur r oughs
s a l e s a e n y e ar s b e f o r e .
i w : :
a ac hl nes In t he l i n e < i the
6500,
The Bur roughs Cor por at i on c o n t i n u e s to
be an acknowledged l e a d e r i n coaput eT de s i g n .
Appar ent l y t h e i r s a l e s f o r c e i s s o a e t h i n g e l s e ,
u n f o r t u n a t e l y . 1 once s p e n t soae t i a e wi t h a
Bur r oughs sa les man who n ot onl y knew not hi ng
about t h e Magni f i cent s t r u c t u r e o f t h e aachlne
he r e p r e s e n t e d , but would not g e t ae f u r t h e r
I n f o r a a t i o n u nl e s s I d e a o n s t r a t e d t h a t the
coapany' I r e p r e s e n t e d (a l a r g e c o r p o r a t i o n )
was s e r i o u s l y i n t e r e s t e d . He wore v e r y fancy
OE tf T W
I ?
I M T E ^ i U G L t D .
The St ack i s a mechani sm- - e i t h e r b u i l t
i n t o t he c oapu t e r ( "ha r dwa r e " ) o r I n c o r p o r a
t e d i n a p r o gr a a ( " s o f t wa r e ) which al l ows a
c oa p u t e r t o keep t r a c k o f a v a s t nuaber of
d i f f e r e n t a c t i v i t i e s , I n t e r r u p t i o n s and coa-
p l i c a t i o n s a t t he s a ae t i me.
B a s i c a l l y , I t I s a a e c h a n i s a which all ows
a pr o gr a a t o throw s o a o t h i n g ove r I t s s houl de r
i n o r d e r t o do s o a e t h i n g e l s e , t h e n r ea ch hack
over i t s s ho u l d e r t o g e t back what I t was
p r e v i o u s l y wor king on. But no n a t t e r how aany
t h i n g s i t throws o ve r i t s s h o u l d e r , e v e r y t hi n g
s t a y s o r d e r l y and c o n t i n u e s t o work s a o o t h l y ,
t i l l i t has r esuaed e v e r y t h i n g and f i n i s h e d
t h e a a l l .
I t goes l i k e t h i s : i f t h e p r og r a a has
t o se c a s i d e one t h i n g , i t p u t s t h a t one t hi ng
i n c o r e aeaor y a t a pl a ce s p e c i f i e d by a
nuaber c a l l e d a s t a c k p o i n t e r . Then i t adds
one t o t he s t a c k p o i n t e r , t o be Teady i n ease
s o a e t h i n g e l s e has t o go on t h e s t a c k . This
i s c a l l e d a PUSH.
When a p r o g r a a i s r eady t o r es ua e a
ious a c t i v i t y , i t s u b t r a c t s one f r o a t he
s t a c k p o i n t e r and f e t c h e s wh at ev e r t h a t j
p o i n t e r p o i n t s t o . This i s c a l l e d a POP.
I t aay not be l a a e d i a t e l y obv i o u s , but
t h i s t r i c k has i a ae n s e power . For i n s t a n c e ,
we aay s t a ck any nuaber o f t h i n g s t o g e t h e r - -
the a d d r e s s es o f pr ogra ms, d a t a we a r e moving
between p r o g r a a s , i n t e r me d i a t e r e s u l t s , and
codes t h a t show what the c o a p u t e r was doing
p r e v i o u s l y .
Using s t a c k s , p r o g r a as Bay use each o t h e r
ver y f r e e l y . I t i s p o s s i b l e , f o r i n s t a n c e ,
t o j ua p aaong s u b r o u t i n e s - - in dependent l i t t l e
p r o g r a a s - - w i l l y - n i l l y , u s i n g a s t a c k t o keep
t r a c k o f where you' v e been.
I n t h i s case the s t a c k holds t h e pr evi
l o c a t i o n s and i n t e r me d i a t e d a t a , so t>
p r ogr a a f ol l ower can go back wher e i t
f r o a a t the end o f each s u b r o u t i n e .
This
Bakes p o s s i b l e " r e - e n t r a n t " pr ogra as
*' - t h a t c an be used ' aeani ng s u b r o u t i n e s t h a t c an be used s i au*-
t a n eo u s l y by d i f f e r e n t pr o g r a a s wi t hout b I x u d
and r e c u r s i v e " p r o g r a a s . Meaning pr ogr a r -
t h a t aanage t o c a l l t h e a s e l v e s when they
t h e a s e l v e s ar e i n n r D i r x c
r e t
St ac ks a r e a l s o used f or h a n dl i n g " i n t e r r u p t s "
s i g n a l s f r oa o u t s i d e t h a t r e q u i r e the
c o a p ut e r t o s e t a s i d e one Job f o r a no t h er .
Havi ng a b u i l t - i n hardwar e s t a c k e nabl es the
i n t e r r u p t s t o p i l e up wi t h o u t conf us i on:
F i n a l l y , s t a c k a r i t h m e t i c , l i k e t h a t done on
th e Bur r oughs S55B, e n ab l e s a r i t h m e t i c (and
o t h e r a l g e b r a i c t ype s o f a c t i v i t y ) t o be han
d l e d wi t h o ut s e t t i n g a s i d e r e g i s t e r s o r spaee
i n c o r e a e a or y. As a s i mp l e - a l n de d exaaple
on a h y p o t h e t i c a l a a e h i n e , suppose we wanted
t o handle
2 7 3
On t h i s a a e h i n e , l e t ' s s a y , t h i s ge t s c o ap l l ed
t o a p r og r a a and a s t a c k :
Then t he o p e r a t i o n s ar e c a r r i e d o ut on the
s t a c k i t s e l f :
. . . i = i j
St ac k pr ogr a aa i ng tends t o be e f f i c i e n t ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y in i t s use o f c or e a e a or y.
Soae l anguages, such as Al gol and TRAC
Language, r e q u i r e s t a c k s .
Soae c o apu t e r c oap a n l es , such as IBM,
r e s o l u t e l y Ignore s t a c k a r c h i t e c t u r e , though
hardwar e s t a c k s have becoae wi de l y adopted
i n the f i e l d .
m -
In e l e c t r o n i c s , a " bus" i s a coaaon
conneetor t h a t s u p p l i e s power o r s i g n a l s t o
and f r o a s e v e r a l d e s t i n a t i o n s . I n c o a p u t e r s ,
a "bus" I s a coaaon c onnec t i on aaong s e v e r a l
p o i n t s , u s i n g c ar r y i n g a coaple x p a r a l l e l
s i g n a l .
The Grand Bus, a new idea aaong c o a p u t e r s ,
i s c a t c h i n g on. (The t e r i I s used h e r e b e
cause t he c o l l o q u i a l t e r a , "Uni bus , " i s a DEC
t r a d e a a r k . )
B a s i c a l l y t he Grand Bus i s a c o n n ec t o r
of Mu l t i p l e wi r e s t h a t goes aaong s e v e r a l
E
le ce s o f e q u l p a e n t . So f a r t h a t ' s j u s t a
us . But a Grand Bus i s one t h a t al l ows t he
d i f f e r e n t p i e c e s o f e qul paent t o be changed
and r e p l a c e d e a s i l y , be cause s i g n a l s any
c o n o n p i e c e o f equl paent j u s t go o ut on the
bus.
This Beans t h a t the i n t e r f a c e p r o b l e a
I s deeply s i a p l i f i e d , becaus e any de v i c e wi t h
a pr oper bus I n t e r f a c e can s l a p l y be pl ugged
onto t he b us .
I t does k b d a l o t aor e comple xit y o f
s i g n a l s . The Unl bua, f o r e x a a p l e , has about
f i f t y p a r a l l e l s t r a n d s . But t h a t aeans v a r
ious t r i c k y e l e c t r i c a l d i a l o g u e s can r a p i d l y
gi ve i n s t r u c t i o n s t o d evi ces and c o n s i d e r r e
p l i e s a bout t h e i r s t a t u s , i n qui ck and s t a n
da r di z ed ways.
Pr o a l n e n t gr and buse s i nc l ude :
The Nova bus ( n a a e l e s s ; the f i r s t ? )
PDP-1 l ' s Unibus
Lockheed SUE' S I nf i b u s
PDP-S' s Omnibus.
n e r a l . For your
t t a n c e , Grand Bus
e v er y t h i n g . a r c h i t e c t u r e woul d s i mp l i f y
Not on l y t h a t , but De t r o i t i s s uppos edl y
going t o p u t yo ur c a r ' s e l e c t r i c a l s y s t e a on
a Grand Bus. Thi s w i l l aean you can t e l l a t
once what I s and I s n ' t worki ng, and hook up
m w goodi es e a s i l y .
The PDP-11 i s not a b e g i n n e r ' s c o a p u t c r .
But the power and el ega nce of i t s a r c h i t e c t u r e
have e s t a b l i s h e d i t , s i nc e i t s i n t r o d u c t i o n i n
1970, as per haps t h e f o r e a o s t small computer
in the wor l d.
Ac t u a l l y , though, we c a n ' t be too s ur e
about the word " s a a l l . " Because as s uc ce s s i ve
p a r t s of the l i n e ar e u n v e i l e d, i t becoaes i n
c r e a s i n g l y c l e a r t h a t t h i s l i n e of " s a a l l "
computers has been des i gned t o I nclude soae
very power f ul a ac h i n es and c oupl i ng te chni ques
aaong t h e a ; and i t would s e ea t h a t we h a v e n ' t
se en e v e r y t h i n g y e t .
11
(*
I n o t h e r wor ds , DEC' s PDP-11,
which has a l r e a d y c u t i n t o s a l e s
o f t h e i r PDP-8 1 2 - b i t s e r i e s and
PDP-15 1 8 - b l t s e r i e s , aay soon cut
i n t o i t s PDP-10 3 6 - b i t s e r i e s - - as
de s i g n e r Be l l u n v e i l s ( per haps)
a o n s t e r PDP-l ls i n a r r a y s or double
wor d- l engt h o r what eve r .
The PDP-11 was d e s i gned by C. Gordon Bel l
and h i s as s o ci ; # s a t Car negie -Mell on Univer
s i t y . I n d e s i g n i n g the a r c h i t e c t u r e , and e s
p e c i a l l y the I n s t r u c t i o n - s e t , they s i a u l a t e d
a wide v a r i e t y o f p o s s i b i l i t i e s b e f or e the
f i n a l d e s i gn was d e c i d e d . The r e s u l t i n g a r
c h i t e c t u r e i s e x t r e a e l y e f f i c i e n t and power f ul
( s ee box, "The l l ' s Modes ) .
Ba s i c al l y i l i s a 1 6 - b i t Machine, wi t h
most i n s t r u c t i o n s o p e r a t i n g on 8 - b i i d a t a as
we l l .
Ther e are e i g h t a a i n r e g i s t e r s . Two,
though, f u nct i o n s p e c i a l l y - t he p r o g r a a c oun
t e r ( t h a t p a r t o f t he p r og r a a f o l l ower t h a t
holds the nuaber o f the n e x t i n s t r u c t i o n ) , and
the hardwar e s t a c k p o i n t e r , bot h f oll ow the
saae pr ogr a aa i ng r ul e s as t h e a a i n r e g i s t e r s - -
an unusual t echni que. Thus a j u a p i n t h e p r o
g r aa i s s i a p l y a naove" I n s t r u c t i o n , i n which
th e next pr og r e a a ddr es s i s "aoved i n t o a a i n
r e g i s t e r 17, t h e pr o g r a a c o u n t e r .
In a d d i t i o n , a l l e x t e r n a l de vi ce s s e e a t o
th e p r ogr a a t o be s t o r e d i n c or e a e a o r y . That
I s , the I n t e r f a c e r e g i s t e r s o f a c c e s s o r i e s
have " a dd r e s s e s " n u a e r i c a l l y s i m i l a r t o c o r e
l o c a t i o n s - - so the p r o g r a a j u s t " aove s " d a t a ,
wi t h MOVE i n s t r u c t i o n s , t o door ways i n c o r e .
( This I s f a c i l i t a t e d by t h e a u t o a a t l c han d l i n g
of p r e v i o u s l y b o t h e r s oae s t u f f , l i k e Ready,
Hal t and Done b i t s . )
Ph y s i c a l l y a l l d e v i ce s a r e s l a p l y a t t a c h e d
t o a g r e a t s ash of wi r es c a l l e d a Uni bus . (See
Grand Bus box. )
BIBLIOBRAPHY
S'rZi!T 7 L ,
........ ........... , _________ Ming
Fundament al s . (. Fr ograaaed work
book. n o p r i c e l i s t e d . ) Algon
qui n Col l ege Books t or e , 138S Kood-
r o f f e Avenue, Ot ta wa, On t a r i o,
Canada 12G-1VB.
PDP-11 l o o k a l i k e s are
s o l d by Cal Dat a. Ot her f i n s
have been s c a r e d o f f by DEC' s
E
s t e n t , bu t Cal Dat a say they
ave a p a t e n t t o o .
NiniOMputere are crasi
p r o b l a in ai nl archltectur
the Instructi on enough chol
In daal^ninq the POP-11, Gordon t e l l and hU
eo-^rorkere systematically sought a powerful mol-
ution. limiletinq varloue peaalble structures by
c ^ u t a r program, trying out a variety of di f f e r
ent r f felnatlonm and etructuree.
The elegance and pornr of tha aolutlon are
l i t t l e ehort of hroathtahlng. Basically the PDP-
11, the f i nal design, provides aeven different
type* of Indirect addreaaing. The e c ^ u t e r ' e
main regl st ar e may be ueed both to ooarata on
Information (the usual technique, here ealled
mode s ere) . or t o poi nt to location* to b . optr-
eted <a> (Indi rect medee 1 through 7). Thee*
provide eatremely e f f l e l . n t means for atepplng
t h r a s h t abl as, TUSH and POP, dlapatch table*,
and various other programing technique*. The
1* a i ant for handy reference.
following dlagra
Tli.ro r* a lot ot traao eoaputara being
doalgnod lt'a a traditional occupation ot
rclallr available. How if m juat knew what
ta do with It.
co^mter^slth a cI^tmt-AddreaMblo^Ka-ory, ^
1 W
i i u i ^
The U l i a c IV i s t he b i g g e s t and a o s t
an y t h i n g they want t o t hi nk about .
The I l l i a c 4 c o n s i s t s o f s i x t y - f our b i g
g i s h c o a p u t e r s , a l l going a l once under the
e k i ; 1: ; " s t a ; : r ^ S i i ; r
i s t h e b r a i n c h i l d o f Dani el S l o t n i c k , who ^
p r e s s e d f o r i t s c r e a t i o n f or y e a r s ; e v e n t u a l l y
b u i l t by Bur r oughs, i t s i t s a t an a i r b a s e but
i s a v a i l a b l e t o o u t s i d e u s e r s t hr ough the
c . i :
i s an a r r a y , c e r t a i n o p e r a t i o n s can t a k e pl a cc
v er y aueh f a s t e r b ecaus e they happen i n p a r a l
l e l u n i t s s i mu l t a n e o u s l y . Ma t r i c e s , p a r t i c
u l a r f o r n a l kinds of a r r a y , ar e used i n a
t h a t t h e th e o r y o f weather p r e d i c t i o n has been
wel l worked out f o r d ecades , b ut becausc the
s wi r l y be h av i o r o f the at aos phe r e i s so i n t r i -
ence s e s s i o n I b e l i e v e i t was e x p l ai n ed t h a t
i t used t o t a k e t we n t y - f i v e hour s t o p r e d i c t
v h i c h ' n e a n s y o S ^ e / t h e a ns i er *a n hour a f t e r
i t s happened a l r e a d y : now i t i s p o s s i b l e ,
u s i ng I l l i a c IV, t o do the whole p l a n e t ' s wea
t h e r in an hour and a h a l f , s a i d t h e s p e ak e r .
Soae say t h a t aay be i t s only use and
t he whole p r o j e c t was in a dequa t e l y t hought
o u t . Ot her s s u s p e c t i t ' s r e a l l y i nt e nde d as
e v er a a r k e t e d , nay pr ovi de a new p r i c e b r e a k
t hr ough f o r s a a l l highpower s y s t e n s .
/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - '
I n c i d e n t a l l y , " I l l i a c " i s the t r a d i t i o n a l
Dani el J . S l o t n i c k , "Unconvent ional Sys t ems . "
Pr oc . SJCC 1967, 477- 401.
It vorlta Ilka thia. Haring aa l_aa* 256-
f*rmtrpartBPop,,eield**h*fPthSPopdr(Me p.
to pacify what other information ia io Iti
econda. Or It can direct all aaaorr location*
hTlo partleular^ldontlfiera^to eultiply^one
tf mil , traaaportatlon roaarvatloaa, air traffic
control. Truth ^ - o - t computer pooplo ^ l d ^
,>oTk443?s!
An i n t e r e s t i n g but l i t t l e - k n o wn c oaput e r
in t he n i d - s i x t i e s .
s v s r A a ^ s s s s n s r a u b .
people put t h i s a ae hi ne t oge t he r f or hi ghl y
e f f i c i e n t h ybr i d computing.
The e s s e n t i a l i de a was t o have a hi ghl y
v e n t i l a t e d a ae hi ne t h a t could ta ke i n and put
out o e s s u r a b l e e l e c t r i c s i g n a l s a t hi gh r a t e s .
Nhat they c r c a t e d was a r a t h e r s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d
c o n v e r t e r ^ t o ^ e n d * analog* i n f o r n a t i o r ^ o u t ^ n d
br i ng i t back i n . Thi s ncant t h a t pr obl ea s
s u i t e d t o r e p e t i t i v e e l e c t r i c a l t wi s t i n g and
s ! : : , s s j { s . ! r i ta- : . 2s # : r s i : L -
s i g n a l s coul d gush back in.
The i n s t r u c t i o n - s e t was des i gned f or t h i s
1>. I Ii^ iL >
i i ! , , I L , W 3 r< u \ \ h
i l l l l i n I S j ! . ! ! 1 n i ! i Su1 1.,
i l! h L ? ! I ii it, II! In ,1.1 i
il ii! ill!!:! I! !!i I I I ! ll illil
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I . H ! 1 !
HCW TMCV C O M H e
HmtP&SVP!
Cptrvreti mt'M co^rvwtt
*Blg flaaa have U t t l e fleae t hat bit * 'em
And a t forth. I n f i n i t e .*
Proverb
Micr oprocessor s e re wh at ' s happeni ng.
Coaput er) cos t s e v e r a l thousand bucks on up.
Microprocessors c o s t s e v e r a l hundred on up, and
t h a t p r i c e range I s f a l l i n g f a s t .
Soae a l c r o p r o c e s s o r s are a l r e ad y on I n t e g r a
t e r i r c u l t s . post age s t a a p - s i z e d e l e c t r o n i c
Fanci es t h a t a r e s l a p l y p r i n t e d and baked, r a t h e r
t han wi r ed up; t h i s aeans t h e r e i s e f f e c t i v e l y
no b o t t o a l l a i t t o t he p r i c e of a l c r o p r o c e s s o r s .
B f F T K I T w e l l " I t Beans t h a t i n a few year s
t h e r e w i l l be a mi cr oprocess or i n your r e f r i g e r
a t o r your t y p e w r i t e r , your lawnaower, your c ar ,
and p o s s i b l y your w a l l e t . ( I f you d o n ' t b e l i e v e
t h i s , look what happened l o pocket c a l c u l a t o r s i n
t he l a s t coupl e of y e a r s . The chi p t hos e are
b u i l t around coat * f i ve bucks. But n e xt coae the
n r o a r a a a a b l e c h i p s , t he a l c r o p r o c e s s o r s .)
Mi cr opr ocessor s shoul d not be c a l l e d a l c r o -
r o a n u t e r a . a t e n t h a t seeas t o have c a p t i v a t e d
Wall S t r e e t l a t e l y . "Ml crocoaput er " j u s t aeans
any t eeny c o ap u t e r ; but t h e r e i s an e a a c t and
c r u c i a l d i f f e r e n c e bet aeen an o r d i n ar y coaput er
(what ever i t s s i i e ) and a a l c r o p r o c e s e o r (what
ever i t s s i t e ) .
A a i c r o p r o c e s s o r i s a t wo- l evel c o a p u t e r .
You w i l l reaeaber f r o a t he "Rock Bot t oa"
s e c t i o n (pp. 32-3) t h a t ever y coaput er has an
I n t e r n a l language of bi n a r y p a t t e r n a o r "nachi ne
l anguage" ( I l l u s t r a t e d In horrendous d e t a i l tn
the p r o g r a a c a l l e d "Buckys R r l s t wa t c h , " p p . 35- 4) .
Wel l , a a i c r o p r o c e s s o r has two l e v e l s . I t
has an u n p o r - l o v el pr ograa f ol l ower wi t h i t s r
b i nar y pr o g r a n ; but each I n s t r u c t i o n o:
u p p e r - l e v e l p r ogr aa i s in t ur n c a r r i e d
p r ogr aa f o l l o wer running a pr ograa a t i
l e v e l - - c a l l e d a a i c r o p r o g r a a .
F i r s t o f a l l , i t aeans t h a t the u p p e r - l e v e l
b i nar y language can be anyt hi ng you want - - t h a t I s ,
any f e a s i b l e coaput er l a n g u a g e - - b e c a u s e each of
I t s i n s t r u c t i o n * , i n t ur n, w i l l be c a r r i e d ou t by
Thi s a ea n s , f o r I ns t a n ce , t h a t aac h i n es can
be c r e a t e d whi ch aay be pr ograaaed d i r e c t l y i n soae
h i g h e r - l e v e l la nguage, such as APL ( not e Canadi an
aachi ne d e s cr i b e d on p. 2 . 1 ) or BASIC ( not e one of
the Hewl et t - Packar d aachi nes de s cr i be d on p. J 7 )
The c h a r a c t e r s i n the up p e r - l e v el pr o g r a a (APL or
BASIC), s t epped through by the u p p e r - l e v e l pr ograa
f o l l o wer , cause the l owe r - l e vel pr ogr aa f ol l ower t o
c ar r y out t he op e r a t i o ns of t he l anguage.
Second, the aachi ne c o s t s l e s s t o aake t han an
or di nar y c o a p u t e r . The r eason Is t h a t t he a r c h i
t e c t u r e o f o r d i n ar y coaput ers i s desi gned now ( a t
l a s t ) f o r nr o a r a a a e r conveni ence. Thus a aachi ne
l i k e t he P u r - u , wnicIT i n p r i n c i p l e does not hi ng
any o t h e r c o ap u t e r d o e s n ' t do, Is s t i l l aore d e s i r
a bl e than n o s t , because I t s I n s t r u c t i o n s a r e so
wel l d e s i g n ed . I t i s c l e a r and s e n s i b l e t o t he pro-
g r a a a e r , wi t h t ha r e s u l t t h a t pr o g r a aa i n g I t t akes
l e s s t l a e and c o s t s l e s s aoney.
Mi cr opr ocessor s r eve r s e t h i s t r e n d . The lower-
l evel s t r u c t u r e of r e g i s t e r s and i n s t r u c t i o n s can be
anyt hi ng t h a t i s conveni ent t o a a n u f a c t u r e , whet her
or not p r o g r a aa er a l i k e I t . Low a a n u f a c t u r i n g cos t
l a one o f t h e Bain desi gn c r i t e r i a .
The pur pose o f a l c r o p r o c e s s o r s , you s e e , la
g e n er al l y t o be hi dden In o t h e r e qul paent and do
s o m s i a p l e t h i n g over and over; not t o have t h e i r
p r ograas changed around a l l t he t t a e as on an o r d i
nary c o a p u t e r .
t t i er e a r e e x ce p t i on s , coaput er s which have a
second l e v e l down where you can put a i c r o p r o g r a a s ;
and t h e s e a r e c a l l e d , s e n s i b l y enough, a i c r o p r o g r a a -
a abl e c o a p u t e r s . They are bought and s e t up wit h
r e g u l a r c o a p u t e r a c c e s s o r i e s , pl us f a c i l i t i e s to
change t he a i c r o p r o g r a a s . Thus they c o s t a l o t aor e;
but oh, t hey do so Mich aore f o r you. You can desi gn
your own c o a p u t e r - - i . e . , i t s I n s t r u c t i o n - s e t - - and
t n e s c r e a t e I t , wi t h a a i c r o p r o g r a a . (Sea t h* St an*
dard Coaput er and t he Meta-4, near by. )
H / l K M U . .
equipment llaalf.
SOfTUhtt:
computer p n g r m a
underpiofrana for
mlcTuproceaaor*. CAlao
called Mlcrpprograma.
Should be called Underwan.)
The t r i c k t h a t Bakes t h i s a l l work-- whet her
f or t he hldden-awey t ype o r t h e coaput er type of
a i c r o p r o c e s s o r - - I s t h a t t h e lower l e v e l has a nuch
f a s t e r aeaory t han t he upper l e v e l . Thi s Beans
t h a t an u ppe r - l e vel word can be t a k en, and l ooked
up i n the lower l e v e l , and a l l t he l owe r - l e vel s t e ps
c a r r i e d o u t , very f a s t coapar ed t o t he up pe r - l e vel
a eaor y. Many such a a c h i n e s , f o r i n s t a n c e , havo
l o we r - l e v el speeds In the nanoseconds ( b i l l i
o f a second) , whi l e t he upper- <
l y i n t he ai cr oaeconds ( ai
A l a s t poi n t .
: t e r i s t l c s of an
ngt h, t h a t i s , I
usual chunk o f 1
One o f t he a o s t
a r dl n a r y c oaput e r
lie nuaber o f bi n a r y pos
t s I nf or ma t i on.
i po r t a nt c har -
But s i n c e a l c r o p r o c e s s o r s have two s e p a r a t e l e vel s ,
they o f t e n have two s e p a r a t e word l e ngt hs i
t he u p pe r - ................................ - l e v e l and the l o w e r - l e v e l .
Micr oprocessor s a r e u s u a l l y sol d in q u a n t i t y ,
t o people who a r e b u i l d i n g s u p e r - c a s h - r c g i s t c r s or
p i n b a l l aachi nes or the l i k e . So t h e i r ncnor i cs
coae In aany s i z e s and s pe eds , to be t a i l o r e d to
an a p p l i c a t i o n . You should know t he d i f f e r e n c e s
between--
ROM-* Read-Only Menory. Cont ents c a n ' t be
changed, c o s ' s l e s s t han changeable ( a t
any given Speed).
RAM- Rapid-Access Menory. Also c a l l e d
read-wr i t e nenory. Saco as core acniory:
May have I t s c ont ent s changed. NOTt: I f
you s i a u l a t e soae c oaput e r wi t h a a i cr o-
prograB, i t s s i n u l a t e d " r e g i s t e r s are
us ua l l y l o c a t i o n s i n t he l owe r - l e vel RAM.
RMM-- Read-Mostly Meaory. You can (jet out i t s
cont ent s f a s t , hut change t hen only very
Slowly.
(The l owe r - l e vel aenory i s s o a e t i n e s c a l l e d
" pr ogr aa aeaory" and t he u p p e r - l e v e l ncaory i s of t en
c a l l e d " dat a aeaory, but t h i s i s a c onfusi on r e s u l t
i ng f r oa c e r t a i n t y p i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n s of t he de vi ce s ,
r a t h e r t han t h e i r i nher ent n a t u r e . You can have
pr ograas a t both l e v e l s . )
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rayaond M. Holt and Manuel R. Leaas, "Cur rent
Mlcrocoaputer A r c h i t e c t u r e . " Coaputer
Desi gn. Feb 74, 65-73.
Suaaar i zes ni ne teeny aachi nes now
on the a ar ket ( soae 1 - l e v e l ) . Good bib-
l iogr aphy a l s o .
o w e N i i c < e p * p m K n 4 B u d p f c f o r e a s . *
St andard Conputer 19 b i t s 36 b i t s Big ( Lxpensive.
Meta 4 16 b i t s 16 b i t s Up t o 32 hard-
90 or 3S nsec 900 nsec ware r e g i s t e r s .
Burroughs 1700 16 b i t s 24 b i t s Coaes with c a s s e t t e
60 nsec 666 nsec holding various
emulators.
Lockheed SUE 36 b i t s 16 b i t s *650 s t r i p p e d .
Hewl et t - Packar d 2100 ? 16 b i t s Already a l cr opr o-
graaacd t o be l i k e
o t h e r IIP coaput er s
- - but t h e r e ' s
space f or y o u r s .
as wel l . )7$00.
Mlcr odata 3200 32 b i t s 16 b i t s $8000 up (110,000
135 nsec f or aodel 32/S,
s t a c k - o r i e n t e d ) .
Varlan 73 64 b i t s 16 b i t s $15, 000 t o 1100, 000
16S nsec, 660 nsec (heavy upgrade of
(190 r e a d - wr l t e ) Varian 620).
IBM 360 aodel 25 ? 16?
Pr l a e 200 64 b i t s 16 b i t s
160 nsec 7S0 nsec
I n t e r d a t a 8S 32 b i t s 16 b i t s 123, 000
160 nsec 320 nsec
f a t Hicorftuiroer a* sot u- m(ro
I n t e l MCS-B 6 t o 24 b i t s 8 b i t s St a c k- or i e nt e d (now
900 nsec 12. 5 usee / a s t e r a o d e l ) .
I n t e l MCS-4 8 or 16 b i t s 4 b i t s Basi c chip $60.
900 nsec 10. 8 usee
SYS 500 (Helr d but I n t e r e s t i n g wide a i c r o p r o c e s s o r - c i r c u l a t e s
aaong aany s e p a r a t e a c t i v l t e s , r a t h e r t han br anc hi ng. )
Mlcr odata 16 Fi Ts 8 b i t s
Micro goo 220 nsec 1. 1 usee
Micro 1600 200 nsec 1 usee
( r e a d - wr l t e )
AES-80 (Aut o. E l e c t r i c 12 b i t s 8 b i t s $9S0 w/o aeaory
Sy s t e a s , Montr eal) 240 nsec 240 nsec or 1 usee
Nat i onal Seai conduct or $1380 s t r i p p e d
IMP-16C (8 1/2 x 11-- odd s i z e f or c o a p u t e r , convenient f o r not ebook. )
DEC PDP-16M 8 b i t s 16 b i t s $2000. ( Compati ble
w. PDP-11 Uni bue. )
Atr on 601 16 b i t s 16 b i t s
260 nsee 1 usee
^ ( A b b r e v i a t i o n s : nsec ( nanoseconds, o r b i l l i o n t h s ) ;
usee ( al c r os ec onds , B i l l i o n t h s ; usual v e i r d
a b b r e v i a t i o n ) . )
t Buni ^i MMor a Imply mama
a ctnqnitar which haa,
uadar tba binary language
M b t r binary language
The h i s t o r y books t en year s f r oa now, i f any,
w i l l note t h a t the f i r s t coaput er - on- a- chi p was pro
duced by I n t e l . I n t e l , an a s t u t e l y aanaged coapany,
chose t o sake a a i c r o p r o c e s s o r t h a t would be sui t ed
t o pl a c e a e n t i n o t h e r s ' aachi nes a t low c os t . This
aeans t h a t i f you aake a fancy bul l doz e r or bake-
oven, and want i t t o have soae f or a of i n t r i c a t e
pr e- pl a nned behavi or , y o u ' l l put " t h e I nt el chip"
Act ual l y the I n t e l chi p Is a nuaber of separat e
c h i p s , which s t a r t low i n c o s t - - a f a i r l y coopleto
s e t can be had f or under $S00-- and can be asseabled
i n t o a f u l l coaput e r . ( Indeed, va r i ous f i r a s do o f
f e r c o apl e t e c oaput e r s b u i l t out of I n t e l ehi ps. In
c l udi ng one the s i z e o f an Oreo cooki c, guaranteed
f or 2$ y e a r s . )
The o r i g i n a l I n t e l chi ps are the MCS-4 and
MCS-S, v i z . :
Upper l e v e l Lower l e vel
MCS-4 4 b i t s B or 16 b i t s
(10. 8 (900 nanoseconds)
a i cr os econds )
MCS-8 8 b i t s 8 t o 24 b i t s
(12.& (900 nanoseconds)
a icr os e conds )
While t he s e i n d i v i d u a l chi ps c os t under a hundred
d o l l a r s each, a ca o r i e s and ot h e r ncces s ar y s ect i ons
c os t e x t r a . For people who want t o develop syst eas
around t he s e c h i p s , I n t e l has c anni l y pr epared a nua-
be r o f s e t u p s . I f you want t o go 4 - b i t , you get the
" I n t c l l e c 4 , " {2200, which a l s o needs a Tel etype.
This gi ves you va r i ous d i s p l a y l i g h t s and debugging
f e a t u r e s . Meanwhile, you can as s ea bl e and s i o u l a t e
on s i n u l a t l o n pr ograas o f f e r e d on n a t i o n a l t i o e - s h a r -
ing. I f you want t o go 8 - b i t , you ge t t he " I n t e l l e c
8" f or $2400 ( a l s o wi t hout Te l e t y p e ) , and b e n e f i t ad
d i t i o n a l l y f r oa the f a c t t h a t you can pr epare the
undcrware i n PL/ I . and c o a p i l e i t on n a t i o n a l t i a e -
Cr af t y and c l e v e r I n t e l , which has capt ur ed ouch
of t he o v e r a l l a a r k e t a l r e a d y , has now brought out
auch f a s t e r ver s i ons of t he s e c h i p s . Rail.
A i j oupj t er w i t t i l y c a l l e d the Meta 4 (heh heh)
i s a f a i r l y neat aachi ne aade by D i g i t a l S c i e n t i f i c
Cor p. , 1MS5 Sor r ent o Val l ey Rd., San Diego CA 92121.
I.ower aeaory: 16 h i t s , 90 nanoseconds ( or 35
nanoseconds, pr ogr a me d by a car d ( on
which you darken the squares .)
Upper menory: 16 b i t s , 900 nanoseconds.
What t h i s i s i s a very high-power n i n i c o a p u t e r :
i t can be t ur ned i n t o a l ooka l i ke f or any ot h e r 1 6 - b i t
ni n i c o a p u t e r . For i n s t a n c e , they can s e l 1 I t t o you
l i v e l y i n t o an IBM l l J o ! Froa a a a r k e t i n g p o i n t of
view, t h i s e f f e c t i v e l y means a f i r a owning an IBM 1130
can r epl a ce i t wit h a Meta 4 which r uns t he s aae pr o-
gr a a s , saves aoney and gi ve s you i n a d d i t i o n t he oot -
t o n - l e v e l f e a t ur e s of a f a r nor e powerful c oaput e r .
(Such an unde r - l e vel pr ogr a a t h a t aakes one a achi ne
e f f e c t i v e l y i a i t a t e a not her computer i s c a l l e d an
e a u l a t o r . ) This capa ci t y t o c a u l a t c o l h e r c oaput e r s
i s the "aetnphor " a l l ude d t o i n the a a c h i n e ' s naae.
The Lockheed SUE ("Byetem Uaer-Englnaered
Conputer") Is a very Inlenati ng and dealrable
machine. The central proceealng unit coala a little
over els hundrvd and forty doUare! (Thal' a without
menory. power aupply or card cage.) It ueea a
Grand Bus ayaten of lntarannecti on (aeia p . HZ )
ll'a a microproceaaor. The tower-levl cycle
time la 90 nenoaeconda. eo ll can be programmed to
Imitate any microsecond mini.
One nice thing la lhat you can put together
eaveral cpu'e and different memoriae-- core,
eemlconductor and ROM-- aa lading with aw Itches
which epua have what prleritlee In what memories.
as well aa Interrupts, etc. Darn nice-- eapedally
coisldering the upper-level InetnicUon-eel.
The microprogram it comes with makee the
Lockheed SUB Into a eon of copy (??) of ihe PDP-11.
Including Its eight reflelera and similar address
modes ( e e e p . r U .
Was the name SUB actually Lockheed's
impudent challenge to DEC? DEC did aue. bul no
outcome haa been publicised,
A a i cr opr ogr a aa abl e b i g g i e has been a v a i l a b l e '
f or soae t i a e . I t s a 3 6 - b i t c oaput e r oanuf act ur ed
by St andard Coaputer Cor por at i on, 1411 W. Olyaplc
Boul evard, Los Angel es, CA 90015.
This coaputer. I s a s e r i o u s a a c h i n e , i n the
aany- hundr e d- t hous and- dol l a r c l a s s , which can be
s e t up t o a i a i c any ot h e r 3 6 - b i t a a c hi ne. I t has
been s o l d In two ve r s i o n s : one a pure FORTRAN e a
ch i ne ( t h a t ' s r i g h t , i t s upper language i s pure
For t r an. ' ) and a l ooka l i ke fOT the IBM 7094. Lower-
l e v e l word lengt h i s 18 b i t s .
(An i n t e r e s t i n g puzzl e i s why t h i s o u t f i t has
not go t t e n t oge t he r wi t h Lincoln L a b o r a t o r i e s . Lin
col n Labor a t or i es , o u t s i d e Bost on, has a 3 6 - b l t ex-
p e r l n e n t a l aachi ne c a l l e d t he TX-2 which has been
used f or coaput er gr aphi c s , such as S u t h e r l a n d ' s
SKETCHPAD s y s t e a ( see p. JUsZ?) and Baecker s GENE-
SYS ( s ee p. >h 2 ? ) . How, pr es ua abl y Li ncol n Labs,
l i k e a o s t ot h e r r es e ar ch o u t f i t s , i s h u r t i n g for
aonay. Why c o u l d n ' t they aake an a r r ange ae nt f or
St andard t o s e l l i t s a achi ne wi t h a TX-2 e a u l a t o r ,
t hus a e k l n g - a v a i l a b l e such pr ogr a as as Sketchpad
(which has ne ver been e qu a l l e d ) t o a wi der publ i c ?
B a s i c a l l y , an o pe r a t i n g ays t e a i s a
p r o gr a a t h a t s upe r vi s es a l l tne o t h e r pr o
grams Ln a c oo pu t er . For t h i s r ea s o n l l i s
a l s o c a l l e d a su^rvl _sor o r a n o n i t o r .
Because t he o pe r a t i ng s y s t e a i s supposed to
be In c h ar ge, aany c oaput e r s now o f f e r s p e
c i a l w i r e d - i n i n s t r u c t i o n s t h a t onl y the
op e r a t i n g s y s t e a can use. This pr event s
o t h e r pr ogr aas f r oa t aki ng c o a p l e t e c ont r o l
o f t h e a ae hi ne.
Oper at i ng s y s t e a s cone i n a l l s i z e s .
The b i g ge r ones t ake up a l o t of coaput er
t l o e because t hey have t o do a l o t . The
s a a l l e s t ki nd, whi ch a r e r e a l l y ki nd of
d i f f e r e n t , a r e J u s t t o he l p a s i n g l e pro*
i r i n e r aove q ui c kl y between h i s b a s i c
p r og r a as . (A t y p i c a l such s y s t e o i s DEC's
DOS, o r Disk Oper at i ng Sy s t e a , which you
can g e t wi t h t he PDP-11.) This s y s t e a i s
r e a l l y a ki nd o f b u t l e r t h a t keeps t r a c k of
where your b a s i c pr ogr aas a r e s t o r e d on di s k
and br i ng s t he a in f o r you q u i c kl y.
A s t e p up i s the Batch Moni t or, or op
e r a t i n g s y s t e a s e t up f or Batch Pr ocessi ng
( s ee p.&~!!>tr). In b a t ch p r o c e s s i n g , p r o
gr aas go thr ough the c oaput e r as i f on a
conveyer b e l t , one a t a t i n e ( or i n soae
y s t e a s s e v e r a l a t a t i n e ) . The ope r a t i ng
s y s t e a shepher ds t hea.
Uat ch pr oce s s i ng i s used when pr ograas
d o n ' t need any i n t e r a c t i o n wi t h huaan u s e r s .
(Or, and t h i s i s aor e coaaon, when huaan
u s e r s want t i n e - s h a r i n g b ut c a n ' t get i t ;
see bel ow. ) A a u l t i p r oe r a aa l n e ope r a t i n g
s y s t e a i s one t h a t al l ows s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t
E
rograns ( o r eonv eyo r - be l t sequences of
at ch pr ogr aus ) t o o pe r a t e a t one t i n e .
(Thi s Is how b o s t IBH 160s are us e d. )
S'
SYSTStS PEOPLE \ \
are the folks who bring you Che computer. \ \ n n H H u i
Thai l a, thay're ih eoee who try to | | |
equipment and wsrklns rulaa and eehedulee
Systems people often loek Uka dirty LftA
r ata lo uaara ol coaputer syatems. To W f k
each ether they often look Ilk* harried, V g 2j , i ^
(and whetever else) In ihe dlka, crying
t e hold back ch clda of DUorder. - T f f A
Thank you. . T . p , Bple . BATCH SVSTE1^
Then t h e r e i s t i a e - s h a r i n g .
Ti ne - s ha r i ng means t he s i uul t an c ous use
of one c oaput e r by s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t us e r s
a t once. I t ' s b a s i c a l l y a c o npl ci f or a of
a u l t i p r o g r a n n i n g .
In p r i n c i p l e t h i s i s l i k e a l azy susan.
The c e n t r a l cooput er works on one u s e r ' s p r o
gr aa f or a wh i l e , t hen on a n o t h e r ' s . . . u n t i l
i t i s back t o the f i r s t us e r .
There a r e b a s i c a l l y two ki nds of t i a e -
s ha r i ng : t i n o - s h a r i n g where you can only use
c e r t a i n f a c i l i t i e s or l anguages, snd t i u c -
s ha r i ng where you can use a l l t he f a c i l i t i e s
of t h e conput er ( i ncl ud i n g p r ogr aaai ng i n the
comput er' s assembly la nguage).
Exaapl es of r e s t r i c t e d t i a e - s h a r i n g are
t h e v a r i ous a i n i c o a p u t e r s y s t e n s t h a t arc
a v a i l a b l e which l i n e - s h a r e the BASIC language.
(Nova and PDP-11 and Hewl et t - Packar d, for
Soae exampl es of u n r e s t r i c t e d t i a e -
s h a r i n g a r e t he PDP-10 ( s ee p. i o ) , Dar t
mout h' s DTSS, Honeywell 'S MULTICS, IBMs TSO,
and General E l e c t r i c ' s HARK I I I .
Bi gger I s not n e c e s s a r i l y b e t t e r . For
i n s t a n c e , t h e r e a r e t i n e - s h a r e d ver s i ons of
BASIC t h a t run on bi g IBM c oapu t e r s . How
e v e r , i t aay very wel l be t h a t bi g IBM i n
s t a l l a t i o n s can save noney by e l i a i n a t l n g
t h i s f unct i on and buying I n s t e a d a s a a l l
Hewl et t - Packar d a i n i c o a p u t e r t o run t h e i r
BASIC on, t hereby s uppl yi ng BASIC t o aore
u s e r s a t l e s s c o s t and f r e ei n g t he 160 f or
what ever i t I s IBM s y s t e a s do b e t t e r .
R e s t r i c t e d t i a e - s h a r i n g , wi t h only one
or a few languages o f f e r e d , i s auch e a s i e r t o
pr ovi de f o r t han f u l l t l a e - s h a r l n g .
Pul l t i a e - s h a r i n g Is always shared wi t h
b a t c h , l n ot h e r words, t he c oap ut e r , d a r t i n g
aaong u s e r s , s t i l l f i nd s soae t i a e t o devote
t o t he ba t ch s t r e a a .
T l a e- s h ar l n g i s s e l f - l l a l t i n g . That i s ,
the aore u s e r s are si gned ont o a t l n e - s h a r l n g
s y s t e a a t a gi ven aoo en t , t he a or e slowly t he
s y s t e a r esponds t o a l ] o f t he a.
Oper at i ng s y s t e a s a r e b i s and hard t o
p r o g r a a . They t ake a l o t o T t t i e computer7*
t i n e : l o r I n s t a n c e , Dar t a o u t h ' s t l a e - s h a r l n g
op e r a t i ng s y s t e a , t aki ng as auch as 211 of
t h e c o a p u t e r ' s t l a e . I s c ons i der e d e f f i c i e n t .
The l a por t anc e o f t i a e - s h a r i n g Is not In
t e r a s of "raw" e f f i c i e n c y , t h a t i s , the c o s t
of each o i l l i o n o p e r a t i o n s , bu t In t e r n s of
huaan e f f i c i e n c y , the a b i l i t y o f each us e r t o
g e t so auch aor e out of the c oaput e r by us i ng
I n t e r a c t i v e pr ograas and l anguages.
OPERATING SYSTEMS TRICKERY
Swapping aeans t r a n s f e r r i n g one u s e r ' s
!
r ogr a a out o f core aeaory In o r d e r t o aove
n soaebody e l s e ' s pr ogr a a. Thi s can happen
very r a p i d l y , and even when i t ' s done t o you
ever y t u r n , your t e r a i n a l aay s e ea t o respond
as t hough you are In cont i nuous pos s e s s i on of
t he e n t i r e coaput er
Pael na i s one o f t h e Great Abst r use
Pr obl eas o t aodern o pe r a t i n g s y s t e a s . The
p r ob l ea i s t h i s : you've always got f a s t ex
pensi ve aeaor y and cheap sl ow a ea or y. How
can the o p e r a t i n g s y s t e a s t o r e a o s t of your
p r og r a a i n cheap slow aeaory and s t i l l p r e d i c t
which p a r t s y o u ' l l need soon enough t o get
t h e a In t h e r e f or you? I n t he h o t t e r s y s t e a s ,
i ndeed, t he op e r a t i n g s y s t e a t r i e s t o p r e d i c t
wh a t ' s a o s t i a p o r t a n t and aove i t t o a f a s t
l i t t l e aeaory c a l l e d a c ache. Thi s a r e a i s
so b i i a r r e and c o a p l l c a t e a i p r e f e r not to
t h i n k about i t . "Mlnla f o r a e , " says Mr.
Nat u r a l .
A p P W i ;
I q the eaTly t hr oes o f coaput er e pt h u a i a s a ,
i t i s easy t o suppose t h a t anyt hi ng can be done
by c o a p u t e r ' - t h a t I s , anyt hi ng Invol vi ng the
chewing or di dd l i n g of i n f o r mat i o n. This I s
deci dedl y not so.
For I ns t ance, i t I s easy enough, and of t en
p r a c t i c a l , t o have a coaput er do s oa et hi ng a few
a l l l i o n t l a e s . But I t i s a l a o s t never p r a c t i c a l
t o have a cbaput er do soa et h i n g a t r i l l i o n t l a e s .
Why? Well , l e t ' s say ( f o r t he sake of s l a p l l -
c i t y ) t h a t a c e r t a i n p r ogr aa loop t akes 1/1000
of a second. To do i t a t housand t l a e s , t hen,
-would t ake one second, and t o do I t a B i l l i o n
t i a e s would t ake a thousand seconds, or about
sevent een a l n u t e s . . But t o do i t a t r i l l i o n t i aes
now, would peaa doing I t ITj OOOj OOO a l n u t e s , or
over t h i r t y ye ar s .
Now, you w i l l note t h a t even i f you speed uj
t h a t loop t o 1/ 1, 000,000 of a second, a t r i l l i o n
r e p e t i t i o n s w i l l t ake a l a o a t twelve da ys , which
i s obvi ousl y going t o need soae j u s t i f y i n g , even
assuming t h a t I t I s ot herwi s e f e a s i b l e .
(For pr obl eas of t h i s type peopl e begi n
t h i n k i n g about bui l d i n g s p e c i a l hardwar e, any
way. I t w i l l be not ed, f o r i n s t a n c e , t h a t the
PDP-16-- see p. y \ l e t s you c oap i l e your own
s p e c i a l equl paent f o r pr o b l ea s t h a t need e t e r
nal r e p e t i t i o n s .
COMBINATORIAL EXPLOSIONS
One kind of t hi ng t h a t ' s t oo auch t o do
I s g e ner al l y c a l l e d a c o a b i n a t o r l a l e i p l o s l o n - -
t h a t I s , a p r obl ea t h a t " expl odes" i n t o t oo
aany t hi ngs to do. For i n s t a n c e , c o n s i d e r the
gaae of cness. J u s t becauae you can w r i t e a
p r ogr aa t o look ahead a t a l l t he p o s s i b l e out-
coaes o f , s a y , t i c - t a c - t o e , t h a t d o e s n ' t aean
you can consi der a l l t he p o s s i b i l i t i e s of chess.
To l ook a t " a l l " t he p o s s i b i l i t i e s j u s t a few
aoves ahead Invol ves you i n t r i l l i o n s of
c a l c u l a t i o n s . Reneaber about t r i l l i o n s ? And
i t t u r n s oul t h a t t h e r e a r e a l o t of pr obl eas
l i k e t h a t .
IKTKBS ro* DOIHCTHINGS )
A a n are really clear braids
a *ahat ca^utera can do."
1%a preblM is always to think 19
t j a j i for doing things by n e u t e r .
(Also called a l a m r l u .>
l u i a l l y what can ba dene by
tablatop with allpe of paper-- c ^k a r-
ing, eapflvt, sorting, marhin?. doing
u l t M U t aad handing allpa of paper
So the qi nUM should w n be,
' t v aowld you do that by coapuur?*
but 'can you CMok o( a Mthad
(or acca^llehlog that?* The ' c o l t e r '
la really irrelevant, (or i t has no
oaeure and aetely twiddles Information
| on t aand.
.Then t h e r e Is the p r o b l ea of " Turi ng la-
p o s s l b l l l t y . Turing was a a a t h e a a t i c i a n who
dl scovei ed t h a t soae t h i n g s can be done s e
q u e n t i a l l y In a f i n i t e aaount o f t i a e , and
soae t hi ngs c a n ' t , such as provi ng c e r t a i n
types of a a t h e a a t i c a l t h e o r e a. In o t h e r words,
anything t h a t has t o do t h i n g s i n sequence- -
whet her a coaput er or a a i n d of God, I f any--
cannot possi bl y know anyt hi ng whi ch i s not
Tur i ng-coaput abl e. Anot her I a p o r t a n t l l m i t a -
t l o n .
On a aor e p r a c t i c a l l e v e l , t hough, t h e r e
are J u s t l o t s of t h i n g s which nobody has f i g u r
ed out how t o do In any f e a s i b l e way, o r are
J u s t now f i g u r i n g ou t d i f f e r e n t s y s t e a a t i c ways
of doing. (For a f a v o r i t e such a r e a of n i ne ,
coapare the d i f f e r e n t c oaput e r h a l f - t o n e ia age
synt hesi s s ys t e a s d e s cr i b e d on pp. DMH t o
ON M .)
Thus you see t h a t f l g g e r l n g out wavs of
doing s t u f f i s s t i l l one or the p r i n c i p a l a s
pect s 01 t he coaput er f i e l d . (Vnol e j ou r nal s
are devoted t o I t , such as CACM, JACM and so on. )
But then of c o u r s e , ever y few y e ar s t here
coaes a new aoveaent i n t h e f i e l d t h a t bodes t o
aake us s t a r t a l l over.
One such t r en d I s c a l l e d s t r u c t u r e d pr og
r aa ai ng. being pr o au l g a t e d by a Dutch r es e ar ch-
er named D l j k s t r a , aaong o t h e r s . The I dea of
s t r u c t u r e d pr ograaai ng I s t o r e s t r i c t coaput l ng
languages In c e r t a i n ways and " e l l a l n a t e the
GO TO," i . e . , no l onger have l uaps t o l a bel ed
place* l a p r o g r a as . By d i v i d i n g c oaput e r prog-
r aas up only I n c e r t a i n ways, goes t k l s school
of t hought , t h e pr ogr aas can perhaps be proven
workable, I d t he a a t h e a a t i c a l s e n s e , r a t h e r
than J u s t demonst rat ed t o work, as t hey a r e now--
a not o r i o u s l y e r r o r - p r o n e s i t u a t i o n . I f the
D l j k s t r a school l a c o r r e c t , we aay have t o
s t a r t a l l over ag ai n wi t h a new bunch of pr og
r a mi n g l anguages.
These r ea ar k s gi ve you t he f l a v o r o f soae
r e s t r i c t i o n s and l i n e s o f devel o p a ent . The r e s t
of t h i s page i s devot ed t o The Great Software
Pr obl ea- - t h e Oper at i ng System.
O f t O T H K r
J f S T C f t ' & O
' or OS/360, or OS
He have no space h e r e t o d i s c u s s OS,
t he o p e r a t i n g s y s t e a of t h e IBM 360 and 370,
which i s J u s t as wel l : i t l a a n o t o r i o u s l y
heavy-handed s y s t e a , e l a b o r a t e d wi t h what
soae would c a l l d e v a s t a t i n g a e s s l n e s s . Kinds
of convenience t aken f o r g r an t e d by u s e r s of
such coaput er s y s t e a s as t h e Burroughs S000,
t h e PDP-10, DTSS and o t h e r s a r e n ' t t h e r e .
The p r ogr a aa er has t o concern h i a s e l f
wi t h i n t r i c a c i e s havi ng naaes l i k e ACONs,
VCONs, TCBs, ECBs, and t h e c o a p l l c a t i o n s of
JCL. (Whi le t he s e o t h e r s y s t e a s aay have
e q u i v a l e n t c o mp l i c at i o n s , t he p r o gr a aa er
need not a e s s wi t h t h e a t o c r e a t e e f f i c i e n t
p r o g r a a s , as t h e 360 de aa nds . ) The pr o-
g r a a a e r a u s t even s e t a s i d e t h e pr evi ous
p r o g r a n e r ' s I nfor mat i on i o "SAVE AREAS,"
which i s l i k e a r e s t a u r a n t g u e s t havi ng t o
c l e a r t h e d i t t y d i s h e s on s i t t i n g down--
and r e t u r n t h e a when he l e a v e s . Se ve r a l of
t h e 3 60' s s i x t e e n ge ner al r e g i s t e r s a r e con
f i s c a t e d . T i a e- s h ar i n g r e q u i r e s i t s own
JCL-t ype le oguage. Ana so on.
IBM say* i t s f ort hcomi ng o p e r a t i n g s y s
t e a , OS/VS2-2, w i l l be b e t t e r .
BIBLIOG&APKY
A.L. Sc h e r r , "The Desi gn o f IBM OS/VS2 Re
l e as e 2 . " P r o c NCC 73, 3B7-394.
UTSS i s t he Dart nout h Ti ne-Shar i ng
Sys t on, and l e t i t be an example t o us a l l .
I t was c r e at e d by Keneny and Kur t : ,
, who c r e a t e d t he BASIC language t o be used
* on i t ( see p. It, ) .
y Thei r cooput er a r r i v e d i n f a l l ' 63,
f Thei r t i a e - s h a r i n g s y s i e n w e n t i nt o opera-
I t i o n i n spr i ng ' 6 J , pr oer aaned n o s t l y by
Dartmouth s t u d e n t s . and nas grown and lm-
proved c ont i nuous l y s i n c e Chen. On t h a t
b a s i s : prograaned by s t u de nt s .
I tr" ' '
\ The Dartmouth coaput er phi l os ophy--
' i . e . , ihe i J c a c a r r i e d t hrough by John
i s l i k e a l i b r a r y : i t s se r v i ce s shoul d be
Tree lo a i l i n a community, pai d for
through soae gener al fund.
St udent s and f a c u l t y a t Dartnouth
use i t f r e e . (Unl ess they have g r a n t s . )
You csn use i t t oo, i f you pay.
The r e s u l t : everybody a t Dart nout h
usos t he c oaput e r . I t S always running,
(alien) s i x days a week. There are al most
two hundrod t e r n i n a l s around t he campus;
peak af t e r n oon usage i s about a hundred
and f i f t y . Frcshnen l e ar n BASIC f i r s t
t h i n g , a f t e r which t he coaput er i s a
st a nd i ng f a c i l i t y , t o be used i n courses
engi nee r i ng or what ever; f or i ndependent
r e s e a r c h ; or j u s t f or fun and ganes and
The e n t i r e Dartmouth s ys t e o i s b u i l t
f or s i a p l i c i t y and c l a r i t y , wi t h e xpl ana
t i o n s o f a l l t he f a c i l i t i e s a v a i l a b l e a t
t e r n i n a l s . (The command expl ai n JCK c aus
es t he t e r a i n a l t o t ype out a p i c t u r e of
Keneny.)
Many f uddy-duddi es i n s i s t t h a t coaput er
usage shoul d be b i l l e d , as i t i s on most
c o l l e g e canpuses. That i s e s s e n t i a l l y the
C a l v i n i s t vi ew. But what i f we t r e a t e d l i
b r a r i e s l i k e t h a t ? I t would pr obabl y c os t
S10 j u s t t o borrow any book. The p o i n t i s
t h a t 11 w e ^ e l i e v e t Kal c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s
are a s o c i a l good, t hen >e shoul d be f l e x
i b l e about how to i s p l e n e n t t he a. (See Art h
H. Luehraann and John M. Nevi son, "Conput er
Use under a Pree-Access Pol i cy, Sc i e n c e . 31
May 7 i , 9S7-961. Thi s a r t i c l e c ont i nues t hi
l i n e o f argunent and f u r t h e r de s cr i b e s the
Dartmouth b i l l i n g s y s t e a . )
Anyway, Dartmouth w i l l s e l l you i t s t i l
s ha r i ng s y s t e a f or about S7S00 a aont h (and
y o u ' l l need a c oaput e r set up t h a t begi ns a t
$1 7, S00 a a o n t h ) . T h a t ' l l run SO t e r a l n a l s .
A b i gge r s e t u p w i l l c o s t aor e. Bul t h a l gel
you F o r t r a n , COBOL, SNOBOL, e t c . , Hi be s t
BASIC In t he whole wor l d, gaaes, f i n a n c i a l
s y s t e a s , and a yr i a d ot h e r pr ograas t he y' ve
b u i l t a t Dar t aout h. Fur t he r aor e, Mr. Adoi ni
t r a t o r , i t aeans t he s y s t e a w i l l be a v a l l a b l
t o u s e r s wi t h a a i n i a u n of c o a p l i c s l i o n and
b o t h e r .
A nuaber of coapani es have bought . I n
c l udi ng t h e U. S. Naval Acadeny a t Annapol i s,
whi ch o f f e r s Dar t no ut h- s t y l e computi ng t o
i t s a i ds hi pn e n.
Connect charge i s $2 t o $9 an hour
depending on your t e r a i n a l
s pe ed, pl u s pr ocessi ng c har ges .
Cont act : DTSS, INC., Hanover Nil
037SS. ( Sever al commercial
f i r a s a l s o o f f e r DTSS t e u s e r s ,
Incl udi ng Conput er Shar i ng Se r
v i c e s , I nc. Denver; Gruanan Data
Sys t ens , Woodbury, NY; Pol yCoa
Sys t ens L t d . , Tor ont o. )
Tha nest enjoyable aaaalon at tha 197* National
Coaputar Conference vaa tha Noitalgla session on tha
Dartaouth Syataa, DTSS. The Old Hande wra t ht r a- -
luye who * ki ds workad on tha original tlaa-aharlng
systea, and have now become grewmp* of one sort or
An elaral ng statement wee aada at that eaealon
by Jerome B. Wiener, who said he had been tha liaison
man between the Dartwuth effort aad the c vput t r
manufacturer (net I1H). He steted that ha had been
ordered by hie company t e atop the Dartmouth "eapert*
aant" any way he could, or lea his Job in three
months. Re did no auch thing, and (he said) aft er
being fi red continued to help the Derianath eff ort ,
holding weekend aaetlnge with ethers ir oa that com
pany ln hi e b<. Ke deserves the Prencee O. Kelsey
we-de-owr-rnal-Job a d e l .
WHERE TO GET IT
No way can we here ge t i n t o t he prose and
cons ( both s e ns es ) o f t he a y r i a d t i a e - s h a r i n g
s e r v i c e s t h a t a r e a v a i l a b l e . An e xce l l e nt
suamary of f i f t y s i i d i f f e r e n t t i a e - s h a r i n g
s e r v i c e s ( v a r i o u s l y u s i n g conput ors by Honey
w e l l , IBM, DEC, Uni vac, CDC, Xer oi and
Burroughs) appeared i n t he Febr uar y, 1973
Conput er Deci si ons ( "Pi e ci ng Out t he Ti neshar -
i nc Puzzle" by Jolin R. I l i l l e g a s s , pp. 24- 32).
Thi s s u a n a r i t e s i n f o r n a t i o n a v a i l a b l e f r oa
Dat apro Research Cor p. , Moor est own, NJ. The
a r t i c l e caut i ons a g a i n s t t he p o t e n t i a l hi gh
c o s t of t i n e - s h a r i n g s e r v i c e s , and urges you
t o get a l l the advi cc you can be f o r e commit
t i n g t o a t i n e - s h a r i n g s e r v i c e .
-----------V
n w 5 !
MULTICS was announced i n 196S as the
Time-Sharing Sys t en o f Al l Ti ne, t o be
c r e at e d j o i n t l y by MIT, General Ll e c t r i c
and Bell Labs.
I l took a l o t l onger t o g e t going
than they expect ed- - I hnvc a 1968 (?)
but t on t h a t s a ys , YOU NHVER OUTC.ROH YOUR
FOR MULTICS- - but now i t ' s a v ai l abl e
f r on Jloncywcl 1. Tcopl e say i t ' s the
g r e a t e s t , a l l r i g h t - - i t s f as c i na t i ng
f a c i l i t i e s i ncl ude t he a b i l i t y t o cxccutc
p a r t s of ot he r p e o p l e ' s programs, i f you
have per mi ssi on- - but i t ' s a l s o s a i d to be
awf ul l y expensi ve.
I n t e r e s t i n g l y , the MULTICS operat i ng
system i s l ur gvl y programmed i n the PL/1
language ( see p. ) .
Sys t ens ,^200 Smit h S t r e e t ,
MS 061. Kal t haa , Mass. 0J1J4.
Soae t i a e - s h a r i n g s y s t e ns arc l o c a l , ot hers
c i t i e s l o log i n t o t hea wi t h l ocal telephone
c a l l s .
Perhaps the a o s t f a r - r e a c h i n g t i n e - s h a r i n g
s y s t e n , though, i s General [ i l c c t r i c ' s MARK I I I ,
wi t h c o nce nt r a t o r s i n many o f the major c i t i e s
o f t he worl d ( n o s t l y Lur opc) . The nai n com
p u t e r i s in Ohio, but t he o v e r a l l s y s t e a aay be
thought of as an oct opus around t he gl obe, be
s i d e s hundreds of c i t i e s in t he USA, The Gb
syst em o f f e r s l o c a l acces s in A u s t r a l i a , Au s t r i a ,
ncl gi um, Canada, Dcnaark, Fi nl and, France,
I t a l y , Japan, Net her l ands , Norway, Puert o Ri co,
Sweden, Swi t ze r l and, Uni t ed Kingdom and West
Germany.
What t h i s b a s i c a l l y ncans i s t h a t i f a
conpany has o f f i c e s i n t he s e p l a c e s , i t can
do i t s i n t e r n a l communicat ion thTouch Cent r al
E T e c t r i c ' s c oanmc r sys t e a .
This p r e s e n t s obvi ous me r i t s and d i f f i c u l
t i e s , which t h e r e i s no roon t o d i s c u s s her e.
The s e r vi ce i s s a i d t o be expensi ve.
They a l s o o f f e r a t o l l - f r e e nuaber for
Cont act :
General E l e c t r i c I nfor na
t i o n Ser vi ces
Busi ness Di vi si on,
401 Nort h Washingt on SI.,
Ro c k v i l l e , Md. 208S0.
Y $ 0
IBM's "TSO", f o r Ti ne-Shar ed Operat ing
Sys t en, i s an odd s o r t of t i n e - s h a r i n g they
have cone up wi t h f or t he 370.
I t i s a s o r t of i n t e r a c t i v e bat ch pro-
gr anal ng. That I s , i t al l ows t he user a t a
t e r a i n a l t o coaa u nl ca t e wi t h pr ogr aas r unning
i n bat ch node.
While t h i s i s a f or a of t r u e t i a e - s h a r i n g ,
(though i t s d e t r a c t o r s tend t o coapare i t wit h
what they c a l l " t r u e " t i n e - s h a r i n g , such as
t h a t on t he PDP-10) , i t has a number of draw
backs.
For i n s t a n c e , on t he nodeL 1SS, a f a i r
ly l arge nachl ne ( ca . 150,000 a a ont h- - see
p. 3 8 ) , TSO n o r n a l l y al l ows onl y twenty
The bad f e a t u r e of TSO no s t of t en nen-
t i oned i s i t s slow r esponse t i n e . That i s ,
r esponse nay be s one t i ne s good, soa et i nes
e xec r a bl e.
IBM i s ur gi ng i t s f ans t o b e l i e v e t h a t
i t s n e i t o pe r a t i ng s y s t e a , c a l l e d OS/VS2-2,
w i l l be auch b e t t e r .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
M.V. Wi i kes, Ti ne - Shar i ng Conput er S y s t e a s ,
MacDonal d/Anencan El s e v i e r p u d i i s h i n g C
Al 1 About Tl ne s har i ne Ser vi ce Conganie^.
Dat apro Research (1 Corporat e c e n t e r ,
Moorest own, NJ 0005?). $10.
t < | t
OF
Co a p u t e r p e o p l e a r e a a y s t e r y t o o t h e r s ,
who s e e t h e a a s s o a e v h a t f r i g h t e n i n g , s oa ewhat
r i d i c u l o u s . T h e i r c o nce r ns s e e a s o ' p e c u l i a r ,
t h e i r h o u r s so b l i a r r e , t h e i r l a nguag e s o i n
c o m p r e h e n s i b l e .
Co a p u t e r p e o p l e aay b e s t be t h o u g h t o f
s a new . e t h n i c g r o u p , v e i y auch u n t o t hem
s e l v e s . Now, i t i s ver y ha r d t o c h a r a c t e r i z e
e t h n i c g r o u p s I n wor ds , and c e r t a i n t o g i v e
o f f e n s e , b u t i f I had t o c hoose one word f o r
t h e a i t woul d be e l f i n . Ife a r e l i k e t h o s e
l i t t l e p e o p l e down aaong t h e a u s h r o o a s , s k i t
t e r i n g a r o u n d c o a p l e t e l y p r e o c c u p i e d wi t h
u n f a t h o a a b l e c o n c e r n s and s e e a i n g l y i n d i f
f e r e n t t o n o r a a l h u ma ni t y. I n t h e a o o n l i g h t
( i . e . , p r e t t y l a t e , wi t h sna cks around t h e
equi pment ) you Bay h e a r o u r a u s l c .
Most l a p o r t a n t l y , t h e f i r s t r u l e I n d e a l
i n g wi t h l e p r e c h a u n s a p p l i e s e* h y p o t h e s l t o
c o a p u t e r p e o p l e : when one p r o a i s e s t o 00 you
a a a g i c a l f a v o r , keep your e yes f i x e d on h i a
u n t i l he h a s d e l i v e r e d , ffr you w i n g e l wHat
you d e s e r v e . P r o g r a a a e r s ' p r o a i s e s a r e n o t o r
i o u s l y u n k e p t .
But t h e d i p p y g l o r i e s o f t h i s w o r l d , t h e
e a r n e s t n e s s and wh i a s y, a r e s omet hi ng e l s e .
A r e a l c o a p u t e r f r e a k , i f you ask h i a f o r a
p r o g r a a t o p r i n t c a l e n d a r s , w i l l w r i t e a p r o -
g r a a t h a t g i v e s you your c h o i c e o f G r e g o r i a n ,
J u l i a n , Ol d Ru s s i a n and Fr ench R e v o l u t i o n a r y ,
i n e i t h e r s a a l l r e f e r e n c e p r i n t o u t s o r b i g
ones you can w r i t e i n .
Co a p u t e r p e o p l e have aany o r d i n a r y t r a i t s
t h s t show up i n e x t r a o r d i n a r y ways- - l o y a l t y ,
C
r l d e , t e a p e r , v e n g e f u l n e s s and s o on. They
ave p a r t i c u l a r q u a l i t i e s , as w e l l , 6 f dogge d
n e s s and c o n s t r a i n e d f a n t a s y t h a t e n a b l e t h e a
t o pr oduce i n t h e i r work. (Once a t l u n c h I
asked a t a b l e f u l l o f p r o g r a a a e r s what p l a n e
f i g u r e s t h e y c o u l d g e t o u t o f one c u t t hr o u g h
a cube. 1 g o t a b o u t t h r e e t i a e s as a any a n s
wers . as I t h o u g h t t h e r e w e r e . )
U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e r e i s no r ooa o r t l a e
t o go on a b o u t a l l t h e s e t h i n g s - - se e B i b l i o
g r ap h y - - b u t I n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r a r e a o f f a n
t a s y and e a o t i o n I have o b s e r ve d soae i n t e r e s
t i n g t h i n g s .
One c oaa on t r a i t o f our t i a e s - - t h e t e c h
n i q u e o f o b s c u r i n g o n e s e l f - - nay be a o r e com
aon aaong c o a p u t e r p e o p l e t h a n o t h e r s ( s e e
"The Myth o f t h e Machi ne, p . ? , and a l s o
" C y b e r c r u d , " p . J ) . Pe r haps a c e r t a i n d l s -
g r u n t l e a e n t w i t h t h e worl d o f pe o p l e f u s e s
wi t h f a s c i n a t i o n f o r (and envy o f ? ) a a c h i n e s .
Anyway, a t n y o f us who have g o t t e n a l o n g b a d l y
wi t h p e o p l e f i n d h e r e a r e a l a o f a b s t r a c t i o n s
t o i n v e n t and c h o r e o g r a p h , p r i v a t e l y and w i t h
c o n t i n u i n g c o n t r o l . A s t r a n g e house f o r t h e
e a o t i o n s , t h i s . Li ke Hege l , who be ca ae a o s t
e l o q u e n t and a r d e n t when he was l e c t u r i n g a t
h i s a o s t t h e o r e t i c a l , i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o be
aaong c o a p u t e r f r e a k s b o i s t e r o u s l y e x p l a i n i n g
t h e c r o s s - t a n g l e d r a t i f i c a t i o n s o f s o a e s y s t e a
t h e y have s e e n o r would l i k e t o b u i l d .
(A s y n d r o a e t o p on de r . I have s e e n I t
a o r e t han o n c e : t h e t e c h n i c a l pe r s o n who, wi t h
soaeone he c a r e s a b o u t , cannot s t o p t a l k i n g
b o u t h i s I d e a s f o r a p r o j e c t . A p o i g n a n t
t ype of F r e u d i a n d i s p l a c e n e n t . )
A s a d a s p e c t o f i h l s , i n c i d e n t a l l y , i s by
no aea ns o b v i o u s . Thi s i s t h a t t he s a a e com
p u t e r f o l k s who c h a t t e r e l o q u e n t l y a bout s y s
t e a s t h a t f a s c i n a t e t h e a t end t o f a l l d a r k and
s i l e n t wh i l e sott 'eone e l s e i s expoundi ng h i s own
f a s c i n a t i o n s . You would e x p e c t t h a t t h e p e r s o n
wi t h e f f u l g e n t t e c h n i c a l e n t h u s i a s a s woul d
r e a l l y c l i c k w i t h k i nd r ed s p i r i t s . I n ay e x
p e r i e n c e t h i s o n l y happens b r i e f l y : h o s t i l i
t i e s and d i s a g r e e m e n t s b o i l o u t o f nowhere t o
c u t t h e good ao o d . My onl y c o n c l u s i o n i s t h a t
t h e s a ae s p i r i t t h a t o r i g i n a l l y d r i v e s us mut
t e r i n g i n t o t h e cl ockwor k f e e l s t h r e a t e n e d
when o t h e r s s t a r t aonkeyi ng wi t h what ha s be en
c o n t r o l l e d a nd p r i v a t e f a n t a s y .
Th i s can be summed up as f o l l o w s : NOBODY
WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT ANOTHER GUY'S SYSTEM.
Here as e l s e w h e r e , t h i n g s f u s e t o b l o c k huaan
c o a a u n i c a t i o n : en v y , d i s l i k e o f b e i n g domi na
t e d , r e f u s a l t o r e l a t e e a o t i o n a l l y , and w h a t
e v e r e l s e . What ever c o a p u t e r pe opl e h e a r
a b o u t , i t s e e a s t h e y i a a e d i a t e l y t r y t o t o p .
Which i s n o t t o say t h a t c o a p u t e r p e o p l e
a r e s e r e c l o ck wo r k l e a o n s o r B e t t e l h e i a i a n
r o b o t - c h l l d r e n . But t h e t e n d e n c i e s a r e t h e r e .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ger al d M. Wei n b e r g , The Ps ychol ogy o f C o a n u t e r
Pr r * " V T i T N o s t r e n d Rel nEoTTT--------
S y s t e m a t i c t r e a t a e n t i n a r e l a t e d
v e i n .
P r a c t i c e s a y i n g t h e a l o u d l y and f i r a l y t o
y o u r s e l f . That way you w o n ' t f r e e z e
when t h e y ' r e p u l l e d on you.
THAT S NOT HOW YOU DO IT
THAT'S NOT HOW YOU USE COMPUTERS
THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU DO WITH COMPUTERS
THAT'S NOT HON I T ' S DONE
THAT'S NOT PRACTICAL
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT COMPUTERS?
WITH YOUR BACKGROUND,
YOU COULDN'T UNDERSTAND IT
LET'S CALL IN SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THIS
APPLICATION ( g e n e r a l l y a s h i l l )
IT ISN'T DONE
(you know t h e a ns we r t o t h a t one)
and t h e one I ' v e been w a i t i n g t o h e a r ,
I F GOD HAD INTENDED COMPUTERS TO BE USED
THAT WAY, HE WOULD HAVE DESIGNED
THEM DIFFERENTLY.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e r e i s no r ooa h e r e t o
c oach you on how t o r e p l y t o a l l t h e s e . Be
a s s u r e d t h a t t h e r e i s al ways a r e p l y . The
b r u t e - f o r c e b r a z e n c o a e b a c k , e q u a l l y d i r t y ,
i s j u s t t o say s o a e t h i n g l i k e
DIDN'T YOU SEE THE LAST JOINT PROCEEDINGS?
OH YEAH7 WHAT ABOUT THE x WORK
USING A y?
( where k i s a ny p l a c e on t h e map on p . S" ,
and y i s any c u r r e n t c o a p u t e r , s uch as a
PDP-10. )
"For M I t always coses dwn to a personal
challenge: noC j u s t t o creat e a prograa that aeti
the speci f i cat i ons, but to do I t In a way that I
find aes t he t i c al l y pleasi ng."
Robert B. Jones IV,
a heavy p r og ra ae r a t ChrysleT
. . . pr ogrammers, in my experi ence.
tend lo be pai nst aki ng. logical.
Inhibit ed, cauti ous, rest rai ned,
defensive, methodical , and rit ual i st i c.
Ken Knowlton,
Collaborations with Art iste--
A Programmer's Reflect ions,"
In Nake a Roeenfeld ( eds. ) .
Graphic Languages
(North-Hol iand Pub. Co. ) . p. 396.
USEFUL. AND POSSIBLY EMBARRASSING QUESTIONS
If lhe Computer Pnesls s u r t to pick on you.
here are seme hclplul phrases that will give you
strength.
I do not wanl to give the impression thal the
Guardians ol the Machine arc always bad guys.
Nevertheless, sad to relale, they arc not always
good guys. Like everyone oul 10 bolster his position,
including the plumber and ihe electrici an, Ihe compuier-
man haa learned how easy it is to intimidate the layman.
Now. these people are often righl. Bul if
a consumer advocale or whatever-- you are probably
cnlitied to slrsighi answers thal will help settle the
matter honestly . without puldowns , Any honest
man will agree.
Now, iheae helplul questions, honesily answered,
may elicil long mysterious answers. Be patienl
and conlident. Write down whais aaid and sil down
wiih ihe glossary in this book until you understand
the answer. Then you can ask more questions,
I am not inviting the reader to make irouble
flippantly. 1 am suggesting lhal many people have
there may be some discomfort al f ir st.
HOWDOES IT WORK?
(This question may have to be backed
up as follows: 'There are no computer systems
whose workings cannoi be clearly described
to someone who understands Ihe basics, I
INSIST THAT YOU MAKE A SINCERE ATTEMPT.- )
WHY DO YOU CLAIM IT HAS TO BE THIS WAY?
(SPEAK MORE SLOWLY, PLEASE.)
WHAT IS THE DATA STRUCTURE?
COULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT IN TERMS OF THE DATA
STRUCTURE?
WHO DESIGNED THIS DATA STRUCTURE?
And can I talk 10 him?
WHAT IS THE ALGORITHM?
WHO IS THE PROGRAMMER?
And can I talk to him?
WHY DO WE HAVE TO USE A CANNED PROGRAM FOR
THIS?
WHY IS THE INPUT LANGUAGE SO COMPLICATED?
WHY DO WE NEED CARDS? WHY CAN'T PEOPLE TYPE
IN THEIR OWN INPUT?
WHY NOT HAVE A SIMPLE-MINDED FRONT END THAT
LETS USERS CONTROL IT THEMSELVES?
WHY HAVE FORMS TO FILL OUT? WHY NOT HAVE
A DIALOGUE FRONT-END ON A MINI?
WHY CAN T IT BE ON-UNE? AvJ *. O C T J f c w k . f r / l O M L O ' ^ ) T
WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE THAT BRAND OF COMPUTER?
WHY NOT GET A SYSTEM WITH LESS OVERHEAD?
WHY SHOULD ALL COMPUTER OPERATIONS BE CENTRALIZED
DON'T THEY GET IN EACH OTHERS WAY?
WHY DOES IT ALL HAVE TO BE ON ONE COMPUTER?
WHY NOT PUT PART OF IT ON A DEDICATED MINI?
WHY CANT WE DO THIS PARTICULAR THING ALL
ON A MINI?
WOULDNT IT COST LESS IF WE GOT A MINICOMPUTER
FOR THIS TASK?
WHY CAN'T THIS BE PROGRAMMED IN SOME LANGUAGE
LIKE BASIC?
YOU KNOWAND I KNOWTHAT COMPUTERS DONY
HAVE TO WORK THAT WAY. WHY DO YOU CHOOSE
TO DO IT THAT WAY?
If these suggestions seem unnecessarily contentious,
i l is because m t of these guys like to pick on people,
and you may have is be ready. And you may need
all the support you can gel, if. say. you lake a stand
like one of Ihese:
*U Ihe Information is in there, I don't see why
we c an't gel it out."
You have no right to aak questions like this,
snd if the program requires i l , change the program . *
Remember. ILLEGITtMIS NON CARBORUNDUM
(don't lei the bastards grind you down)
f | E G 0 H T e U
A very important kind of discussion takes
place between people who want c o ^ j t a r p r o ^ a s ,
but c a n ' t write thea, and people who can write
t h w . but don' t want t o . Or. that I s , who don't
want to get caught having to do a l o t of unneces
sary work i f i t could be done or sl aply.
P r o g f negot i at i on, then, Is where the
ac u i t s a c " ~ he aay act ual l y be the boss-* saye,
*1 want a prograa chat w i l l do s ^ a n d - s o , ' and
the pr ograner says. ' I d rat her do i t t h i s way.*
In a seri es of requests and counter of fers
the eusteaer explains what he wants and the pro-
gr i n r esplal ns why he would rather do I t a d i f
f erent way. I l e s s e n t i a l for both elde to
aake theaselves c aspl et el v c l e a r . Often the cus-
tner thinks he wants one thing but would be
q ui t e s a t i s f i e d with another t h a t I s auch easier
t o prograa. Often the programer can aake help
f ul suggestions of b e t t e r ways to do I t t ha t will
be easi er for hia.
Very bad things csn happen i f prograa nego
t i a t i o n I s net done c ar ef ul l y and honestly enough.
The pr o gra ner can aisunderstand and create s e e
thing that was not wanted, or the c u i t a s r can
car el essl y a i s s t a t e h i a ae l f and ash for tha wrong
thing. Or worst of a l l the p r o g r a m r can de
l i b e r at e l y klshear and do sow thing di f f er ent ,
saying, 'There, t h a t ' s what you wanted,' as he
hands ever sou t h i n g t h a t i s n ' t what was r eally
asked f or. And the poor custoswr nay even believe
I t (see Cybercrud, p, 8 ) .
Prograa negotiation should be B r a widely
acknowledged aa a d i f f i c u l t and painful business.
I t i s exhausting and fraught with s t r e s s i people
(on both sides) get a l l kinds of psychosoutic
s y sp t on (like a b dn l nal pains, t i c s and c h i l l s ) .
The fact that people' s car eers often depend on
than fostering the thorough and sympathetic coop
e ration which i s e s s e n t i a l .
I f t
' I CANT BEAR HEAT.* REMARKED LAKCW1DERE
THE MEETING OP THE HINDS
The CustOHr,
Halve Advocate The Expert'
= ----------------------------------------------------------------
1 don't see why What you've gotta
since I t ' s a c ^ ^ u t e r . . . understand i s t ha t there
These are not d e t a i l e are probleas i nvol ved. ..
that eencern a e . . . I t c a n ' t be that
These are j u s t way...
1 n a n a c a p u t a r be j u s t what you want .. .
can do a l l these things,
C f uppancai the eustowr w i l l g e t what he deserves.
Horali I f you want something, you'd b e t t e r daan well
negotiate i t a t the d e t ai l ed level .
The at rt nge language of computer people makes
more aenae than laymen necessaril y reali ze.
Il' s a genersl i i ed analyt ical way of looking
at t i ne , space and acti vit y. Consi der the
following.
"THERE 18 INSIGNIFICANT BUFFER SPACE IN
THE FRONT HALL." (Buffer; place t o put
something temporaril y. )
"BEFORE 1 ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR INTERRUPT. LET
MBTAKE THIS PROCESS TO TERMINATION.
"COOKING IS AN ART OF INTERLEAVING
TIME-BOUND OPERATIONS." ( I . e . . d o i n g
part e of separat a Joba In the r ight or der
with an eye on Ihe cl ock.)
This ease i s so c l a s s i c I t ' s a l n s t a Punch
uri Judy shew.
One of the n a s t i e s t people I have evr act
a s the head of se cu r i t y for a b l g - c^ ^ u t er i s -
i t a l l a t l o i . Several people agree with ae that
delights l a t e l l i n g paeple they cant de
i peci fle things a t the c e n t e r , Mrel y for the
lake of r e s t r i c t i n g thM.
Anyway, a t t h i s s m i n s t al l at i o n there was
p r o g r a ^ r , l e t ' s c a l l h i a h. wbo disllkw) eu-
iharley, and d i sl i ked t h i s di r ect or of security,
Let'e c a l l hia B, with a aocdy passion.
B spent such of h i s t b a intensely, ^ e e s s -
ively rnnf plating poesLbls ways that uaere
Ight break i n t o the t y i t a , aid elaborat ely
jrograming defanaee and eoimtermasures int o
:he semit a r . Ha I lino* t hi s ? I knew t h i s
Cra a, who constant ly went through B's waste-
lasket. a s t i l l plaits Incessant ly for tha day
1 will get a big t aunting pr i nt o ut , casing un-
a ^ c t a d l y to hia o f f the aachine, t ha t showe
i l a a l l hi s secret e are known. I
T H e w u g i e
l U F O R l h T l K f r
Their name makes people think ihoy' rc a war prtitcal group,
but actually lhe R. E. S.1. S. T. O. H. S. ol Princeton. N. J . are o
bunch of ki ds who play with compulers. They' re all young; members
are purged when ihey fi nish high school. Their clubroom Is st
Princeton Universi ty, but Ihe initiative Is strictly their s.
The name stands for "Radically Emphatic Students Interested
in Science, Technology and Other Research Subj ects. " Compulers
are not all (hey dothey' ve also golien Inlo aloi racing and tho
game of Diplomacy but compulera are whai they' ro known for.
The Reals tor s ( lei ' s spell ii the shorl way) exhibit regularl y at
lhe computer conferences, and hi ve startled numerous people
wilh the high quali ty of Ihelr work. They' ve been invited to various
conferonces abroad. They have built various language processors
and done gr aphic s; lately Ihelr fad Is working wilh lhe LDS-1
In Princetons Chemist ry Department.
Where do Ihey learn It *11? They loach each ot her, of course.
Newcomera hang around, learn computor lolk, work on projects,
and (ease each olher. They Kin use the Informal trade channels,
subscri bing to magazines and filling oul Information request
cards under such company names as Plebnay International Signal
Division and Excall bur Wax Fruit.
The greal Ihing about these klda Is their lany flippancy .
They' ve never fai led, t hey' ve never beon afraid for their Jobs,
snd so they combine the zest of lhe young wilh Ihoir cupcrtlso.
Their forma of expression are as sl anl l ng to professionals as
they are lo outs i ders; don' t say anything ponderously If 11can
be said playful ly. Don'l say "bit field If you can say "funny
bits;" don' l say "alphanumeric buffer" If you can say "quick brown
fai bo*: " dont say "Interrupt signal" if you can Coll il s "Hey
Charlie; " don' t say "readdr es si ng logic" If you can say "whoopco
bos."
group l i ke you
doing a t a
Joint l i k e this?
t own of K.B.S.I.S.T.O.R.S.
in ezasut i ut saion,
Atl ant ia City
They have varied backgrounds. The father of one is s butcher,
lhe father of another is one of ihe country9 foremost intellectuals.
(None or thal matters to lhe k i d s . ) I have dined in a number ot
their homes, and find (his in common: Iheir parents show them
great r espect . love and t r ust , indeed. Resistor parents liuvc
expressed some surpri se lo l earn lhat their children' s work is
al lhe full-fledged professional level. Tho Important i hing, lo
lhe parents, ia lhal the kids a r e working on constructing (hings
they enjoy.
The iruUe press is ambivalent toward th
the one hand they moke good copy. (Al one S|
had the only working ti meshari ng demo-- on
a phone booth . ) On the other, they Ramclimes
publicity-hungry, like many cclcbri lies. (At anol
Joinl Ihey dug up an IBM Songbook and serenaded lhe guys at
lhe IBM pavilion, who had to act nice about i l . ) So i hey don'l
got written up In computer magazines so much anymore.
I first met the Resistors in 1970. aril stoned hanging around
with them for Iwo reasons, Fi rs t . Ihey a rc pcrf:lly delightful:
enthusiastic In t he way lhat most Adults forego, and very witty.
To them computer lulk was nol u thing apart, as it is fur both out
siders and mony professionals.
Secondly, and this wos lhe self-seeking nspccl. 1 noted
that those kids were quite expert , and interested in giving me
advice where computer professionals would nol- They got interested
in helping me with my (perhaps quixotic) Xuiiudu1"1 project (see
flip s i de ) . This wos enough to keep mu visiting for a vouple of
ye ar s , Now, some people a r c loo proud lo ask children for Informa
tion. This Is dumb. Information is where you find i l.
The last I heard, the Resistors were Ml work in ,i COUOL
compiler for the PDP-11. hoping il would snvc the local high school
from lhe disastrous (lo Ihcm) purchase of an 1IIM 1130. (Since
the school' s intent was to leueh business programming, they hoped
lhal the availability of COUOL would cnceurngc lhe school (o buy
lhe more powerful and less expensive PDP-11.)
The Rcsislor6 re few, bui I think (hey lire very important
in princi ple, un existence proof. They show how sil ly and artificial
Is our edifice of pedagogy , with all its scqucnccs and sterilizations,
and how onybody cun learn unyIhing in l he r ight atmosphere,
stripped of i ls pomposities. The Resistors a r e nol obsessed with
computers; Iheir love of computers is purl of Iheir love of everything,
ond e verything is what computers arc for.
R . w . i J . T - e . i y . ^ t c d v .
Lauren. 14. was talking to another girl ol lhe ACM 70 con
ference. Apasserby heard her explaining l he differences among
lhe languages BASIC. POHTRAN. COBOL and TRAC. "How long
have you been programming' " he asked in s ur pri se. "Oh. almost
a monlh." she said .
I was driving some Resistors around Princclon; they were
yelling contradictory driving instructions "I demand triple r e
dundancy in the directions." I said. "Right up oheud you t urn
right right away," said a spokesman.
Since (here was a lol of exccss capacity. (he Rcsis(ors got
a free account on a national time-sharing system. Though they
di dn' t have to p ay, the system kept ihcm informed on what (hey
would have owed. In a year or so they r un up funny-money bills
of severol hundred thousand dollars.
Did (hey ra(e free subscriptions lo computer magazines?
I asked, Could Ihey chiim Ihey really "make decisions affecting
Iho purchase of computers"?
"Of course we do!" was lhe r epl y. "All logc(hcr: shall
Resistors (in unison) "NO!"
Their original advisor, whom we shall call Gaston . is mis
chievous in his own ri ght , II was meeting-lime at Goslon's place
on a bright Saturday, and I was on t he fawn working on Xanadu
with Nat and Elliou when Gaston interrupt ed to say lhat an unwelcome
salesman of burg lar alarms was about lo arr i ve. "Lei' s have
a little fun wilh him," said Gaslon. The kids were to be introduced
as Gaston's children, I was an uncle. We took our stations.
The salesman may hove realized he wos walking inlo a Irap
from all the slrangcly beaming adolescents (hot siood in the living
room, lie gol oul his wares and started lo demonstrate the burglar
alarm, bul il didnt go right- Peter, standing in fron( of (he equip
ment wilh a demonically vacuous gr i n, hud reversed a diode behind
his back so t hat l he alarm r ang continuously unless you broke
lhe light beam.
" I l u m p f s a i d Gaston, "you want to Bee a real security
system?" We trooped Inlo lhe kilchon, where Gaston- kepi a Teletype
running,
ANY NEWS? typed Goslon.
CREAM YEMAW JMJICK PULLED INTO DRIVEWAY. replied
lhe Teletype. JEIISEY LICENSE PLATE . . . (and lhe salesman's
license number), und finally. OWNER OKRECORD NOT KNOWN.
John was typing this from ihe other Teletype in the barn.
The salesman stared al (he Teletype, lie looked around
al our cherubic smiling faces, lie looked al Ihe Teletype. "Thai' s
all r i gh t . suid lhe salesman. "Hut now I' d like lo show you a
r eal security system. . ." And it was back to t he old burglar
W R I T E R S a f l o K e S t o e / \ f
Th* p u b l i c i s t ho r ou gh l y c on f u s e d about
c o m p u t e r s , and tho p r e s s and p u b l i c i s t s a r e
s c a r c e l y f r e e f r o a b l a a e . I TS TIME FOR EX
PLANATIONS. Pe opl e want t o know what c o a p u t e r
s y s t e a s r e a l l y do no aor e of t h i s " l a t e s t
s p a c e - a g e te chnol ogy" g a r b a g e . Hr. Bu s i n e s s
man, Hr . Wr i t e r , a r e you aan enough t o s t a r t
t e l l i n g i t s t r a i g h t ?
Tho c o a p u t e r p r i e s t h o o d , u n f o r t u n a t e l y ,
o f t e n want s t o awe peopl e w i t h , o r undul y
s t r e s s , t h e n o t i o n o f t h e c o a p u t e r b e i n g i n
v o l v e d i n a p a r t i c u l a r t h i n g a t a l l . I t i s
t i n e f o r ever ybody t o s t o p b e i n g i mpr e s s ed by
t h i s and g e t on wi t h t h i n g s . Don t j u s t copy-
e d i t what t h e y g i v e y ou. Hose around and
r e a l l y f i n d o u t , t h e n wr i t e i t lo ud snd c l e a r .
Thes e s i a p l e r u l e s a r e ay s u g g e s t i o n s f o r
b r i n g i n g on aor e i n t e l l i g e n t d e s c r i p t i o n s
t h a t w i l l h e l p e n l i g h t e n t h e p u b l i c by o s a o s i s .
1 . FIND OUT AND DESCRIBE THE FUNDAMEN
TAL APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE PROGRAM.
T h i s c an i n v a r i a b l y be s t a t e d i n t h r e e c l e a r
E n g l i s h s e n t e n c e s o r l e s s , but not n e c e s s a r i l y
by t h e p e r s o n who c r e a t e d I t . THIS I S WHAT
WRITERS ARE FOR: i t i s your dut y t o pr obe un
t i l t h e n a t t e r has becone c l e a r .
Examples-
" T h i s c h e s s - p l a y i n g p r og r a n e v a l u a t e s
p o s s i b l e aoves i n t e r a s o f v a r i o u s c r i t e r i a
f o r p a r t i a l s u c c e s s , and makes t he nove whic h
ha s t h e h i g h e s t a e r i t a c c o r d i n g t o t h e s e
r a t i n g s . "
" Th i s n u s l c - c o a p o s i n g p r o g r a a o p e r a t e s
on a s e a l - r a n d o a b a s i s , s c r e e n i n g p o s s i b l e
n o t e s f o r v a r i o u s ki n d s o f a t t r a c t i v e n e s s . . .
" Th i s a r c h a e o l o g i c a l c a t a l o g u i n g s y s t e a
k e e p s t r a c k o f a v a r i e t y o f o b j e c t i v e f e a t u r e s
o f e a c h a r t i f a c t , p l u s i n f o r a a t i a n on where
i t was , i n c l u d i n g l i n k a g e s i n d i c a t i n g what
o t h e r a r t i f a c t s wer e n e ar i t . "
What o r whose c o a p u t e r i s used t o do a
t h i n g i s of a l a o s t no c once r n ( u n l e s s i t I s
one o f unu s ua l d e s i g n , o f whic h t h e r e a r e com
p a r a t i v e l y few) . Not t h o nake o f t h e c oapu
t e r , b u t t he GENERAL IDEA OF HOWTHE PROGRAM
OPERATES, i s t h e a o s t i a p o r t a n t t h i n g .
Of c o u r s e , i f you a r e b e i ng p a i d by a
h a r d wa r e a a n u f a c t u r e r , y o u ' l l have t o name t h e
e q ui p me n t over and o v e r ; b u t r e c o g n i z e t h a t
y o u r r e a l d u t y I s p u b l i c u n d e r s t a n d i n g , and
p u t t h e t a c t s a c r o s s . ( I f you t h i n k i t c a n ' t
be do n e , r ead t he s p l e n d i d Kodak ads i n t h e
S c i e n t i f i c Ameri can. )
2 . Keep ge e- whi zz i ng r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e
d e s c r i p t i o n o f a s y s t e a ' s p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f f e c t
on r e a l p e o p l e . (What l a p r e s s e s you a ay t u r n
o u t t o be o l d h a t . )
3 . Look f o r a ng l e s s p e c i a l t o what y o u ' r e
r e p o r t i n g . Pur s ui ng d e t a i l s i s l i k e l y t o
b r i n g up b e t t e r s t o r y pegs and a o r e huaan i n
t e r e s t . I n s t e a d o f s a yi n g " comp ut er s c i e n t i s t s
ha v e done somet hi ng, you a i g h t f i n d s omet hi ng
mor e i n t e r e s t i n g f o r your l e a d ; how a b ou t "The
u n l i k e l y team o f a b i o p h y s i c i s t and a t e e n - a g e
a r t s t u d e n t . . . o r - - f i n d i n g what s s p e c l a l - -
' ' Neve r b e f o r e has t h i s been done on a comput er
s o s m a l l , t he s i z e o f a p o r t a b l e t y p e w r i t e r
( a n d h a v i n g onl y soae 4000 wor ds o f m e n o r y ) . . .
4 . At t empt Co f i n d out how e l s e comput ers
a r e u s e d i n t h e p a r t i c u l a r a r e a , anH- ment i on
t h e s e t o h e l p o r i e n t t h e r e a d e r .
Th i s goes a g a i n s t t h e e x c l u s i v i s t t e n d e n
c i e s we a l l have when we want t o ba l l y h o o
s ome t h i ng . I t i s a n a t t e r o f c o n s c i e n c e , an
i mp o r t a n t one .
5 . q u e s t i o n s t o a s k:
What a r e t h e p r e a i s e s o f you r p r o
gram?
What i f p e o p l e t u r n o u t t o need
What c oul d go wrong?
And most I mpor t ant : What i s t h a t ?
IMPORTANT DISTINCTIONS
I t i s on l y by c l a r i f y i n g d i s t i n c t i o n s
t h a t pe op l e a r e e v e r g o i ng t o g e t a ny t h i n g
s t r a i g h t .
6 . Do n o t say " t h e comput er" when you
aean " t h e s ys t e m" o r " t h e p r o g r a a . "
7 . Do n ' t s a y " a a a 1f u n c t i o n i n g c o n p u t e r "
( har dwar e e r r o r ) i f t h e comput er f u n c t i o n e d
as i t was d i r e c t e d on an i n c o r r e c t p r o g r a a
( s o f t wa r e e r r o r ) . (And reaember t h a t t he
b e s t p r o g r a a a e r s make m i s t a k e s , s o t h a t a
c a t a s t r o p h i c bug i n a s y s t e a i s no s i g n t h a t
i t was pr o gr a ae d by an i n c omp e t en t , onl y
t h a t i t i s n t f i n i s h e d . )
6. (A p a r t i c u l a r p o i n t a bo ut g r a p h i c s .
See f l i p s i d e . ) Don ' t s a y "TV s c r e e n " i f a
c o n p u t e r s c r e e n I s n o t TV, i . e . , S25 h o r i
z o n t a l l i n e s t h a t you c an se e on t h e s c r e e n
i f you lo ok f o r them. (See p . V \ 6 v e r s u s p .
>*21 . ) HOW ABOUT: " v i s u a l d i s p l a y s c r e e n " ?
- - you can a dd, "on whi ch t h e c o a p u t e r c an
draw a o v i n g l i n e s , " o r what eve r e l s e t h e
p a r t i c u l a r s ys t e m does .
9 . D o n ' t assume t h a t your a ud i e nc e i s
c o a p u t e r - i l l i t e r a t e .
10. Don t assume t h a t i t c a n ' t a l l be
s a i d s i a p l y . Only l a 2y o r h a r d - p r e s s e d w r i t e r s
a r e u n c l e a r .
11. Do no t us e c u t e s y - t a l k , p a r t i c u l a r
t h a t which s u g g e s t s t h a t c oapu t e r s have an i n
t r i n s i c c h a r a c t e r . By " c u t e s y I a ea n s e n
t e n c e s l i k e " S c i e n t i s t s have r e c e n t l y t a u g h t
a c o n p u t e r t o p l a y c h e s s , " Mis - Leads l i k e
"Whet does a comput er sound l i k e ? " (when t a l k
i n g about musl e c o n s t r u c t e d by a p a r t i c u l a r
p r o g r a a i n a p a r t i c u l a r way) , and a we - s t r u c k
d e s c r i p t i o n s l i k e , "At l a s t t h e Space Age has
come t o t h e r e a l e s t a t e b u s i n e s s . . .
12. Do n o t us e t h e garbage t e r m ^compu
t e r i z e d , " u n l e s s t h e r e i s a c l e a r s t a t e me n t
o f where t h e comput er i s i n t h e s y s t e a , what
t he c o n p u t e r i s doi ng end how. A " comp ut er
i z e d t r a f f i c s y a t om, " f o r i n s t a n c e , c o u l d be
any damn t h i n g , b ut a " s y s t e m o f t r a f f i c l i g h t s
under c o a p u t e r c o n t r o l , u s i ng v a r i o u s t i mi n g
t e c h n i q u e s S t i l l unde r devel op ment , s a ys
s o a e t h i n g .
13. D o n ' t p u t i n c l i c h e s a s f a c t , f o r
example by t h e use such t e r a s a s " n a t h e -
n a t l c a l " o r "comput er s c i e n t i s t u n l e s s t h e y
r e a l l y a p p l y . Do n o t impl y any a a t h e a a t i c a l
c h a r a c t e r u n l e s s you know t he s ys t e m p o s s e s s e s
i t : many pr ograms c o n t a i n no o p e r a t i o n s t h a t
can f a i r l y be c a l l e d m a t h e a a t i c a l . S i m i l a r l y ,
a "comput er s c i e n t i s t " i s someone wi de l y o r
de ep l y v e r s e d i n comput er s o r s o f t w a r e , no t
j u s t a pr ogrammer. (Anyway, i f s omet hi ng ha s
been programmed by an e n t o mo l o g i s t , i t i s
pr o b a b l y a o r e i n t e r e s t i n g t o r e f e r t o him as
i n e n t o mo l o g i s t t h a n a s a " c o a p u t e r s c i e n t i s t . " )
14. Do n o t r e f e r t o a p par en t i n t e l l i g e n c e
o f t h e c omput er ( u n l e s s t h a t i s an i nt e n de d
f e a t u r e o f t h e pr ograr^. Cr e d i t r a t h e r t h e i n
g e n u i t y o f t h e s y s t e m s c r e a t o r . Do n o t say
" t h e c l e v e r c ompu t e r . " I f anybody i s c l e v e r
i t i s t h e programmer o r pr ogram d e s i g n e r , and
i f you t h i n k s o , say s o . These guys d o n ' t g e t
t h e r e c o g n i t i o n t h e y d e s e r v e .
1$. Neve r , ne ver s a y " t e a c h t h e c o np ut e r "
as an e l l i p t i c a l way o f s a y i n g " w r i t e comput er
p r og r a ms . Programming means c r e a t i n g e x a c t
and s p e c i f i c p l a n s t h a t c an be a u t o m a t i c a l l y
f ol l owed by t h e e qui pme nt . To say " t e a c h " when
you mean " pr ogr am" i s l i k e " p e r s u a d i n g " a c a r
i n s t e a d o f d r i v i n g i t , o r making a t o i l e t " c r y
i n s t e a d o f f l u s h i n g i t .
( Ther e a r e s y s t e n s , d e s c r i b e d on t h e f l i p
s i d e , whi ch s i m u l a t e i n t e l l i g e n t p r o c e s s e s and
aay t hus' be s a i d t o " l e a r n " o r " be t a u g h t . "
But n e i t h e r programmi ng nor s i m u l a t e d l e a r n i n g
s houl d be d e s c r i b e d i n a s l i p s h o d f a s h i o n t h a t
s u g g e s t s t h e comput er i s some s o r t o f t r a i n a b l e
baby, puppy o r de aon. )
16. Do n o t impl y t h a t s o a e t h i n g i s " t h e
l a s t wor d, " u n l e s s you have checked t h a t i t i s .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Er nes t Gower s, P l a i n Words.
T h i s wonder f ul l i t t l e book showed
E n g l i s h c i v i l Se r v a n t s " b u r e a u c r a t i c
w r i t i n g " was t o t a l l y u n n e c e s s a r y . I t s
p r e c e p t s - - n a i n l y c oncer ned w i t h c a l l i n g
a spade a spade ( s e e p . ) - - t r a n s p o s e
e x a c t l y t o t he c o n p u t e r wor l d.
You Blew I t ,
bd new* for
studane
pr o q r t MH
In chair
unsuccessful
pr i nt out s.
U. I l l i n o i s
at Urban*.
ft.e.S.I.S.T.O.f.S.
after infamous
Onega cirewm/.
( > M , U T T R _
f W M l S C l K F
All k i n d s r f dumb J o k e s a n d car t oon* c i r c ul a t e among
t he pub l i c about o m p u t a r a . Th en o ur f r i end* r e g a l e u a
coDput crfol K wi l h t h e s e J okes a n d c ar t oon s , a n d be ca us e
we do n ' t l a u g h t hey s a y we h a v e no se nae of h u m o r .
Oh we d o , we d o- But wh at we l a ug h a t la r a l h o r
mor e compl i cat ed, and r e l a t e s t o what we t h i n k of a s t he
r e a l s t r u c t u r e of t h i n g *
of t he b a s t h u mo r In t h e f i el d 1* r u n In Dat amat i on;
a n ant hol ogy cal l ed F a i t h , Hope a nd Par i t y r e r a n a l ot of
Uwl r best p i e ce s t r am t h a e a r l y s i x t i e s . Cl as s i c was t he
Kl udge s e r i e s , a r omp d e s c r i b i n g v a r i o u s a ct i vi t i e s a nd
p r o d u c t s <rf t h e Kl udge Komput er Ko r por a t l on, whose f oi bl e*
d i ai l l l ed many at t ha mo r e Idi ot i c t hi nge t ha t ha ve b e en
done l n t h e f i e l d . ( " K l u d g e . " pr on o u nce d " kl coj . " I s a.
c o o p u t e r ma n ' a t er m f o r a r i d i c u l o u s ma c h i n e . ) Dat amat i on' s
humor ous t r ad i t i o n h a s c o n t i n u e d In a p onde r o us b u t e x t r e me l y
f unny s e r i a l t hat r a n In '72 c al l ed Also S p r s c h von Ne u mann,
whi ch In mel l i f l uous a n d e l l i p t i ca l euphemi sms d e s c r i b e d
t he a u t h o r ' s a d v e n t u r e s a t t h e " a i r s h i p f o undr y " a n d o t h e r
c o n f u wd compani es t ha t h a d hi m d oi ng one pr e p o s t e r o u s
t h i n g wi t h comput er a a f t e r a n o t h e r .
C ! p * W T E * f * W l K J
Pr a n k s a r e an i mp o r t a n t b r a n c h of humor In t he f i el d.
Her e a r e some t hal wi l l g i v e you a s ens e of i t .
ZAP THE 94
One of t he me an e r p r a n k s was a pr ogr a m t hal r a n
oi r Ihe ol d 7094. It c oul d fit on one c a r d (In b i n a r y ) , and
put t he comput er In an I n es c ap a b l e l oo p. Unfor t unat el y
the u s ua l "STOP" but t on wa s di s a b l e d by t h i s p r o g r a m,
so to st op Ihe p r o g r a m one woul d event ual l y ha v e t o pul l
t h e bi g emer gency b u t t o n . T h i s b u r n t out al l t he mai n
r e g i s t e r s .
TIMES SQUARE LIGHTS
One of t h e w e i r d e r p r o g r a ms waa the o p e r a l o r - wa k e r -
u p p e r somebody wrot e f or t h e 7094. It was a b i g p r o g r a m,
and what It di d was DISPLAY ALPHABETICAL MESSAGES
ON THE CONSOLE LIGHTS, s l i d i n g p s s l l i ke the news in
Ti mes Sq u a r e. You p u t I n t h i s pr og r a m a nd f oll owed it
wi t h t he meeaage; t he c o m p u t e r ' s consol e boa r d woul d l i ght
up and t he news woul d g o b y . Si nce t he l i g ht s u s u a l l y
bl i n k In u n i n t e r e s t i n g p a t t e r n s , t hi s was v e r y s t a r t l i n g .
Th i s p r o g r a m wa s e x t r e me l y compl ex. Si nce t he
94 di s p l ay e d t h e con t en t s o f al l main r e g i s t e r s and t r a p ,
ari t hmet i c a nd overf l ow l i g h t s , i t was n e c e s s a r y t o do v e r y
wei r d t hi ngs i n t he p r o g r a m t o t u r n t he s e l i gh t s on and
off at (he r i g h t dmee.
THE TIME-WASTER
In one company, f o r some r ea s o n , it was a r r a n g e d
t hal l a r g e a n d l o n g - r u n n i n g p r o g r a ms ha d p r i o r i t y o v e r
sh o r t qui ck o n e s . Ver y wel l : someone wr ot e a count er at t ac k
pr ogr am o c cupi ng s e v e r a l b o x e s of punch c a r d s , t o whi c h
you s d d e d t he s h o r t p r o g r a m y ou r ea l l y want ed r u n , a nd
a c a r d sp e ci f y i n g how l o n g y o u want ed ihe f i r st p a n of
t he pr ogr am to g r i n d b e f o r e y o u r r ea l one act ual l y s t a r t e d .
Thi s woul d b l i n k l i g h t s and s p i n t a pes I mpr es s i vel y
and l engt hen t h e r u n of y o u r p r o gr a m to wh at eve r ' yo u w a n t e d .
BOMBING THE TIME-SHAAE
One of t he c l a s s i c b a d - b o y p r a n k s la t o bomb t i me
s h a r i n g s ys i e ms - - t hat i s . foul them up a nd b r i n g t hem to
a ha l t . Many progTammera ha v e done t hi s ; one haa t ol d
me i t ' s a wonder f ul way t o g e t r i d of y o u r a g g r e s s i o n s .
Of c o u r s e , i t can d amage o t he r p e opl e' s wor k ( es pe ci al l y
i f d i s k s a r e bombed); a n d It al ways get s t he syst em p r o g r a m
me r s hop p i n g mad, b e c a u a e It roeana y o u' ve def i ed t h e i r
a u t hor i t y a nd maybe f ound a hole t hey do n' t know a bou t .
Her e a r e a coupl e of e x amo l ea .
The way t h i s s t o r y Is t o l d , o n a of t he t i me - s h a r i n g
s y s t e ms al MIT woul d go down at compl et el y mys t er i ous
t i me s , wi t h al l of c or e a nd d i s k b e i n g wi ped o u l . and
t he i i n e p r i n t e r p r i n t i n g out THE PHANTOM STRIKES.
Fo r a l ong lime t he gui l t y p r o g r a m coul d not be
f ou nd. Fi nal l y it was d i s c o v e r e d t h a t t he bomb waa
h i d d e n In an ol d and v e n e r a b l e s t a t i s t i c s p r ogr a m
p r e v i o u s l y be l i e ved t o be compl et el y r e l i a b l e . The
r e a s o n t he phant om d i d n ' t al ways s t r i k e was t ha t the
Bomb p a r t q u e r i e d t he s ys t e m cl ock a n d made a p s e udo
r a n d o m deci si on whe t he r (o bomb t h e syst em d e pendi ng
on t he I ns t ant aneous s e t t i n g of t h e c l o c k . T h i s i s why
i t took so l ong to di s c over ; t he p r o g r a m u s ua l l y bi ded
i l s t i me a nd be have d p r o p e r l y .
Appar ent l y t hi a was t he r e v e n g e of a d i s g r u n t l e d
p r o g r a m m e r , long s i nc e d e p a r t e d . Not onl y t h a t , but
h i s r e v e n g e was t hor ough: i he Bomb p a r t of t he pr ogr am
was t ot al l y kni t t ed i nt o t he r e s t of i t . i t was a ve r y
i mpo r t a nt pr ogr a m l hat had t o b e r u n a lot wi l h di f f er ent
d a t a , a n d n o document at i on e x i s t e d , ma ki ng it f or
p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s i mpos si bl e lo c h a n g e .
T h e f i nal sol ut i on, s o t he a t o r y g o e s , was i hls :
w h e n e v e r t he r owdy p r ogr a m had t o b e r u n . t he r es t
o f t h e ms c hi ne was c l ea r e d o r put on p r o t e c t , ao il r an
a n d had i t a fi t s i n maj eal i c s o l i t u d e .
2. RHBOMB
T h e t i m e - s h a r e at t he Labs , n e v e r mi nd whi ch
L a b s , ke p t goi ng down. Mi schi ef was s u s p e c t e d . Mis
c h i e f waa ver i f i ed: a p r ogr a m c al l ed RHBOMB, s u b
m i t t e d . b y a c er t ai n pr ogr a mme r wi t h t h e i ni t i al s R. H . .
was r e s p o n s i b l e , a nd t u r n e d oul a l ways to be p r e s e n t
when t h e t ermi nal s p r i n t e d TSS HAS GONE DOWN. It
was ve r i f i e d by ( he s ys t e ms peopl e l h a t t he p r ogr a m
c al l ed RHBOMB waa i n facl a Bomb p r o g r a m , wi t h no
o l h e r p ur poa e t han lo t ake down t h e l i m e - s h a r i n g s ys t e m.
R. H. was s poken t o s t e r n l y a n d i l di d not ha p
pe n a g a i n .
However , some mont hs l a l e r a snoopy sys t ems
p r o g r a mme r not ed t hat a (lie c el l ed RHBOMB ha d been
s t o r e d o n d i s k . Ra l he r l han have R . H . s c al pe d p r e
ma t u r e l y , he t hought he woul d c hec k t he cont ent s .
He s a t down at Ihe t ermi nal a n d t ype d In t he com
ma nd, PRINT RHBOMB. But be f or e he coul d se e it s
c o n t e n t s , (he t er mi nal t yped I nst ead
TSS HAS GONE DOWN
A Gr and Fad among comput erf ol k In t he l ast coupl e
of y e a r e has be en t he game of " Li fe, " i nvent ed by John
Hort on Conway.
The r u l b s a pp e a r e d l n t he Sci ent i fi c Ameri can In
Oct ober 1970, i n Mart i n G a r d n e r ' s games col umn, a nd t he
whol e c ount r y went w i l d . G a r d n e r was swamped wit h
r e s u l t s (many p u b l i s h e d In F e b . 71); aft er a coupl e mor e
i s s u e s G a r d a e r was he d hi s h a nds of i t , and It goea on
i n I t s own ma gaz i ne .
T he game Is a s t r a n g e model of e vol ut i on, nat ur al
s e l ec t i on, quant um me cha ni c s o r pr et t y much what ever
e l s e you want t o se e i n i t . P a r t of it a i ni t i al f ascinati on
was t hat Conway d i d n ' t know i t s l ong- t erm out comes, and
hel d a cont est ( eve nt ual l y won b y a gr oup from MI T) .
Th e r u l e s a r e d e ce pt i ve l y si mple: suppos e you have
a b i g c h e c k e r b o a r d . Each c el l h a s ei ght ne i ghbor s : the
c el l a ne xt to i t u p , down a n d di agonal l y.
Ti me flows In t he game b y " g e n e r a t i o n s . " The p a t t e r n
on t he b o a r d i n each ge ner aUon de l er mi ne s t he pa t t e r n
on t he b o a r d In t he ne xt g e n e r a t i o n . The game p a r t si mpl y
c o n s i s t s of t r y i n g out new p a t t e r n s and s e e i n g whal t h i ng s
r e s u l t In t he g e ner at i ons a f t e r i t . Each cel l I s e i t h e r OCCUPIED
o r EMPTY. A cel l becomes oc cupi e d ( or " i s b o r n " ) i f e xac t l y
t h r e e of l l s n e i ghbor s we r e f ul l In t he p r e v i o u s g e n e r a t i o n .
A cel l s t a y s oc cupi e d i f e i t h e r t wo o r t h r e e of i t s n e i g h b o r s
we r e oc cupi e d i n t he p r e v i o u s g e n e r a t i o n . Al l o t h e r c el l s
become empt y ( " d i e " ) .
Thes e r u l e s have t he fol l owi ng g e n e r a l effect: p a t t e r n s
y ou make wi l l c h a n g e , r e p e a t , g r o w, d l a a p p e a r In wi l d
combi na t i ons . Some p a t t e r n s move s c r o s s t he s c r e e n In
s uc ce edi ng g e ner at i ons ( " g l i d e r s " ) . Ol her p a t t e r n s p u l s a t e
s t r a n g e l y and ej ect g l i d e r s r epe t i t i vel y ( g i l d e r g u n s ) .
Some p a t t e r n s c r a s h t oge t he r i n ways t ha t p r o duc e mov i n g
g l i d e r g u n s . Wei rd.
Whil e t he game of Li f e , aa you can se e from t h e r u l e s .
ha s not hi ng to do wi t h c omput e r s i n t r i n s i c a l l y . obvi o u s l y
comput e r s a r e t he onl y way t o t r y out compl ex p a t t e r n s
in a r ea s onabl e l engt h of t i me.
But t h i s was i nc r e di bl e ! A p r ogr a m so vi r u l e n t t hat
If y o u J us t t r i e d t o r ea d i l s c o n t e n t s . wi t hout r u n n i n g
i t . it s t i l l bombed t he syst em! Th e s y s t e ms man
r u s h e d from t he room t o see what ha d gone wr ong,
He di d ao p r e ma t u r e l y . The cont ent s of the
new fi l e RHBOMB wer e si mpl y
TSS HAS GONE DOWN
f ol l owed by t h ous a nds of nul l c o d e s , wh i c h we r e s i l
en t l y b e i n g fed (o t he Tel et ype , 10 p e r s e c ond, p r e
v e n t i n g i t from s i gna l l i ng t hal i t wa s r e a d y for the
ne x t I hi ng.
Gamea wi l h comput er pr ogr a m* a r e u n i v e r s a l l y enj oyed
In t he c omput er communi t y. Wher ever t h e r e a r e gr aphi c
d i s p l a y s t h e r e la u s u a l l y a v e r s i o n of t he game Spa c ewar .
( s e e St ewa r d B r a n d ' s Spacewar pi e c e I n Rol l i ng St one,
ment i oned e l s e w h e r e . ) Spa c ewar , l i k e many ot h e r ccoi put er -
b a s e d g a me a , I s pl a yed bet ween p e o p l e , u s i n g t he comput er
a s a n ani mat ed b o a r d whi ch can wo r k out t he r e s u l t s of
compl ex r u l e s .
Some I ns t al l at i ons ha ve comput e r gamea you c a n ploy
a g a i n s t ; you a r e ef f ect i vel y " p l a y i n g a g a i n s t t he h o u s e , "
t r y i n g t o out fox s p r o g r a m. Thi a i s r a r e l y e a s y . A va r i e t y
of t e c h n i q u e s . hi dde n f rom y o u , c a n b e u s e d .
When "a comput er " p l a y s a g a m e , act ua l l y s omebodys
p r o g r a m la c a r r y i n g out a s e t of r u l e s t h a t t he pr ogr a mme r
h a s l a i d out l n a dva n c e . The p r o g r a m h a s a n a t u r a l edge:
i t c a n c hec k a much l onge r s e r i e s of p o s s i b i l i t i e s i n looki ng
f o r t he be s t move ( ac cor di ng t e t he c r i t e r i a In t he p r o g r a m ) .
T h e r e Is a mor e compl i cat ed a p p r o a c h : t he comput er
c a n b e pr ogr a mme d t o t est f or t he b e s t s t r a t e g y i n a ga me .
T h i s l a muc h more c ompl i cat ed, a n d I s o r d i n a r i l y cons i der e d
a n exampl e of " ar t i f i c i al i nt e l l i genc e" ( s e e " The Go d - Bu l l d e r s , "
e l s e w h e r e i n t h i s b o o k ) .
' s s & . n Q B
W * T 0
S 3
V
Q f l
I D f a t C c
r u - 9
( W )
NON-OBVIOUS RESULTS OF SOME SIMPLE PATTERNS:
acme d i e . one bl i nks ba ck a nd f o r t h , o t h e r s become s t a b l e .
( Conway' s Game of Life p r ogr a mme d f or PLATO b y Da n n y S l e a t o r . )
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Donal d D. S p e n c e r . Game Pl ayi ng wi t h C o m p u t e r * .
( Sp a r t a n / Ha y d e n , $13. ) T h i s i n c l u d e s f l ow-
c h a r t a . p r o g r a ms a n d w h a t - h a v e - y o u f or some
25 ga mes , a nd s u g g e s t i o n s f or mor e.
A c ont i nui ng s e r i e s of game pr ogr a ms (most l y o r
al l i n BASIC) a p p e a r s i n PCC, a n e ws p a p e r
ment i oned e a r l i e r .
S t ewa r t B r a n d ' s ma r ve l ous Spa c ewar pi e c e , al s o
ment i oned e a r l i e r . I s hi ghl y r ecommended.
n r i i e r t c . Garmaill, "An e xami nat i on of Ti c- Tae- Toe-
l i k e Gama. * Pr oc . NCC 74, 349-355.
Examines s t r u c t u r e of si mpl e gamea
(ep. 3D t i e - t a c - t o e o r guBIC) where f o r c ed
wins a r e poaBi bl ei and program s t r u c t u r e ! t o
pl ay t h e a .
The Game of L i f e . " T i n e , 21 J a n 74, 66- 7.
(L i f e l i n e , s a i d t o be p u bl i s hed by Rober t 1
Wainwrlght o f Wi l t on, Conne ct i cut . )
* m e F i t t e s t
One o f th e stranger p ro j ec ts o f th e s i xti es w as a game
p l ay ed by th e mo st il l ustrio us p ro grammers at a w el l - kno w n
p l ac e o f researc h ; th e p l ac e c anno t be named h e r e , no r
th e true name o f th e p ro j ec t, bec ause f unds w ere o btained
th ro ugh so ber c h anne l s, and th o se w h o ap p ro ved w ere
unaw are o f th e true nature o f th e p ro j ec t, a game w e sh al l
c al l SUR F1T ( "SUR vival o f th e FI T test". ) E very day af ter
l unc h th e guy s w o ul d so l emnl y del iver th eir p ro grams and
see w h o w o n. I t w as a so rt o f anal o gy to bio l o gic al evo l utio n.
T h e p ro grams w o ul d attac k eac h o t h e r , and th e survi vo rs
w o ul d mul tip l y until o nl y o ne w as l e f t .
I t w o rked l ike t h i s . C o re memo ry w as divided up
into "p ens, " o ne f o r eac h p ro grammer, p l us an area f o r
th e mo nito r.
/ , 3k i t*|
'W ''
V ~7~
J U R . F I T ( W T O I?
E ac h p ro gram, o r " a n i m a l c o u l d be l o aded any w h ere
I n its p en. T h e o th er p ro grams knew th e s i z e o f th e p en
but no t w h ere th e animal w as in i t . Under sup ervisio n
o f th e sp ec ial mo nito r, th e animal s c o ul d by turns bite
into th e o th er p e n s , meaning th at th e c o ntents o f c o re at
several c o nsec utive l o c atio ns in th e o th er p en w as bro ugh t
bac k, and c h anged to z ero in its o riginal p e n .
Yo ur animal c o ul d th en "digest" th at i s , anal y z e
th e c o ntents bitten. T h en th e o th er animal go t h is turn.
I f h e w as stil l al ive th at i s , i f th e p ro gram c o ul d stil l
f unc tio n it c o ul d stay in p l ay ; o th erw ise th e animal w h o
h ad bitten it to death c o ul d mul tip l y itsel f into th e o th er
p en.
T h e w inner w as th e guy w h o se animal o c c up ied al l
p ens at th e end o f th e r u n . I f h e w o n several times in a
ro w h e h ad to reveal h o w h is p ro gram w o rked.
A s th e game w ent o n , mo re and mo re so p h istic atio n
w as p o ured into th e anal y tic ro utines, w h ereby th e animal
anal y z ed th e p ro gram th at w as i ts vic tim; so th e p ro grammer
c o ul d attac k better next time. T h e p ro grams go t bigger
and b ig g e r .
Final l y th e game c ame to a c l o s e . A c reature emerged
w h o c o ul d no t be beaten. T h e p ro grammer h ad reinvented
th e germ. His w inning c reature w as aU teeth , w ith no
diagno stic ro utines; and th e f irst th ing it did w as mul tip l y
itsel f th ro ugh th e entirety o f i ts o w n p e n , assuring th at
no matter w h ere I t migh t j ust h ave been bitten, it w o ul d
s urvive.
m .
W Q t 8 ITS- .
C AHV OT
m m
Uix n iHG- 'Get*'
C*pltT_ o,Tfr
f c f r e * . t i T t
m v \ i i t
fr/f*l>vvWVkt
h n t t . f t i F i
71
W h en w o rd go t aro und th al th is nude w as in a p ubl ic f il e o n th e
time- sh aring sy stem, my o f f ic e- mates sc rambl ed to get p rinto uts o f h er.
T h e c l e v e r e s t , th o ugh , h ad a dec k p unc h ed. A s h e p redic ted, sh e w as
th ro w n o f f by th e sy stems p eo p l e w ith in an h o ur o r s o - - l eaving th e o l h er
guy s w ith th eir p rinto uts, but h e h ad th e dec k. N o w h e c an p ut h er
bac k in th e c o mp uter any time, but th ey c an'l .
AI *
m
i sgoU6^ r ^ eU)
For Ihe most p u l . bi g computer* have
always been rented or l owed, r at her than
t eught out ri ght . Thera are various reasons (or
thl*. From the customer'* point of view. It
make* (he whole thing t ax-deduct ible without
amortization problems, and means lhat It' s pos
si bl e to change part of the package the model
of compuier or the accessories-* more easily.
And big amounts of money don't have lo be
shelled out st once.
Pram the manufact urer' s point of view (and
of course we are speaking mostly of IBM). It Is
sdvani ageous to work the leasi ng game for
several reasons. Cash Inflow Is steady. The
manufact urer is In continuous communication
with the customer, and has his ear for change*
and improvements costing more. Competitors
are st a disadvantage because the Immense
cspl tal base needed lo gel Into the sell lng-and-
l easlng game makes compelltllion Impossible.
Basically, leasi ng raally may be thought
of as having two parts; the sale of the computer,
and banking a loan on It; essent ial ly the lease
payments are Installment payment s, and the real
profits come alt er the customer has effectively
paid the real purchase price and is still forking
Many firms ol her than IBM pref er to sell
Ihelr comput ers outr ight. Minicomputers are
almost always sold rather than r ent ed. However,
for those who believe in renti ng o r leasi ng, ihe
so-called "leasing firms" have appeared, effec
tively performing a banking function. They buy
the computer, you rent or lease il from them,
and they make the money you would've saved
If you'd bought.
IBM, now requir ed lo sell ils computera
as well as lease them, keeps maki ng changes
In Its systems which cynics t hi nk sr e done panly
lo scare companies sway from leasi ng, sincc
If you've bought the eompul er you can't catch up.
(Large computers bought from companies Ihsl
like lo sell them, such as DEC and CDC. do not
seem lo hsve this problem.)
A p r a c t i c a l problea of i Bense is f nr t anca Is 'aat ncenance.
wani ng r epai r and upkeep of coaput ers and t h e i r accessories.
I ^t s of ?uys i n Boston and L.A. are having Cun asking ea^>utere,
bul here you are stuck in Squeedunk snd i t doesn't work anywore.
Trying t e find people who wi l l fl* t hese t hings on a stable
You can si gn a aalntananee contract * wit h the manufacturer,
which I s s o r t of l i ke breakdown insurance: whatever happens
h e ' l l ( i a . Eventually. I f you own equlpMnt (row di f f er ent
have t o be maintained too.)
Thia i s tha b l u e s t point In favor of IBH. Thei r maintenance i s
superb.
who'l l cont ract t o keep a l l your hardware working. RCA and
Raytheon are Int o t hat .
THE SEVEN DWARVES AND THEIR FRIENDS
The computer companies are often
cal led "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,
even though the seven keep changing. Here
are some main ones beside IBM. I hope I
haven't left anyone oul.
Reaui escanl In Face;
Sperry Rand Univac
Honeywell
Burroughs
Control Data Corporation (CDC)
National Cash Regi ster (NCR)
Digital Equi pment Corporation (DEC)
Xerom Dala Systems (XDS; formerly
Scientific Dsta Systems (SDS))
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
Data Ocneral
I nierdala. Inc.
Vsrlan Data Machines
Lockheed
General Electric
(sold oul lo Honeywell)
RCA (sold out lo Univac)
Phllco
General Foods
I others beyond recollection.
SOFTWARE
Computer programs. or "soft wsre. " used
(O come f ri e wilh the computer. Bul IBM turned
sround and "unbundled." meani ng you had io
buy It separat ely, and Ihere has been some fol
lowing of this exampl e. However, for U6crs who
arc buying s comput er wil h some canned program
for s psrl i cul sr purpose, pr i ces arc obviously
for the whole package: It' s people who use Ihe
ssmi- compui er for a lot of dif ferent things lhal
have to pay for Individual pr ograms.
There are many smell software companies.
For the cost of a letterhead anyone can st ar t one;
the question i s whet her he has anything special
lo sell. Some people whomp up programs on
their own which turn out lo be quit e useful .
(For Instance, one Benjamin Pitman offers a
magnificent program In Fortr an lo generate tex
tual garbage. It's so good it can be used lo
expand proposal s by hundr eds of pages. He
call s il Simplified Integrated Modul ar Prose (SIMP
and It sells for 110. His address is Compuier
Center. Universi ty of Georgia, Athens GA 30602?)
Obviously, lo creele bi g systems for int ri
cat e management purposes r equi r es a great deal
more effort. TradilionHlly t hese arc done by
vast programmer teems worki ng in COBOL or
the like, constant ly fight ing with monitor program
and chewing up millions of dol l ar s. However,
the new Quickie Languages (t hr ee shown pp.
may ofTer great simplificat ion of such programmini
Programs arc protected by copyright --
Ihal' s Ihe only way there can be a software In
dustr y at all -- but aincc t her e has been no
court litigation in ihe field, nobody knows what
the law really is or wh<.t il cover s. Everybody
agrees that traditional copyright precedent covers
a lol of ground-- "derivati ve works" definitely
violate copyri ght , even study guides lo texlbooks-
-- bul no one knows how far t hi s goes.
Same for patent s. The Patent Officc has
granted pr ogram patent s, notably the one on
ihe sorti ng pr ogram of Applied Data Research,
I nc. . but The Patenl Officc has a profound di s
t ast e for this potential extensi on of ite. duti es,
an<1 it- tell ing cvi-rycnc that programs aren' t
palemablc. even though Ihcy clearl y fell wilhin
its mandate as unique, original processes.
People who only road the headli nes think
thal ihe Supreme Court st r uck down llic patent
ability of programs. No such thing.
In ihis light ihe patent s ihsl the Unlvereily
of Utah has gotten on Ihc halft one image synthesi s
programs of Wamock and Wylie and Romney (sec
p. ) are of consi derable int er est . These
palcnls use the "soft warc-as-hardware" ruse: the
program is described in detail as taki ng plBcc in
a fictitious machine shown in many detailed draw
ings whose nebulous char act er Is not readi ly
seen by the uninitiat ed: event s vaguely taking
place in "mlcroprogrammablc microprocessors"
have been neatl y foiMed on the Patent Officc as
detailed technical diacl osure. It' s a gr eat game.
The Idea Is lhat the claims arc so drawn as lo
eover n ot j us l the fictitious machi ne, bul any
program tliat should happen to work the same
way. Bul such approaches, though common to
provtous. patent pr acti ces, have not yet been
litigated In this field.
While In princi ple ihcrc would seem lo be
every advant age i n buying used computers, there
a re certain drawbacks. Servi ce is the main one:
the manufact urer Is not very helpful about fixing
discontinued machi nes, and you may have to know
how to do it yoursel f. Even with machines still
available, you may have tr ouble getting onto a
scrvi ce contract from ihe manufact urer, since
it "msy have been mistreated. " (American Used
Compuit-r, in Boston, will usually guarant ee
llial ils merchandise will be accepted back into
manufact urer' s contract servi cc. ) A final draw
back is pr ice: a popular machine may cost as
much used as new. since they'r e saving you the
waiting peri od.
It' s kind of unfortunate: olherwise usable
machinea gel wasted. (Bul here's waste for
you: certain well-known laboratories, owned by
a profit-making monopoly, smash their used com
put ers if nobody want s them wilhin the lab.
They claim they can't resel l them becpuse they
would then be "competing wilh the manufacturers.
I wish ihe conservationists would gel on thal one.)
(Nolis front all over: il sccm6 lhat all the
surviving numbers of the Philco compui er. a nlcc
machine but very much discontinued, have ei
t her gone to ihe slate of Israel or lo Pratt Insti
tute in Brooklyn. When I spoke at Pralt they
showed me Iheir Philco machines, chugging hofil-
Ihll y. and said ihey had 0 think) some four more
Philcos in crsl cs, donated by their original owners. )
ANNOUNCEMKNTS
An ecccntric aspect of ihe computer Held
i s ihc Announcement, the statement by a company
(or even indi vidual) that he is planni ng to make
or sell a certain computer or program. Some
very odd things happen wilh announcements In
ihis field. (None of (his is unique to computer
dom, but It goes to unusual ext remes here. )
Under our syslcm il is permissible for any
person or firm lo announce lhal he will make or
sell any part i cular thi ng, and even If he's lying
through his leelh, it ' s nol ordinarily considered
fraud unless money changes hands. Talk is
cheap. Thus ii Is common practi ce In American
indust ry for people to say lhat Ihcy will soon
be selling hundred-mil c-on-hour automobiles,
tapi oca-powered rockciships, anl igravity bcl u.
Okay. In Ihc comput er world Ihc same
thing happens. Thi strategy depends on the
announcer' s market posit ion. The little guys
are often bluffing wistful ly, hoping someone will
gel interested enough lo put up the money lo
finish the project, or the like: Ihe big companies
are often "testing Ihe wat er. " looking lo sec
whether there are potential cuslomcrs for whal
t hey haven' i even aticmptcd lo develop. Announce
ments by big companios alt o have strategi c value:
if they announce something a smaller guy has
ulrcady announced, lliey muy cut him off at the
puss, even 'hough they hi.vc no intention of
deli veri ng. That 's just one example. The anal
ysi s of IBM's announcement s is s parl or game
in (lie field. II has been alleged, for instance,
lhal IBM announced ils 360 compuier long befcre
it was ready lo cul off incursions on ils cus
tomers by oilier firms; Control Data, in a recent
suil . alleged thal the Model 90 numbers of the
160 were announced, and then developed, simply
to destroy Control Dalu and ils own big fssl
n,Lchines. These arr j ust examples.
Uatbmation ran several good articles on
buying compuier stuff In its Septem
ber. IS. 1970 issue.
"Software Buying" by Howard
Bromberg (35-40) and "Contract
Caveals" by Robert P. Bigelow (41-
44) are very helpful warnings about
nol getting burned.
Anot her. "Project Management
Games," by Wemer W. Leuierl (24-
34) i s an absolutely brilli ant, blood
curdli ng strategi c analysis of the
ploys and dangers involved in buy
ing and sell ing very expensive things,
such as computers and software.
ANYONE INVOLVED IN COMPUTER
MANAGEMENT SHOULD READ THIS
MACIIIAVELUAN PIECE WITH THE
GREATEST CARE. Anyone Int eres
ted In the theory of ahowdqwn and
negotiation can read 11 with a dlffer-
--------- ent sl ant.
Mora r e c e n t a d d r e s s :
c / o Coaput ech S y a t e a s I n c .
1819 P e a c h t r e e Rd. ,
A t l a n t a CA 30309.
. . - i proR****
rat
. . . (ot 1 ni playboy
WJS? *
. s . . . * ' **
1M t . ~ I ' t i n w
. B?y.
WWT .
c / o Coaout
| | o o J ( SttfX)
o w f u m e C b M P W c r
A s F f M C * b
* f t t f p e d T ' f e
Those of u s who we r e ar ound will n e v e r
forget t h e Days of Madness (196B-9). Comput er
stocks we r e boomi ng, and t h e i r b u y e r s d i d n ' t
know what i t was about ; but e v e r y w h e r e t h e r e
were fi nanci al p e o p l e t r yi ng to b a c k new com
put er compani es, a nd e v e r y wh e r e the sma r t
computer peopl e wh o ' d mi ssed out on Get t i ng
Thei r s we r e l ooki ng f or a deal.
Datamation f o r November 1969 was an i nc h
t hi ck, t h e r e we r e t ha t many ads f o r c ompul er s
and a c c e s s o r i e s .
At t he Fai l J o i n t Computer Conf er ence t h a t
ye a r i n Las Ve ga s , I had to c ove r the h i g h l i g h t s
of the e x h i b i t s i n a h u r r y , and I t Look me all
afternoon, much of i t p r a c t i c a l l y at a t r o t . T h e n ,
after c l osi ng t i me , I found out t h e r e had been
a whole o t h e r b u i l d i n g .
I t i s i mpor t a nt to look at how a l ot o f t h e s e
companies w e r e b a c k e d , t he b e t t e r to u n d e r s t a n d
how i r r a t i o n a l i t y bloomed In t he s y s t e m , and
made t he collapBe of t he s p e c ul a t i ve s t o c k s in
1970 quite I n e v i t a b l e .
A nu mb e r of compani es w e r e s t a r t e d at
the i ni t i a t i ve f i t pe opl e who knew what t h e y wer e
doing and ha d a c l e a r i dea, a new t e c h n i q u e o r
a good ma r k e t i n g s l a n t . These we r e i n t he
mi nor i t y, I f e a r .
More common we r e compani es s t a r t e d at
the i ni t i at i ve of somebody who wanted t o s t a r t
"another X " - - a n o t h e r mini comput er company,
anot her t er mi na l c o mp a n y , e xpe c t i ng t he p r o d u c t
somehow to be s a t i s f a c t o r y when t hr own t o g e t h e r
by hi r e d h e l p . P e r h a p s these peopl e saw com
put e r compani es as somet hi ng l i k e gold mi n e s ,
putting out a common p r o d u c t wi t h i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e
commodity v a l u e .
The d e a l , as some of t he s e Wall S t . h a n g e r s -
on would e x p l a i n i l , was most i n t r i g u i n g . T h e i r
i dea was to c r e a t e a comput er company on low
capital, " b r i n g i t p u b l i c " (get c l e a r a nc e f rom t he
SEC to s e l l s t ock p u b l i c l y ) , and t hen make a
killing as t h e s h e e p bought i t and the p r i c e we nt
u p . T h e n , i f y o u coul d get a " t r a c k r e c o r d "
based on a few f ast s a l e s , t he i n c r e a s i n g p r i c e
of your s t ock ( t h e s e a r e the d a y s of ma d n e s s ,
remember) ma kes it pos s i bl e to b u y up o t h e r
companies a nd become a congl omerat e.
It was v e r y di ffi cul t t o talk lo theBe p e opl e ,
j a r t i c u l a r l y i f y o u w e r e t r y i n g to ge t s u p p o r t f or
a l egi t i mat e e n t e r p r i s e b u i l t ar ound u n u s u a l i de a s .
( Ever ybody wa nt s to be s e c o n d . ) And wha t ' s
wo r s e , they t e nde d t o ha ve that most r e p r e h e n
s i bl e qual i t y: t h e y woul dnt l i s t e n . Did they
want t o h e a r what y o u r i d e a act ual l y wa s ? " I ' l l
get my t e c h n i c a l people to eval uat e i t " and
t he y s e n d o v e r Joe who once took COBOL. I
fi nal l y f i g u r e d out t hat s u c h peopl e a r e i mpossi bl e
t o t al k t o i f y o u ' r e s i n c e r e i t ' s a q u a l i t y t he y
find unf ami l i ar and t h r e a t e n i n g . I d o n ' t t h i n k
t h e r e ' 6 a ny way a pe r s o n wi t h a ge n u i n e idea
can communi cat e wi t h s u c h Wheel er - Deal er s;
t he y j us t fix y o u with a p i e r c i n g gl ance a nd say
" Yeah, but a r e we t a l k i n g about h a r d w a r e o r
s of t war e?" ( t h e two wor ds they know i n t he
f i e l d ) .
'ITS A WHFF1.FRr
Th e j o k e r i s lhal i f you mi ssed o u t on al l
t h i s you w e r e much b e t t e r off. Anyone wi t h a
ge nui ne i dea i s b e i n g s et up f o r two Ceeci ngs:
the f i r s t b i g o n e , when t h e y t el l you y o u r i d e a s ,
s k i l l s and l o n g - t e r m i n d e n t u r e a r e wor t h 2J%
(if y o u ' r e l u c k y ) compar ed lo t h e i r i mmense c on
t r i b u t i o n s of " b u s i n e s s knowhow, " a nd l he s e c o n d ,
when you go p u b l i c and t he u n d e r w r i t e r g e t s
vast rakeof f s f o r h i s i nc ompa r a bl e s e r v i c e s . Whai
is moBt l i k e l y t o get l os t i n all t hi s i s a ny o r i g
inal o r s t r u c t u r e d cont r i but i on to t he wor l d t ha t
the company was i n t e n d e d , i n y o u r mi nd, to
a c hi eve.
T h i s i s all l he s a d d e r b e c a u s e l he com
p a ni e s l ha t a c hi e ve i mpor t ant t h i n g s i n t h i s fi el d,
as f a r as I c a n s e e , a r e t hos e w i t h ' a u n i f y i n g
i d e a , c a r r i e d out u n s l i n l i n g l y b y t he man o r
men who b e l i e v e i n i t . I t hi nk of O l s e n ' s Digital
Equi pment Cor por a t i on, Data G e n e r a l , Evans and
Sut h e r l a n d Comput er Co r p o r a t i o n , Vect or Gene r a l .
T h i s i s not t o say t hat a good i dea s uc c e e d s
without good management o r good b r e a k s : f or
i n s t a n c e , Vi a t r on, a firm whi c h wa s t he d a r l i n g
of l he c omput e r h i g h - f l y i n g s t o c k s , had a p e r
f ect l y s ound i d e a , i f nol a d e e p one: to pr oduc e
a vi de o t e r mi na l l hat could be s ol d f or a s l iltle
as $100 a mont h. But t he y got o v e r e x t e n d e d ,
and had ma nuf a c t ur i ng t r o u b l e s , a nd t ha t was
t h a t . (You can now gel a vi de o t er mi na l for
$49 a monl h, l h e H a z e l t i n e . ) Of c o u r s e , a lol
of i d e a s a r e h a r d t o e v a l u a t e . A man named
O v s h i n s k y , f o r i n s t a n c e , named a whole new
b r a n c h of e l e c t r oni c s a f t e r h i ms e l f ( " o v o n i c s " ) ,
a nd claimed i t would make i n t e g r a t e d c i r c u i t s
c h e a p e r o r b e t t e r t han anybody e l s e ' s . Scoff,
s cof f . Now Ovs hi ns ky ha s had t he last laugh:
what h e d i s c o v e r e d some now c a l l "amor phous
s e mi c onduc t or t e c hnol ogy, " a nd h i s c i r c u i t s a r e
b e i n g used b y ma n u f a c t u r e r s o f c omput e r e q u i p
me nt , Anot he r exampl e i s one Fr a n k Ma r c huk,
whose " l a s e r comput er " wa s a nnounc e d s e v e r a l
y e a r s a go b u t h a s n ' t b e e n s e e n y e t - Many com
p u t e r peopl e a r e u n d e r s t a n d a b l y s k e p l i c a l .
T h i s i s s t i l l a field w h e r e i n d i v i d u a l s can
ha ve a pr o f o u n d i nf l ue nc e . But t he w r o n g way
to t r y i t i s t h r o u g h c onvent i onal c o r p o r a t e f i n
a n c i n g . Get y o u r own c o mp u t e r , do it i n a
g a r r e t , a nd t h e n talk about w a y s o f ge t t i n g i l
out to t he wo r l d .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
J ohn Br ooks , Th e Go-Go Y e a r s . Weybr i ght
& Ta l l e y . $10.
Vea, it's real.
Life imitates art
on Route 46, N.J.
I n p a r t t h i s i s be c a u s e a nyone wi t h t e c h
ni cal knowl edge i s a p p a r e n t l y l a bel l ed Si l l y
Te c hni ci an i n t he fi nanci al communi t y, o r Impos
s i bl e Dr ea me r ; i t i s e n t r e n c h e d d o c t r i n e among
many peopl e t h e r e that t h e man wi t h t h e or i g i n a l
idea c a nnot b e allowed t o cont r ol l he d i r e c t i o n
of the r e s u l t i n g company. In one c a s e known
lo me, a man ha d a beaut i f ul i nve nt i on (not
e l e c t r oni c ) t ha t could have de e pl y i mpr oved
American i n d u s t r y . It wa s i n e x p e n s i v e , s i mpl e
to ma nuf a c t ur e , pr of oundl y ef f ect i ve. He made
hi s deal a nd t he company was s t a r t e d , u n d e r
hi a d i r e c t i o n . But i t wa s a t r i c k . When t he
second i n s t a l l me n t of f i n a n c i n g came d u e (not
the second r o u n d , mind y o u ) , t he b a c k e r s
cal l ed f or a new de a l , a nd he was s k e w e r e d .
Result: no s a l e s , no ef f ect on t he w o r l d , no
not hi ng to sp e a k of.
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IBM,* everyone knows, is the trade
mark of t ha International Budns** Machines
Corporation, an Immanta company cent*rod in
Armonk. N. Y. , bul Extending to over t hundr ed
count ri es and amploylng vail over a quart er of
a million people.
IBM dtanlnstes two Induit rlas. computers
and a lac tr ie typewrit er s.
To many people. IBM ta synonymous with
computers. Some ol the public. Indeed, believes
them to be the only coaputer manufact urer.
In cameras and film. Uiere Is Kodak. In
automobiles. there I* General Motors. And In
the computer field there l( IBM.
IBM sell a some 65 to 70%of all lha com
pute rs and programs that sr e sold. In thl a r es
pect . the balanced near-monopoly, Ihay are like
Kodak and CM.
But there are Important differences. Ev-
everybody knows what a camsra 1b. or an auto
mobile. But to many, If not moat, people, a
computer la what IBM say* II Is.
The Import sncs of Ihls firm, for good or
HI. cannot be overstated: whose legend 1* so
thick, whose stock pr ices have doubled and r e
doubled, ten Limes over, to Us mulliblllion-dollsr
mass: whose l eani ng Infallibility-- at least, as
seen by out si der s- - have been the stuff of
legend, whose style has prolif erated across the
world, a st yl e which has In a way Itself become
synonymous with ' computers:* whose name aym-
bol li es for many people remarkably, both
those who love It and those who hate It -- the
New Age.
The r i gidit y associated In the public mind
with "the computer* may be related In some
deep way to thla organi zat ion. As a corpor at ion
they are used to designi ng systems that people
have to uae In Ihelr joba by flat, and thus there
are few ext er nal limitations on the compiles Ilona
to our lives that IBM can create.
Many ptnple mistake IBM for "]ual another
big company. and here lies the dsnger. IBM' s
position In the world Is so extraor di nary, go
caref ull y poised (aa a result of vari ous anti
tr ust proceedings snd precsutiona) Just outside
of total monopoly of a vitally important snd all -
penetrat ing fiel d, that much of what they do has
Implications for all of us. Ralph Nader' s con
tention that General Motors Is too powerful to
function as an independent government surely
applies even more to IBM. General Motora is not
in a position to persuade the public thsl every
car has Id have ten wheals and a snowplow.
IBM m a i l in sane wsys to hive molded compu
ters in l u own image, and then persuaded tha
world that thla la the way they have to be.
But IBM la deepl y sensitive, in Its way.
to public r elations , and has woven an extensi ve
ayatam of political ti es and legends (if not
mythology) which have kept 11 almost completely
aaempt from the crit ical attention of concerned
cit izens.
Thus It i t necessary here, simply as a
matter of rove ring the field al an Introductory
level , to r ais e some questions and criticism*
that occur to pwpl e who are concerned about
IBM. IBM presumably will nol mind having
these matters rai sed; their public-aplrlt ed con
cern in so many areas assures lhat when some-
UUng so publicly important as the character of
their own power la concerned, occasional
scruti ny ahoul d be wel cane.
ll is Important to note Brat of all thal IBM
is In many respect s the very model of a gener
ous and dutiful corporat e cit ii en. In a mmun
ity relati one.* In donations to colleges snd uni
versi ti es. In generous release of the time of Its
onployees for chari tabl e and civic undert akings.
It Is almost cert ai nly the most pub li e-spir ited
corporat ion in America, snd perhaps on the
face of the ear th.
They have been gener ous about many
public Interest projects, from Braill e t r anscr ip
tion lo donating photogr aphers snd faci lit ies for
films on child development.
The corporation sponsors worthwhi le cul
tural events, "Don Quixote" wilh Hex Hsrrlson
on TV was terri fi c, Katharine Hepbur n' s "Glass
Menagerie* was marvelous.
IBM' s enlightenment snd benevolence
toward its employees le perhaps beyond that of
any company anywhere. They have ri gorousl y
upgraded the position of women snd olher minor
ity employees; the opportunities for women may
be greater there than anywhere elae, They have
upgraded repair of thei r eyelems. at any level,
to white-collar status, and tool kite are di sguised
as br iefcases. This innovation, making a r epair
man inlo a "field engineer, " Is one of the clever
est publ lc-relallons snd employment policies aver
Insti tut ed.
They are openhanded 10 stnployeea who
wanl to run for office, evidently r egar dl ess of
platform. In the a l i nes there were peace candi
dates who worked for IBM. and evidentl y got
lime off for 11. More recentl y. Fran Youngsieln.
an IBM marketing Instructor, was a 1973 candi
dat e for Mayor of New York on the ticket of the
Free Libertarian Par ty, opposing all laws againal
victim lesa crimes ( e.g. prostit ut ion and odd sex),
as wall aa Day Care and welfare.
TH gooJ> AM) Mcwr
Fi r st , the good newa Now for t he bad newa. . .
They offer many comput er pr o- These programs at e not necessari ly
grams (or a variety of pur poses. set up the way you would want them.
(Bul If you take the tr ouble to adapt
to them, you' l l probably never get
beck.)
The programs favor car d or
car d-l ike Input and. to dala. strongly
discourage time-shari ng snd widespread
convenient terminal use by untr ai ned
people.
IBM programs are also notoriously
Inefficient. (Thai way you have to use
bigger machi nes for longer. )
A company or governmental agency The courses Indoctrinate with the IBM
can get Immense amounts of *help* outlook, and the planted people spr ead
and Information" from IBM, which ll . Mor eover, both mechanisms help
offers free courses, even IBM IBMspot the people they can work with
people on "rel eased time" lo look to make a big aale- - and (it ie alleged
over the pr oblems on the premi ses. by some) those who st and In the way.
IBM offers vari oua kinds of com
patibility among Its systems. It always seems to cnat extr a.
IBM equipment Is rugged and
durable, and their repairmen
or ' f ield engineers" struggle
with greet dili gence and alacrity
to keep It r unning. You may not like the way il r uns.
They also rarely fire people. Once you' re
in, and within cer tai n broad outli nes, i t' s ex
tremely sale employment. For those who tur n
out not lo fit in well, they have a tr adit ion of
cer tai n gentle pr esaure-pract ices like moving
you around tha country repeatedly at IBM ex
pense. This encour ages leaving, bul al so ex
poses the lets-wanted employee lo a variety of
oppor tuniti es he might nol otherwise see. without
the trauma and anxiety of dismissal .
(II la said thai there are IBM flrl ngB, but
they are rar e and formidable. Hey wood Gould' s
descript ion of an IBM firing (Corporati on Fr eak,
pp. 113-115). for which he does not claim au
thenti ci ty, Is nevert hel ess bloodcurdli ng.)
IBM' s Inlernetlonel manners (In lls 115
countri es) are likewise prBiseworl hy. Compared
to the perfidious behavior of some ol our other
multinational corpor at ions, they are sweet ness
and light and hlghschool ci vics. Sensit ive to
the feelings of people abroad, ihay are Bald to
operat e car efully within arrangements made to
satisfy each count ry. They trai n nationals for
real corporat e responsibility rat her lhan bringing
in only outsi de people. And they are sensiti ve
to issuea: for Instance, they recentl y refused to
eel up an Aptr thei d computer in South Africa.
ONE THING IS PERFECTLY CLEAR:
IBMhaa no monopoly on underst anding or sophistication,
THEN WHY SUCH A RANGE OF FEELINGS
TOWARD IBM?
Among computer people, feelings toward
IBM range from worship lo furious hale (depen
ding only In part on whet her you work t he r e ) .
Many, many are of course employed by
IBM. and the davotlon with which they embrace
the corporation and lls spir it ie a wonder of the
worl d.
But the spir itual community of IBM extends
f urt her . (Jpper-managemeni typos, especi al ly
Chairmen of Boards and compiroJIers, seem to
have a reverence (or IBM thal ia not of thi s
worl d, some amalgamated visi on which ent wines
Images of et ernal stock and dividend growlh
with an ideellted nodon of management efficiency.
Many others use and live with IBM' s equipment,
and view IBM as anyt hing from "the gr ealest
company In the world lo "a fact of life" or even
"a necessar y evil ." In some places whole colo
nies of users mold themselves in ll s image, so
lhal around IBM computers there are many "lltile
IBMs." full of people who Imitate the personali
ties and style of IBM people. (RCA. before its
computer operation (all to pieces. Imitated not
Juat the design of IBM' s 380 comput er, but a
whole range of tit les and departmental names
from out of IBM. Tho si ncer eet form of fl at tery.)
But outside ihls pale-- beyond the spir i
tual community of IBM-- there are quite a few
ol her computer people. Some simply ignore IBM.
being concerned with thei r own stuff. Some
like IBM but happen to be els ewhere. Others
di sl ike or hale IBM (or a vari ety of r easons,
busi ness and social. And thia smol dering
hatr ed Is surely far different In char acter from
anybody' s attitude toward Kodak or CM.
While It is nol the intent here to do any
kind of an anti-IBM number, it Is nevert heless
necessar y to attempt to round oul Ihe one-aided
pi cture lhal Is projected outsi de Ihe computer
wor l d. In what follows there ia no room to try
to gi ve a balanced picture. Because IBM can
speak (or Itself, and does so with many voices,
It Is mere Important lo Indicate here the kinds
of crit ici sms which are commonly made ol IBM
by sophisticated people within Ihe indusi ry. bo
lhat IBM-worshipers will have some Idea ol what
bothers people. Bul of course no attempt can
be made here to Judge these matters: Ihls Is
Jusl intended ae source material foT concerned
ci ti zens.
1. SOCIAL ASPECTS OF IBM.
It is perhaps In the social realm. Including
its Ideological char acter . lhal a lot of people
a re tur ned off by IBM.
IBMhas tradi tionally been the pat ernal ist ic
corporati on. (Pat ernalistic corporati ons were
some kind of bi g philosophical Issue lo people
In lhe fifties, but nobody cares anymore. Anyway,
lhe r est were perhaps Inconsequential compared
to IBM,) Big IBM towns not only have a Count ry
Cl ub (no booze) . but a Homestead for the comfort
of important corporate guest s. There are dresa
codes (allhough non-whito shi r t s and below-the-
collar hai r are now al lowed). and yes. codes
of pri vat e behsvior (now subdued) . These Irr itate
people with liberl ari an concerns. They do nol
bot her employees, evidently, because employees
knew whai they were getting Into.
Generalizations about IBM people obviousl y
cannot be very strong. Obviously there Is going
to be immense variation among 2E5.000 people.
half of whom have college degrees: bul of course
one of lhe great tr uths of sociology Is lhal any
non-random group haB tendenci es.
More than thal In IhiB case. In a way IBM
people are an ethnic group. Impr essive indeed
a r e lhe gener al energy and sl nglemi ndedness
of the people, galvanized by Ihelr cer tai nty that
IBM is tr ue, good and r ight, and lhat the IBM
way i s lhe way. Thi s ri ghteousness Is of course
a big tur n-off for a lol of people. Perhaps 11
leads In tur n to the most -heard s l ur s about IBM
people, lhat they are bralnwsBhed or provincial.
I5M(iON|fOTiej tf-f, frwi/ce
1950s (TUBES)
650 (Decimal) 700 Seri es
701
702 (decimal) v
70S (decimal) 704 (36 bit*)
\ 1
EARLY 1980s \ / \ .
(TRANSISTORS!) V {
7070 7040 7090
1620 7074 7044 7094
(decimal
minicomputer) j
1400 aer ie* (decimal. j STRETCH
accounting-orienled) / (94 blta)
1401. 1410. .. / /
- - - - - 1 7"- - - - - - - - - - - MID-1960S I '
INTEGRATED ^
CIRCUITS) 360 Seri es
(32-blt as well as decimal)
1130/1000 Series 20. 25. 30. 40, 44. SO, 6S. 67.
................ > 75. BS. 00. 91. . .
T 01 v
("MEDIUM-SCALE
INTEGRATION") 370 Series
System 3 l4* 1S5 16S- '
(Variable)
System 7
(ie bits)
Tha same alick marketing could be appl ied to any other indust ry
But ll wouldn' t be IBM. Nowhere else could the myst ery of lha subject
be met and enhanced with so many more myst er ie s.
PROVINCIAL?
There would aan to be no quaMlon that
IBMpeople are comparatively conservative and
convantlHial. Thl* partl y because ihai'e who IBM
hire* (though they reportedl y urge tolerance ol
the unusual employee In a trai ning Ola, 'The Wild
Duek"). A huge number of IBH people never
worked for anybody elee: obviously thia affects
the perspect ive. like etayl ng at one university
all your life, or In one ci t y.
II aay aleo be that becauee IBMplace* u c h
a premium on dependability and obedience, new
ideas (and (be abilities needed to generate them)
naturally run Into a little t roubl e. Some crit ics
llod among IBM people e heavy concern with con*
vant iatal symbols td achievement, and (unfor
tunately) eati ng tha world etuck all over with
conventional label s and Middle American stereo*
S u e of the m a t amuelng material on thle
o n e * from an odd source: e wri ter named
Haywood Could wbo, all unprepared, bocame a
consultant to IBH. earned unconscionable amount*
of money (M0.000 in six months). and lived lo
write a very funny and observant book about It
(see Bi bliogr aphy).
But 11 le necessary on t hsse matters to tee
bow difficult things can be lor IBH pv pl e . To be
Identified t s an IBMparson i s soaethi ng like wear*
Ing a ri ng Id your nose, a yarmul kaor a halo:
an enirapmsnt In a social role lhat makes ths Indi
vi dual ^ position ewkward among outsi der!. IBM
p o p l e often have to take guff i t parl i es, unl ess
Ihsy are IBMpart i es. Defenslvsnss* nay account
for some of the Overdo, and some of the dannl sh-
BHAINWASHSD?
II I* tr ue that IBM people are essentially In
their own worl d, One theory Is thit comparl-
aenui l i at l on within the firm (rather vlelble in
tbair deslgne) may tend lo sti fle. Indeed, because
IBMpeople can expect lo be briefed and schooled
in every technical nat t er they will need to know
for a given aselgnment. Ihe incentive to follow
technical development through oulslde magazines
and societies may be reduced. Between Think
magaslne and corporal s briefings, it Is possible
for IBMpwpl s to be comparatively (or even com
pletely) unawere of innovations elsewhere In the
field, except as these new developments are
prwenied to t hen wilhin the organization, in
thle light ll le easy to underst and Ihe Ibmere'
sense of certai nly thet Ihelr flr m invented every*
thing and le al the forefront.
Of course many fine research efforts do go on
thsre. In eonelderebi e awarenese of whate hap
pening elsewhere Particular Individuals st IBM
havs done excellent reeearch on everyt hing I n n
conputer hi dden-l ine imaging to the st ructure o(
the genetic code and computer-synthesized holo-
gr u n t . APL Itself (see p p . t l . - 3 ) . ss developed
by Iverson Bt Harvard and iBter programmed by
him at IBM. Is another esampl e of sophisticated
individual creativity there. So it' a entirely
possible. But IBM certainly has no monopoly on
understanding or crsst lvlt y. and IBM-haters
sometimes talk as If the reverse is tr ue.
I hope to be able to report in future
edll iie of t hi s book lhat IBM has moved
firmly and credibly toward making its sys
tems clear and simple lo uee. without re-
requlr lng laborious attention to needless
complications and oppressi ve rltuale,
I t' s sti ll possible.
One of the things we often forget Is
that publi c-spir it ed corporat ions can be
reached, they do listen; and IBM le nothing
If not publi c-spir it ed-- except when it
comes lo the design of Its systems.
I hope that this book will help
people who are Inconvenienced by compuier
systems to underst snd and pinpoint whal
they think Is wrong with the sysiems In
Ihelr dala str ucture, Interactive properties,
or other design features- - and that they
will i ry to eapr ess their discontents Intel
ligently snd constructi vely to those res
ponsible. Includi ng, where appropriate,
International Business Mschlnes Corporation. 1
Armonk. NY.
II i9 IBM's alleged misbehavior in pursuit
of sales that has drswn some of the st rongest
criticism within the indust ry, as well as consid
erable litigation, Thei r "predsiory pricing*
(a terro used by the judge In the recent Telex
decisi on), and olher mean practices, are (whe
ther tr ue or false) folklore within the indust ry,
These accusations are well summsrited
by "Anonymous In a recent arUcle (see Biblio
gr aphy). Basically Ihe accusations agalnal
IBM's sales pr aciices are that they play dirty:
If you, say, the computer manager in b business
firm, wanl to buy equipment from Bnother out
fit. IBM (so the story goes) will go over your
head to your boss, accuse you o( incompetence,
t ry to get you fired if you oppose them, and
Heaven knows whal else. Anonymous claims
lhal various forms of threat, Intimidation, "hard
sell scare tactics" snd "behind-the-scenes man
ipulation' are actually Blandard pract ice in IBM
sales: he or she alleges various insiancos in
certsin municipalities.
Such behsvlor is emphatically denied,
though not in relation lo thBt article, by Board
Chairman Cary. In a recent teller lo Newsweek
(see Bi bliography). Cary emphasizes the impor
tance of IBM's 76-psge busi ness Conducl Guide
li nes. Whether these are publicly examinable
is not stated.
These charges were also taken up con
cretely in a recent survey ol computing managers
done by UalamBlion (summarited by McLaughlin
in "Monopoly Is Nol a Came: see Bi bliography).
In Datamation'* analysis oi this survey, the
menegera did not seem to agree wilh these
charges against IBM. However, il must be
noted-- snd ihis seriously calls into question
the enti re survey as analyzed-- thst oul of 1100
paneli sts lo the questionnaire. Datamation only
considered 389 responses "usabl e. " partly (It is
stst ed) because many did nol give dais allowing
themselves to be identified, Considering the
widespread fear of I8M in Ihe field, ihls may
have str ongly biased the poll in favor ol IBM
"When we went from IBMto
National C u h Regi ster. II was like
Ihe difference between nl ghl and day."
Retired hardware executive,
talking eboul Inventory programs
(Incidentally. II is amusing to note thal
even In Ihis remaining company, in lorm* of
"performance per doll ar." the managers surveyed
(and surviving Ihe weedoul) ranked the lop
three companies as DEC, Burroughs end Control
Uata. IBM was worst oul ol 8. Obviously
service counts for e lot.)
An Interesting view on IBM's sales ethics
was expressed recently by Ryal R. Poppa,
presi dent of Pertec Cor p.
"In Ihe past, when Ihere have been sslee
sit uati ons where 'you can't honor the
policy and win the desl . ' IBM has violated
the policy with the practice, he said. "
However, he believes thal situation Is changing
under IBM's new management, so that Ihe guide
lines will be observed in the luture. ("Poppa
Seea Several IBM Changes." Computerworld,
21 Nov 73. 29.)
The people who lake these mailers ol IBM
sales practi ces most seriously** IBM's competi
t ors-- now have their own organizat ion, the
Computer Industry Association. This Is an asso
ciation of computer companies, which has as
ils intention ihe "establishment and preservation
of a sound and viable U-S. computer i ndust ry,
based o n . . . free and open competition." Empha
sis t hei rs. Translation: ihey're out lo gel IBM.
Presi dent Dan L. McGurk, iormerly of Xerox
Oata Sysiems. has blood In his eye. Member
ship i s open only to compuier companies, bul
Ihelr newsletter On Line is available to indi vi
duals (see Bi bli ography). Anyone seriously
interested in these matters is referred to them.
3. TECHNICAL DECISIONS AND DESIGNS
A. Prologue.
Part of the mylh of lOM's corporat e perfec
tion 1s based on ihe notion ihsl technical mail ers
somehow predominate In IBM's decisions, and
thal IBM's product offerings and designa thus
emerge naturally and necessarily and inevitably
from these considerations. Thia is rather lar
from the Irulh.
IBM presents many d( Ihelr actions as tsch-
nical, even as technical breakthroughs, whon
in lact they are strategi c maneuvers. The an
nouncement ol a new computer, for example,
such as the 360 or 370. is usually made to
sound as if they have invented something speci al,
while in (act they have simply made certain
decisions as to "which way they intend lo go"
and how they plan to market things in ihe next
W d P M n o L
me V*MUAC MtCHAU'CS
IBM conirole the Indust ry princi pally by
controlling Its customers. Through varioua
mechanisms, ii seems lo enforce ihe principle
that "Once an IBM customer, always an IBM
customer .* With an eatr aordlnary degree of
control, surel y poseeeeed In no olher field by
any other organize Hon In Ihe free world, 11
dictates whal Ils customers may buy. and whal
they may do with what they get. More than
this: the electi ons of loyalty levied upon IBMs
cueumers are similar. In kind and degree, U
whai u damande of Ils own employees. IBM
makes the cusumer 's employees more and more
like Ils own employees, committing iheo as
Individuals, and eOectively committing the coo-
pany lhat buys frno It. to IBM servi ce In
perpetuity.
Hare are some of the ways thle syston of
control se me to work. He are not saying here
thal this Is necessarily how IBM plans It:
rat her, these are the vir tual mechanics, virtual
10 lha old sense: this i s how it might as well
be working. In Ihe anthropol ogi cal sense this
Is i 'functional* anal ysi s, showing the tie-ins
rather than Ihs act ual detailed thought processes
lhal occur. And even If Iheee ere reall y the
mechanics, perhaps IBM doeen't mean them to be.
11 al ght Just somehow be a continuous accident.
A. Interconnection and compatibilities.
IBH acts ss If It does not wanl competitors
to be able lo connect ihelr acceeaorles id Its
ccmputers. Ii's ss though CM could design the
roede so as lo prevent Ihe peesage of olher
vebleles than lia own.
Thia la done esveral ways. Fi rst . IBM
has soBsOmss used contract ual techni ques to
prevent such intarconnecl lone u l u ayatasa,
either forbidding et her things to be attached
(or al least clappi ng on extra servi ce charges
if they a r e ) . or decl ari ng lhat ll would not
be responsi bl e for overall performance of such
t setup, effectively withdrawing the hardware
I liar anise lhat le such a strong selling point.
Secondly. IBM doee not tall all lhat neede
lo bfe known In or der to make Iheee intercon
nection*-- ihe deUUa of the hardware interfaces.
-Finally. IBM can simply decree, perbape
claiming technical necessit y, thst Interconnection
la impossible. For Instance. IBH said for a
time thal their latest bi g program. "VS.* or
Virtual SysjBB, wouldn't work (translation:
would not be allowed) If competitive memories
were used, on the computer.
Now, there are many manulacturers who
think Ihls Is very wrong o( IBM: who beliove
they should have ihe right to sell accessories
and pa n s - - especially core and disk memorieB--
lo pl ug onto IBM's computers, ll has been
generally possible lor these other manufacturers
lo work IheBe Interconnections oul awhile after
Ihe computer comes out on Ihe market, bul
i t' s gelling more difficult.
Thus tha Telex Decision of September 17.
1S73. in which II was decreed by ihe judge that
IBM would have to aupply complete interlace
information promptly when Introducing a new
computer, was s source of great Jubilation in
Ihe computer field. However, lhal pari of the
Judgment has since been cancelled.
Much the same problem exists in ihs solt-
ware area. IBM Is less than interested In
hslplng ils competitors write pr ograma lhal hook
up lo IBM programs, t o the details of program
hookup are not alwsys made clear. Here. too.
many smaller companies Insist thsy should be
made to do It'.
B. Control and guidance of what the customer
can get.
To e remarkable degree, if you are an
fBM cusiomsr, you pract icall y have to buy whst
they tell you. This IBM manages by an intr i
cate system of fluctuating degrees of salea and
suppor t and contractual dealing. The IBM cus
tomer alwsys has several optlone: but these are
like forced cards. IBM is alwsys Introducing
and discont inuing products, and changing prices
snd contractual errangoi enl* and aofiwere op
tions in an elaborate choreography, which applies
calculated pressures on the customer. IBM has
s finel y-t uned system of customer incentives by
which il controls product phsslng. to uae the
pollle term, or planned obsolescence, as some
people call It.
(Ryal R. Poppa, presi dent of Pertec Corp. .
predicts lhal IBM cuitomere will now be re
quir ed to switch over to new pr oduct s every
five or six years, rather than every seven,
which Poppa contende haa been the figure.
("Poppa Sees Several IBM Change*," Computer-
worl d, 21 Nov 73. 28.)
Programs, especial ly, are avail able wilh
different degrees of approval fr<m IBM. The
technique of "support* Is the concrete manifes
tation of approval. A supported program le
one which IBM promise* to f l i when bugs turn
up. With an unaupported program, you're on
your own, Cod has forgotten you. Becauee so
much of IBM's virtue lies in the str ength and
fervor of its aupport, the uee ol unsupported
programs, or unsupported features of supported
programs, i s a difflcull and r isky mail sr . like
driving without a map and a epare t i re, or even
going Into the Himalayas without gl oves. Effec
tively ihe wit hdrawal of support le the death
knell of any big program, such as TSS/360.
even though cuei mer e may wanl lo go on using
Availability of products is in general a
metier ol exqui site dcgrac. It's nol so much
thai you csn or can'l gel a particular thing,
bul thal Ihe pricing and available contracts al
a given time ^xerl 6lrong pressure to pul you
whero they have chosen wilhin their currently
featured product line. Moreover, extremely
strong hi nts are Biways available: the salesmsn
will tell you whal model of Ihelr computers is
likaly lo be a dead end. or . on the other hand,
whet model Is likely lo offer various options
and progressive developments in the near future.
Some things sre hall-available, eilhor ss
"RPQs" (an IBM term for special orders--
Hequeet Price Quotation), or available lo
sophisticat ed customers al IBM's discretion.
With all the degrees of availability. II Is
easy for IBM to open or close by degrees
vari ous avenues in which customsrB are i nter
ested .
Also, different sizes of conputer wilt or
won't allow given programs or desirable program
features. Many IBM cuatomers have io get bigger
computers lhan ihsy would otherwise want be-
csuse a given program-- for instance, a COBOL
compiler with certai n capabilities-- is not offered
by tBM for the amaller machine. Indeed, an
elaborate sizing scheme exists for matching the
machine to the customsr -- or. s cynic might say,
assuri ng lhai you can't get the program features
you ought lo be able to get unlesB you gel b
larger compuier than you wanted.
What It boils down to Is that you. ihe
customer, have few genuine options, especially
if your firm Is already committed to doing cer
tain things with e compui er. And when IBM
brings out a new computer, the prlcee and
other Influencea are exaciingly calculated lo
make mandat ory the Jump they have in mind to
the new model.
(This planni ng oi customer transitions
does nol always work. When the 370 was intr o
duced. for Instance. IBM had In mind lhal com
panies with a certain size of 360 would trade up
to a bigger 370. In some cases users traded
down to a amaller 370. which was able to do the
same work for lees money, to the acule bot her
of IBM.)
C. Having to do things )usl Ihelr way,
IBM sysiems and programs are set up lo
do things In pert i cular ways. To a remarkable
degree, it Is difficult io use them In ways not
planned or approved by IBM. and difflcull to
tie systems end programs together. Programs
and features which ihe casual observer would
suppose ought io be compatible, lend not to be.
For some reason compatibility always lends to
cost ext ra. II Is s s though Ihe compatibility of
equipment end programs were planned by IBM
as much as Ihelr product line.
Elleclively the IBM customer lends to be
frequent ly trapped In a cage of restrictions,
whet her this cage is intentionally created by
IBM or not One is remi nded of Ihe mollo of
T. l l . white's anthill in The Once and Fut ure King:
THAT WHICH IS NOT FOROlDDLN IS COMPULSORY.
The degree to which these restrictions are
manipulated or intentional Is. ol course, a mailer
of debate.
I). Captive bureaucracies running in place?
Perhaps the most unfortunate Ihlng about
IBM (from an outsi der's point o( view) is ihsl
effectively their systems can only be used by
bureaucracies whom ihey have tr ai ned. From
koypunch operator up lo installation manager,
all are elleclively enslaved to curi ous complex
ities thal keep changing. The ever-chsngl ng
str ucture of OS. and Ils quaint access methods.
Is Just one example. II might even seem lo ihe
oulslde observer lhal IBM's gems, Intentional
or not. is to keep things difficult and intricately
fluid io retain utter control. In other words,
ll Is as though they fostered s continual turnover
ol unnecessary complications to keep a cspllve
bureaucracy running In place. People who they
have indoctrinated lend nol io buy opponents'
computers. People who are Immersed in Ihe
peculiarities of IBM sysi sms. and busy keeping
up with mandatory changes, do not get uppity.
They are too busy, and the Inveatment of ihelr
time and effort is too hi gh for them io went to
Anti-IBM cynics say lhat a lot ol Ihe
work Involved in working with IBM computers
Is self 'generated. arising from the unnecessary
complexities ol OS/360. JCL. TCAM and so on.
Bul of course lhal cannot bo evaluated here.
PROSPECTS
Theae remarks ahould clarify ihe bleakness
of the prospect for mBn's luture among computers
If IBM's system of control really does work this
way, and if it is going to go on doing so. Be
cause it means Ihe future that some of us hope
for-- the simple and cbbubI avail ability io indi
viduals of cleBr and simple computer systems
with extraneous complications edited sway-- may
be forecloaed II they can help It.
Lei's all hope. then. Ihsl these things
t urn out not lo be really tr ue.
" . . . IBM In Its Infinite wisdom
has decreed lhal Ihle is Ihe way
we must go."
Cynical compuier
Installation manager,
quoted In Comulen*orld,
i t Aug 73. p . 4.
An I nt er est ing example ol an IBM non-
hroakthrough v u lhe dramat ic announcement In
1984 of tho 380 computer, | r t r ayed aa a machine
which would at last c an bine the function# of
both "buBlness" cam pa t a r s and "scient iflc" com
puters . But other companies. such aa Burroughs
(with tha 5500) had been doing thla for some
Mm. The quaint separat ion o( power* between
scientific computers (wit h al l -binary i t nr age of
number#) and bualneaa ccmputBm (decimal
t crage) wat baaed only on tr adi tion and mar
keting consideration*, and waa otherwise unde
s ir able. in amalgamating the "two type*. " IBM
was only rescinding their own previous un-
n e e s a r y dis t inct ion. The drama of the a n
nouncement deri ved In la r ge measure from the
st r ess ihey had previ ous l y laid on the divis ion,
(For tune ran an Interest ing piece on the decision
st r uggl es pr ecwl ing tha Introducti on of the 360
Ct Dput er , and the Int er nal argument s as to whe
ther there should be one line of Mxnputers or two.
See t he fl ve-bll ll on-doll ar gamble pi ece. Biblio
graphy. )
Thl * tie* in closel y with another I nter ea
ti ng aspect of the IBM image, the public notion
that IBM la a gr eat innovator, bringing oul
novel technologies all ihe time. It i s well known
In the fi el d that they are not: IBM usually does not
bring out a new t ype of pr oduct until aoma olher
axnpany haa pioneer ed i t . (Again remember
the ear li er point, lhat the pr oduct offering Is a
atrateglc maneuver.) But of course such facta
do not appear in lhe promotional lit erat ure, nor
a r e they volunt eered by the salesman.
The expresal on for thla In the field ia
thst IBM make* t hi ngs respect able.* That la ,
cust omers gel thal r eassur ed leal lng, when IBM
adds ot her people' s innovation* to ihelr product
Ilna. and decide I l' s okay to go ahead and rent
or buy auch a pr oduct . (Thia aleo sometimes
kick* buslneas back to the original manufact urer. )
A few examples of things that were already
on the market when IBM brought them out, often
making them sound completel y new: irsnalstorUed
compulers (fi rst of fered by Fhi lco). virtual mem
ory ( Bur roughs) , microprogramming (Introduced
commere [ally by Bunker-Ramo) .
Thi s Is not to say thst IBM ie Incapable of
Innovation: merely lhal Ihey are never In a
hur ry about i t . The Introducti on ol IBM pr o
ducts 1a or chestr ated like a military campaign,
and what IBM br i ngs oul i s always s carefully-
pl anned. pr ofi t-or ient ed step Intended not lo
dislocate it* product li ne. Thi s Is not to say
that they don' l have new stuff in the back room,
a potential arsenal of s ur pr i s es of many types,
But ll Is probabl e that most ol them will never
be seen. Thi s Is because of IBM' s "Impact1'
problem.
Unique In IBM' s position is the problem of
filling new products into the market alongside
Its old ones. Its problem Is much wor se, say,
than thal of Procter 6 Gamble. The problem is
not merel y ita sit e and Lhe di vers it y of Its
product s, but the (set Lhat they may interfere
wilh each other ( impact" each ot her, they say)
In very conpllcai ed ways, A pr ogram like
their Dat alexl, for exampl e, which all ows cer
tain kinds of text i nput and revision from t er-
mlnaia, may affect Its typewri t er Una, These
are no small matters: the danger Is thal some
new combination of pr oducts will gave the cus
tomers money IBM would otherwise be gening,
innovstl ons must expand the amount IBM la
taking In. o r IBM loses by making them.
These complications of t he product line
i n a way provide a counterbal ance to IBM' s f ear
some power. The corpor at ion haa an immense
Inertia based on lla existi ng product line and
cuBtmar baae. and on ways of thinking which
have been caref ull y promulgated and explai ned
throughout ita huge r ank s , that cannot be
revl aed quickly or flippant ly.
Nevert heleaa it la remarkable how at
every t u r n noUbly when people think IBM
will be sat back-- they manage Lo make poli cy
decision* or st rategi c moves which f urt her con
solidate their posit ion. Often these seem to
involve r estr icting lhe way their conputers will
be used (see boa. "IBM' s Cont rol .' )
(The most Ironi c such countermove by IBM
occurred a few year s ago with the ao-called
unbundli ng" decl aion. IBM at last agreed (on
nanplal nt (ram ot her soft ware firms) lo stop
giving lia programs away to people renti ng the
hardwar e. Glee was widespread In the lndualr y.
which expect ed IBM to lower conputer pr ices
in pr oport ion to whai 11 would now char ge for
the software. Mot at a l l . IBM lowered Ita m -
putar pr ices by a minuscule amount and slapped
heavy new pricea on the softwar e- - often
charges of thousands of dol l ar s per month. )
A persi st ant rumor Is that IBM fi res
all Ita salesmen In a geographic
area if a key or pr es t i ge sale ia
' l o a i . as when M . I . T . ' s Proj ect
MAC switched over to General Electric
e mp u t a r s in the si xt i es, or when
Western Electric Engineering Research
Center passed over IBM computers
to get s big PDP-10.
Much aa some people would like
to believe these st or i e s , t he r e seems
lo be no documentati on. You would
think one auch victim would write
an arti cl e about It U ll were t r u e .__j
Finally, Iher e Is the popular doctri ne of
IBM' s inf al libil ity. This , mo. is a ways from
the t r ut h. The most conspicuous example waa
something called TSS/360.
TSS/300 was s ti me-sharing s yst an- -
that ia. the control program to govern one
model of the 350 as a ti me-sharing computer.
According to Datamation ( IBM Phases Out Work
on Showcase TSS Ef for t . ' Sept. 1, 1971, 56-9).
over 400 people worked on It at once for a total
of some 2000 man-year s of effort. And It was
s crapped, a writeoff of some 100 million dollara
In lost development costs. Tha system never
worked well enough. Reputedly users had to
wait much too long for the computer' s r esponses,
and the system could not really compete with
those offered els ewhere.
The fail ure and abandonment of t hi s pr o
gram i s thus r esponsi ble for IBM' s pr esent non
competitive position In time-sharing; customers
are now assured b y IBM that other things are
more Import ant. IBM-hat ers thank their st ar s
that thla ha ppened. Cyni cs think it conceivable
that hlgh-power t i me-shari ng was dropped by
IBM i n or der to shoo Its customer base toward
areas It controlled more completely.
Two other conspicuous IBM catast rophes
have been specific computers: the 360 model 90
in the lste sixti es, and a machine call ed the
STRETCH Bomewhat e ar l i er . Both of these
machines worked and were delivered to cus-
Itaners. (Indeed, the STRETCH Is said by some
to have been one of the best machines e ver , )
But they were dis cont inued by IBM ae not suf
ficiently pr ofi tabl e. Therein la said to have
been tho "fail ure." (However. It has bean al
leged In court cases that these wars knockout"
machines desi gned to clobber the competition
at a planned loss.)
B. Negative views of IBM systems.
In the technical realm. IBM Is widely un
loved because many people think some or all of
thei r comput ers and programs are eit her poor,
or far from what they should be, The reasons
Sane ol t he people feeling this way are
IBM customers, and for a time they had an o r
ganized lobby, call ed SHARE (whi ch also faci l
itated shari ng of pr ograms) . Recently, however,
SHARE has become IBM-domlnaled, a sor t of
company uni on, according to my sources.
The desi gn of the 380, while widely ac
cepted as a fact of li fe. Is s harpl y criti ci zed
by many. (See "What' s wrong with the 3807",
P- 11-)
IBM' s pr ograms, while they are avail able
for a broad vari ety of pur poses, a r e often notor
iously cumbersome, awkward and Inefficient,
and sometimes dovetai l ver y badly. However,
tha le ss efficient a program la . the more money
they make Irom it . A program lhal has lo be
run for an hour gener at es twice as much revenue
than if Ii did il s work in t hir ty minut es: a pr o
gram that has to be r un on a computer wit h, say.
a million spaces of core memory generates ten
times the revenue it would in two hundred thou
sand ,
The complex tr ai ning and r est ri cti ons
that go with IBM pr ograms seem to have
interesti ng funct i ons. (See box, "IBM' s Contr ol.")
C. Theories of IBM design.
The questi on l e . how could a company
li ke IBM create anything like the 380 (wi th it s
severe deficienci es) and l l s operating system or
cont rol program OS (wi th Its sprawli ng compli
cati ons. not pr esent In compet itors' syst ems) ?
Three snswers a r e widely pr oposed: On Purpose
(t he conspir acy t h e or y) , By Accident (the
blunder t h m r y ) , and That ' s How They' re Sat
Up (the Management Sci ence t heory). Theae
vi ews are by no means mutual ly exclusi ve,
The Management Science theory of IBM
design is the only one of ihese we need take up.
The extensive use of gr oup dis cussi on and
committee decisions may lend lo create awkward
desi gn compromises with a cer tai n i ntr insi c
aimlessness, r at her than incisively disti nct and
simple st r uct ures. (See Gould' s marvel ous
chapter. The Meet i ng.' 58-80.)
Thei r use of immense teams m do big
pr ogramming jobs, r at h e r than highl y motivated
and especiall y talented gr oups, is widely viewed
ae counterproducti ve. For Instance. Barnet A.
Wolf/, i n a letter to Datamation (Sept. 1, 1971.
p . 13) says a part i cular program
"remaina inef f i ci ent , pr obably because of
IBM' s unfort unat e habit of using tr ai nees
f resh out of school to wri te their
syst ems code.*
There may aleo be somethi ng in the way that
pr oject s are Initiated and laid out from Ihe top
down, rather than acquir ing dir ection from
knowledgeable people at the technical level,
that creates a tendency toward perf unct orl ness
and clunky st r uct ure.
Thus there may ver y well be no iniantional
policy of unnecessary complication (see Box.
"IBM' s Cont rol" ) . But the way i n which goals
are eel and technical deci si ons delegated may
generate thi s unnecessar y complication.
QUK J nt HISW .1
o f
IBM appeared In 1911 aa the con-
validation ol a number of small companies
making light equipment , under the name
C-T-H Company ( Computer-Tabulati ng-
Record). Thi s waa pr ophet i c, consid
er i ng how apti y i t described the com
pa ny' s future busi ness, and especiall y
prophet ic considering that today' s
Btored-program comput er was undreamed
of at lhat time.
According to Wililsm Rodgers'
definitive company blogTBphy Thi nk,
the company' s cr eat or was a shr ewd
operator named Charles R. Fl int,
dashing ent repr eneur and former gun
r unner to Ihe Soulh American r epubli cs,
who In his shr ewdness brought In to
r un the company an incredi bl y talented,
f ir e- breat hing and self -r ighte ous indi
vidual named Thomes J . Watson, even
though Walson st that time was under
pr is on sentence for his sales practicBB
at another wel l-known company. The
sent ence waa never served, and Watson
went on to pr esi de for many year s
over a corpor at ion to which he gave
his unique stamp.
Watson ari s es from lhe pages of
Think ae a sanct imoni ous t yr ant ,
hard as nails yet r everent l y princi pled
i n his words; the pil l ar of f ervid,
aggressive cor porat e piety.
IBM was totally Watson' a
creat i on. The cmnpany became what
he admired in ot hers , a mechanism
totally obedient to his will and imple
menting his forcef ul and l nspl rl ngl y
rati onali zed convicti ons wilh al ac r i t y ,
As the Church is said to be the br ide
of Chrlat. IBM might be char acterized
aa the Br ide of Watson, molded to the
styles of demandl ngness. pr es s ur e,
eff iciency and pietism which BOchar
act eri zed that man. But the Ideas
flowed from Watson alone, except for
a few confidantes who r eceived his
nod. The company is vast ly bigger
now, and sl i ghtl y more colorful, in a
muled sort of way: b ul it i s atill Lhe
stiff and deadly ear nest battalion of
his dream.
Because of Watson' s background
bb salesman, he made Sales the apeji
of the corporat ion. Tha salesmen had
the most pr est i ge wit hin the company
and could make the most money; below
that was administ rati on, below thal.
technical staff.
WaLaon el iminated the meat -sl ici ng
machi nes, and pushed the pr oduct line
based on punched car ds devel oped by
IBM' s (Ir sl Chief e ngi neer . Herman
Hol leri th. Acc o r d l n g t o Ro d g e r s . l t
was impetus from lhe Depr essi on, and
lha new bookkeeping r equi r ement s of
Roosevel t' s r emedi es, that s kyrocketed
the fi rm uniquely dur i ng the dept hs of
general economic cata str ophe, til)
Watson came lo dr aw the hi ghest aala ry
of any man i n t h e nat i on. In 1934 hi s
income was 1364.432 (Will Rogers, nol
the author of Thi nk, was second wilh
S324.314). Watson had neat l y arr anged
to gel 5%of IBM' s net profi t.
While IBM parti ci pated In the
creati on of cer tai n ear ly ctxnput era. It
i s Interest ing thal Walson di smissed
Ecker t and Mauchly whan they came
around after World War II t r i ng to get
backing for thei r ENIAC design. In
cer tai n waya the Aral tr ue electronic
computer. Eckert and Mauchly went
lo Remington Rand, and tha reaul ting
Univac waa the f lr st canmerclal
compute r .
However, IBM bounced back
va r y wel l . If there was on# ihing they
knew how to do It waa aell, and when
t hey brought oul their compulers It
was pr acti cal l y clear sailing . (The
Univac I waa Ihe f ir st of many compu
t e r s to be delayed and boggled in tha
completion at It# software, and thi s
considerable setback helped IBM get
the lead vary quickly; ihey have
never lost It si nce.)
In the early si xti es the IBM 7090
and 7094 were vi rtuall y unchall enged
aa Lhe leadi ng scientific comput ers of
t he countr y, But IBMin the late al x-
Ues almost rel i nquished the fi el ds of
ver y big computers and lime- shari ng
to ot her compani es, and their compu
t e r s are not regarded as Innovat i ve-
Nevert hel ess, IBM' s Systems 360 and
370. despite various crit ici sms, have
been very successful; thousands of
them are In operation around the globe,
far more than all Ihelr r i val s' big
compulers all put together. This de s
pit e the fact that some of these syst ems
have fai led, including the big Modal 91
(an economic (all ure) and the TSS/360
t i me-shari ng program, a technical
cat ast rophe.
They have from time to time
been accused of unfair t acdca. and
various antit ruat and ot her act iona
( see "Legal Milestones" boa) have
r equi r ed IBM to change Its ar r a n g e
ments In varloua ways. One decr ee
r equi r ed them lo aell lhe canpute re
that before they had only rented;
another deci si on, lo. "unbundl e. " or
sell computers separat el y from their
programs ( previously "given" away
wit h the computers they ran o n ) , Is
widel y believed to have pr evented
government acLon on the same
mat t er. Showing char acterist ic
finesse. IBM thereupon lowered the
comput er prices almost I mpercepti bl y,
then sl apped heavy pr ice- tags on
the programs thal had pr eviously
been free.
Recent movea by tho government
have suggest ed an especiall y seri ous
and f ar -r eaching anti - tr ust sui t against
IBM, possibl y one t hat might br eak the
company up. with it s separat e di vi si ons
going vari ous waya. However, in
t oday' s climate of coay relati ons be
tween busi ness and government. It i s
hard to imagine that such mat ters
would not be settl ed lo IBM' s li king.
Thi s l ends a curious ti nt to a r emar k
one IBM person haa made to the author,
to wit. that maybe IBM want a to be
br oken up. That might be one way of
r educi ng the unwleldlness and I nt er
dependency of It# product li ne; in
additi on to reducing Its vast, u nd e r
util ized personnel base. (Anot her
angle: Acdng Attorney General Bork
has expressed the view that IBM Is
bi g only becsuse it s products and
management are wonderf ul, so the
ant i t r ust esse may simply evaporate
dur i ng the rump days of the Nixon
incumbency.)
lHWfS'K*Y
It la unfor tunate thal Rodgera'
remarkable book doea not follow the
detail s of IBM' s computer desi gns snd
pol it ics In lha c onput er age, i . e . .
si nce 1955. Lat er wor k, perhaps
hel ped by some Pentagon Papers, will
have to rel ate the deci si on processes
that occur red in thl a unique nadonal
inst ituti on to lhe ayBtema i t has
pr oduced and the stamp It haa put
on t he worl d. _________________________
An Interest ing aspect or IBM publ icity Is lla st r es s on st at us.
Publi ci ty photograph# often show s subor di nat e seeking advice
from a superi or. IBM ada appeal lo lhe corporat ion pr esi dent
in all of ua-- eit her Going It Alone ( taki ng a long walk o v e r an
Bxecut ive Decision) or soberl y di r ect i ng a l esser empl oyee.
In one extr aor dinar y case, we saw wors hipful convi ct # al the
feel of a Teacher Implaual bl y aituai ed In t he corner of a pr i son
yar d.
IBH a n n o u n c e d a nu mbe r o f w o r t h y o b j e c t i v e s when t h e 360
l i n e was a n n o u n c e d i n 1 9 6 4 . IBM s h o u l d c e r t a i n l y be t h a n k e d f o r
a t l e a s t t h e i r l i p s e r v i c e t o t h e s e n o b l e g o a l s .
1 . ' O n e m a c h i n e f o r a l l p u r p o s e s , b u s i n e s s a nd s c i e n t i f i c . '
( Thus t h e n a me " 3 6 0 , f o r t h e " f u l l c i r c l e o f a p p l i c a t i o n s . )
By " b u s i n e s s " t h i s m a i n l y me ant d e c i m a l . a t f o u r b i t s a d i g i t .
A c t u a l l y t h i s m e a n t g r a f t i n g 4 - b i t d e c i m a l h a r d w a r e t o a n o t h e r *
w i s e n o r m a l b i n a r y c o m p u t e r , a nd ma k i n g b o t h t y p e s o f u s e r s s h a r e
t h e same f a c i l i t y .
2 . ' I n f o r m a t i o n s t o r a g e and t r a n s m i s s i o n w i l l b e s t a n *
d a r d i z e d . ' The 360 was s e t u p t o h a n d l e i n f o r m a t i o n 4 b i t s a t
a t i a e , 8 b i t s a t a t i m e , 1 6 , 32 , a n d 64 b i t s a t a t i m e . (The
p r e c e d i n g s t a n d a r d h a d b e e n 6 , 18 a n d 36 b i t s a t a t i m e . )
I n t h e i r 360 l i n e , IBH a l s o r e p l a c e d t h e i n d u s t r y s s t a n
d a r d ASCII c o d e w i t h a s t r a n g e a l p h a b e t i c a l c o d e c a l l e d EBCDIC
( " E x t e n d e d B i n a r y Coded De c i m a l I n f o r m a t i o n C o d e " ) , o s t e n s i b l y
b u i l t up f r o m t h e 4 - b i t d e c i m a l c o d e (BCD) , b u t b e l i e v e d by*
c y n i c s t o h a v e b e e n c r e a t e d c h i e f l y t o make t h e 360 i n c o m p a t i b l e
w i t h o t h e r s y s t e m s a nd t e r m i n a l s .
3. 360s w i l l a l l l o o k a l i k e t o t h e p r o g r a m ; t h u s p r o g r a ms
c a n be moved f r e e l y f r om m a c h i n e t o m a c h i n e . '
U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h i s c o m p a t i b i l i t y h a s b e e n u n d e r m i n e d by
nume r ous f a c t o r s , e s p e c i a l l y t h e v a r i e t y o f o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m s ,
i n c l u d i n g h a l f a d o 2e n m a j o r t y p e s , a n d t h e l a n g u a g e p r o c e s s o r s ,
i n t r i c a t e l y g r a d e d a c c o r d i n g t o c o m p u t e r s i z e . Dot h t h e s e f a c
t o r s t e n d t o make c h a n g e s n e c e s s a r y t o move p r o g r a m s b e t w e e n com
p u t e r s . Wh i l e one e f f e c t o f t h i s " s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n " h a s i n d e e d
b e e n t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e movi ng o f p r o g r a m s f r om s m a l l c o m p u t e r s
t o b i g o n e s , a mor e i m p o r t a n t e f f e c t h a s p e r h a p s b e e n make i t
h a r d t o move f r o m a b i g c o m p u t e r t o a s m a l l e r o n e . N o t e t h e
u s e f u l n e s s o f t h i s a p p a r e n t p a r a d o x t o IBM s n a r k c t i n R .
The s c c r e t o f i t a l l , o f c o u r s c , l i e s i n IDM's k e e n u n d e r
s t a n d i n g o f how t o s e l l b i g c o m p u t e r s . The c o m p t r o l l e r , o r
s omebody l i k e h i m , g e n e r a l l y makes t h e f i n a l d e c i s i o n ; a n d i f
h e i s t o l d t h a t t h e o n e c o m p u t e r w i l l r u n " a l l k i n d s " o f p r o
g r a m s , t h a t n a t u r a l l y s o u n d s l i k e a s a v i n g . S h a d e s o f t h e F-
1 1 1 . ( B u s i n e s s m e n ' s t r u s t a n d r e s p e c t f o r IBM i s d i s c u s s e d
e l s e w h e r e i n t h i s a r t i c l e . )
THe BK rQOesT io M S
Bet ween t h e t r a d e p r e s s and dozens of acquai nt ances
In the Hel d, al most e v er y t h i n g I he ar about IBM a nd Its
pr oduct s le n e g at i v e ( s a y f i ve or t en to o ne ) - - exce pt from
people who wor k o r h a v e r el a t i ve s t h e r e .
Pe r h a p s I t ' s Juat s o u r g r a p e s . Or the a ut hor i t y-
bat i ng c h a r a c t e r of r e s e a r c h t y p e s . Or sel ect i ve r e a d i n g .
Or p e r h a p a t h e r e r e a l l y le somet hi ng s i n i s t e r .
Tha maj or q u e s t i o n s a r e t h e s e .
1. How c l e a n l a t h e i r sal es manshi p?
2. Ar e t h e i r s y s t e ms u nne ce s s ar i l y di ffi cul t or
c umber s ome on pur pose?
3. How d e ep I s t h e i r syst em of ent r apment and
f a r c e d commi t ment of t he cust omer? How
n e c e s s a r y a r e t he de - s t anda r dl z at i ona and
t h e c o n s t an t changes?
4. Do t hey h a v e a f i nal l i ber at i ng visi on? Do they
r e a l l y , a f t e r a l l . i nt end to b r i ng about a day
wh en l i f e i s e a s i e r for peopl e? When the
di f f i cu l t i e s of p r e s e n t - d a y comput er syst ems,
e e p e cl a l l y t h e i r s , wi t her away? I t hi nk t hat
h i s t o r y ' s Judgment on IBM i n our time
may n a r r o w down to t hat si mpl e ques t i on.
(In t hl e l i g h t i t I s not h a r d to unde r s t and
IBM's s t a n d o n s o f t war e c opyr i ght s v s . pa t ent s .
IBM Is a g al n e t p r o g r a m s bei ng pa t ent abl e, whi ch
would c o v e r a b s t r a c t e d p r o p e r t i e s , but Brgues
In f avor of c o p y r i g h t , whose pr ot ect i on Is
pr obabl y mo r e l i mi t ed t o t he pa r t i c u l a r s of a
gi ven p r o g r a m , l f t h e y have t he t r way. i t would
be a s s u r e d l hat IBM c oul d uee a ny i ngeni ous
new p r o g r a mmi n g t r i c k s wl t houl compensat i on,
whsr eae all u n n e c e s s a r y compl i cat i ons of bul ky,
cumber some s o f t war e woul d be c over ed In
ent i r et y b y c o p y r i g h t .)
F i n al l y , i t hae no t be en demonst r at ed that
IBM haa a n y g e n e r a l abl l l l y to make syst ems
concept ual l y si mpl e a n d e as y t o u s e . (Two
good e xampl es of h a r d sys t e ms a r e i he Mag
Tape Se l e ct r i c a nd Dat at e xt - - e as y f or pr ogram-
mere, b u t h a r d l y f or s e c r s l a r i e e . ) Ther e eeems
t o be no e mp h a s i s on el ega nce o r concept ual
si mpl i ci t y a t IBM. Th o s e who adopt s uch a
phi l os ophy ( s u c h s s Kennet h I ver son) do so
on t h e i r own.
As ment i oned e a r l i e r , t hle hae somet hi ng
t o dd wi t h t h e f act t h a t i ndi vi dual s gener al l y
u s e IBM' s s y s t e ms b e c a u s e t hey ha ve to, bei ng
amployeee o r c l i e n t s of t he Onus l hat r e n l IBM
e qui pment , s o t h e r e l e no Impet us to desi gn
pr ogr a ms o r s y s t e ms to r u n on si mpl e or c l e a r -
mi nded p r i n c i p l e s , o r d r e s e oul i nt r i c at e syst ems
so t hey can be u s e d e aa i l y.
4. THE IMAGE.
It I s h a r d t o a n a l y z e i mages, c orpor at e or
p e r s o n a l . Th e y a r e of t en r ec ei ve d In such d i f f er
e n t ways b y d i f f e r e n t popu l a t i ons . But t her e may be
a commonali ty t o t h e IBM Image as ge ner al l y s een.
The Image of IBM I n v o l v es some ki nd of cold magi c,
a b r o odi ng s e n s e of s t e r i l e e f f i ci ency. But ot he r
t hi ngs a r e p e r c o l a t i n g I n t h e r e . If we sl i de t hat
connot at i on of e f f i c i en c y a s i d e , i he IBM Image
seems t o ha v e t wo o t h e r p r i nci pal ccmponents:
a ut h o r i t ar i a n i s m a n d compl a ce ncy. It I s t hi s mi x
t u r e t hat l o n g h a l r s wi l l na t ur a l l y f i nd r e v o l t i n g .
Thi s same c o mbi na t i on, however , may b e exact l y
whal It l e t h a l a p p e a l s t o busi ness- manageraent
t ypes.
IP YOU REALLY WANT I T . . .
you c a p g e t c h a r a c t e r - b y - c h a r a c t e r
r e s p o n d i n g s y s t e ms on DM c o mp u t e r s .
Th e new St ock Exch a nge syst em u s e s a
" Tel ecommuni cat i ons Access Method"
p e r mi t t i n g non- IBM t ermi nal s to r s s pond
c h a x a c t e r - b y - c h a r a c t e r . J us t a s syst ems
f o r n o n - co mp u t er - pe opl e s h o u l d .
T r y i n g t o u s e t h i s i nput - out put
p r o g r s m on y o u r l ocal IBM a m p u t e r 1s
a n o t h e r p r o b l e m , t hough. Asi de f r c n
p r o g r a m r s n t a l c o s t s , i he r e Is t he p r o b
l em of I t s c o mpat i bi l i t y wi t h t he whole
l i n e of IBM a o f t wa r e . Adapt at i ons and
r e p r o g r a mmi n g woul d pr obab l y be
n e c e s s a r y u p a n d down t ha l i n e . I
THE FUTURE
Whal wil l IBM do next?
Specul at i on I s al most f ut i l e, but ne ce s s ar y
anyhow. The pr os pe c t s a r e f asci nat i ng if nol
t e r r i f y i n g .
No one can e v e r pr edi c t whal IBM wil l do; but
t r y i ng to p r edi c t IBM's act l one- - IBM-wat chi ng i s
somet hi ng l i ke Kr e ml i n- wa t chi ng- - Is e ver ybody' s
hobby In t he f i el d. And Its consequences affect
e ver ybody. With 60 many t hi ngs pos s i bl e, and
det er mi ned onl y i n t he va gues t way by t echni cal
c ons i der at i ons , t he quest i on of what IBM chooses
to do next Is pr et t y s c a r y . Because what ever
t hey do we' l l be s l uc k wi t h. They can deai gn our
l lvee for the f or eseeabl e f ut ur e.
We know ihBt l n t he f ul ur e IBM wil l announce
new machi nes e nd s y s t e ms , p r i c e changes (both up
and down) In f asci nat i ng p a t t e r n s , r ea r r ange me nt s
of what t hey wil l " s u p p o r t , n and c hanges In the
cont r act s t hey of fer ( see box. "IBM's Cont rol") .
Occasi onal h l gh- publ l c i t y spe ec hes by IBM high
ofll cer6 wil l cont i nue to be wat ched wit h gr ea t c a r e .
But mainly we d o n t know.
I BM's sl i ck manufact uri ng capabi l i t i es mean
t hat pr ac t i c al l y any machi ne t hey want ed to ma ke .
and p ut on a s i ngl e c hi p, they c oul d, and i n a
ve r y sh or t t i me. ( The gr ape vi ne hae it l hat the
Components Di vi si on, whi ch makee the comput er
p a r t s , ha6 b r a gge d wi t hi n the company t hat It
doeen't r ea l l y need t he ot her di vi s i ons any more
- - it eould Just pul whole c omput ers on t eeny
chi ps 11 i l want ed t o. )
In thle time of t he 370, t hi ngs are for the
moment s t a bl e . The 370 comput er l ine i s sti l l t hei r
main market i ng t h r u s t . Havi ng s ol d a l ot of 370
c omput ers ( basi cal l y s pe d - u p 3 6 0 s ) , t he i r Idea is
a t the momenl to eel l conver si on j obs to adapl the
370 to r u n Ihe new "Vi rt ual Syst em" conl rol p r o
gr am (VS or OS/VS or va r i ous ot h e r n a me s ) . Thi s
syst em (whi ch i s . I nci dent al l y, wi del y r es pect ed)
makes core memory effect i vel y much l a r g e r lo
pr ogr a ms t hat r u n on i t . Thi s eff ecUvely e ncour
ages pr ogr a mme r s t o us e t ons of c or e , by means
of vi r t ual memory; eeBsnl i el l y get t i ng peopl e In
the habi t of pr ogr ammi ng ae i f cor e were i nf i ni t e.
T hi s ext ensi on of a p p a r e n t memory size di s t r a ct s
from a ny I nef fi ci enci es of both l ocal l y wri t t en p r o
gr ams a nd IBM pr ogr a ms , t hus t endi ng to I ncr ease
us e and r ent a l c h a r g e s .
When thBt mar ket i ng i mpet us r uns out we' l l
see t he next t hi ng.
Th s ot h e r new IBM I ni t i at i ve Is wit h smal l er
machi nes, t he Syst em 3 a nd Syst em 7, bei ng pus he d
for r el at i vel y small b us l ne es es . Ths t Is wher e they
see a not her new ma r ke t . How e as y and useful t hei r
pr ogr a ms a r e In t h i s a r e a wil l be an I mportant
que s t i on .
With t he Syst em 7. a 16- bl t mi ni comput er
l or $17,000, IBM h a s at l a s t genui nel y e nt er ed the
mi ni comput er ma r ke t . (. Balancing It s speed and
coat agai ns t compar abl e ma chi nes , we can f i gur e
t he IBM ma r kup ae bei ng about 50%, which la
t ypi c a l . )
In a ddi t i on. It Is r umor ed t ha t IBM mi ghl
pul out a t i ny b u s i n e s s mi ni , t o se l l out of OPD.
(Dat amat i on. Dec 72. 139. ) But r ea l l y, who knows.
In addi t i on t o t hi s huge-memor y st r a t egy for
I t s bi g machi nes, and t h s s t a r t i n g foray Into s p e
ci al i zed mini s ys t e ms , t he r e i s t he offi ce st r a t egy
and "wor d p r o c e s s i n g . "
IBM h a s concept ual l y consol i dat ed Ils
vari ous ma gi c - t ype wr l t er and t exl s e r vi ce s unde r
the name of "wor d p r o c e s s i n g , " whi ch means any
handl i ng of t ext t hat goes t hr ough t hei r machi nes.
Thi s s upe r f i c i al l y uni t e s t he i r OPD eff ort s ( t ype
wr i t er s a nd di ct at i on machi nes) wi t h t hi ngs goi ng
on In DPD, s uc h a s Dai at exi . a nd al l ays i nt er -
dl vl al onal r i v a l r i e s for awhi l e. Al so, by s t r e s s
i ng t he uni t y of t he subj e ct ma t t e r , l l l eaves the
door open for l a t e r and mor e gl amor ous Ini t i at i ves,
such as h ype r t e xt sys t ems ( see " Carmody' s Sys t em. "
fl i p s i d e ) .
In ot her wor ds , t he foot Is i n Ihs door . Mr.
Busi nessman ha s t he i dea t hat automati c t ypi ng
and t hi ngs l i ke t hat a r e IBM's speci al pr ovi nce .
, Even if ll i s t r u e , a s Anonymous s a ys ( see Bi bl i ogr aphy)
t hal IBM Int i mi dat es peopl e a nd keeps Its enemi es
from get t i ng Jobs a t IBM-ori ent ed e s t abl i s hme nt s ,
t h a t ' s not t he end of t he wor l d.
I Cr osch, Goul d, n o d g e r s and McGurk a r e al i ve and worki ng,
j Ext r amural ha r a s s me nt l i ke t hat empl oyed by CM agai nst
Na d e r , f or e xampl e . ha s not been r e p o r t e d .
END OF THEDINOSAURS?
To a ve r y gr ea l e xt ent , IBM'e compui er
mar ket Is ba s ed on big c omput ers r u n In batch
mode, u n d e r a ver y obt r us i ve oper at i ng s yst em.
Many peopl e a r e begi nni ng to not i ce, i hough,
t hal many t h i n g s a r e more s ens i bl y done on small
c omput ers t han on bi g o ne s , even i n compani es
t hat have bi g c omp u t e r s . Thai way t hey can be
done r i g h t away r at he r t han havi ng to wai t i n l i ne .
Is t hi s t he mammal t hat wil l eat the di nos a ur eggs?
On the ol her hand, a ve r y unf or t unat e t r end
i s begi nni ng to a pp e a r , an impl ici t feud wi t hi n
l a r ge or gani z at i ons , whi ch may benef i t IBM's bi g
comput er a ppr oa ch. Thos e who advocat e mi ni
c omput ers a r e bei ng opposed by manager s of the
bi g comput i ng i nst al l at i ons, who see the mini6
as t hr ea t e ni ng t he i r own power and budge t e. Thi s
may for a long time hold t he mini s back, pe r h a p s
wil h Ihe hel p a nd advi ce of compui er sal es men who
feel l i kewi se t hr ea t e ned. But t her e wil l be no
hol di ng back t he mi ni s and t hei r myr i ad of f spr i ng,
the mi c r opr oc es s or s (see p . ^ ) . And Ihe i nr oads
shoul d begi n soon.
( Ot her s a r e gr owi ng to know a nd love t r ue
hi gh- capBci t y t i me- s ha r i ng as a way of l i f e, li ke
l hat of fered f or DEC. GE and Honeywell machi nes.
Thi s , too, ms y begi n lo ha ve der ogat or y effects on
IBM's ma r k s t s . )
Fi nal l y, it must be nol ed t hat almost al l bi g
compani es have c omput e r s , usual l y IBM comput er s ,
and so an e r a of market i ng may wel l have e nded.
It may be possi bl e for IBM io go on sel l i ng bi gge r
and bi g g e r c omput ers lo Ihe cust omers who a l r e ady
have t hem, but obvi ousl y t h i s growt h can no
l onger be exponent i al .
Few fi r ms a nywhe r e ha ve t he confi dence
to a d v e r t i s e ge ner i ca l l y a pr o d u c t which
la made by o t he r s as wel l , as i n IBM'e
"Thi nk of t he comput er as e n e r g y " s e r i e s .
Herb Groech. now e di t or i al di r e c t o r of Comput er wor l d, I s pe r ha p s
IBMs wors t enemy. Once he wor ke d for old man Wat son, and was the
onl y IBM employee al l owed to have a b e a r d . Now, among ot h e r t h i n gs , he
gi v e s speeches and t est i mony w h e r e v e r possi bl e a bout t he Menace of IBM,
at conf er ences, at gover nment al h e a r i n g s , a nd In l e t t e r s t o edi t o r s .
Yet IBM's mai n comput er s a l es s t r at egy t oday i s to s l r e s s the a d v a n
t a ges of bi g comput er s wi l h l ot s of cor e memory ( and p e r s u a d e you you
d o n ' t want hi ghl y I nt er a ct i ve syst ems o r I ndependent mi ni c o mp u t e r s ) .
And t he f undament al r u l e el at i ng the a dvant a ges of bi g c omput ers
Is cal l sd Gr os ch' s Law, f ormul at ed y e a r s ago by none o t h e r . See p .
A LITTLE GEMFROM THE IBM SOMGBOOK
(Who saya IBMdoesn't ncourt g Individualism?
To lha lune ol "Pack Up Your Trouble*
In Your Old Kli Bag.*)
TO THOMAS J. WATSON. President. IBM"
Pack up your tr ouble*-- Mr. Walaon'e harel
And amlle, amlle. smile.
He le the geniue In our IBM
He' i lha man wort h whi le.
He's Inspir ing *11 the time.
And very veraatl le-- ohi
Ha U our strong and abla Presidenil
Hit amlla'e worth while.
*Graal organis er and a fri end eo true.*
Say all we boy*.
Ever he Ihlnka of Ihl nge to aay and do
To Increea* our Joy*.
Ha la building ever y day
In hl a outaundlng at yl a-- ao
Pack up your trouble*. Mr. Wataon'* bare
And Sul la*- Smile-- Smile.
(A* a nostalgic publi c aervies
Advanced Computer Technlquee. I nc., of
Boaton. gave away LP* of IBM songa at the
'68 SJCC. They might juet hava eoae l a d . . . )
"THERE IS A WORLD ELSEWHERE."
-- Corloltnua
There Is no way to escape IBM enUrel y. IBM
madialea our contact* with government and medi
cine. wilh l ibrarl e*. bookkeeping eyaieme, and
bank balancaa. Bul thaaa InUueione are etlll lim
ited. and mo*l of ua dont have to live there.
Thera are many comput er people who refuse
to have anything to do with IBM sy*tem*. Other*,
nol ao emphat ic, will tell you poi ntedly that they
p r t f er to elay a* far away from IBM computers
a* po*eible. If you aak why, they may tell you
they don't care to be bothered with reeir lci lve.
unwieldy and unnecaaaary conpllcatlon* (Ihe JCL
l anguage le ueuall y menti oned). Thia 1* one
reaaon that quite a few peopl e atlck with mlnlcom-
putara. or with flrma usi ng l arge computare of
other brand*.
It i* poMlble to work product i vel y In lha
conputer Held and completely avoid having to
work with IBM-atyle aystama. Many people do.
L G 5 H
NEWCHIPS...
IBMcen pul pr ett y much anything on a aingle
chip, to make a functioning machi ne the size of a
poauge stamp: but ao can a lot of other compani es.
The question really become* whet her what
goes on thal chip I* * worthwhi le machine that doea
what people went.
. . . BUT THE SAME OLD BLOCK?
II I* by no meane clear thal IBM haa any
general ability u make computer aystama easy to
Thle Ii i psychological problem.
A* e corporation they e r e used to deelgnlng
eyaieme thal people have to uee by Dal. and muet
be trained to uaa. cont ri buti ng to the captivity
and Inertia of tha euatomer baae. Thus the notion
of making thlnge deeply and concept ual ly eiralght -
forward. without epeclal Jargon or t rai ning, may
not be e concept the a mpanp le ready l or .
The lamoua Consent Decree of January 19S6. (In a content decree,
an accueed patt y admit* no gul l l bul agrees i d behave In
certai n way* t heree/ t er.) In reaponsa to a federal antl -tr uai
suit . IBMagreed to:
aell as well aa leese Its computers, and repair thoae
owned by ot hers:
permit attachmante lo ita leeeed computera;
nol requir e certai n package deal*:
llcente various patents;
not buy up used mechlnea:
and gel oul of Ihe bualnasa ol supplyi ng computer
servi ces. I . e . . programming and hourly rentals.
Unbundling decision, Isle si xt ies. While ihls was nol a government
aellon bul a an Internal policy deci si on by the company, It some
how hBd a publ lc-relalions appearance of official compulsion.
Beset by pressures (ram makers of look-alike machi nes, users of
competitive equipment, and ihe threat ol antl -lr usl action, IBM
decided lo change its policy and sell programs without computers
and comput ers without programs. Delight amongst the indust ry
turned to chagrin as ihis became recognized as a pr ice hike.
The Telex Decielon. September '73: Tel e* Cor p. of Tulsa waa awarded
S3S2.SOO.OOO In t riple damage* (since reduced) lor loaaea attributed
10 IBM's "predat ory" pricing and other marketing practi ces.
Much more important. IBM was requir ed to dlaclose Ihe
detailed electronl ca requir ed to hook thlnge to their computers and
acceaeorlea within ei i t y daya of announcing a n y . Thia was a great
reli ef lor Ihe whole Industr y. Essentially it meant IBMcould no
longer dictate whal you attach lo t hei r machlnee. Unfortunately.
11 le not clear whet her thia will atand.
But what we' re waiting to heat about i* whet her ihe Mxon Justice
Department la. or ia nol. going to pr eaa the big antl -tr uat suit
which haa been long brewing. at the peralatant request of other
flrma in the induatry.
"THINK OP THE COMPUTER AS ENERGY."
saya a recent aeries of IBM ads.
But In terms of monopoly, pr i ce, end
the worl d's convenience. Ihere would
seem only one wey to complete the
analogy, via.:
"THINK OF THE COMPUTER AS ENERGY.
"Think of IBM as King Fui sal ."
SOMB DIVISIONS OP IBM you may haar about
OPD Office Product* Divisi on. Typewrit ers, copi er a.
DPD Data Proceeding Divisi on. Computera and acceaaorle*.
PSD Polar*] System* Dlvtalon, Big government contracts:
NASA etuB. and who know* whal.
ASDD Advanced Syatame Development Dlvlalon. Vary secret .
Components Dlvlalon.
Make* part* for tha ot her guya, Includi ng Integrated c l rcul t e.
SRA Selene* Reaearch Aaaoclatee, Chicago. Publishes textbooks
and learning kit*.
Waiaoii Lab
T . J . Wataon Research Laboratory, Westchester County,
north of New York Cl l y. Theoretical and lookahead reaearch.
OF THt
I R U U H J R t U A
For a long time, during the
alxtlee, IBM'a high price* provided
an environment t hat made i t easy for
ot her campaniee to come Into the field
and eel) ct nput ere and peri pheral s.
Theee hi gh price* were referred to ea
"the IBM umbrel la.*
However, thia era haa ended.
IBMnow cut* prlcee In what ever areas
It'e threatened. A br i ef flourlahlng ol
con panlee making add-on di ak and
core memorlea for IBMconput er* haa
becooe precarious: nol only will IBM
now cut pri ces, bul they have ehown
l haaeel vee still disposed to invent new
reeir lci lve errangenent * (the recent
"virtual memory" announcement (or
Ihe 370 claimed t hat the program
will only work on IBM dlek and c or e ) .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Harvey D. Shapiro, "l. B.M. and al) the dwarfa, "
New York Times Magazi ne. July 29. 1073,
10-36.
An objective, (actual arti cle, sympa
thetic lo IBM-- although it drew at leaal
one ir al a letter from an Ibmer who didnt
think It sympathetic enough.
"IBM: Time to THINK Small?" Neweweek. Octo
ber 1. 1971. 60-64.
Prank T. Cary, letter to the edi t or. Neweweek.
Oct. IS 73. p. 4. A enapplah reply lo
the above by Ihe IBM Board Chelrman,
who evldenUy didn' t like the article very
much.
Robert Samuelaon. "IBM'a Melhoda. * New York
Times Sundey financial secti on, June 3,
1973, p. 1.
- Thl e article give* a unique
glimpse of some ol the Interesting thlnge
lhat came to light In the Control Data suit
against IBM-- citi ng trial documenta never
publicly releaaed.
a William Rodgare, Thi nk, St ein and Day, 1990.
Subtitled A Bi ography ol Ihe Waiaone
end IBM.
Concentrate* on Ihe day* before
comput era. Fascinat ing profi le of Waieon.
a business tiger: but ihe view of ihe cor
poration In an evolving nation Is general
Americana that tr anscends fiction.
Would you believe Rodgers aaya
Wataon waa the ki ngmaker wo put General
Ike in the White Houee?
Unfortunately, the book hae reletlvely
lees on Ihe computer era. *o the Inalde
story o( many of t heir msnent oua decis
ions since then remains to be told.
Heywood Gould, Corporation Pr e ak. Tower (paper
back.)
Marvelous; hard to get; Gould Ihlnke
IBM quietly bought up all the copies.
The muting* ol a sophist icated. clever
and obaervant cynic who began knowing
nothing about IBM. Goul d's wide-eyed obser
vation ol Ita corporat e styl e and atmoaphere
la a jolt Id ihoee ol ue who've gotten ueed
to 11. And he thought It was juet another big
company I
Anonymoue, "Anti-Trust; A New Perspecti ve. "
Deiamatlon, Oct 73, 163-196.
Richard A. McLaughlin, "Monopoly la Not a Game,"
Datamation. Sept. 1973. 73-77.
Quest ionnai re eurvey Intended to
t est t ruth ol common accueatlon* agai nst IBM.
(Discussed in teat above. )
W.David Gardner, "The Governments Four Yeara
and Four Months In Purault of IBM." Data
mation. June 1973, 114-11S.
Almost any iaaue of Comguterworl d or Datamation,
the two main indualry newa publications,
car ri es arilclee mentioning canplalnts about
IBM from various quart ers on varloua l ai ue*.
DatamaUon'e lettera are also aotnetlmee Juicy
on the topic.
Any lasue ol On Line. * new* sheet ol the Computer
Industry Association, ten buck* a year,
(CIA-- no relation to the Intelligence agency
- 182SS Venture Bl vd. . Encino. CA 01316.)
T. A. Wlee. "l . B. M. ' s SS.000.000.000 Gamble."
Fortune. Ocl 1966.
Danlal J . Sl otnlek, 'Unconventional Sys t as. '
Proc. SJCC 1967. 477-401.
I nt er t s t l ng, aaeng ot her reasons,
for tha heaviness of the earcaaa di r ect ed
a t IBH and i t a larger c ^ ^ u t e r s .
0 N i l l t a a Rodger s, "IBH on T r i a l , " H a r p e r ' s .
May 1974, 79- 84.
Cont i nues where Thi nk l e f t o f f ;
c i a a i n o s s oa e o f t h e d i r t t h a t c a a e out
i n t he Tol cx c a s e , and o t h e r t h i n g s .
The author regret * nol being able to Hat more
art i cles and books favorabl e lo IBM, but Ihea* do nol
eeem to l um up to much. However. here are a few.
A Computer Perspecti ve, by the office of Charles
and Ray Eamee, Harvard U. Preaa. S13.
Angelina Pantagea, "IBMAbroad, " Datamation.
December 1972, $4-57.
For an example of the kind of aduladon of IBM
baaed on faith, see Henry C. Wall!ch.
"Trust -Bust ing lha U . S . A . , ' Newsweek
1 Ocl 73, p. 90.
The IBM Songbook, any year -- they havent been
leiued alnce the fifti es-- le defini tel y a
collectible.
H t B k ' j
* u T l r
w c
1 W ? J ) ? e o | > k
Digital Equipment Corporati on, in r esponse
to t he "Bnergy Cr i si s" ol 1973, di dn' t hi m out
t hei r Chr is t mas t r ee. InBlead they hooked it u p
to a wat er wheel they happened lo have. Typi cal .
T h e comput er companies are of ten r ef er r ed
to In Uie f i el d aa "Snow White and t he Seven
Dwa r f s " - - a ph r a s e that sta ys the same even as
the l e a s e r ones (l ike RCA and General Electr ic)
gt o ut o f t he bus i nes s one by one. The phr as e
s u g g e s t s that t heyr e all al i ke. To an extent ;
b u t t h e r e Is one company suffi ci ent ly di f f er ent ,
and I mpor t ant enough both In it s his t ory and Ita
c o n t i nu i ng emi nence, to r equi r e exposi tion here,
Thi s I s Digit al Equi pment Corporati on, usuall y
pr ono un ce d " D e c k t h e people who f ir st br ought
out t he mini comput er and continue to make One
etufT for people who know what they are doi ng.
Ot he r compute r compani es have mimicked
IBM. They have bull! bi g computers and I ti ed
to sel l them t o bi g corporat ions (or t h e i r bus i nes s
dat a p r o c e s s i n g , or big "sci enti fic" machi nes and
t r i e d to sel l them lo scient is ts .
DEC wanl about il dif f er entl y, always d e
s i g n i n g f or t he people who knew what t hey wer e
d o i ng , a nd always going lo great lengths lo tell
you e x a c t l y whai t h e i r equipment did.
F i r s t they made cir cuit s for people who
want ed lo t i e di git al equi pment t ogether. Then,
s i nc e t hey had the cir cuit s anyway, ihey manu
f ac t ur ed a comput er (the PDP-1). Then more
c o mpu t e r s . I ncr eas i ng the li ne slowly, but always
t e l l i n g pote nti al user s as much ss t hey could
pos s i bl y want l o know.
The same for it s manual s. Peopl e who
wrot e for Information from Di gital would oflen
g e l . not a summar y aheel r ef er r i ng you t o a local
s a l e s of f i ce, bul complete manual ( s ay , for
t he PDP- 8) , Incl udi ng chapt ers on pr ogrammi ng,
how lo b ui l d inlerfacea lo I t , and t he enact
t i mi ng a nd di st r i but i on of Ihe main I nt er nal p u l s e s .
The eff ect of Ihls was that sophist icated ua er s - -
e s pec i al l y in uni vers i t i es and r esear ch e s t ab
l i s h me n t s st a r t ed buil di ng their o wn. Thei r
own i nl e r f a ce a, I heir own modifications to DEC
c omp ut e r s , t h e i r own or iginal syst ems around
DEC comput er s .
Thi s poli cy has made (or alow but ste ady
growt h. In eff ect. Di git al buil i a national c us
tomer base among the most sophist icated cli ents ,
The ki ds who aa undergr aduat es and hanger s-on
buil t Inter f aces and kludgey ar r angemenl s. now
aa pr oject heads buil d bi g fancy syst ems around
DEC equipment. The places that know compute rs
usual l y have a variety of DEC equipment around,
usuall y dr as t i cal l y modified.
Because of the great success of Its small
compul ers, especial ly lhe PDP-0, even many com
put e r people t hink t hey only make small compu
t e r s . in (acl t h e i r bi g compui er, t he PDP-10, Is
one of t he most successf ul t i me- shari ng compulera.
An exampl e of i t s gener al est eem i n lhe fi eld: It
i s the host compute r of ARPAHET, the nat ional
computer network among scient if ic inst al l at i ons
funded by t h e Depart ment of Defense; basi call y
t hi s means ARPANET is a network of PDP-lOs.
DEC' S compulers have always been designed
by p r ogr a mme r s , f or pr ogr ammer s . Thi s made
for consider able suspense when t he PDP-11 di d
not a ppear , even though t he hi gher number s di d ,
and the- gr apevi ne had it t hat Ihe 11 would be
a si xt een-bi t machi ne, ll proved to be well
wai li ng for ( see p . 2 2 ) , and has since become
t he st a nd ar d sophi st i cat ed 16- bl t machine In the
i ndu s t r y .
An ar ea DEC ha s emphasi zed from the f ir st
has been computer dis pl ay ( dis cussed at le ngth
on t he fl ip s i d e ) . Thus il i s no s u r p r i s e thal
ihelr int er act i ve animated compuier d i s pl ay, the
GT40 (see p . Mi ) i s an outs t anding design and
success. (And the Universi ty of Utah, c ur r ent l y
lhe mother c hur c h of computer d i s pl ay , r un s ll s
gr aphi c syst ems from PDP-l Os. )
In t hi s pl ucky, homespun company, wher e
even pr es i d en t Olsen i s known by h i s f ir st name
( Ken) , It Is under st andabl e lhal marketi ng pizazz
takes a back seat. Thi s appar entl y was the view
of a gr oup of r e b e l s , led by vice pr esi dent Ed
deCas t r a, who br oke off In the lal e si xt i es to
sla r l a new computer company around a 16-bll
compuier desi gn call ed Ihe Nova r umor ed lo
have been a r eject ed de s i g n for t he PDP-11. The
company t hey s i ar t ed, Daia General, has not been
afraid lo use lhe h a r d se l l , and between t he i r
har d sell and sound machi ne line t hey' ve seri ousl y
chall enged l he par ent company.
But Digital marches o n . tltc O r - p u t e r Kur.' s
compuier company. If IBM is computerdcm' s
Kodak, whose over pr i ced b u t quit e rel i abl e goods
have vari ous dr awbacks . DEC is Nikon, wil h u
mix- and-matc h assort ment of wlmi the hoishot s
want. Th a t ' s plur al is m for you.
PDP-2, 0 o r 13. )
U L T i m W ?
J K L ' j 1 * * * 2 k r *
I ' m not gett ing any f avor s from DEC. I' m
j u s l sayi ng sboul them what people ought to
However. I do have gr atef ul recoll ecli ons
of t he warmth and court esy wit h whic h people
from Digital Equipment Corporati on have ta ken
pains lo expl ai n things lo me, hou r af l cr hour ,
conference afte r conference.
In t he ear l y si xt i es ihey had one man in
one small offi ce to s e r vi ce and sel l all of New
Jer s ey and New York Cl l y. But lhat one g u y .
Dave Denni ston, spent consi der abl e time r es pon
di ng to my questi ons and r equest s ov e r a period
of a couple o( y e a r s , and i n t he ni cest possi bl e
way, even though there was no way I could buy
a nyt hi ng. You don' t forget t r eatment li ke that.-
p E B W e t t t S W i t M i
Some k i n d s o f p e r i p h e r a l d e v i c e s , o r com
p ut e r a c c e s s o r i e s , a r e a l wa y s n e c e s s a r y . Onl y
t hr ough p e r i p h e r a l s c a n y o u l o ok a t o r h e a r
r e s u l t s o f w h a t t h e c o m p u t e r d o e s , s t o r e q u a n
t i t i e s o f i n f o r f t i a t i o n , p r i n t s t u f f o u t a nd
wh at no t .
T r y i n g t o p r i n t l i s t s o f a v a i l a b l e s t u f f
ha r e i s h o p e l e s s . T h e r e a r e t h o u s a n d s o f
p e r i p h e r a l s f r o m h u n d r e d s o f m a n u f a c t u r e r s .
I f you b u y a m i n i , f i g u r e t h a t y o u r p e r i p h e r a l s
w i l l c o s t $ 1 5 0 0 ( T e l e t y p e ) on u . But t a a i n t e n -
ance ( s e e p . S C ) i s t h e b i g g e s t p r o b l e n . I f
you buy p e r i p h e r a l s f r o a t h e n a n u f a c t u r e r o f
t he c o a p u t e r , a t l e a s t y o u c a n be s u r e someone
w i l l be M i l l i n g t o m a i n t a i n t h e wh o l e t h i n g .
( I n d e p e n d e n t p e r i p h e r a l M a n u f a c t u r e r s w i l l
o f t e n r e p a i r t h e i r own e q u i p m e n t , b u t nobody
want s t o b e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i n t e r f a c e . )
I f y o u w a n t a l i s t s e e " T a b l e o f Mi ni *
p e r i p h e r a l S u p p l i e r s , " Co wp ut e r D e c i s i o n s .
Dec 72, 3 3 - S ; mo r e t h o r o u g h poop i s o f f e r e d
by Da t a p r o R e s e a r c h C o r p . , 1 C o r p o r a t e C e n t e r ,
Rout e 3 8, Mo o r e s t o wn NJ 080S7.
As t o t h e s e r i o u s m a t t e r o f d i s k s , a n e x
c e l l e n t r e v i e w a r t i c l e i s " D i s c S t o r a g e f o r
Mi n i c o mp u t e r A p p l i c a t i o n s , " Compu t er De s i g n
J une 1 9 7 3 , 5 5 - 6 6 . T h i s r e v i e ws b o t h p r i n c i p l e s
of d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f d i s k d r i v e s , and wh at
v a r i o u s o a n u f a c t u r e r * o f f e r .
A l s o h e l p f u l on d i s k s and t a p e s : " f l a k i n g
a Go o f H i n i s t o r a g e , " b y Li nda Uer t aer . Com
p u t e r D e c i s i o n s . Feb 7 4 , 3 2 - 3 8 . Be s t r e c e n t
\ * * TIKE, 14 Jan 74, 50. *
<T r i f f l e . Th at 1s t he ove r a l l s i z e of t he \
memory, which i s u t t e r l y independent
' C f t he sophi s t i ca t i on or gener al power
o l t he cooputer i t s e l f . ^
' s . i r i I l i o n - b i t memories a r c a v a i l a b l e , and you
? could pu t one on a machine as small as
D i s k d r i v e f o r t h e l l .
M o t t s u c h d e v i c e 8 go
a t 30 s p i n a a s e c o n d ,
o r 1800 rpm. The h e a ds
t h a t r e a d and u r C t e
t o b e p o s i t i o n e d on
t h e d i f f e r e n t t r a c k s .
(Some d i s k s hav e a he a d
f o r e v e r y t r a c k , u h i e h
I f y o u h a v e d i s k d r i v e s
( $SS 00 e a c h ) y o u n e e d a
c o n t r o l l e r (i S&OO). S i g h
T o m e m s w
Surel y nobody can r e s i s t t he per i p he r al s o f f e r e d
by General T u r t l e , I n c . , 545 Technology Square, Cam
br i dg e. Massachusetts 021)9.
Tha Tur t l e 1* a s o r t o f c as s e r o l e on wheals t h a t
takes a pe n ci l down the ni i l dl a . Attached to your
cca^nitar, I t can be p r o g r a n ad t o r u b l e around draw
i ng p i c t u r e s , o r j u s t do wheallea on Lha pa r quet r y.
S800.
Then the Music Bos I s 5600. I t s i n g s i n four
voi ces , enough f o r a l o t of Vi val di , does f i v e octaves
and looks to t he c o ^ u t e r l i k e a Tel et ype. They wi l l
pl ay you e a g l e s on the phone (617/661-3773).
For e i t h e r o f thess you need a Co nt r o l l er (S1300),
t h i s m o d l T d t s k d r i v e .
The b r o u n - c o a t e d d i s k
i t s e l f i s h i d d e n i n t ht
p l a s t i c c a s e , n e v e r
t h e l e s s , t h e y s o m e t i n e i
g e t e o r a t c h e d o r b r e a k .
A d i s k c o s t s $7S and
h o l d s up t o 2 , 4 0 0 , 0 0 0
n a t i o n ( 1 . 2 m i l l i o n
PDP-11 u o r d s , u h i c h
a r e IB b i t s e a c h ) .
T m L
t e f l P H W L 5
/f * r
x U v h
BRAILLE
A c a r d r e a d e r . ... >.~u
p u l s e s t o t h e c o n p u t ei
b a s e d on t h e h o l e s
p u n c h e d i n t h e c a r d s .
n o joke he r e . People are s t i l l making
Br a i l l e copi es of t hi ngs by hand. But t he way
to do i t i s by computer: the nachine can punch
out new coplea of what ever' s st or ed i n I t ,
repeat edl y.
A Br ai l l e- punchi ng adapt er k i t i s a v a i l
abl e f or t he p l a i n 33 Tel et ype, I bel i eve
f ran Honeywell,
A si mi l a r adapt er k i t t o r I ' s Syatam 3
i s a v a i l a b l e f m IBM
( I t l e o f i n t e r e s t t h a t an e ar l y use of
Hooers' TRAC Language was wit h Br a i l l e conver
si on. )
a r c used (or trusa st or age of symbol ic ( di g i t a l )
of s t or age.
movable media") e r e Of a l l s o r t s .
EFFECTIVELY STANDARDIZED BY IBM
3/ 4- inch magnet ic ta pe .
Pre-1965: 6 t r ac ks d a t a , 1 t r a c k pari t y.
Post-1965: 8 tracks d a t a , 1 t r a c k pari t y.
2741 di sk
St ack of removable p l a t t e r s s i z e of a
la yer cake.
3330 dis k
d i s k c ar t r i dge
P l a s t i c c as e, s i z e o f cool i e h a t , en
c l osi ng d i s k,
floppy di ak
F l ex i bl e, c a r d - t h i n di sk encl osed in
gquare 8" envel ope.
Pl a s t i c s t r i p s pu l l e d out o f wedge-
shaped tubes arr anged In a r o t a t i ng
cyl i ndor . S t r i p i s pul l ed ou t of t hi a
car ous el , whipped around a drum t o make
temporary drum memory, r et ur ned t o case-
EFPECTIVELY STANDARDIZED BY OTHERS
LINCtape
3/ 4- i nch t ape on a 4- i nch r e e l ( f i t s in
pocket ) , s p e c i a l l y coate d a g a i n s t f r i c
t i o n , developed a t Lincoln Labs f or LINC
cunputer ( see p . 41).
S w s l z s and r e e l b u t d i f f e r e n t l y f o r
matted f or DEC stachinea ( var i e s with
n d e l ) . Very r e l i a b l e . A personal fav
o r i t e of many progracners .
JH CARTRIDGE
The Scotc h-t ape people aay t he c aas at t e
i a u n r e l i a b l e , and o f f e r aa an a l t e r n a
t i v e a b e l t - d r i v e n q u a r t e r - i n c h baby,
cost i ng maybe $1000 wi t hout I n t er f ac e.
CRAM (Card Random Access Memory) r ar e
Big pi eces of p l a s t i c (about f our Inchea
by two f e e t ) pu l l e d by not ches out of a
c a r t r i d g e and whipped around a drua.
Nat ional Caah Re gi s t e r .
HARDLY STANDARDIZED AT ALL
' C a s s e t t e s Phi l i p s - t y p e audi o-t ype caaaet t e.
Used by var i oua manufact urers i n
vari ous ways, Sykes, Sycor, DEC, Data
General and ot h e r s have s e par at e, and us
ua l l y incompati ble , ayaterns.
You never know what y o u ' l l see n e a t . In 1969
one fi rm announced a hi gh- dens i t y read-onl y
mery device" which anyone could se e was a
pl ai n 45 RPMphonogr aph but wi t h d i g i t a l e l
e c t r o ni c s . And i t made senss- But i t d oe s n' t
seea t o have caught on.
P r i n t s some iOO l i n e s
a n i n u t e ( f a s t e r i f
t h e l i n e s a r e n a r r o w ) .
P r i c e a r ound S I S , 000.
( t f e p f a n r r t
- r t
la an Impoalng term which meana almnt l anything
Basically. "almulmtion" meana kny activity thal
rep reaenla or neembl ee t MHlhl nf, Computer
dnul i l t on la u i l n | Um c u p u t t r lo mimic aome-
ihing r wl i or a omt hl nf that might be, tor any
ptirpoee:' to underetend an ongoing p n c t i i batlar
or lo m how aouethl ng Digtil come oul In lha
Han again, though, tha Science mylh atapa
In lo myittiy Ihl* proceaa. aa though lha man
uaa of tha s o p u l a r conferred validity or some
kind of truth.
(On TV show* tha Spece Voyager* aland
in front of lha "comput er" and eah in Arm. unnal-
unl l y loud wricea whal will ba lha nsul l * of *o-
aod-ao. Tha computer* oracular reply la Infal-
11bla. On TV.)
Lai t h a n ba no mystery about thia. Any
uaa of a data str ucture on a what-lf baala la
Simulation. You can *iaul ata in dalall or cnidaly;
f our <m.dart/i e n embody my theories, *en*ible
or nupld; and your resul t* may or b p nol cor*
A 'eoopul ar prediction" 1* tha outcome of
a iinitiation that eomaone, evident ly. ia willing
to atand behind. (Be* "computer election predlc-
dona." p. 4 \ )
Thai* polnta have lo be atreaaed becauae
If t l ur e la <me coaput er acdvlly which la prelan-
tioualy preunl ed and str essed, 11 la simulation.
Especially to naive cllenta. There la nothing
wrong with simulation but there la nothing super-
Anollier term which mean* more or laaa
tha s e n la modeUlng,
In the looae aenae, aimuladon or model
ling consiata of calculatlona about any dee-
crlbable phoenomena for Inatance, optical
equation*. In optical modelling (and thle la how
they deaign today*a gr eat lenaea), a data *lruc-
ture la creeled which represent* lha cun'el ure.
mounting, etc. of the separat e giaaaaa In a lena.
Then "simulating" the path* of Individual ray*
of light through that l ena, ihe computer program
teeta lhat lena deaign for how wall tha raye
*ne together, and ao on. Then the deelgn Ii
changed and triad agai n.
Another type of el aul ati cn. an Important
oul quite distinct one-- ia lhal which represent s
the c mp l e i Interplay of myriad units, finding
out tha upahota and coneequence* of Intricate
premise*. In traffic almulallona, b r Inatance.
ll la eaey enough to represent ihouaanda of care
In a dala str ucture, and have them "react"
like d r i v en - - creating very convincing traffic
Jama, again represent ed somehow within the
data structure,
Basically simulation require* two things:
a representation, or data st ructure, that somehow
represents the things you're simulating In lha
aspect* that concern you; and then a program
t o * something to Iheee data, that la In some
way Ilka the process you'r e concerned sbout
acting n t the (hinge you'r e modelling, And each
evenl of significance enacted by the program
muat aomehow leave ila Irace In the dala structure.
The line between elmulatkm and other pro
gramming Is not always clear. Thus llw calcu
lation of the future orbit s of the planets could be
called "almulat iois."
The moat Intricate cases, though, don't
particularly resemble eny olher kinds of programs.
The Intricate enactments of phyalcal movements,
especially awarma and myrlada with mixed and
nl ll dlng populations, are especially Interesting.
On a recent 6elentUc American arti cle, simula
tion helped to understand possible streamer*
of stare between galaal ae aa resulting from nor
mal nnalderat im* of Inertia and gravitation
(Alar and Juri Toomre. "Violent Tldee between
Oalaiies." g d . Am. Dec 73, 38-48.))
Models of cmpl ex and changing rates are
mother Interesting t ype. Enacting compiea
things, whoee amounts are constantly -ht.gjng
in t arns of percentage multipliers of each other,
mi nd easy in princi ple, but their omaequencea
can be quite sur pri si ng. (gee T h e Club of
ton*.* p. ( f .)
To Imagine the kinds of mixed-caee myriad
models now poaafble, we could on Ma y ' s big
nmput e n model ent ire eocletiea. with e separate
raoi rd describing each Idivftiuai oul of millions
and specifying his probabilities of Mbm and
diffltrwm preference* according lo various theortee
lhan fellow through whole sack*ties' behertor
In ta me of educetfem, income, marriage, m
F>v*wy. death, and anything else. Talk about
tin Kddiera and t eal s In ihe bathtub.
Any a n p u t e r language can be used for
xa* kind of almulatlon. Por simulations Invol-
ring relatively tew enti tl es, but lots of rates
or formulas, good old BASIC or FORTRAN la
fine. (MAQI's *9ynlhevteion" ayaton, which
wild be said to "almulete* csmplei figures In
s three-dimensional space, la done In Fortran;
P-WX-) For slmulstions involving s lot
**P*nte objects. special eeaee and discrete
event*. TRAC Language (aae p. | J ) I , j r eet .
if itumeiwa malheaaflca] formulas are Involved
end you wanl to change them around nmalder-
ably In an experinai tal sort of way. APL ia
well suited (eee p p . ) .
There are a number of special aimuladon"
languages, notably 91MSCRIPT and GP8S. Thaae
hare additional feature* useful, (or Instance In
mutating want s over lime, auch as "EVENT"
cmmands which aynchronlaa or draw division-
llnae In tima (lha simulated t l o s ) . Simulation
tanguages generally allow a g n a t v a n , , -
data types and ^ t en d o n s on them.
The llst-proceaalng fanatics, of courae.
Insist that ihelr own Unguagw (such aa LISP
and SMOBOL) a n beet. And then there's PLATO
(we pT x i f ). whoM TUTOR language la solan-
did far boO, (arnul aa and dt acraJTwork-- but
allOTra you only 1500 vari abl es, total (80 blia
The thing Is, any eel of assumptions, no
matter how intricat e, can be enacted by a compu
ter modal. Anything you can express exactly
can be carred out. and you can see Ita conse-
quances in Ihe computer'e readout a printout,
a acreen display, or some other view Into the
resulting data structure.
Obvioualy these enactments (or sometimes
"predictions") a n wholly fallible, deriving any
validity they may have from the soundness of
the initial data or model.
However, they have another Important
function, one which Is going to be very Impor
tant In education and. I hope, general public
understanding, as computen gel spread about
more widely and become more usable.
Tha availability of simulation models can
make things easier lo underst and. Well-sel-up
almulatlon programs, avail able eaally through
terminals, can be used aa Staged Explanatory
Structure* and Theoretical Exploration Tools.
The user can build hie own wars, his own so
cieties , his own economic condi tions, and eee
what follows from the waye he sets ihem up.
Importantly, different theories can be applied lo
lha same aet upa. to make more vivid Ihe conse
quences of one or the other point of view.
(Indeed, similar facllltlea ought lo be avail
able for Congreaa. to allow them to pour a new
tax through Ihe population and see who suffers,
who gai ns. . . )
I should point oul h e n thal tor this pur
pose insightful Simulation-- you don't alweye
need a computer. I have In mind Ihe so-called
"simulation games.'1 which If wsll designed give
extraordi nary Insights to ihe players. Allen
Calhamer's brilliant game of Diplomacy, for In
stance (Gamea Research. Boston; available from
Bnnt ano' s. NYC) teaches more about Iniernstional
politics than you could suppose possibl e. I am
alao Intrigued by a game cal led "Slmaoc," worked
out by a sociologist lo demonstrate the develop
ment of social structures from a state of random
ereati on. but I haven't pl ayed It. (Clark C.
Abl. of Abt Assoclatea. Boston, haa also done
a lol of Interesting design h e n . )
A last point, a very "prect lcal" application.
Simulation makes 11 possible to enact things with
out trying them out in concrete reality. For In
stance. In Ihe lens-deslgn systems mentioned
earli er. Ihe lenses don'l have to be actually built
to find out their detailed characteristics. Nor
la 11 necessary to build electronic ciroullry. now.
to And out whether 11 will work at least that'a
whal the aaleemen ssy. You can slmulsle any
clroull from a terminal, and "measure" what It
does at any time or In any part wilh slmulaied
meters. Slmllsrly, when sny computer Is des
igned now, ll ' s simulated before It'a bui lt, and
programs are run on the simulated computer,
as enacted wilhin a real comput er, lo see If ll
behavea as Intended. (Actually there are some
hot-wire types who Insist on building things
first , but one aasumes t hst the more sensible
computer designers do t hi s . )
Wilh sulomoblles It's harder; but 0M, for
Instance, simulates the handling characteristic*
of Ils c a n be ( on they're ever built so thst
designer* can redistri bute wei ght, change st eer
ing characterist ics and so on, till Ihe handling
characieritstics come out the wey Ihs Consumer*
seem te like.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Simulation magaslne la the official Journal of
Simulation Counclla, i nc. . the curiously-
named aicl ety of the Simulator*. it coats
$18 a year from Simulation Counclla, Inc..
Box 2228. Le Jolla CA 82037.
For all 1 know you get annual mem
bership tree with thal. I've always wanted
id Join but It waa always the one thing loo
many; but their conference programa a n
sensational. Where else can you hear
paper* on traffic, biology, military hardware,
weather prediction and electronic design
without changing your seat?
y x y x y x y x y x y ^ - y ^ y ^ y
"Simulation" means almost anything lhal In
any way represent a or reaerables something.
Whkh Is nrt to say ll' s a useless or improper
term. Just s slippery one.
Examples, Hen are waya we could "slmu-
late" a hone race:
Show dot* moving around an oval track
on a nmpls lal y random baala. and decl an Ihe
Anl lo complete the circuit The Winner,
Asaign odds to Individual horaee. and
Uien uaa a randomlssr lo choose the winner,
taking Into account those odda. <Thla ts how the
PLATO 'hor serace' game worka: see p . ^ t f . )
Give amdltkmal odds to the different hones,
based on poaalbla "weather conditions. Then
flip a win (or the computer equival ent, weighted
randomisation) to teat the "weat her conditiona,"
end assign ihe horses performance accordingly.
Program an enactment of a hone w e . In
which the winner ia selected on the basis of
the Interaction of ihe horoeeopes of horse and
ri der.
Create a data str ucture represent ing the
three-dimensional hinging of horse's bones, and
the interlaced timing of tha the hone' s gall,
(Thle haa been done at U. of Pennsylvania on a
DEC 338.) Then have theae sti ck figure* run
around a track (or the data st ructure equivalent).
Ualng a synthetic-phot ography system
such as UAOI'a Synthavlslon (see p. t oj ^ ) , create
the JD data str ucture for the e n t l n eurface of a
running horae over time; lhan make aeveral copies
of thle horse run around s t rack, and make sim
ulated photographs of ll.
And so on.
Bo dwi't be anowed by the term "simulation."
It meens much, Unis or not hing, depending.
O J W T ' O N S
ia an extension of Simulation in a fairl y obvious
direction.
If simulation means Ihe Enactment of some
event by compuier. Operations Research meane
doing theae enactments to tr y out dlfTsrenl strat
egies. and lest the most effective ones.
Operations reaearch reall y began during
World War n with such problems ae submarine
hunt ing. Given so-and-so many planes, whal
pattern should they fly in lo make Ihelr catching
aubmarlnes moat likely? Building from certain
types of known probabil it y, (bul In areas where
"true mathematical answers were not easily
found), operation* researchers could sometimes
And Ihe bsst ("optimal") str ategi es for many
dUTsrenl kinds of act i vit y.
Basically what they do la pl ay the situation
oul hundred* or thousands of llmee, enacting II
by compuier, and usi ng di ce-throwing techniques
to determine the outcomes of all Ihe unpredictable
part s. Thsn, after all entities have done Ihelr
thing, the program can report on whal strategies
t urned out to be most effective.
Example, In 1873 the Saturday Review of
something-or-o the r printed a piece on the solu
tion. by OR techniques, of the game of Moiopoly.
Effectively the game had been played thousand* of
llmee, the dice thrown perheps millions, and
Ihe different "playera" had employed various
different strategies sgalnsl each other In a varying
mix: Always Buy, Buy Lighl Green. Utilities and
Boardwalk, elc.
A complete solution waa found, the strategy
which tends (over many plays) te work beat . I
forget whal II waa.
Using another technique, Ihe game of foot
ball waa analysed by Robert E. Mac hoi of North
western and Virgil Carter, a football peraonege.
Thei r Idea waa to teet various maxims of the
game, to find out which common rul es sbout
bensflclal plays we n tr ue. Whit they did wae
replay Afly-elx big-league football games on a
play-by-play baala. rat e the outcemee. and aee
which clrcumatsnces pr oved most advantageous on
the avenge. I've mislaid the repr i nt (Operations
Research, s recent ye ar ) , and being totally Ig
norant of football can remember none of the And-
Inga. Anyhow, lhat's where lo look. /i+J
The earli er explanation of Operations
Resesrch wasn't quite right. Its sny systematic
study of what works best. Computers csn help.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Irvi n R. HentMl. "How to Win at Monopoly."
Salurdajr Review of Science, Apr 73, 44-8.
Virgil Carter and Robert E. Kaehol, "Operation*
Raaeareh on Foot ball . Operations Beaeacch.
nareh 1971, S41-544.
M umt*
o f Cp^fUTey
6 R A T \$m
Un t i l now, t he o b s c u r i t y o f c oa put e r s
ftas Kept t he p u b l i c f r o a u n d e r s t a n d i n g
t h a t a nyt hi ng l i k e p o l i t i c a l i s s u e s were
i nvol ve d i n t h e i r u s e . Hut now a l o t of
t h i n g s a r c going t o b r e a k . Tor i n s t a n c e
t i H' THCt THf F * I ?
J . Edgar Hoover ' s r e c e n t d e at h
r a i s e d a very s e r i o u s p r o b l e * . What
about a l l t hos e f i l e s he had been keep
i ng? Responsi bl e c r i t i c s o f t h e FBI,
such as Fr ed J . Cook, have cl ai med t h a t
Hoover ' s p o l i c y b a s i c a l l y c o n s i s t e d of
c has i ng l one punks ( l i k e O i l l i n g e r ,
Bonni e and Cl yde) , h a r a s s i n g p o l i t i c a l
d i s s e n t e r s , and keepi ng v a s t u nne ce s s ar y
r ec or ds on I nnocent c i t i z e n s * - t h u s v i r
t u a l l y c r e a t i n g t he v a s t net work o f o r
gani zed c r T S T l n Ameri ca, whi ch s t a y s
th# p o l i c e b l o t t e r s . Thus t h e ques-
The q u e s t i o n has been answer ed. In
J u l y 1973 Nixon appoi nt e d Cl a r e n c e Kel l ey,
p o l i c e c h i e f o f Kansas C i t y . A f t e r t he
p r evi ous goi ngs - on- - f o r i n s t a n c e , Ni xon' s
s e e a i n g t o o f f e r t he po s t t o Judge Byrne
whi l e he was p r e s i d i n g ove r t h e E l l s b e r a
t r i a l - - t h i s l ooked t o t he p r e s s l i k e a
s t a i d and u n c o n t r o v e r s l a l r e s o l u t i o n .
Kel l ey c e r t a i n l y i s aware o f t e c h
nol ogy. I t se ea s t o be he t h a t p u t d i s
p l a y s c r e e n s i n Kansas Ci t y p o l i c e c a r s ,
c r e a t e d t he ALERT s y s t e a ( Aut oaa t ed Law
Enforcement Response Teaa) and C0PPS
( Coa put er i z ed P o l i c e Pl anni ng S y s t e a ) ,
which f o r your a a us e ae nt t i e s i n t o MULES
( Mi s s our i U n i f o n Law Enf o r c e a e n t S y s t e a ) .
(See Melvin F. Bockel aan, "On- Li ne O * .
p u t e r s Keeping Things S t r a i g h t , " whi ch
d e s c r i b e s t he Kansas Ci t y c o a p u t e r s e t u p .
C o a a u n i c a t i o n s . J une 73, 1 2- 20. ) i n a
o r e t h r e a t e n i n g v e i n , suppos e dl y t he
Kansas Ci t y depar t ment kept c o a p u t e r
f i l e s on " a i l i t a n t s , a e n t a l s end a c t i
v i s t s . " (Schwar t z a r t i c l e , p. 19. )
ffhat Kel l ey does i s t hus o f I n t e r e s t
t o us a l l . The bi g q u e s t i o n i s whet her ,
f o r e l l h i s concern wi t h p o l i c e a u t o a a t l o n ,
he I s a l s o concerned wi t h t h e f r e e d o a s
t h i s c ount r y used t o be a bout .
Ne c e s s i t y h a s b e e n t h e e x c u s e f o r
EVERY IHFRINGEMENT OF HUMAN FREEDOM.
IT IS THE ARGUHEHT OF TYRANTS!
IT IS THE CREED OF SLAVES,
Ed mu n d Bu r k e
A l o t o f peopl e t h i n k c o a p u t e r s a r e
i n soae way c r u e l and d e s t r u c t i v e . Thi s
coaes i n p a r t f r o a t h e i aage o f t h e com
p u t e r as " r i g i d " ( s e e "The Myth o f t he
Co a p u t e r , " p. ^ ) , and p a r t l y because
t he a i l l t a r y use s o aany o f t he a.
But i t ' s not t he n a t u r e o f a coa
p u t e r , any a or e t han t ne n a t u r e of a
t y p e w r i t e r i s t o t ype poeas o r de at h
w a r r a n t s .
The p o i n t i s t h a t t he a i l l t a r y peo
pl e a r e gung ho on t echno l og y, and keen
on change, and Congress buys i t f o r t hea.
Ho way i s t h e r e r ooa t o c over t h i s
s u b j e c t d e c e n t l y . But w e ' l l ment i on a
few t h i n g s .
The Pent agon, f i r s t of a l l , wi t h i t s
p a y r o l l o f a i l l i o n s , wi t h i t s stupendous
I n v e n t o r i e s o f b l a n k e t s and boabs and
t o i l e t p a p e r , was t he p r i a e a over behi nd
t he de ve l o p a e n t o f t he Cobol b u s i n e s s
c oaput l ng l anguage. So a v a s t amount i s
sp e n t j u s t on c oa put e r s t o r un t h e a i l i -
t a r y e s t a b l i s h a e n t f r o a a b u s i n e s s p o i n t
o f vi ew. r
Of c our s e t h a t s n o t the i n t e r e s t i n g
s t u f f .
The r e a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g s t u f f i n coa-
p u t e r s a l l came out o f t he m i l i t a r y .
The Depart ment o f Defense has s branch
c a l l e d ARPA, o r Advanced Resear ch and
Devel opaent Agency, which f i n a n c e s a l l
ki nds o f t e c h n i c a l devel opment s wi t h
vaguel y a l l i t a r y p o s s i b i l i t i e s .
I t I s t hus a supreme i r ony t h a t ARPA
pa i d f o r t he devel opa ent o f : CONPUTER
DISPLAY ( t h e Sket chpad s t u d i e s at Li ncol n
Labs; se e p . , ! ) * t ; TIME-SHARING ( e . g .
t he CTSS s yst em, s e e p. S T ) : HALFTONE
IMAGE SYNTHESIS ( t he Utah a l g o r i t h ms : bu t
se e a l l o f pp. i *, -St. - 31 ) ; and l o t s
a o r e . Soae f o l k s a i g h t say t h a t pr oves
i t ' s a l l e v i l . I say l e t s look a t c a s e s .
Whil e t he y have m i l i t a r y a p p l i c a t i o n s ,
t h a t s s i a p l y because t hey have a p p l i
c a t i o n s i n e ver y f i e l d , and t he a i l i t a r y
a r e j u s t where t he aoney i s .
J u s t t o e n u a e r a t e a few a or e a i l i
t a r y t h i n g s - -
Coaaand and c o n t r o l - - t he p r o b l e a
of keepi ng t r a c k ot who's done what t o
whoa, and w h a t ' s l e f t on bot h s i d e s ,
I i i s a solemn i r ony t h a t t he g r e a t
46SL Coaaand and Cont r ol S y s t e a " - - e
gr and r ooa wi t h aany p r o j e c t o r s d r i v e n
by c o a p u t e r , onl y s o a e t h i n g l i k e t hose
i n "Dr . St r a n g e l o v e * and " F a i l - S a f e " - -
aay be a p r o t o t y p e f o r o f f i c e s and con
f e r e n c e r ooas o f t he f u t u r e .
" Av i o n i c s " - - a l l t he e l e c t r o n i c
ga dget s i n a i r p l a n e s , I n c l u d i n g t hose
f o r n a v i g a t i o n . (A r e c e n t magazine
pi e ce d e s c r i b e d how wonder f ul i t f e l t
t o f l y t h e F- 111- - which ha s a c o a p u t e r
aanagi ng t h e Fe e l of t he Co nt r ol s f o r
you. )
" T a c t i c a l s y s t e ms " - - c oa put e r s t o
aanage b a t t l e f i e l d pr obl ems, a i a guns
and a i s s i l e s , s crambl e your vo i c e among
v a r i o u s a i r f r e q u e n c i e s o r what ever t hey
do.
" I n t e l l i g e n c e " - - c o a p u t e r s a r e used
t o c o l l a t e i n f o r ma t i o n coni ng i n f r o a
v a r i o u s s o u r c e s . Thi s i s no s i mp l e pr o b
lem-- how t o f i n d out what i s so f r o a a
t a n g l e o f c o n t r a d i c t o r y i n f o r a a t i o n ;
t h i n k a bout i t . Don' t t h i n k a bout how
we g e t t h a t i n f o r a a t i o n .
" S u r v e i l l a n c e - - i t c a n ' t a l l be
a u t o a a t i c , b u t v a r i o u s t e ch n i q u e s of
p a t t e r n r e c o g n i t i o n ( s ee p . M I ^ . ) a r e no
doubt b e i ng a p p l i e d t o t he l a a e n s e quan
t i t i e s o f s a t e l l i t e p i c t u r e s t h a t coae
back. (Di d you knew our Bi g Bi r d s a t e l
l i t e e i t h e r c h i r p s back i t s p i c t u r e s by
r a d i o , o r p a r a c h u t e s t h e a as Dr oppi ngs?)
Of c o u r s e , t h e j o k e r i s t h a t *11
t h i s o b s e s s i o n wi t h g a dget s does not
s e ea t o have he l ped us a i l i t a r i l y a t a l l .
The army s e e a s de mor a l i z ed, end t h e navjr
l o s i n g ground t o a c o u n t r y t h a t h a r d l y J
even has c o a p u t e r s .
QUIS CUSTOIBT, HUH?
Beaton a v l f u e recipient* have been
eyst oaUe al l y ahert-etan9*d for a t l i u t
14 yeara, according to C^gutecweild (lo
k eyetea* anaiyat recently di scerned
that the welfare program *a not calcul
ating coet-of-li vinq iooeaeea on a n -
pjuM baeia, aa i t should have been, but
a* a e i ^ l a Increase baaed each year o\
an obeolate or iginal figure.
However, i t ' * too l a t e t o aek (or
refunds, aid anyway net aany eel f ar a r e -
elplente take C g m m t U .
\bvr*i b w i i c s
The t erm " d a t e bank" d o e s n ' t have
any p a r t i c u l a r t e chn i ca l Mai l i ng. I t
l u s t r e f e r s t o any l a r g e s t o r e of i n f o r
mati on, e s p e c i a l l y something a t t a c h e d t o
a c oaput er .
For I n s t a n c e , a t Dart mout h Co l l e ge ,
where t he s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s have been
wor ki ng hand-I n-hand wi t h t h e i r b i g t ime
s h a r i n g p r o j e c t , an awesome amount o f d a t a
I s a l r e ady a va i l a b l e o n - l i n e i n t h e s o c i a l
s c i e n c e s . The l a s t cens u s , f o r I n s t a n c e ,
In d e t a i l e d and undi gest ed f o r a . Suppose
y o u ' r e a t Dartmouth and you ge t i n t o an
argument over whet her , s a y , d i vo r ce d women
ear n as much on t he aver age as women the
s u e age who hav* never been mar r i ed.
To s o l v e : you J u s t go t o t he n e a r e s t t e r mi nal ,
b a t I n a qui ck pr ogr aa In BASIC, and t he
system a c t u a l l y r e - s n l y i e s t h e census dat a
t o answer your q u e s t i o n . I f o n l y Congress
had t h i s !
The u s e f ul n e s s should be e v i d e n t .
Because o f t he way census d a t a i s hand
l e d , now. I t I s not p o s s i b l e t o a s k f o r t he
r ec or ds o f a s p e c i f i c i n d i v i d u a l . But t h i s
kind of c a p a b i l i t y le ads t o some r e a l da nger s .
Ther e i s a l o t o f I nf or mat i on s t o r e d
about most I n d i v i d u a l s i n t h i s c ou n t r y .
Cr e d i t i nf o r mat i on, a r r e s t r e c o r d s , medical
and p s y c h i a t r i c f i l e s , d r i v e r s ' l i c e n s e s ,
m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e r e c o r d s , and s o on.
Now, i t i s not har d t o f i n d o u t about
an i n d i v i d u a l , a few phone c a l l s f r o a an
o f f i c i a l - s o u n d i n g per s on can a s c e r t a i n h i s
c r e d i t r a t i n g , f o r i n s t a n c e . But t h a t i s
v e r y d i f f e r e n t from p u t t i n g a l l t h e s e r e
c o r d s t o g e t h e r I n one p l a c e .
The p o t e n t i a l f o r a l s c h i e f l i e s i n
danger t o i n d i v i d u a l s . Per sons up t o no
good coul d c a r e f u l l y i n v e s t i g a t e someone
thr ough t he computer and then b u r g l a r i z e
or ki dnap. Someone unscrupul ous could
look f o r r i c h widows wi t h 3 0 - ye a r - o l d un
mar r i ed d a ug ht er s . Organiz ed cri me coul d
s e a r c h f o r p a t s i e s and st r on g- ar m v i c t i ms .
In t he f ace o f t h i s s o r t o f p o s s i
b i l i t y , computer peopl e have been worr y
i n g f or y e a r s ; not ewort hy i s t he s t udy
by Alan Re s t l n t h a t o r i g i n a l l y sounded
t h e a l ar m, and h i s t o o - r e a s s u r i n g f ol l ow-
up s t u dy of some d a t a - g a t h e r i n g o r gan
i z a t i o n s ( see b i b l i o g r a p h y ) . But t he
s c ar y dat a banks, t he ones t h a t e v i d e n t l y
keep t r a c k o f p o l i t i c a l d i s s e n t e r s ,
a r e n ' t t a l k i n g about what t hey do (See
Schwar tz p i e c e ) .
B a s i c a l l y , t h e two g r e a t e s t danger s
from d a t a banks a r e or gani zed CTime and
t he Execut i ve br anch o f t h e Fede r a l Gov
er nment - - assuming t h e r e i s s t i l l a d i s
t i n c t i o n .
And (As rosiest'* r*d glar*.
Th* ixmbt bunting in air,
Gout proof through th* night
That avr flag waa mcilt t hars.
* T
i w i . M b K c u e
t r N $ 4 ( t 0 V C *
The phone ay atom la bruised and bleeding
from Ihe depredations of people who have found
out how lo cheal the plmjne company electronical
ly. Such people ere called Phone Freaka (or
Phresz); artl dea on Lhem have appeared in auch
places aa Ramparti, The Re alii I and Oul. For
no dear rmaam, Ihe electronic devices Ihey uae
hav been given various colorful namee:
black box: device which, attached to a
local telephone, pennlla il to receive
an incoming call without billing tlw
calling party; ll "looka like" the
phone la atill ringing, aa far aa the
billing sechaniam la concerned.
blue box: device that generates the magical
"Inside" tones thal open up the phone
network and atop the billing mechan
ism. Poaeaalon of a blue box can
pul you In prison.
Aa with ao many t hings , the
phone syeteis was nol designed under
Ihe aaaumptlon that (here would be
thouaande of electrode wiae-guys
capable of fooling around with It.
Thus Ihe phone system is tragically
vulnerable to such messing around.
The only thing they can do i s get
ferocious laws paased and really try
to catch people, both of which sre
apparently happening. Supposedly
it Is Illegal lo possess a tone gener
ator, or to inform anyone aa lo what
Ihe magical frequencies are even
though a elide whistle i s such s
tone generator, and any engineering
library Is said to have Ihe Informa
tion.
red box; device thal simulat e the Signals
mads try Calling coins.
The fact lhal tha names of these devices
are given here la not to be construed ss in any
ssisfl approving of lhem, and anybody who
nmsee around with them la a too1, playing with
napalm.
Even If p p l e were entitled to steal back
excess profits from Ihe phone company Ihe
so-called "people's discount"-- (hs trouble la
lhat Ihey mess things up lor everyone. He have
s beautiful snd delicate phone system, m i lhal
stands reedy lo do wonderful things for you.
Including bring computer service to your home;
even If, for Ihe saks of argument, 11 U run by
dirty r at a , meselng around with It la like pr i
soning Ihe r u r volr for everybody.
I t s naM has kept clunking, possibly
to l u l l the public, possibly to gull tha
Congress- Anyhow, would you h*11eve *
s y s t , t ot al l y controlled by e ^ j u t e r a .
dssigned to hoot down onesing miisiles?
1/ you would, read on.
I t ' s call ed Nlke-X, Safeguard
snd goodnema kn what. ( I t ' s svsn bssn
call ed a "thin shield"-- masculine, huh?
Perhaps Congress would pay more i f they
cell ed I t the Trojan 4X.1 But generally
we r ef er t o I t as the ABM(Anti-BallIstic
Missile). I t ' s the anti-missi le missile
people have talked about, and i n i t l l s
any Interacting leorsls. possible c a
parisons, etc.* for which there Is no
space here,
t r ac t o r . They're the manufacturing are
i n people who make the Princess* phono.
Of the hundredi of Billions of dollars
they sre taking In on t hi s project, ch
of i t has t o go back out to On1vac,
which Mkes the computers) lo Bell Labs,
which guides the pr oject, whose
Whippany, N.J. f a c i l i t y Is t o t a l l y given
over t o I t i to the rocket-builders and a=
The system I s s turkey.
note that in t el l i ng you thl e 1 am
drawing only On information t h a t Is pub-
l l e l y avail able, and drawing conclusions
f ros i t t t a way one usually draws conelu-
Hera i s bow the great abm Is sup
posed t o wrk .
ton looking for possible reflecti ons
that eight be intercontinental mlssllss.
Ths radar imagee are forever con
s t a n t l y analysed c ^ i u t s r s . using
every t r i c k of Pattern Recognition (see
Aha! S<^mthing i s c*ing.
Kss, yes. I'm quite sure now, says
the coaputer. We have f ifteen minutes.
Crest doors swing open, and a long
phallic shape a r i s es . I t haa lagged an
gular f i n s. Inhsritsd trim th* avaller
a n t i - a i r c r a f t Hike [we say Nlkey) rockets
t hat preceded i t . This missile I s called
the Spartan.
I t takes o f f.
The cx^jutar sy sc * Is trecking the
encasing missile- Hsrs I t (SSS I t ' S
dodging no. the Spartan i s turning,
going f as t er and f ast er they're cosing
encasing missile speedi maybe IS.000
mllss an hour. Spartan speedr maybe
10,000, who k m n . In these few minutes
th e Sp artan haa go ne 400 mil es.
KOw's your tennis 1
Can xou h i t a tennis b a l l f i r ed out
of s cannon?
The Spartan goes off. Kay! I t too
I f I t goes o f f within five miles of
ths attacking mi s si l e, ths hops I s t h s t
ths attacking mi s si l e' s theronuclear
warhead will get heated on one side snd
mis fire. So [t lands in Tiaes Square,
j u s t breaks a few buildings and apreada
radioactive contask! nation -
What i f Spartan missed.
oops, sorry, Montreal.
never fear! Have you forgotten
Sergeant York? Have you forgotten the
Al an?
imagine i f
th e W atergate
had had cmtrc
na t l o t i l data
Enough said.
I t may seem odd, but Nixon has s a i d
he i s concerned s bout c o ap ut e r s and t he
p r i v a c y pr oblem. Cyni cs aay j o k e about
what h i s concer n a c t u a l l y i s ; but a more
c r e d i b l e s t a nd was t a ken by v i c o - p r e a i -
d e n t Ford a t t he 1974 Nat i onal Comput er
Conf er ence, Ford e xpr essed p e r s o na l
concern over p r i v a c y , p a r t i c u l a r l y c o n s i d
e r i n g a pr oposed syste m c a l l e d FEDNET,
which would supposedl y c e n t r a l i z e govern
ment r e c o r d s o f a br oad v a r i e t y .
Not menti oned by Ford was t h e ma t t e r
of NC1C, t he Nat i onal Crime I nf or mat i on
C e n t e r . Thi s w i l l be a s ys t em, r un by
the FBI, t o gi ve p o l i c e anywhere I n t h e
c o u n t r y . a c c e s s t o c e n t r a l i z e d r ec o r d s .
THE QUESTION IS WHAT GETS STORED. Ar
r e s t r ec o r d s ? Anonymous t i p s ? ( I t would
be p o s s i b l e t o frame i n d i v i d u a l s r a t h e r
n i c e l y i f a l o t o f l oos e s t u f f coul d be
s l i p p e d i n t o t h e f i l e . )
Many peopl e seem t o be concerned
wi t h p r e s e r v i n g some " r i g h t t o p r i v a c y , ' 1
whi ch i s c e r t a i n l y a very n i c e i d e a , bu t
i t i s n ' t i n t he Co n s t i t u t i o n ; g e t t i n g
such a " r i g h t " f or mal i zed and agreed upon
i s goi ng t o be no sma l l ma t t e r .
But t h a t i s n ' t what b o t h e r s me.
Cons i der i ng r e c e n t e v e nt s , and t he c h a r
a c t e r o f c e r t a i n e l e c t e d o f f i c i a l s whoK
de v ot i o n t o , and c once pt i on o f , democracy
i s l a t e l y i n d oubt , t hi ngs ' a r e s c a r c e l y
as a b s t r a c t as a l l t h a t . Cons i der i ng how
h e l p f u l o ur government has been t o b r u t a l
r e g i a e s abr oad- - n ot a b l y t he Chi l e o v e r
t hr ow, which soae s a y was r un from he r e
(and which used s p o r t s ar e n as f o r d e t e n
t i o n j u s t as John Mi t ch e l l d i d - - ) we can
no l on ge r know what us e any i n f o r ma t i o n
may f i n d i n t h i s government. Tomorrow' s
Dat a Bank may be n e xt week' s Enemies L i s t ,
n e x t month s P r o t e c t i v e Cu s t o d i a l Advi s
o r y - - and ne x t y e a r ' s Ter mi nat i on L i s t .
( I d o n ' t know i f you saw Rober t Ma r x i an' s
e y es on t h e Wate rgate h e a r i n g s , b u t t h e y
c h i l l e d my b l o od . )
Heather M. David, "Cowputera, Pri vacy, sod Secu
r i t y . C<wputer Decisions. Hay 74, 66-48.
Also P. Vsstln, Prl vscr and Freedom. 1947.
Alan F. Wei d o and Klchael A. Baker.
Databank. In a free Society: Computers. Bs-
j g i - SgEl nd f r l vacr . Quadrangle,
"Landmark Study of Co^ut er-Pri vscy Problems
Depl eted." CAH, Dec 72, 1096-7.
Co^ilacent review of Vastta 4 Baker.
Berman Scbwartt, rsvisw of Weatln t Baker book
ITTTle Book BsvleW, S July 73, 19-20.
Rotes thst tbe opclalaa of Weat In
sad Baker la baaed on t hei r Ignoring
various "web-feared Information centers"
sl ready ms1s t slued by t | , , javsrnment.
Stanton Ifhselsr ( ed. ) , ta tacord: Fi les snd
Doaelfre In A-srlcSn t t f s . S ^ i i Tl
Ssgs Fouadstloo (WTC), S10.
Ia* Records: Fi r s t tha Paner s; then?"
Datamation. Dec 73, 105-110.
"Bow Fai r Are Thoaa Fair Crsdl t Culdes?"
Datamation lUy 73, 120-12*.
Phil Kitsch, "Coult er Sy.ta and the laaue of
Privacy: How Par Away la 198*7" 0 a t a t l o e . Jt t X. f r - t t .
T h ere l a ano th er missil e. I t is
c al l ed Sprint. I t i s sh ap ed l iks the
p o int o f a p enc il . I t i s i l m t a l l
p ro p el l ant. W han th e greet c o unters
real iz e th at th e bad guy has go tten
th ro ugh , up go ea Sp rint: Sprint I s elo
quentl y c al l ed the "terminal def ense
sy stem. I t cxily h as s couple of el nutss.
Brigh ter th an a th o usand suns!
Sorry, scarsdale. Can'c win ' a a l l .
I f you rind t hi s description mind-
boggling, t h a t ' s because I t Is. Anybody
t o imagines that t h i s project, on which
billions of your dol l ar s havs already
been spent, can work. Is S wishful
thinker Indeed.
Even 11 missiles stsysd l i ke they
were in the good old days of 196J, big
hslpless Clunkers they had t o fuel up
just before the shoot, ths likelihood of
the 5-mlle Ai detonation they count On
hoping that Spartan and Sprint could be
replaced with ultrapower, fry-ln-the-sky
with sky-piercing stabs under c ^^uter
coi t r ol but t h a t 1s said to have been
abandoned.)
But even glvsn, snd only for the
sake of argument, the f ea s i bi l i t y of
Spartan-Sprint for f ish-ln-s-barrel
shots, look what's hsppenlng now.
HIKV (Kultiple Independently Ter-
geted Re-entry Vehicle) basics 1ly nans
Kultiple warheads. One rocket ean carry
s l l these l i t t l e guys, see, that fan out
when i t gets near the target , and each
l et Lon. pt db , or Fractional Orbital He-
bardeent aystea, j u s t eesns that they
send the thing Into an or bi t around the
world, and Che warheads ccee in f ^ e tha
(^jposlte elds. An side. Meaning that
11 those radars pointed s t Russls would
ABMi s s o r t of e deed ducki tha one
lace-SAVlng inst al l at i on I s In North Da
kota, and there won't be ny others. But
one wonders how such things could ever
be funded. But 'then again I rmMber
cal l a l i b e r a l , pontificat e on tji ia sub
j e ct . "They describe I t ss a 't hin
shield, ' (he sold) why c s n ' t we j ust
spend a few b l i l i mre and get cc^>lete
protection?" Otherwise canny people, i f
fooled by the technologists, w i l l believe
any th ing.
of top-down planning like the VIetruss
es s war. I Imagine t h a t ths Sprint c s m
about SOMthing like t h i s I
"GarfIs Id. our peopls in Operations
Research have concluded that
Spartan won't work.'
on I t end find southi ng addi
t ional t h a t w i l l u l e I t work.'
Nov goes Oarfield t o hi s cubicle
the orders go down, and only news of
p a rt i al success goes up, rather than the
The sophisticated argusent i e that
the ABMe f f o r t l e t s our nation "Veep I t s
thing vaguely like t h i s I s sver really
needed-- and possible. But t h i s overlooks
the oversl l st r ategi c problem. All this
foolishness leads away f r the st a bi l i t y
keeps everybody al i ve.
(An i nt erest ing point t o noeei s
biologist and population genet i ci st n s * l
Sternglass claims i t doesn't mattsri that
radiation poisoning that j u s t the f sllout
froe the ABMdefense I t s e l f a few dozen
around the planet . But nobody l i s t en s to
sternglass.j
Incidentally, an i l l u s t r i o us c ^ u t a i
person, Rov, Dsn McCracken (author of
good programing t e s t s on most of ths
najor languagea) goea around lecturing
on the f u t i l i t y of tits ABMayatem.
Tha main res son c<*^>uter people
should take an I nt er e st in t h i s i s sisals
only we know how funny ths thing r eally ii
to work perfectly the f l e e t '
>1ftfVlWLY
i W r W J f l K b S T W t f
Nol all kids who play with a a ^ u t s r s arm
quite aa lew-abldlnf as the B.B.B.l.B-T.O.H.B.
And (he lemptatVmis arm very s t r ui f
One such youngster s a l <n S hlghachnal
Held-trip (0 a suburban Philadelphia polia
Utbm. and saw s daoostrtfJoii of Ihe police
rmoota l n bm e t w i ayalam.
The police who wsre defaooatralng It.
not being omputmr f n ah s . didnt rssllrs how
simple Us s a Id observe lha dlal-ln numbers,
passwords Old protocol
Whai this lad got tone, he merrily went
lo his computer terminal In Ihe hsssmsnl and
proceeded m H e r Into Phlltelphla'a list <rf
most-wanted criminals ih. gamma of all his
A few days laler s man came to his bouse
Crum the FBI. Ha waa evl dst l y not a rmgular
operative bul a technics) type. He aaked vary
nicely If (he boy had a terminal. Then tha FBI
man aaked very nicely if be had put In theee
names. The boy ad mined, grinning, thal he
had. (Bverraie in (he sohool knew 11 had to
be he. )
The FBI man aaked him very, very niosly
not to do It again.
"Of course 11 dldn'l do any harm," says
the culprit. "I had Uiem down tor crimss Ilka
'Intellectual murder.' (Thai oould happen to lhem
for UuiT"
Doea (hat make you feel bederT
PHILADHLPH1ANB AND CROOKS PLEASE NCTTB:
Thla happened Ova or a l l years ago, snd
without s doibt Ihs system la by now totally secure
and Impenetrable. Lei's bops.
A t y s e i n - P o i K l T
Ths question of 'privacy* in the abelract
lan'I really an laaue. Who csree if Ood eees
under your clothes? The problem Is whsl hsp-
pens to you on the bssls of people's access to
your records.
Margo Si. James is s csss in point-
Ms. 91. James 1s s celebrated west coast
prostitute, onee well known tor her sctivlties
with Pau) Krssensr ss "The Realist Nun;' she
Is now Chalrmadam or an organisation called
COYOTE, campaigning tor Ihe decriminalization
of prostitution.
9he originally had no Intention of becom
ing s proelllute. Rether. she learned thal
there wss s false record of hsr arrvsl for pros
titution; and despite her eSorls lo d e ar her
name, ihe record followed her wherever she
tried (o get a Job- Finally she eald tha hell
with It and did become a prostitute.
(Membership Is IS s yesr. COYOTE,
Bos 28351, San Francisco CA H128J
"Oh, aan, t b t t that tear-tpangUd bam*r y t t uavi
0'tr tha lar\d of tha frtt and the ht*m of tht brmitf
H I C l - o - i i
T ie
The focus of attention In genetics and
organic chemistry has for a decade now been
the remarkable systems and structures of the
molecules of life, DNA and RNA.
DNA Is the basic molecule of life, a long
and tiny strand of encoded Information. Actually
il Is a digital memory, a stored representation
of codes necessary to sustain, reproduce, and
even duplicate the creature around it.
It is literally and exactly a digital memory.
Its symbols are nol binary but quaternary, as
each position contains one of four code molecules;
however, as it takes three molecules in a row to
make up one individual codon, or functioning
symbol, Ihe actual number of possible symbols
is 6 4 " the number of possible combinations of
four different symbols In a row of three. (I don't
know the adjective for slxtyfourishness, and it's
just as well.)
The basic mechanism of the system was
worked out by Francis Crick and Jane s Watson,
who understsndably got the Nobel Prize for it.
The problem was this: how could living ceils
transmit their overall plans to the cells they
split Into? and how could these plane be
carried out by a mechanical process?
The mechanism Is astonishingly elegant.
Basically there Is one long molecule, the DNA
molecule, which Is really a long tape recording
of all the information required to perpetuate
the organism and reproduce il. This is a
long helix (or corkscrew), as Linus Pauling
had guessed years before. The chemical pro
cesses permit the helix to be duplicated, to
become two stitched-together corkscrews, and
then for them to come apart, unwinding to go
their separate ways to daughter cella.
As a tape recording, the molecule directs
the creation of chemicals and other cells by an
intricate series of processes, nol well understood.
Basically, though, the Information on the basic
DNA tape is transferred to a new t ape, an active
copy c a l l e d "messenger RNA," which be-
conea an a c t u a l playback d e v i c e f o r Che
c r e a t i o n of oav mol ecules a c c o r d i n g to
t he p l a n scor ed on che o r i g i n a l .
Some things are known about this process
and some aren' t , and 1 may have this wrong,
but basically the DNA-- and its converted copy,
the RNA contain plans for making all the
basic protein molecules of the body, and anything
else that can be made with amino a d d s . (Those
molecules of the body which are not proteins or
built of amino acids are later made In chemical
processes brought about by these kinds. )
Now well may you ask how this long tape
recording makes chemical molecules. The answer,
eo far as Is known, is extremely puzzling.
As already mentioned, the basic code
molecules (or nitrogenous bases) are arranged
In groups of three. When the RNA 1s turned
on. these Qriples latch onto the molecules of
amino acid that happen to be floating by in the
soupy interior of ihe cell. (There are twenty--
seven amino acids, and sixty-four possible
combinations of three bases; this is fine, because
several different codons of three bases can glom
onto the same passing amino acid.)
Now, the tape recording is divided Into
separate sections or templstes; and each template
does its own thing. When a template is filled,
the string of amino acids in that section separate,
and the long chain thal results is a particular
molecule of significance in some aspect of the
critter' s life processes often a grand long
thing that folds up in a certain way, exposing
only certain active surfaces lo the ongoing
chemistry of the cell.
One theory about the mechanics of this is
that a sort of zipper allde, called the ribosome,
chugs down the tape, attaching the called-for~~
amino acids and peeling off the ever-longer result.
Now, here are some of the funny things
lhat are known about this. One is that there is
a particular codon of three bases that is a stop
code. Just like a period in ordinary punctuation.
This signals the end of a template. Another is
that the templates on Ihe tape are in no partic
ular order, but distributed higgledy-piggledy.
(Geneticists engaged in mapping the genes of a
particular species of creature find that the gene
for eye color may turn out to be right next to
the gene for length of tail but where those
are really. and what the particular molecules do
that determine it, are still mysterious sorts of
question.)
Here Is some more weird stuff about this.
Large sections of the ONA strand are "dark."
il turns out, just meaningless stretches of random
combinations of bases lhat don't mean anything--
or ever get used. This ties in, of course, with
the notion thal genetic change is random and
blind: the general supposition is lhat genetic
mutallon takes place a base or two at a time,
and Ihen something else activates a chance com
bination in a dry slretch that turns out to be
useful, and thia is somehow perfected through
successive 1-base changes during the process
of successive mutation and evolution.
Amazing U6e ia made of these mechanisms
by some viruses. Now, viruses are often thought
of as the most basic form of life, but actually
they are usually dependent on aome other form
and hence more streamlined than elemental. Well,
some viruses (bul not all) have the capacity for
inserting themselves ln the genetic material:
breezing up lo Ihe DNA or RNA. unhooking it in
a certain place and lying down there, then being
duplicated as part of the template, then unhooking
themselves and toddling away both parent virus
and copy. I can't for the life of me think of an
analogy to this, but I keep visualizing it as hap
pening somehow in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
CONTROL MECHANtSMS
Now, all cell6 are not alike. From the first
beginning cell of the organism (the zygote), various
splits create more and more specialized, differ
entiated cells. A liver cell is extremely different
from a brain cell, bul they both date back by
successive splitting from that first zygole. Yet
they have different structures and manufacture
different chemicals.
One simplification may be possible: the
"structure" of a cell may really be its chemical
composition, since cell walls and other struc
tures are thought to be special knittinga of
certain tricky molecules. Oksy, so that may
reduce the question slightly. How then does
the cell change from being an Original (undif
ferentiated. zygotic) cell to the Specialized
cells thal manufacture particular other complex
chemicals?
One hypothesis was that these other cells
have different plans ln them, different tapes.
But this theory was discarded when John Gurdon
at Oxford produced a fresh frog zygote from the
Intestinal cell of a frog (which accordingly, ln
due lime, became a frog de facto) . This proved,
most think, that the whole tape is in eveTy cell.
Thus there must be something-or-other
that blocks the different templates at different
times (You there, now you' re a full-fledged epi
thelial cell, never mind what you did before)
and selects among all the subprograms on the tape.
T h e a b o v e r e m a r k s s e e m t o b e o b a o l e t e . Th e g e n e t i c m e c h a n i s m r e a l l y t e e n s t o b e a H a t p r o c e s s o r ( e e e
u s i n g a s s o c i a t i v e , r a t h e r c h a n n u m e r i c a l a d d r e s s i n g . The g e n e I s now t h o u g h c co b e d i v i d e d i n c c f o u r a e g m e n c s , '
p-- lrV- , c a l l e d P r o m o t e r , I n i t i a t o r , g e n e p r o p e r , a n d T e r m i n a t o r . Aa I u n d e r s t a n d
_ _ j ? l i t , t h e p r o m o t e r a n d t e r m i n a t o r z o n e a c o n t a i n c o d e a w h i c h m e a n , s i m p l y ,
i * I S t a r t a n d S t o p . The I n i t i a t o r z o n e , h o w e v e r , l e a c o d e d s e g m e n t w h i c h e f -
f * f e c t l v e l y f i a b e l a t h e g e n e . T h l e I n i t i a t o r a r e a c o n t a i n s a c h e m i c a l c o d e u u l -
J i ' r f * * , 8 0 * ' A8 s u g g e e t e d l n t h e a b o v e a r t i c l e , we may c o n s i d e r b o t h l c s l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e i c e m e c h -
. . , 11 - ? n a c t s , c o n s i d e r e d f r o m a c o m p u t e r o a n * s p o i n t o f v i e w a n d i t s c h e m i c a l s t r u c t u r e , o r w h a t i s
i y P * P P * i o g . Th e g e n e s a r e t u r n e d o f f b y g r a b b i n g m o l e c u l e s , o r r e p r e s s o r s , w h i c h g l o m o n t o t h e i n i t i a t o r ( *1
t h . 6 e n s w h i c h t h e y h a v e b e e n s p e c i f l c a l l v c o d e d c o r e p r e e e . R e s e a r c h i n t h i s a r e a m u a t now f i n d
o f . ! ! ! , . c o d l n 8 o f o l e c u l e e w h i c h b l o c k a n d u n b l o c k s p e c i f i c g e n e e , a n d how c h e s e f i c t o t h e o v e r a l l g r a p h
t h a m m l l 0 ! ? 1 " u n o l o 8 7 . d e v e l o p m e n t , a n d a o o n . I f t h e r e l e a n y t h i n g t o ma ke a n o l d a t h e i e t u n e a s y , i t i s
t h e e x t r a o r d i n a r y b e a u t y o f c h l s c l o c k w o r k .
Much pressing research In molecular bio
logy, Ihen, is concerned with searching for
whatever it is lhat switches different things on
and off at different times in the careers of the
ever-splitting cells of our bodies. Not to men
tion those of all other living creatures, including
turnips.
COMPUTERISH CONJECTURES
The guys who specialize in this are usually
chemists, and presumably know what they're
doing, so Ihe following remarks are not intended
as butting into chemistry. However, new per
spectives often give fresh insight; and the matters
we've covered so far might seem to hsve a cer
tain relevance.
DNA and RNA, as already remarked, may
without distortion be thought of as a tape. Indeed,
on this tspe is a data structure* and indeed It is
a dala structure which seems lo be involved with
the execution of a program-- the program that
occurs as the organism's cells differentiate.
There Is evidently some sort of program
follower which Is capable of branching to dif
ferent selections of (or subprograms) In the
overall program, depending on various factors
In the cell's environment** or perhaps its age.
Now, It is one thing to look for the par
ticular chemical mechanisms that handle this.
That' s fine. On the other hand, we can also
consider (from ihe top down) whst sort of a
program follower It must be to behsve like thle.
(This is like the difference between tracing oul
particular circuitry and trying to figure out
the structure of a program from how 11 behaves.)
At any rate, the following interesting con
jectures arise:
1. The mechanism of somatic reproduction is
a subroutining progrsm follower- - not unlike
the second program follower of the subroutining
display (see p. That Is. it steps very
slowly through a master program somewhere,
and with each new step directs the blocking or
unblocking of particular stretches of the tape.
As the program is ln each cell, presumably
it is being separately followed in each cell.
(This is sometimes called distributed computing.)
2. In each cell, the master program is direc
ting certain tests, whose results may or may not
command program branching successive steps
to new states of the overall program. It may
be teating for particular chemical secretions in
its environment; it could even be testing a counter.
3. (This is the steep one.) If this were so,
we might suppose that this program too was stored
on the DNA, in one or more program areas; and
it would therefore be necessary lo postulate some
addressing mechanism by which the program fol
lower can find the templates to open and close.
(And perhaps farther sections of the progrsm.)
4. Indeed, it makes sense to suppose that
such a program has the form of a dispatch table
- - a list of addresses in the tape, perhaps asso
ciated with specifications of ihe tests which are
to cause the branching.
| pr
m e . ~ r . - t - o
These wild speculations are offered ln the
spirit of Interdisciplinary good fellowship and
good clean fun. Whether (1) and (2) have any
actual content, or are merely paraphrases of
what is already known or diaproven, I don't
know; somebody may find the rest suggestive.
Two more observations, though. These
are not particularly deep, and may indeed be
obvious, but they suggest an approach.
S. There is definitely a Program Restart: to wit,
whatever It Is that turns an old differentiated
intesline cell into a fresh zygote.
8 . Cancer is a runaway aubroutlne.
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Pr .'K Itfr)
Har Goblnd Khorana, Millard Gibbs lecture, Kay 1974,
Progress ln the Total Synthesis of the Tyro
sine tfMAGen* and Ita Control EleunU.*
From all thia, one lest speculation creeps
f o r wa r d .
Ivan S u t h e r l a n d , i n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e s t r u c
ture of s u b r o u t i n i n g d i s p l a y p r o c e s s o r s , hag
noted that aa y o u g e t mo r e a n d mor e s o p h i s t i
cated in the d e s i g n of a d i s p l a y p r o g r a m fol
lower, you come f ul l c i r c l e a n d make i t a f ul l -
fledged c o mp u t e r , wi t h b r a n c h , t e s t , a nd a r i t h
metic oper a t i ons .
If the somat i c me c h a n i s m s h o u l d t u r n out
10 have a pr ogr a m f o l l o w e r a s d e s c r i b e d , i t i s
not much of a s t e p to s u p p o s e t h a t it mi g h t h a ve
Ihe traits of an a c t u a l c o m p u t e r , i . e . , t h e abi l i t y
to follow p r o g r a m s , b r a n c h , a n d p e r f o r m mani p
ulations on dat a b e a r i n g on t h o s e o p e r a t i o n s .
In ot he r w o r d s , t h e d i g i t a l c o mp u t e r may
actually have b e e n i n v e n t e d l o n g b e f o r e von
Neumann, and we ma y h a v e b i l l i o n s of them
on our p e r s ons a l r e a d y .
II may s o u n d f a r - f e t c h e d , b u t t h e me c ha n
isms elucidated a t t h i a l e v e l a r e s o f a r - f e t c h e d
already that t hi s h a r d l y s e e m s r i d i c u l o u s .
THE COMPUTER FRONTIER
Regar dl ess of w h a t ' s a c t u a l l y ln t h e c e l l ,
11 ia cl ear l hat b e i n g a b l e t o a d a p t mol e c ul a r
chemistry, e s p e c i a l l y DNA a n d RNA, t o c o mp u t e r
storage i s a b e c k o n i n g c o m p u t e r f r o n t i e r .
This would ma ke p o s s i b l e c o mp u t e r mem
ories which a r e f a r l a r g e r a n d c h e a p e r t han
any we now ha v e .
Basically we c a n s e p a r a t e t hi s i n t o two
aspects:
The DNA R e a d o u t . T h i s p a r t of t h e s y s
tem would c r e a t e l o n g m o l e c u l e s h o l d i n g di gi t al
information.
The DNA R e a d i n . Thi B woul d c o n v e r t i t
beck to el ect r i c a l f orm a g a i n .
Weird p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o l l o w . One i s t ha t
(if chemical memor y i s g e n e r i c , r a t h e r than
idiosyncratic to a n i n d i v i d u a l ' s n e u r a l p a t h wa y s )
knowledge could be s e t u p somehow i n " l e a r n e d "
DNA form, wh a t e v e r t h a t mi g h t t u r n o u t t o b e ,
and injected o r i m p l a n t e d r a t h e r t h a n t a u g h t .
Weird.
Aa o u r a b i l i t y to c r e a t e c l o n e s i mp r o v e s ,
we could clone new c r e a t u r e s , o r g e n e t i c "im
provements"-- w h i c h , c o n s i d e r i n g t he r a c e h o r s e
and the Pe k i n e s e , me a n e " t h o s e s o r t s o f no n -
viable modifications s u p p o r t e d i n human s o c i e t y . "
And of cour se t h a t g h a s t l y s t u f f about b u i l d i n g
human a , or s e m i - h u m a n s ; h a v i n g t r a i t s t h a t
somebody o r some o r g a n i z a t i o n , u l p , t h i n k s ia
deBirable.. .
But the r e a l z i n g e r i a t h i s on e . I t mi ght
juet be a small a c c i d e n t a l p r i n t o u t meant to
test the f a c i l i t y, o r ma y b e j u s t a p r o g r a m b u g
- - but t he s y s t e m c o u l d o u t p u t a v i r u s
that would d e s t r o y m a n k i n d .
HIBLIOGRAPHY
James D. Wat son, M o l e c u l a r Bi ol ogy o f t h e G e n e .
Beautifully w r i t t e n ; m e a n t f or hi ghs chool
science t e a c h e r s . B u t p o t e n t i a l l y f or mi
dable; l f s o , s t a r t ' w i t h h i s a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l
The Doubl e H e l i x , w h i c h i s a g a s .
Mark Ptashne a n d Wa l t e r G i l b e r t , "Genet i c
Repressors." Scientific American, June
1970, 36-44.
S E. Lur i a, Life: T h e U n f i n i s h e d Ex p e r i me n t .
S c r i b n e r ' s .
Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell. Viking, S7.
Eloquent writing to popularize, among
other things, the New Genetic view that
your modern animal cells, and mine, ac
tually contain various fungi and other
stray ding-a-lings that slid into one of
our ancestors and found useful work, join
ing the basic genetic program.
It u s e d t o b e f a s h i o n a b l e to s a y ,
"The b r a i n Is a c o m p u t e r . "
But now p e o p l e s a y , " The b r a i n
i s a h o l o g r a m . "
T t f t
Almost n o t h i n g i9 k n o wn about t h e b r a i n .
Oh, t h e r e a r e l o t s o f p i c t u r e - b o o k s s howi ng
c r o s s - s e c t i o n s o f b r a i n s . . . Maybe you t h ought
il was j u s t a b i g c a u l i f l o w e r , b u t i t ' s f ul l of
s t r i n g s a nd s t r a p s and l umps and h a r d l y a n y
t hi ng i s known a b o u t any o f i l .
Cl i n i c a l e v i d e n c e , of c o u r s e , t e l l s us
t ha t i f t h i s o r t h a t p a r t i s c u t o u t , i he p a t i e n t
c a n ' t t a l k , o r w a l k , o r s m e l l , o r w h a t e v e r .
But t ha t d o e s n ' t come cl os e t o t el l i ng u s how t he
t h i n g wo r k s wh e n il does w o r k . T h e h i s t o l o g i s t s ,
t he p e r c e p t u a l p s y c h o l o g i s t s , t he a n a t o mi s t s ,
a r e al l w o r k i n g a t i t wi t h n o c o n v e r g e n c e .
Beaut i ful e xampl e: i he s p l i t - b r a i n s t u f f , wh i c h
I j u s t b e t t e r not e v e n b r i n g u p h e r e ( s e e new
Maya Pi ne s b o o k , Ha r c o u r t Br a c e ) .
We u s e d t o d i 6s e c t b r a i n s when I wo r k e d
down i n D r . L i l l y ' s d o l p h i n l ab. Dolphin b r a i n s
a r e about 1. 2 t i m e s t h e s i z e of o u r s , a n d Lilly
q u i t e r e a s o n a b l y p o i n t e d o u t t ha t t h i s mi ght mean
d o l p h i n s w e r e s m a r t e r t ha n u s .
And, of c o u r s e , t he b i g g e r wh a l e s e v e n
s m a r t e r . We ha d a k i l l e r - w h a l e b r a i n i n t h e
d e e p f r e e z e t h a t wa s about 2$ feet a c r o s s . And
wha l e s come muc h b i g g e r t h a n t hat; t h e K i l l e r ' s
maybe a q u a r t e r t h e l e n g t h o f t he Bl ue.
(I s h o u l d p o i n t out h e r e t ha t L i l l y ' s p u b
l i ci t y on t he i n t e l l i g e n c e of do l p h i n s was a l i t t l e
too good; it somehow d i d n ' t get ment i oned t ha t
d o l p h i n s a r e j u s t v e r y s ma l l w h a l e s . t h e o n l y
on e s y o u c a n f e a s i b l y k e e p i n a l a b . So t h i n k
of wh a l e s a s t h e p o s s i b l e s u p e r - s m a r l i e s , not
j u s t d o l p h i n s . )
What ' s t h a t y o u s a y ? Th a t " b r a i n s i z e
i s n ' t what c o u n t s " ? T h a t ' s a n i n t e r e s t i n g p o i n t .
Peopl e wi t h s mal l h e a d s a r e b y a nd l a r g e
j us t as s ma r t a s p e o p l e wi t h bi g h e a d s . T h a t ' s
one a r g u m e n t .
Ho we v e r , pe opl e h a ve much b i g g e r b r a i n s
t h a n almost a n y o t h e r a ni ma l s . T h a t i n d i c a t e s
some t hi ng t oo.
1 b e l i e v e t h a t t h e o n l y o t h e r a ni ma l s wi t h
v e r y b i g b r a i n s a r e e l e p h a n t s a nd wh a l e s , (An
anat omi cal e x p l a n a t i o n : t he wei ght i s s u p p o r t e d
on i he man b y b a l a n c i n g i t , on t h e e l e p h a n t b y
a h e a vy a nd c o mp a r a t i v e l y i nf l e xi bl e neck of f set
by a g r a p p l i n g t ool , and i n t he whal e by p u t t i n g
i t i n t h e f r o n t o f a t o r p e d o . But most o t h e r
anat omi es c o u l d n ' t manage a bi g b r a i n , s o t h e y
c a n t e v o l v e o n e . ^
An y h o w, s o t h e s c i e n t i f i c q u e s t i o n i s
w h e t h e r b i g - b r a i n e d s p e c i e s a r e s m a r t . Well,
dogs a r e s m a r t e r t h a n r a t s . . .
But about t h e s e o t h e r g uys i n o u r l e a g u e
and b e y o n d . How do we know soi e nt i f i c a l l y
tha t " t h e s i z e o f t h e b r a i n i s n ' l wha t c o u n t s " ?
Be c ause o b v i o u s l y t h e y ' r e not a s s ma r t a s we
a r e , peopl e s a y . T h e r e f o r e it i s n ' t b r a i n s i z e
that c o u n t s . T h e d e p t h of t hi 9 l ogi c s h o u l d b e
e v i d e n t . (I v e e v e n h e a r d peopl e s a y , "Of c o u r s e
t h e y ' r e not as s m a r t . T h e y d o n ' t h a v e g u n s . " )
Pay c l o s e at t e nt i on t o an e l e p h a n t somet i me.
Wor ki ng e l e p h a n t s i n I ndi a r e s p o n d t o some
500 d i f f e r e n t o r a l commands.
Can you t h i n k of a 501st t h i n g to a s k an
el e p h a n t t o do? (1 r a t h e r s u p p o s e i t could- o b l i g e . )
A n y wa y , t h e dozen wha l e s I ' v e k n o wn p e r
s ona l l y w e r e s m a r t as h e l l .
It u s e d t o b e b e l i e v e d l h a l memor y was
e x c l u s i v e l y a ma t t e r of s y n a p t i c c o n n e c t i o n s
t he g r a d u a l c l o s i n g of l i l t l e s w i t c h e s b e t we e n
n e r v e c e l l s w i t h p r a c t i c e .
It i s now known t h a t t e mp o r a r y o r
s h o r t - t e r m memory is s y n a p t i c , b u t some t hi ng
el s e t a k e s p l a c e a f t e r t h a t . I t ' s be l i e v e d t h a t
af t e r a c e r t a i n p e r i o d , a n d il h a s so me t h i n g
to do wi t h r e s t a n d s l e e p , memor i es a r e t r a n s
f e r r e d to some o t h e r f o r m , p r e s u ma b l y c h e m i c a l .
But how?
My f r i e n d An d r e w J . S i n g e r h a s a b e a u
tiful h y p o t h e s i s t h a t w r a p s it u p . Hi s g u e s s
i s t ha t memor i e s a r e move d f rom s y n a p t i c
st o r a g e to DNA ( ! ) s t o r a g e d u r i n g d r e a m i n g ,
or mor e s p e c i f i c a l l y REM s l e e p . I l i k e t h a t o n e .
WH^r NeXT?
By b r o w s i n g t hi s book you may h a v e more
s e n s e o f what c o mp u t e r s a r e d o i n g , c a n d o ,
s h o u l d do.
What wi l l you do now?
By r e a d i n g t h i s book i n some d e t a i l , e s
p e c i a l l y t h a t di f f i c ul t ma c h i n e - l a n g u a g e s t u f f (see
"Rock Bottom a n d " Buckys Wr i s t wa t c h , " pp .
3 2 - 3 ) . o r t h e pi e c e s on s p e c i f i c c o mp u t e r
l a n g u a g e s ( p p . > y u r e a l l y s h o u l d be
ment a l l y p r e p a r e d to g e t i nt o p r o g r a m m i n g , i f
y o u d i g i t .
Maybe y o u shoul d c o n s i d e r b u y i n g y o u r
o wn mi n i c o mp u t e r , f or a c o u p l e o f t h o u s a n d . Or
( i f y o u ' r e a p a r e n t ) , c h i p p i n g in w i t h s e v e r a l
fami l i es to get o n e . Or a t e r mi n a l , and b u yi ng
( o r c a d g i n g as c a dge c a n ) ti me o n a l i me - s h a r i n g
s y s t e m . Maybe you s houl d s t a r t a c o mp u t e r c l u b ,
wh i c h ma ke s i t e a s i e r lo ge t c a s t - o f f e qui pment ;
i f y o u r e k i d s , wr i t e t he R . E . S . l . S . T . O . R . S . ( p.
* 7 > . I f y o u h a v e a c h a n c e , maybe you s houl d
t a k e c o mp u t e r c o u r s e s , b u t r e me mb e r t he s l a n t
t h e s e a r e l i k e l y t o ha v e . Or p e r h a p s y o u p r e f e r
j u s t t o s i t a n d w a i t , and be p r e p a r e d t o s p e a k up
s h a r p l y i f t h e c o n p u t e r pe opl e a r r i v e r e a d y to
p u s h y o u a r o u n d . Remember:
COMPUTER POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
DOWN WITH CYBERCRUD!
Co mp u t e r s coul d do al l k i n d s o f t h i n g s for
i n d i v i d u a l s , i f o n l y t he p r o g r a m s w e r e a v a i l a b l e .
F or i n s t a n c e : h e l p you c a l c ul a t e y o u r t a x i n t e r
a c t i v e l y t i l l i t comes oul b e s t ; h e l p t he h a r r i e d
c r e d i t - c a r d h o l d e r wi t h b i l l - p a y i n g b y a l l owi ng
him to t r y o u t d i f f e r e n t p a yme nt s t o d i f f e r e n t
c r e d i t o r s t i l l h e s e t t l e s on t h e m o n t h ' s b e s t mix,
t h e n t y p i n g t h e c h e c k s ; WRITING ANGRY LETTERS
BACK to t h o s e compa ni e s t ha t wr i t e y o u n a s t y
l e t t e r s b y c o mp u t e r ; h e l p i n g wi t h l e t t e r - w r i t i n g
i n g e n e r a l . You' l l h a ve to wr i t e t h e p r o g r a m s .
How d o y o u t h i n k comput e r s can h e l p
t he wor l d?
What a r e you w a i t i n g for?
Fa s h i o n s c h a n g e .
IKE COPPER M A N WALKED OUT OF THE ROCKY CAVERN
J M N w r ,
Everybody bl ames t h e c o mp u t e r .
P e o p l e a r e en c o u r a g e d t o blame t h e
c o mp u t e r . The empl oyees o f a f i r m , by
t e l l i n g o u t s i d e . p e o p l e t h a t i t ' s t h e
c o m p u t e r ' s f a u l t , a r e e n c o u r a g i n g p u b l i c
a p a t h y t h r o u g h p r i v a t e d e c e i t . The p r e
t e n s e i s t h a t t h i s t h i n g , t h e c o m p u t e r ,
i s r i g i d and inhuman ( s e e "The Myth o f
t h e Co mp u t e r , " p . ? ) and makes a l l
ki n d s o f s t u p i d m i s t a k e s .
Computers T a r e l y make m i s t a k e s . I f
t h e comput i ng ha r d w a r e makes a ha r d w a r e
e r r o r i n a b i l l i o n o p e r a t i o n s , i t may
be n o t i c e d and a r e p a i r m a n c a l l e d . (Of
c o u r s e , once i n a b i l l i o n o p e r a t i o n s i s
once i n a t h o u s a n d s e c o n d s , o r p e r h a p s
e v e r y t e n m i n u t e s . Tha t o u g h t t o be
m e n t i o n e d . ) Anyhow, i n n o c e n t g a d g e t r y
i s n o t what f o r c e s you t o make s t u p i d
m u l t i p l e c h o i c e s on b u r e a u c r a t i c f o r m s ;
mere equ i p ment i s n ' t what l o s e s y o u r
s u b s c r i p t i o n r e c o r d s ;
IT'S
THE
SYSTEM.
By s y s t e m we mean t h e whole s e t u p : t h e
c o mp u t e r , t h e a c c e s s o r i e s t h a t ha v e bee n
c h o s e n f o r i t , i t s p l a n o f o p e r a t i o n o r
pr ogr am, and t h e way t i l e s a r e k e p t and
c o m p l a i n t s h a n d l e d .
D o n ' t bl ame t h e c o mp u t e r .
Blame t h e s y s t e m; blame t h e p r o g r a m
mer; blame t h e p r o c e d u r e s ; b e s t o f a l l ,
blame t h e company. Let them know you
w i l l t a k e y o u r b u s i n e s s t o w h e r e v e r t h e y
have human b e i n g s . Same f o r g o v e r n m e n t a l
a g e n c i e s : w r i t e y o u r c o n g r e s s ma n . And
so o n .
4
we should all practice and have ready at the
tip of our tongues:
WHY THE HELL NOT? YOU'RE THE ONES WITH
THE COMPUTERS, NOT ME!
Let's froth up a little citizen indignation her e.
A O T j r k J O i ^
In principle we no longer need account
numbers.
Now lhat text processing facilities ar e
available in moat (if not all) major computer
languages, the only excuse for not usi ng these
features ia the programmer' s notion of hi s own
convenience not lhat of the outside customer
or victim.
Example. Someone I know got b r a n d new
^ ^ n ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ a n d credit
cards. He made no note of t hei r numbers. Then
he lost them both. Duly he reported (he losses.
Neither service could look him u p . they s a i d ,
without the nu mb er s . Not having used them, he
had no bills to check. Even though he was the
only person at that address with anything like
that name. And why not, pray tell? Either be
cause they were fibbing, or because they had
not seen fit to cr eate a simple straightforward
program for the purpose. (See Basic Rejoinder,
nearby.)
I have hea rd of similar cases involving
major life insurance companies. Don't lose the
numbers. Let' s all dance lo it:
When anything is issued to you,
Write the number down.
" ( b H f o T C V " , ,
THhT]>oHT
Few of us can help feeling outrage at
the book clubs, or subscription offices, or
bi lling departments, that dont reply to our
l et t er s. Or reply i nappr opri at el y, with a form
printout that doesn' t match the problem.
First l et ' s understand how this happens.
These outfits are based on using the com
put er to handle all correspondence and trans
actions. The "office" may not have any people
in it at all that i s , people whose job it is
to under stand and deal sensibly with the prob
lems of customers. Instead, t her e may just be
keypunch operators staffing a Balch System, set
up by someone who has long si nce moved on.
The poinl of a batch system (see p . f S )
is to aave money and bother by handling every
thing in a controlled flow. This does not mean
in pri ncipl e that things have to be ri gid and
r e s t r i ct i ve, bul it usually means it in practice.
(See "The Punch Card Mentality," p. )
The system is set up with only a fixed number
of event t ypes, and so only those events are
recognized ae occ urri ng. Most important, your
problem is assumed to be one that will be
s t rai ght ened out in the course of the system' s
flow. While there may be provision for excep
t i ons-- one cl e r k , per haps - - your problem has
not seemed to him worthy of making an excep
tion for.
Here is my solution. It has worked
s everal times, particularly on book clubs that
i gnored typed letters and kept billing me
i n c o r r e c t l y .
Get a roll of white shelf paper, two or
three feet wide and twenty o r more feet long.
Write a letter on Ihe shelf paper in magic
mar ker. Make it bi g, perhaps si x inches to a
word. Legibility is n ec essar y, but don' l make
it too easy to read.
Explain the problem c l e a r l y .
Now lake your punch c a r d - - you did gel
one. di dnt you, a bill o r something?-- and
mutilate it carefully. Tear it in q u a r t e r s , or
cut it into lace, or something. But make sure
the ser ial number is still l egi bl e. Staple it
lovingly to your nice big letter,.
Now fold your let t er , and find an envelope
big enough for it to fil i n, and send i t . r e gi s
t ered o r certified mail, to ANY HUMAN BEING,
ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, o r whatever, and
the company' s addr ess.
This really works quite well.
I am assuming her e, now, that your prob
lem has merit, and you have been denied the
attention required to settle il . If we want justice
we must ourselves be j ust .
There is one f ur ther s t e p , bu t , again, to
be used only in proportion to the offense. This
step is to be used only if a meritorious commun
ication, like thal already d e s c r i bed, has not
been properl y responded to in a decent interval.
We assume that this unjust firm has sent
you a reply envelope or card on which they
must pay postage. Now carefully drafting a
follow-up let t er , explain once agai n, in civil
language, the original problem, your efforts
at attention, and so o n . Now put it in a package
with a ten or twelve-pound r oc k, affix the
reply envelope to the outside, and send it off.
The problem, you s ee, has been to get
out of the batch stream and be treated as an
exception. Flagrantly dest royi ng the punch card
ser ves to remove you from the flow in that fash
ion. (However, just tearing it a little bit prob
ably won't: a card that is intact but t o m can
simply be put in a certain slot of the card-punch
and dupli cat ed. Destroy it good and pl ent y. )
l n all these cases remember: the problem
is not that you are "being treated as a number,"
whatever that means, but that y o u r case does
not cor rect ly fall in the categories that have
been s et up for i t . By forcing attention to your
case as an exception, you are making them
realize that more categories are needed, o r more
people to handle exceptions. If more people do
this when they have a j ust complaint, service
will improve rapidly.
The people who send it out like to call it
personalized advert i sing and the like. But most
of us call it Junk Mail. And its vagaries are
NOT THE POOR COMPpTER'S FAULT. What gets
people angry der i ves from the system buill
around Ihe poor computer.
You may wonder why you get more and
more seed catalogs, o r gift-house catalogs, as
time goes on, even though you neve r orde r any
thing from them. Or why a deceased member
of the household goes on getting mail year
in and yea r out, re gar dl e s s of your angry post
cards.
How does it keep coming?
Through the magic of something called Ihe
Mailing Li s t .
And especially the pecul iar way lhat
mailing lists are bought and s o l d .
Now, a mailing list is a s er ie s of names
and addresses of possible customers, stored on
computer tape o r d i s k .
You can buy the use of a mailing l i s t .
But you cannot buy the mailing list itself.
Suppose you have a b r oc hur e advertising
pumpkin-seed re l i s h , which you suggest has
rejuvenating powers. You want this brochure
to go out to rich college g r a d u a t e s .
You go to a mailing-list house.
"I cannot sell you this mailing l ist out
r i g h t , " says the jolly p r o p r i e t o r , "for it is my
business to sell its use again and again, so
I do not want anybody else to have a copy of
i t . " So you leave 2500 pumpkin-seed relish
brochures with the mailing l i s t company, and
pay them a lot of money. And they swear on
a stack of bibles that they have mailed the bro
chures to their special list of r i c h college grad
uates.
Well, l et ' s say you get 2S0 sales from
that mailing. (10% is fantastically good. ) But
out of curiosity you go to another mailing-list
house and have another mailing s ent out this
one to people who have low incomes and little
education.
This time you get 15%o r d e r s .
Now guess what you a r e acquiring.
A mailing li st of your v e r y own. Of peo
ple who eat pumpkin-seed re l i s h .
Mailing l i sts a r e , you e e e, generally r en
ted blind, with no chance to s ee the addressees
or check as to whether t hey' ve al r eady been
mailed to.
And thal explains all t he duplications.
If an adve r t i s er i s going af t er a certain
type of customer, and goes to s everal mailing-
list houses aski ng for mailings to that particular
type of customer, chances ar e some people will
be on several of the l i s t s . And si nce t her e' s
no way to intercompare the l i s t s . t hese poor
guys get several copies of the mailing.
(Another way this can happen i s if some
cheapskate has his own mailing l ist and doesn' t
check it for repeats of the same name. Bul
writing the computer program to check for
repeats of the same name is not e a s y there
might j us t be a Robert J ones an d a Rob Jones
at the same addr es s and t hese thi ngs ar e not
usually checked manually. T h e y ' r e b i g . )
Another possibility exi st s for eliminating
duplications when you r e n t mailing l i at s. You
can b ri ng in a magnetic t ape with your mailing
lisl on i t , and they can send out t he mailing
only to the members of t h e i r ' l i s t who ar e nol
already on your l i s t . That way you still can' t
steal t hei r li st, since t he tape i e on thei r
premises. The troubl e i s , t hey can steal your
li st, by making a copy of t he t a p e . Oh dea r.
One possi bil i t y, nice and expensive, is to
r e n t a nu mb er of mailing lists from a single
ma i l i ng- l i st house, with them guaranteeing that
t h e y l l compare all the lists you choose and
not s e n d to any person more than once.
But as you may be suspecting, this costs
money. All t hi s screening and iniercomparing
r e q u i r e s computer time, and so, even though
y ou a r e get t i n g a more and more perfect mailing,
y ou a r e pa yi n g reore and more and more money
f or i t . So you can see why reasonable bus i nes s
men a r e wil l ing to send out ads even when they
know some reci pi ent s will get several duplicates.
Anot her i nteresting point. There are
mai l i ng l i s t s for all kinds of different possible
c u s t o me r s . The possibilities ar e endless.
Mi nor i t y- gr o up doctors. People Interested in
b ot h stamp collecting and flowers (you' d have
to get a company with both l i sts, and have them
go t h r o u g h them for the dupl i cat es. . . you get
t h e i d e a ) .
U s k
B r a n c h 01U
Theodor H Kelson
0 5 6 W 2 0Th S t
Hei r York, Ny 100 11
G r e a t n e w s f o r t h
Houldn* t y l u li*e your . o n a y to .or* for you fall ti.
e , e n h e n l o u ' r e a s l e e p ?
Kow t h ^ l T e l s o n ^
b a n k .
n i l y can s a v e . . . r i g h t n t t h e i r own
** P a s s b o o k S a i n q s P l a n v h i c h
a u a r t e r l y o r e v e n
Note t hat mailing l ists ar e pri ced according
to t h e i r de s i r a bi l i t y. Weeded mailing l i s t s , fea
t u r i n g onl y Live Ones, people who' ve ordered
b i g i n r e c e n t times, ar e more expensive. Lists
o f d o c t o r s , who buy a lot, .are more expensive
t ha n l i s t s of social wor kers. And so on.
T h e n t h e r e s the matter. of the pitch.
The a d ' s phra sing may be built around
t h e mai l i ng p l an. Some ci r cul ars come ri ght out
and t el l t he recipient he' s going to get several
c op i e s be c a us e he' s such a wonderful per son.
THEN t he r e s r e those advertisements that
a r e ac t ual l y pri nt ed by the computer, or at least
c e r t a i n l i n e s a r e filled in with the re cipient' s
name and possi bly some snazzy phrases to make
him t h i n k i t ' s a personal letter. Who responds
to s u c h t h i n g s 1 don' t know. My favorite was
t h e o n e - - I wish I could find it to include here
- - t hat we nt something like
You' ll re al l y look swell, Mr. Nelson
wa l ki ng down Main Street of New York
i n y o u r shar p-looking new s l s c k s . . .
1 d o n ' t know whether I enjoyed the spaces or
t h e Main St r ee t more.
But you see how this works. The re' s
t hi s b a t c h - pr oc e s s i n g program, see, and the
names a n d ad dr e s s e s ar e on one long t ape , and
t he t a p e goes t hrough, and the program takes
one r e c o r d (a name and a d d r e s s ) , and decides
w h e t h e r to cal l the addr essee " Mr . , " "Ms." or
w h a t e v e r , a n d then plugs his name into the
p r i n t o u t l i n e s that give it That Personal Touch;
a n d t h e n t h e mailing envelope o r st i cker is
p r i n t e d ; and t he tape moves on to the next
r e c o r d .
We may look forward to i ncreasing en
cr oac hme nt s on our time and t r us t by the direct
mail i n d u s t r y : especially in bet t er and better
q ua c k l e t t e r s that look as though they' ve really
bee n pe r s o n a l l y t yped to you by a real human
b e i n g . (It i s apparently legal for l etters to be
s i g n e d by a fictitious per son within a company.)
In t h e f u t u r e we may expect such l etters to be
s e n t on fine p a p e r , t yped individually on good
t y p e w r i t e r s , and convincingly phra sed to make
u s t h i n k a r e a l personal pitch i s being tendered.
T h e r e i s , however, a final solution.
Dear Reader s .
lion and make you a highly-rnled prospect for evcrytni
fr om maga-riiia-s. t o mu t u a l f u n d s . ------------------ . ----------------- -----
You' ve u n d o u b t e d l y " h e a r d e v c r y t h i n e " bY no* i n * way
or p r a s e s and premiss. I won't try to lop ay of th e .
you subscribe to You won't Eet rich <,uicK.
you w o n ' t bowl over friends and bus>"
c l e v e r r e n' "*1" '
* BOULMR. COLORADO B0302 *
nr .1r. son:
n a r y l e t U r ? * * ! ? J a l l h t o t h e . P i n t . T h i s i s n o t a n o r d i -
h j L n s f v e y o u n o n e y o f f f r - g ? a " a g a z i n e .
h p s w o n ' t a p p e a l t o a a r k E r i c e r ' / ' l i f i t p e r -
U l P u g h i , . r F s i ^ / e t h i t i t
Because
' o i v e s vou
it
*
YOU CAN GET OFF ALL MAILING LISTS
t h a t i a , the ones "participating" in the
Associ ati on by writing to
Direct Mail Advertising Association
Public Relations Department
230 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
T he y will send a b l ank. If you fill it in
t h e y ' l l process it and delete your name from
mai l i ng l i s t s of all participating companies.
Presumably this won't help with
X - r a t e d o r stamp-collecting l i s t s , bul it
ou ght t o keep you from getting semiannual
gift catalogs from places like The House of
Go-Go Creative, Inc. and those million
s ol i ci t at i ons from Consumer Reports and
t h a t Fil e Box company.
You call up the bank and as k your balance
and they s ay , "I'm afraid I ca n' t get that i nf or
mation. You s e e , i t ' s on a comput er .
(See Basic Rejoinder, n e a r b y . )
Well, the reason i t ' s t hi s way i s that
t hey' r e handling things in Batch (see p . * | 5 )
and they a r e n ' t st ori ng your account on d i s k,
or i f they a r e they don' t have a terminal they
can quer y il with.
But to aay that they ca n' t get the i nfor
mation because i t ' s on a computer i s a typical
use of the computer as an excuse (see Cyber
c r ud , p . $ ); and second, if t he per s on b e
lieves this to be an explanation, i t ' s a si gn of
the intimidation and obfuscation that have been
sown among the cl erks who don' t under s ta nd
computers.
Write them a l et t er . Change bank s . Let' s
get the banks to put on more and more citizen
ser vic es . Rah!
( A -
T W K f c f W W tf W l kl T o
Ev e r y w h e r e you go comput e r s l u r k . Yet
t he y wear s o many faces i t ' s i mpos s i bl e t o f i g u r e
wh a l ' s goi ng on .
Gui de l i ne s a r e h a r d to l ay down h e r e , but
i f you look f or exampl e s of t h i n g s y o u ' v e a l r e a d y
r u n into i n t h i s b ook, it may he l p some.
T e r mi n a l s you can pr e s uma bl y r e c o g n i z e .
Mi c r o p r o c e s s o r s a r e h a r d e r , b e c a u s e you
d o n ' t se e t h e m . Good r ul e - of - t humb: a ny de vi ce
whi ch act s wi t h complexity o r a p p a r e n t d i s c r e t i o n
pr e s uma bl y i n c o r p o r a t e s a t e r mi na l , mi ni c omput e r
o r m i c r o p r o c e s s o r .
Two o t h e r t h i n g s to wat ch for: t r a n s a c t i o n
syst ems and d a t a b a s e s ys t e ms .
A t r a n s a c t i o n sys t e m i s a ny s ys t e m t ha t
t ake s note of , a n d p e r h a p s r e q u i r e s ve r i f i c a t i o n
of, t r a n s a c t i o n s . Example: t he new p o i n t - o f - s a l e
s ys t e ms ( POS) . Th i s i s w h a t ' s about t o r e p l a c e
t he c a s h r e g i s t e r .
In t he s u p e r m a r k e t of t he f u t u r e , e v e r y
package will h a v e a b a r code on a s t i c k e r , o r
p r i n t e d on t he w r a p p e r . I ns t ead of t he c he c kout
c l e r k looki ng at t he l abel and p u n c h i n g t h e a -
mount of t he s a l e Inlo t he ca s h r e g i s t e r - - a n
e r r o r - p r o n e a n d c h e a t - p r o n e t e c hni que whi c h
r e q u i r e s c o n s i d e r a b l e t r a i n i n g - - y o u r New Im
p r o v e d Che c kout Cl e r k will wave a wa nd o v e r
t he b a r code. T h e b a r code wi l l be s e n s e d by
t he wa nd, a nd t r a n s mi t t e d to a cont rol c o mp u t e r ,
whi ch wi l l r i n g i l up by amount and c a t e g o r y
(for t a x p u r p o s e s ) , and even keep t r a c k of
i n v e n t o r y , n o t i n g e ach obj ect a s it i s r e move d
from st ock.
Here i s wh a t y o u r b a r code will l ook l i k e .
(A c i r c u l a r c o d e , whi ch was a l r e a d y t u r n i n g up
on some TV d i n n e r s , haa been el i mi na t e d b y t he
b a r c ode. T h i s i s u n f or t una t e , s i n c e t h e s c a n
n e r n e c e s s a r y lo r e a d t he b a r code i s e l e c t r o n
i c al l y more c o mp l i c a t e d , b u t i h e r e we a r e . )
( I n c i d e n t a l l y , whi l e t hi s does a r r e s t t he
c l a s s i c c a s h i e r ' 9 c h e a t - - r i n g i n g up e x c e s s i v e
p u r c h a s e s on t h e c u s t o me r s , Ihen h a v i n g a c o n
f e der at e walk t h r o u g h e q u i v a l e n t amount s t h e
consumer i s s t i l l e n t i r e l y p r o n e t o c h e a t i n g b y
t he s t o r e i n t h e c omput e r p r o g r a m. Re me mbe r ,
i t s 1974. So y o u s t i l l may h a ve to c h e c k y o u r
t a p e s . f o l k s . )
Data b a s e s y s t e ms a r e any s ys t e ms whi c h
keep l r a c k of a whol e lot of s t uf f , often wi t h
complex p o i n t e r t e c h n i q u e s ( see "Data S t r u c t u r e s , "
p . Z&) A c u t e exampl e i s t he me s s a ge s e r v i c e
now off er ed b y S t u c k e y ' s s n a c k / s o u v e n i r s t a n d s
all o v e r t he c o u n t r y . You may l eave me s s a g e s
for y o u r f r i e n d s o r loved one s on t he r o a d ; they
can st op at a n y S t u c k e y ' s a nd a s k f or t h e i r
me s s a ge s , J u s l a s i f il was a t el ephone a n s w e r i n g
s e r v i c e . ( You' r e l i s l e d by y o u r phone n u m b e r
Is t h i s to avoi d p r a n k s ? And what about peopl e
wilh no ph o n e s ? ) I t ' s f r ee a nd a neat i d e a .
( Obvi ousl y, t h e me s s a g e s a r e s t o r e d on t h e d i s k
of a b i g c e n t r a l c o mpui e r , a nd q u e r i e d f rom
t e r mi nal s at t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t a n d s . )
Now, most o f t h e b i g s y s t e ms y o u r u n int o
l e nd lo be a c ombi nat i on of t r a n s a c t i o n a n d
d a t a - b a s e s y s t e m . F o r i n s t a n c e , s u p p o s e y o u
make an a i r l i n e r e s e r v a t i o n . T h e a i r l i n e h a s a
l a r g e dal a b a s e to k e e p t r a c k of: t he i n v e n t o r y
of al l t hose a r m c h a i r s i t ' s f l yi ng a r o u n d t he
c o u n t r y , a nd t h e l i s t of who so f a r have an n o u n c e d
p l a n s to si t i n t h e m, a nd in some c a s e s wha i
t hey i nt e nd lo e a t . When you b u y your* t i c k e t ,
hat t r a n s a c t i o n t h e n g e t s you p u t i n t he l i s t i n g .
Same f or c a r r e n t a l s a nd so on.
Th e pot e nt i a l d a n g e r s o f t r a n s a c t i o n s yst ems
a r e f a i r l y obvi ous from t he s u p e r m a r k e t exampl e,
b u t t he y fan out i n g r e a t e r compl exi t y as t he
s y s t e ms ge t mor e c ompl ex. Cr e di t c a r d s , f or
i n s t a n c e , we r e onl y made p o s s i b l e by comput er s
a n d comput e r i z e d c r e d i t ve r i f i c a t i o n ; b u t i t i s
onl y now, fi ft een o r so y e a r s int o l he c r e d i t - c a r d
e r a , t hat l aws pr o t e c t t he c a r d h o l d e r a g a i ns i
unl i mi t e d l i a bi l i t y i f h e l o s e s i t .
Yet we pl u n g e a h e a d , a nd it i s ob v i o u s w h y .
T r a n s a c t i o n s y s t e ms ma na ge d i n , a n d b y , com
p u t e r s allow mor e f l e x i b l e a n d ( i n p r i n c i p l e )
r e l i a b l e o p e r a t i o n s . F o r i n s t a n c e , i n t h e s e c u
r i t i e s b u s i n e s s , t h o u s a n d s of s t ock c e r t i f i c a t e s
a r e l os t a nd mi s l a i d , a nd t h e t r a n s a c t i o n p a p e r
mus t be t y p e d , s h u f f l e d , p u t i n e n v e l o p e s , s e n t ,
o p e n e d , s huf f l ed a g a i n , c o m p a r e d . . . a l l by h a n d .
Li t t l e wonde r t h e y ' r e w o r k i n g on a n Automated
Stock Exchange Syst em. But i f i t ' s t a k e n fifteen
y e a r s to get t he i mpl i ci t b u g s out of c r e d i t c a r d s
, . . not lo mention t he f r e q u e n t a l l e ga t i ons t hat
much Wall St r e e t " i ne f f i c i e nc y" ia a c t u a l l y t he
d i s g u i s e d ma r a u d i n g of O r g a n i z e d C r i m e . . .
u h - o h . (If they can b u y t h e b e s t l a w y e r s , t hey
c a n p r o b a b l y b u y l he b e s t p r o g r a m m e r s . )
T he n t h e r e i s t he C h e c k l e s s Soc i et y. Th i s
i s a c a t c h p h r a s e f or an o f t - a d v o c a t e d s y s t e m l ha l
a l l ows you t o t r a n s f e r money i n s t a n t l y b y compu
t e r ; s up p o s e d l y some s u c h t h i n g i s wo r k i n g a l
r e a d y i n F r a n c e . Aga i n, t h e y b e t t e r g e t i l p r e t t y
s a f e b e f or e a s a n e man wi l l go u p i n i t .
Th e s a f e t y o f s u c h s y s t e m s i s o f c o u r s e
a ma t t e r of i mmense g e n e r a l c o n c e r n . IBM
p o r t e n t i o u s l y ( s i c ) a n n o u n c e d i l s i n t e n t to s p e n d
mi l l i ons of d o l l a r s on " c o mp u t e r s e c u r i t y " a few
y e a r s a go. However , a few million d o l l a r s is
not goi ng to p l u g l he s e c u r i t y hol es i n t he IBM
360, a nd evi de nt l y t h e 370 i s j u s t about es v u l
n e r a b l e .
(In i hi s l i g h t , e ve n t he g r e a t e s t IBM- hat er s
wi l l h a v e to admit l ha t t h e r e may be a p r o p e r
mot i ve be h i n d IBM's c u r r e n t r e f u s a l to let o t h e r s
U6e i t s new o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m l a ngua ge : t hat way
t h e y may be a bl e lo p r e v e n t s p e c i a l hol es i n t he
s ys t e m from becomi ng known to p r o g r a m m e r s . )
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t ha t o n e p r o f e s s i o n seems
t o b e s t e p p i n g f o r wa r d t o t r y t o i mpr ove t hi s
si t ua t i on: t h e a u d i t i n g p r o f e s s i o n , de v o t e d lo
v e r i f i c a t i o n o f f i na nc i a l s i t u a t i o n s o f compa ni e s ,
se e ms t o b e b r a n c h i n g i n t o t h e ver i f i c a t i on of
c o mp u t e r p r o g r a ms a nd t he pe r f o r ma n c e of com
p l e x s y s t e ms . T h i s will be g r e a t , i f i t wo r k s .
C y n i c s , h o we v e r , may not e t h a t a u d i t o r s have
p e r mi t t e d some r e ma r k a b l e p r a c t i c e s i n lhe
" c r e a t i v e " ac c ount i ng of r e c e n t y e a r s . (Obvi ous
ly t he way to c heck out t h e s a f e t y of b i g s yst ems
i s to of f er bount y to t h o s e who c a n b r e a k its
s e c u r i t y . But who i s wi l l i ng to s u b j e c t a syst em
t o a t e s t l i ke t hat ?)
Her eabout s a r e a few o t h e r c o mput e r i s h
t h i n g s you may r u n i nt o wh i c h mor e o r l e s s
d e f y cat e gor i z a t i on.
THE COMPUTER GRAVEYARD
In t h e mi d - s i x t i e s t h e r e was a j u n k y a r d
i n Ki ngs t on, N. Y. t hat was l i k e an automobile
g r a v e y a r d - - except p i l e d h i g h wi t h d e a d com
p u t e r s .
They we r e from v a r i o u s ma n u f a c t u r e r s .
T h e g u y s woul d sma s h t hem wi t h s l e d g e h a mme r s ,
o r o t h e r awful t h i n g s , to ma ke s u r e t h e y could
n e v e r wor k a g a i n . T h e n y o u coul d b u y t he
c i r c u i t c a r d s . I saw 1401s f i v e h i g h , Univac
Fi l e Comput e r s , t a pe d r i v e s . . . it was a n e l e c
t r o n i c n u t ' s p a r a d i s e . You coul d d e c o r a t e yo u r
d e n with huge ol d conl r ol p a n e l s , mag d i s k s
a n d wha t not . It seems to be gone now. They
f o r b a d e p i c t u r e s .
s h o u l d o f c o u r s e b e c a l l e d MATCHUP DATING,
s i n c e t h e r e i s n o t h i n g p a r t i c u l a r l y comput e r i s h
about e i t h e r t h e p r o c e s s o r i t s i n t e n d e d resul t .
But t h e r e we go a gai n: w o r d - m a g i c , t h e impli
ci t a u t h o r i t y of i nvoki ng t h e w o r d C o mp u t e r .
(See " C y b e r c r u d , " p . g . )
In Lhe e a r l y s i x t i e s , a p e r k y y o u n g fella
at t he Ha r v a r d B- Sc hool , I b e l i e v e , o n e J e f f Tarr,
came up wi t h t h e not i on o f a c o m p u t e r i z e d dating
s e r v i c e . Th e r e s u l t wa s O p e r a t i o n M a t c h , an
i mmense f i na nc i a l s u c c e s s , w h i c h s o r t o f came
a nd w e n t . No followup s t u d i e s w e r e e v e r done
o r s u c c e s s s t a t i s t i c s g a t h e r e d , u n f o r t u n a t e l y ,
b u t they c e r t a i n l y ha d I h e i r f u n .
T h e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e o f " c o m p u t e r dat i ng
i s p e r f e c t l y s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d . A p p l i c a n t s s end in
d e s c r i p t i o n s of t h e ms e l ve s a n d t h e p r o s p e c t i v e
d a t e s t he y woul d l i ke to m e e t . T h e c o mp u t e r
p r o g r a m si mpl y doe9 a u t o ma t i c a l l y t h e s o r t s of
t h i n g you would do i f you d i d t h i s b y hand:
It a t t empt s to f i nd t he " b e s t " m a t c h b e t w e e e n
what e v e r y b o d y wa nt s a n d w h a t s o n h a n d .
Obvi ousl y t h i s coul d b e a m a t t e r f o r
s e r i o u s o p e r a t i o n s r e s e a r c h : a t t e m p t i n g t o d i s
c o v e r t h e b e s t mat c hup t e c h n i q u e s a m o n g t hi ngs
t h a t n e v e r r e a l l y fii t o g e t h e r , d e t a i l f o r de t a i l ;
t r y i n g to fi nd o u t , b y f ol l owup q u e s t i o n n a i r e s ,
what t r a i t - m a t c h i n g s s e e me d t o p r o d u c e t h e best
r e s u l t , e t c . But a uc h s e r i o u s m a t c h u p - f u n c t i o n
r e s e a r c h r e m a i n s , so f a r a s I k n o w , t o b e even
p e g i m.
Obvi ous l y t h e r e a r e s e v e r a l p r o b l e m s .
De mogr aphi eal l y i t i s al most n e v e r t r u e t h a l
" f or e v e r y man t h e r e ' s a woma n11- - i n e v e r y
a g e - b r a c k e t t h e r e ' s almost a l w a y s a n i mb a l a n c e
of t he o ppos i t e s e x i n l he c o r r e s p o n d i n g el i gi bl e
a g e - b r a c k e t , e i t h e r too many o r t o o f e w . But
more t h a n t h a t , t h e r e i s l i t t l e l i k e l i h o o d t h a t
t h e t r a i t s women want a r e a d e q u a t e l y r e p r e s e n
t e d among t he a va i l a bl e m a l e s , o r v i c e v e r s a .
Fo r i n t r o d u c t i o n s e r v i c e s i t s o b v i o u s l y wo r s e :
t h e r e i s no b a l a nc e l i ke l y b e t w e e n w h a t c omes
in one do o r and wh a t comes i n t h e o t h e r . The
s e r v i c e can only do i t s b e s t w i t h t h e a v a i l a b l e
pool of p e o p l e - - a nd make b e l i e v e i t ' s s omehow
made i deal by t he u s e o f t h e c o m p u t e r . I t s
l i k e an employment office: a p p l i c a n t s d o n t
mat ch o p e n i n g s .
Numer ous o t h e r d a t i n g s e r v i c e s h a v e a p
p e a r e d , some of whi ch d o n ' t e v e n p r e t e n d to
u s e t he comput e r ( a nd o t h e r s w h i c h c l a i m to
b e a r e g i s t r y f o r n o n s t a n d a r d s e x u a l a p p e t i t e s ) ,
b u t none t h a t ' s got t en t he a t t e n t i o n o f t h e o r i g
i na l Pr oj e c t Match.
But t h e r e s no qu e s t i o n w h o g o t t h e b e s t
d a t e s out of t ha t o n e . J e f f T a r r .
x / o V
DO YOU GOT RHYTHM?
A de vi ce c al l ed t h e BI O- COMPUTER ( t r a d e
ma r k ) p u r p o r t e d l y h e l p s y o u p r e d i c t y o u r "body
b e a t s , " t e l l i n g you wha t d a y s a r e t h e r i g h t sor t
o f time to do p a r t i c u l a r t h i n g s i n t e r m s 1o f y o u r
own bi ol ogi cal e n e r g i e s . T h e o b j e c t c o s t s $15
po s t p a i d from BIO-COMPUTER, D e p t . CLB/ DM
( why n o t ? ) , 964 T h i r d A v e . , NY NY 1 0 0 2 2 .
Th e q ue s t i on wi t h a l l s u c h s p e c i a l p u r p o s e
d e v i c e s " f i s h i n g c o m p u t e r s , " h o r s e - r a c i n g
c o mp u l e r s , e t c . , i s a l wa y s w h e t h e r t h e t h e o r y
a nd f or mul as whi c h a r e b u i l t i n t o t h e m a r e c o r
r e c t . T h e r e i s no r e a d y wa y t o t e l l .
ASTROFLASH. e t c.
T h e r e a r e v a r i o u s c o mp u t e r i s e d a s t r ol ogy
s e r v i c e s . Gi v e n y o u r d a t e o f b i r t h , a n d hour
I f k n o wn , t h e y ' l l t y p e o u l y o u r s i g n s , e x p l a n '
a t i o n s , e t c . Pr e s u ma b l y t h e r e Is a i * t net wor k
w h i c h t h e s y s t e m s e l e c t s a mo ng a c c o r d i n g t o
" r e i n f o r c i n g t e n d e n c i e s , " e t c . , among t h e e nt i t i e s
t h o u g h t to b e i n f l u e n t i a l .
Co n c e i v a b l y t h i s c o ul d do n i n e - l e n t h s o f
w h a t a t a l e n t e d huma n a s t r o l o g e r d o e s , and wi t h
t h e aaroe v a l i d i t y , w h a t e v e r l ha t may b e . In
a n y c as e i l ' s p r o b a b l y a l o t c h e a p e r .
Thia is an outrageous misnomer. The
computer is only c a r r yi ng out, most speedi l y,
what hardened politocoes have always done:
FACTIONAL ANALYSIS, now possible with new
found precision on the basis of certain election
r e t u r n s .
C OM P UT -
E R OT I C A
I s i t t oo soon t o r a
c o n p u t e r por nogr aphy c o n t e s t ?
( I s I t t o o l a t e ? )
See p .
This is based on the cynical, and fairly
reliable, view lhat people vote according to
what faction of the gr eat er populace Ihey belong
to-- middle-class white l i ber al s, blue-collar
non-union members, and so on. The factions
change slowly ove r time, and people move
among t hem, but t he fact of factionalism remains
unchanged.
Well. By the close of a major election
campaign, most factions can be pretty well p r e
dicted, especially aa lo presidential choice, or
what proportion of that faction will go for a
given candidate.
But some factions' reactlona a r e not c e r
tain up to the day of the ballot.
So. "Computer predictions" of elections
basically break t he country into its factional
divisions, stale by stale and district by d i s t r i c t ,
and then tabulate who can be predicted to vole
for whom on a factional basis.
Then what ' s the suspense?
The suspense comes from the uncertain
factions gr oups whose final reactions a r e n ' t
known as t he election st ar t s.
People think computers are rigid
and invariant. This (as stated else
where in this book) is due to the systems
which people have imposed, and then
blamed, on the computer.
The fact is that computers are now
being set up to give new flexibility to
manufacturing processes. Computers,
directly connected to milling machines,
grind raetal into any conceivable shape
much faster than a human craftsman. To
change the result, change the program--
in a fraction of a second. Fabric des
ign has been done on computer screens;
the obvious next step is to have the
computer control the loom or knitting
machine and immediately produce what-
ever*s been designed.
Custom clothing: soon we may look
forward to tailoring services that store
your ilieasurements and can custom-tailor
a suit for you to any new fashion, in
minutes. (But will the price beat Hong
Kong?) Customized printed matter is
already here (see "Me-Books," p-7).
Wherever people want individual varia
tions of a basic manufacturing process,
computers can do it.
- v v -
Th e T e l e p h o n e Co mp an y ( at l e a s t i n
I l l i n o i s a n d I n d i a n a ) o f f e r s a s p e a k e r on
" T h e Sh a do wy Worl d of El e c t r o n i c Snoo pi n g "
t o i n t e r e s t e d g r o u p s .
Ce r t a i n e l e c t i o n d i s t r i c t s a r e kn own to
be c hock f ul l of t h e t y p e s of pe opl e wh os e r e a c
ti on i s n ' t k n o wn .
Th e f i nal " c o mp u t e r p r e d i c t i o n " s i mp l y
c o n s i s t s of c h e c k i n g o ut how t hos e d i s t r i c t s
v o t e d , c o n c l u d i n g how t hos e f ac t i o ns a r e g o i n g
i n t h e p r e s e n t e l e c t i o n , a nd e x t e n d i n g t h i s p r o
p or t i o n t h r o u g h t h e r e s t of t h e c o u n t r y .
It' B of t en p a i n f u l l y a c c u r a t e - - b u t . t h a n k
g od. not a l wa y s . When it i s n t d o n t bl ame
"t he c o mp u t e r - " T h a n k human c a n t a n k e r o s i t y .
THt W ( W eC K p ureo o riei^
may o r may not be a real computer friends
have told me i t i s n t but its certainly a good
Idea.
When you pull your late-model Volkswagen
into a deal er ' s ser vi c e area, the guys can juat
roll out a cable and plug it inlo the corresponT
ding socket i n yo u r vehicle, Al the ol he r end
of the cable la some sort of device which t e s t 9
a series of special ci r cui t s t hroughout the c a r
for Good Condition. These ci r cui t s indicate
that things a r e working pr oper l y l i ght s , pl u g s ,
points, br akes and so on.
This i s the same technique uaed by NASA
up to the final moment of COMMIT LAUNCH-- a
system of ci rcui t s monitors lhe conditions of
whatever can be monitored, to malte s ur e al l ' a
functioning well. I t ' s more expensi ve to wi r e it
up lhat way, bul it makes checking out the
rocket o r t he c a r lhat much easier.
Modern menage, s h e 2 9, I n t e r e s t e d
i n r e c u r s i v e r e l a t i o n s and r e v e r s e
P o l i s h c u l t u r e . Phone a must .
Co nt a c t bo* RS-232 {& se e p . J>MW),
BETCHA DIDN'T KNOW...
t h a t the IRS hasn' t been able to do Instant
ma t c hi ng of W-2 forme to tax r e t u r n s . That'll
b e fixed in fiscal '74, and Interest and dividend
psyme nl s i n '75. (TIME, 31 Dec 73, 17.)
SIC TRANSIT
Some of the zap pier new Urban Tr a ns i t
Systems give you a ticket with a magnetic s t r i pe
on the back. Each time you r i d e you must push
the card into an Entrance Machine, which p r e
sumably does something to the s l r i pe , til l finally
the ticket r uns out and you have to pay more
money.
Secrecy of t he r ecording code i s an impor
tant aspect of the t hi ng. Indeed, waggish gossi p
claims lhat some such systems start with a bl ank
magnetic st ri pe and j ust add stuff to i t , meaning
the card can be washed clean with a magnet by
larcenous commuters. Bul this seems unlikely.
/
YOUR AUTOMOBILE COMPUTER
DIdja know, h u h , we' re going to have /
computers in o u r c a r s ? We r e f er her e to two
t hings
a n l i - s k i d c ont r ol l er s, which ar e r eal l y
j us t special c i r c ui t s - - you kn o w,
"analog comput ers"-- to compensate
among skidding wheels. T u r n s oul
t hat t hi s i s apparently more s e n s i
tive and reliable lhan even y o u r good
d r i v e r s who enjoy cont rol l i ng ski ds,
Already advertised for some i mports.
gr a nd bua electronics ( see p . f ) . Since
l he el ectrical part of the automobile
i s gelling ao blamed compl i cat ed.
the Detroit Ironmongers have decided
to switch to a grand bu6 s t r u c t u r e
instead of having all those switches
and things separate anymor e , Should
make l he whole Ihing f ar e a s i e r to
ser vi ce and customize.
Presumably thia will all be
un d e r t he control of a mi cr opr oces s or .
(See p - -) Ttlia means thal the
c a r can have t hi ngs like a Cold-
Weather Startup Sequence a program
thal s t a r t s the c a r . t u r n s on the
hea l e r , monitors lhe e ngi ne and
cabin temper at ur e, and bl eat s l he
h o r n , twi ce, politely when i l ' s all
r e a dy- - all al a lime p r e s e t by the
dashboar d clock.
Presumably Detroit i s not yel
pl anni ng lo go t hi s f a r , But because
of the auto i ndus t r y' s anomalously
huge i nfluence in America, some have
e xpr essed the fear lhal t h i s move
- - toward the i n t e g r a t e d - c i r c u i t ,
digitally-controlled gr a nd b u s
would effectively put Detroit i n con
t r ol of t he ent i r e elect r oni cs i n d u s t r y .
The e v e r - c l e ve r J apanese a r e computerizing
f as t e r , bel t er and more deeply t han we a r e ,
They now have a pr ot ot ype t axi operat i ng
unde r computer control- Theyr e calling i t , al
l east for e xpor t , Computer-controlled Vehicle
System (CVS),
Basically i l ' s like an Elevated Railway
you climb up and wail bul when you get i n,
you punch a button for yo u r dest i nat i on. Accor
di ng lo Hideyuki Hayaahi o f the Mi ni st ry of In
d u s t r y and International Tr a de , the system will
be operational i n Tokyo within t he decade, and
is t he "cl eanest , safest, qui ckest t r a n s p o r t sys
tem e ve r devised by man." Thi nk f a s t , Detroit,
(A nice point: one of the mosl important
f eat ures of s u c h a system i s that t he vehicles
don' t r e a d to each o t h e r , as do vehicles i n the
exi st i ng Human-controlled Vehicle System (HVS).
A whole line o f the c a r s can be accel er at ed o r
slowed simultaneously, a c r uci al aspect of t he i r
flexibility and safety. Nothing can po6sibry
go l ong. )
(Leo Clancy, "Now-- Computer-Controlled,
Dr l ve r l e s s C a r s , " National En q u i r e r 9 Mar 74,
24- 5. )
THOSE THINGS ON THE RAILROAD CARS
As we lean on the fence a- chawi n' an'
a-wal chi n' t he t rai ns go b y , we note str ange
insi gni a on t h e i r si des, in highl y reflective
Scotch-Lite all begrimed by tr avel .
Basically i l ' s a stack of horizontal s t r i p e s
In r e d , blue and other col or s . Th i s ia ACI,
f or Automatic Ca r Identification. It may yet
st r ai ght en out the r ailroads.
In t hi s neolithic i n d u s t r y , it ia not known
at any given time where a rai l road company' s
c ar s a r e. and some pe cul i ar et i quet t e governs
t h e i r unr equesl ed use by o t h e r f i r ms i n the
i n d u s t r y . Yet t he obvious solution may come
about: a r u n n i n g i nventory of whe r e all t h e c ar s
a r e , where each one is goi ng, whal s in It ,
and who that belongs t o, Bul, of c o u r s e , t h a t ' s
still i n t he wor ks. Revolutionary i de a s t a ke lime.
75
me s s s
The nat i onal phone company (usual l y
cal l ed aff ect i onat el y, "Ma Bell") has dr a s t i c a l l y
changed i t a s wi t c hi ng methods i n t he l a s t few
y e a r s . They a r e r e pl aci ng the old e l ect r omech
ani cal s wi t c h e s , o r " c r o s s b a r s , " with a new
device called t he ESS, or Electronic Swi t chi ng
System. If t h e r e ' s one in y o u r a r e a you may
he a r about i t I n t h e i r j ol l y news sheet t h a t you
jet with the b i l l .
In t he ol d c r o s s b a r da ys , a phone con
nection was a phone connection and t hat was
t h a t . Now. wi t h t he ESS, all s o r t s of new com
bi nat i ons a r e possi bl e: t he ESS has s t o r e d p r o
gr ams that de t e r mi n e ils oper at i on. If you
dialled a n o n- wor ki ng number , i t jumps to a
progr am to t ake c a r e of lhal. It does all s o r t s
of t h i n g s b y spe c i a l pr ogr a m, and new pr o g r a ms
can be c r e a t e d f or speci al pur pos e s . Now t he
phone company i s t r y i n g to find t he s e r v i c e s
lhat people will pa y f o r . Having cal l s r e r o u t e d
tempor ar i l y l o o t h e r number s? Linking up
seve r a l peopl e i n a conference call? St or i ng
your most -cal l ed number s, so you can r e a c h
them with a s i n g l e o r double digit?
These p a r t i c u l a r s e r vi ces a r e now bei ng
offered e x p e r i me n t a l l y ,
The way i t wor ks i s t hi s: t h e r e a r e a
number of p r ogr a ms s t or ed in a cor e memory;
the onl y "out put devi ce" of the system c o n s i s t s
of i l s fi eld of r e e d swi t ches, a r r a nge d to cl ose
c i r c u i t s of t h e tel ephone net work.
Depending on the number s t hat h a v e been
di al l ed, and what not , the ESS jumps to a speci f i c
pr ogr am, and t hat tel l s it to connect an i ncomi ng
call to p a r t i c u l a r ot he r c i r c u i t s , o r to r i n g o t h e r
l i n e s , o r w h a t e v e r .
I t ' s r e a l l y neat .
Ther e a r e onl y a couple of t hi ngs t o wor r y
a b o u t .
One i s t ha t it makes wi r et a ppi ng, not a
complex bot he r i nvol vi ng clipped wi r es a nd men
hunched over in cramped spa c e s , but a s i mpl e
pr o g r a m.
Another i s l hat some people t hi nk t ha t
bl ue - boxer s (see n e a r by) may be able to pr ogr am
it , from the comfort of i he i r own home6. Mean
ing lhat not j u s t cour t - a ut hor i z e d wi r e t a p s , b u t
Joe Schmoe wi r e t a p s , would be pos s i bl e . Le t ' s
hope not.
Thi s has been around for deca de s , and
has not hi ng to do with comput e r s , but i s n ' t it
nice?
You write with a pen at t ached by r ods
to a t r a ns mi t t e r ; somewhere e l s e , a pen attached
by r o d s l o a r e c e i v e r dupl i c a t e s what you have
w r i t t e n .
What i s being t r ansmi t t ed cons i s t s of the
me a s ur e d sideways motion ( " c ha nge ln x n) , the
me a s ur e d up- and- down motion ( " change in y " ) ,
and t he condition of the pen ( " up" o r "down") .
What would these da ys be called "t hr ee analog
c ha n n e l s , multiplexed on a 9ingle l i ne . "
These onl y cost a couple of h u n d r e d d ol l a r s .
Why has nobody been usi ng them f o r computer
i nput ?

Sugar Cr eek. Texas will have 3000 homes

with a minicomputer-based alarm s yst em. Evidently
va r i ous automatic se ns or s around each house sni f f
f or f i r e s and b u r g l a r s , ss well as pr o v i d i n g pani c
but t ons for medical emer genci es .
The system uses dual Novas (one a b a c k u p ) ,
and p r i n t s out the news to fire a nd pol i ce d i s pa t c he r s
on a good old 33ASR Tel et ype. ( Digital Desi gn,
May 73 , 16 . )
It was a t r ul y s t e l l a r gr oup t hat r e p o r t e d to
J u dge Sirica on 15 Jan 1974 t hat t he 18-mlnule
Watergate tape buzz had at l e a s t five s t a r t s a nd at ops.
The s i x panel i st s incl uded;
Richard B o l t , a f ounde r of
Bolt, Ber anek and Newman, Inc.
Fr ankl i n Co o p e r , head of
Haski ns Laboratories, )
Thomas Sl oc kha m, audi o r e s y n t h e s i z e r
e x t r a o r d i n a r y ( s e e p . ^ M )
The ne ws , however , g e n e r a l l y r e f e r r e d to
them as "t e c hni c i a ns ."
out OF THOSt h W
"Overpay your phone bi l l b y one c e n t .
It d r i v e s t he comput er c r a z y . "
Nope. The amount of payment get s
p unched i n and goes t hr ough t h e g e a r s
q u i t e nor mal l y.
If you want to p u t t oget her y o u r own c o mp u i e r - o n - a - c h i p ,
or any o t h e r complex i nt e gr at ed c i r c u i t , a complete simulation-
ver i f i cat i on- l ayout - and- f abr i cat i on s e r v i c e i s avai l abl e from
Motorola, Semiconductor Product s Div. . P . O . Box 20924, Phoeni x,
Arizona. Pr esumabl y ii costs a mint, but af t e r t ha t you can r oll
oul yo u r c i r c u i t s l i ke cooki e s .
Your c i r c u i t i s overlaid on t he i r be e h i v e - c h i p of logical
s u b c i r c u i t s , cal l ed a Polycell. You use t h e i r MAGIC language
(Motorola Automatically Generat ed I n t e gr a t e d C i r c u i t s ) , which
t hen feeds a r e s u l t i n g ci r c ui t data s t r u c t u r e t o a pr ogr am called
SIMUL8 (yuk y u k ) lo t r y out t he c i r c u i t wi t hout b u i l di ng it.
That way you can s upposedl y be s u r e b e f or e they make t he final
m a s k s .
1 al ways f i gur ed that t he day of Computer
Hobby ism would a r r i v e when t h e fol ks al Healhklt
off er ed a bu i l d - i t - y o u r s e l f c omput er . But you
know whal they came oul with i nst e a d Iasi ye a r ?
A g e n e r a l int er f ace f or hooking t hi ngs to t he PDP-8.
a swell video game now in b a r s , p r oba bl y
c ont r ol s t he f o u r - pl a ye r p i ngpong on t h e s c r e e n
with a mi nicomputer o r mi c r o p r o c e s s o r .
Especially e x c i t i n g i s t he soci al p o s s i
bi lity of horizontal s c r e e n s for o t h e r f un i n t e r
per sonal stuff. As well as col l abor a t i ve wor k.
(But boy, l e t ' s hope t he r adi a t i on s h i e l d i n g i s
good. )
O
o
The Computer Diet b y Vincent Antoneiti (Evans P u b . )
ehowB t he aut hor si l t i ng on t he d e s kpl a t e of a 360 c onsol e.
The Inside c onsi st s p r i n c i p a l l y of c h a n s h e recom
mends for weight l o s e . " The power of a modern di gi t a l
computer" I nt erpolated t he t a b l e s . A s l i de r u l e mi ght have
have been si mpl er .
The t hi ng i s , he p r e s e n t s a p a p e r on t h e t he r mo
dynamics of weight l oss whi c h may b e i mpor t ant ; i n t h i s he
s t st es t he difference e qua t i ons whi ch a r e t he h e a r t o f h i s
di et . And t hese may i nde e d be p e r f e c t l y v a l i d. So why not
call it what it i a , The Ther modynami c Diet?
^ --------------------------------------- v -
Kirk Br a i ne r d, of L . A . , i s u s i n g compu
t er s f or a r e g i s t r y of pe opl e with some t hi ng to
teach. He hopes that i f peopl e a r e mut ual l y a -
vailable to each ot he r at a de e p eno u g h l e v e l ,
people can begin to act out of a l t r u i s m i n g e n e r a l .
Mi ni co mp u t er a h a n d l e v a r i o u s
c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n s i n o u r mi ght y
new A e r o p l a n e s and S h i p s o f

*
I y
*Vf-^o(xs
Would you b e l i e ve t ha t t he gr ea t e s t a vai l
able compui er s e r v i c e ia f o r t he ki ddi es?
Fo r f our b u c k s a nd a h a l f , an outfit called
Me-Books will s e n d , to a c hi l d you desi gna t e ,
a s t o r y of which he is t he h e r o , i n which hi s
f r i e n d s a n d s i b l i n g s a p p e a r , a nd whose action
i nvol ves h i s a d d r e s s a nd b i r t h d a y .
Kida ador e i t . Ch i l dr e n who dont l i ke
r e a d i n g t r e a s u r e t he vol umes; c h i l d r e n who do
like r e a d i n g l ove them Just a s much.
1 can pe r s ona l l y r e p o r t , at l east on the
b a s i s of t he one 1 o r d e r e d (My Fr i endl y Giraffe)
lhat t h e st or y i s beaut i f ul l y t hought ou t , warm,
l ovi ng, a nd cl e ve r l y pl ot t e d. In o t h e r wor ds ,
f ar from be i ng a f a s t - buc k s c he me , t hi s thi ng
has b e e n done r i g h t . I t ' s a s pl e ndi d c h i l d r e n ' s
s t o r y . (1 won' t r e v e a l t h e p l o t , b u t the Gi raffe' s
b i r t h d a y , name and home a d d r e s s a r e r e l a t e d
to t hose of t he p r o t a g o n i s t . )
Mor eover , it has t h r e e - c o l o r i l l us t r a t i ons ,
i s on e x t r a - h e a v y p a p e r a nd i s bound i n ha r d
(In ca s e y o u ' r e i n t e r e s t e d , any of t he
t hr e e pr ogr ammi ng l a n g u a g e s expounded e a r l i e r
i n t he book would b e s u i t a b l e f o r c r e a t i n g a
Me-Book: de pe ndi ng on t h e l a ngua ge c hos e n,
t he hol es left for t he c h i l d ' s own name would b e
al pha be t i c v a r i a b l e s , segment g a p s o r nul l a r r a ys
a n y h o w, you could do i t . )
Ast ut e r e a d e r s of l he Me-Book will note
that whi l e i l ' s not r e a di l y o b v i o u s , only t he lines
on whi c h per sona l i z e d i nf or mat i on a ppe a r have
been p r i n t e d i n t he c o mp u t e r ' s l i n e p r i n t e r . The
o t h e r s have al l been p r e - p r i n t e d on a p r e s s .
I ndeed, t he p e r s ona l i z a t i ons a p p e a r on onl y one
s i de of each pa g e , t he whol e book be i ng one
l ong web of p a p e r t h a t ' s r u n t hr ough Ihe l i ne
p r i n t e r j u s t once bef or e b e i n g cut and bound.
But i t s so cl e ve r l y wr i t t e n a n d laid oul that the
st or y moves on be a ut i f ul l y e ve n on the pages
lhat d o n ' t mention t he c h i l d ' s name.
As an e xpe r i me nt , t h e a u t hor t r i e d sending
f or a copy of Fr i e n d l y Gi raffe as told about
a l i t t l e boy named T r i c k y Dick Ni xon, r e s i di ng
at 1600 Pe nnsyl vani a Avenue in Washington, D.C.
Th e r e s u l t was e xt r emel y g r a t i f y i n g , and well
wor t h t he $4. 50. Herewi t h some e x c e r p l s .
PERSONALIZED ME-BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE:
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As Sani as helper, your child
visits Ihe Sanias ol the dillc' oni
countri es and learns Ihe tr ue
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About those ftinny a umbers
on ycup checks.
You will note that all ba nk checks now
have f unny-looking number s along t he i r bottoms.
They go l i ke this:
The numbers ar e odd but recogni zabl e.
The last f our t hingies a r e punctuation ma r ks,
which presumabl y can mean anyt hi ng t he pr o
grammer wants them to. (In ot he r wor ds,
f r a nkl y, 1 d o n ' l know I hei r names o r s t andar d
f u n c t i o n s . )
The name of t he s e numbe r s i s MIGA,
which st ands for Magnetic Ink Cha r act er Hecor-
d i ng. They a r e pr i nt e d in magnetic i n k nol
magnetic s o ' s you could r ecor d on i t , l i ke mag
net i c t a p e , b u t chock full of i r on and vitamins
s o that as i t s blobs whiz pasl a special read
he ad, Ihey cause a specific sequence of pul ses
i n the pa r al l el ci rcui t s of the r e a d head thal can
b e decoded as Ihe specific number o r mar k.
The MICE system was d e s i gne d i n t he
l at e fifties, with t he t echnology conveni ent al
thal lime, and would cer t ai nl y not be designed
t ha t way now. Never t hel ess, these wei rd-l ooki ng
symbols have i ns pi r ed va r i ous
H I D J C UJ . DJ S T V P E - F f l C E S ,
which appar ent l y look lo t he publ i c l i ke t he
l at est holcha whizbang zi ppi t y up - t o - d a t e f ut ur
i st i c stuff, even though t o lhe knowledgeable
pe r s on they br i n g back the l ale fifties. (In
fact t her e a r e no l et t er s in t he M1CR cha r a c t e r -
s e t . )
What, I hen (you may a s k) would symbols
desi gned for computers look l i ke i f Ihey had
been desi gned more r ecent l y?
We we r e Jusl get t i ng to t h a t . In feci ,
t he r e a r e two 6ueh a l pha be t s , cal l ed OCR (for
Optical Char act er Recognition). They have
been st andar di zed so ever ybody can des i gn
equipment a n d / o r pr ogr ams to work with them.
They a r e called the A and B optical Tonis, or ,
for completeness, OCR(A) and OCR(B).
They t 2 ve r y di s a ppoi nt i ng.
OCR (A) is a l ittle s e x i e r . At l ea s t it
looks l i ke something. (Evidently i t ' s sl i ght l y
ea s i e r to deal wilh and des i gn f o r . ) Bul the
ot her one. OCR(B), j u s l looks like the alphabet
next door . Here they a r e .
ABCDEFGHI JKi n
NOPf l RSTUVUXYZ
Q1 2 3 4 5 b 7 f i T
. , : i = + / $ * "
~ t y / . f f v r i
O n X 0 M J U V
1234567890
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
abc de f gh i j k Lm
n o p q r s t u vw x y z
* + - * / .
? ! C X > C 3 X # M *
n $ | M ---------
, 3**SJ005
: u i ,
. v s ; ?
S S S r ^ e r s
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For additional Me-Books1" written around a child ol your choice, compl ete an
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50c lor post age and handling. (Calil resi dents add 20C lor sales tax.) Be sure
to stale which Me-Book you desire and include lhe following miormahon
P EI S WH Uf E D STOUT DATA
MMiluninfountbon MMbii nol Jttitibfe at noI wphuw LCMCBUM this iha.m.nij iloi, -ill IXwmion,<houl it
pmm CUARLT.ontthiuclirpti enu andonespjctteimniroiiu KumpK
il nol tneutii iw<. Jbbitmjit
CMgthmuMcK x u w _ ______________ lnlw* _ *
.............................. - c-
Wi - - ................ ...................... .... . . . . . . sum ______tip(k
*01nut ^ % ~ 8* * * Ml > w 1I wM* t a t f k t i i 0. m u 11
............ .................- ! ; ------------------------------ - * - ................. -
Dof :-t" *"
Cw i m 10 t pnumjiurt toot pUH
I i*< Ii* Vim I OidtK I___
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0 c e . . 1 . C i . * * U e i
fashing*^"' there lived a Ut-_e
na.ed Trick! Dick Hi*n-
, . a 1 U t t U ' , 0 "
H o i , T E i o S J i c l a a 3
boys and g i c l s
He had a d v e n t u r e s t h a t o t h e r -
j u s t dr eaa o f *
L i s i s t h e s t o r , c ( o* e o i h i s a d v e r . t n . e , .
As the giraffe caae closer and closer.
Tricky DicK started to wonder how in the
world he was going to look hia in the eye.
T r i c k y Di=K * . " " y J = 3 l e S U
F^aeciall* Pennsylvania fcvt-
Hashington. Bspecxax ,
r i I = t . b e c a u s e h e . a s a . e c y a , e U - . t l . -
. . . 7P l * a
B, c* *n a s h i n g t o n .
. h u , , l w l l
Ani witK =
r:r- ; -
TC;C 1 * - l . a h . ,
t h a t 4 1 I ; r o t o -
There would be aany other exciting adventures
foe Tricky Dick and his friends.
And aaybe, just aaybe, if you're a very good
boy, soaeday we'll tell you about tbose, too.
One or the wor l d' s moA exclusi ve elube
la aiao one of lie meet dismal. II le The Club
al n o n , , founded by I Ul l m busi nessman Aurello
Peccei . hsvlng (ss of 1972) some seventy mem
ber* from twenty-five count ri es.
Thei r concern t hey cell The Predicament
of Mankind. or the "probl emati que." It Is the
probl em of growt h, poll ut ion, population, and
Whsi's Happening In gener al .
On funds frora Volkswagen. they have
sponarMl st udi es which thi nki ng men can only
regard as the m a t dismal In portsnt of anything
we've seen in y e a n . Or ever .
BMlcalty the predi ct i on is lhal mankind
has perhaps forty or fifty year* left.
Not because of war . or bomba, or dir ty
b o t Im . or Divine r et r i but i on, but (or simple
ecomnl c reasons. However, the studi es are
often called "comput er st udi es . " because compu-
I t n a n Ihe viewing mechanism- by which we
have come to eee theae coming events.
MALTHUS AGAIN
In the ni neteenth cent ur y, e pessimistic
eeononlst named Thomas Malthus predicted thet
there would always be st ar vi ng people. because
people Increased geo m e t r i c a l l y expanding st
compound Interest, wit h a Used rale of Increase
creati ng an ever-Meeper growt h-- while agri cul
tural producti on, which muat feed us all, expands
arll hmet lcall y. not as a r al e but a few acrea or
improvement* al a time.
This meant. Ual ihus thought, thal there
would always be the et ar vl ng poor. For verlous
reasons ihls did not hsppen In Europe. Bul the
regret tabl e soundness of the general princi ple
persi st s: when ratea of food production can'l
Marl y keep up with r al es of popul ation growt h,
people are going lo et ar ve.
Thia Is basi call y the predicti on.
DYNAMIC MODELLING
Basically whal haa happened Is thia. One
Jay For r est er , of MIT. has for some year s been
st udyi ng 'dynamic models" of thi ngs, a new
breed of elmulation which couldnt have been
done without comput ers. And now dynamic
models of the worl d's e nt i r e economic sysiem
can be creel ed and t r i ed oul.
Basically dynamic models a n mathematical
complexes where t hi ngs change al rates lhal
change Ihemael ves over lime. For inst ance, the
more you eat , the falt er you get. and the fetter
you get. the hungr i er you are going lo be. Now,
Juat because this Is si mple lo ssy In words, and
aunde aa ihough mathemat icians would have had
aolved ihe whole cl ass of problems centuries ago.
that 's not how II la. The Int ricacy of auch
models, even for Juat a few vari abl ea. made It
Impossible to foresee what happens In such com
plexes e i t c l by techni ques of compuier enactment.
Forrest er, who has st udi ed such systems since
the fifties, haa become al er t to their problems
and sur prl aes. The culminati on of hl a work has
been a model of Ihe ent i r e worl d's economic
growth, agri cul t ure, populati on. Industrialization
and pollution; t hi s Is descri bed In his book
World Dynamics (Wrlght- All en. 1971).
The i n s i d i o u s p o r t e n t s o f F o r r e s
t e r s work d i d n o t go u n n o t i c e d . The
da nger s o f p o p u l a t i o n i n c r e a s i n g a t com
pound i n t e r e s t on a p l a n e t o f u nchangi ng
s i z e , and f u r t h e r d e r i v a t i v e s o f t h e s e
ch an g e s , s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h i n g s s i g h t be
g e t t i n g wors e t h a n anybody t h o u g h t . An
a l e r t I t a l i a n b u s i n e s s ma n b r o u g h t t o g e t h
e r a gr oup o f s c h o l a r s f r o a a l l ove r t he
wor l d t o s t u d y t h e s e p r o b l e a s , and c a l l e d
t h e gr oup The Cl ub o f Rome. T h e i r f i r s t
work i s o u t new, and i t i s v e r y s c a r y
and a l l t o o r e a l . The book i s c a l l e d The
H a l t s t o Growt h. ------
B a s i c a l l y what t h e y have done i s a
ve r y e l a b o r a t e c o a p u t e r s i m u l a t i o n ,
a o d e l l i n g t he e n t i r e economy o f t h e p l a n e t
i n t h e y e a r s t o come a s a s t r u c t u r e o f
r a t e s . They have t a k e n i n t o a cc ount
p o p u l a t i o n , f o o d - g r o wi n g c a p a c i t y , i n d u s
t r i a l g r owt h, p o l l u t i o n , anil a l o t o f
o t h e r t h i n g s . The a o d e l i s p r e c i s e and
e l a b o r a t e .
U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e f i n d i n g s a r e p r e
c i s e and s i mp l e .
They t r i e d a l l k i n d s o f a l t e r n a t i v e
f u t u r e s u s i n g t h e a o d e l - - what would
happen i f t h e b i r t h r a t e s were d i f f e r e n t 7
Wtat I f t h e r e wer e no p o l l u t i o n ? What
i f r e s o u r c e s wer e i n f i n i t e ?
The r e s u l t s o f t h e s i a u l a t i o n s aTe
al ways t h e s a a e .
Acc or di ng t o a l l t h e s i a u l a t i o n s ,
t h e huaan r a c e w i l l b e wiped o u t - - a o s t l y
o r c o m p l e t e l y - - by t h e y e a r 2100.
L e t ' s go b r i e f l y t h r o u g h t h e a o d e l .
Note t h a t I t c a n t be e x a c t , and we c a n ' t
know what y e a r s t h i n g s a r e g oi ng t o h a p
p e n . The c ur ve s t h e a s e l v e s - - t h e sha pe
o f t h i n g s t o c o a e - - t e l l t h e s t o r y a l l
t oo c l e a r l y . ( For t h o s e who would l i k e
a l i t t l e a o r e d r a a a w i t h t h e i r n u a b e r s ,
f i n d i n g t h e s e a a t t e r s t o o a b s t r a c t , I
s t r o n g l y r e c o a a e n d t h e v e r y b e a u t i f u l
I n d i a n f l l a " D i s t a n t T h u n d e r , " a s o r t o f
Mr. S a i t h S t a r v e s t o D e a t h . Or j u s t
s t i c k around a w h i l e . )
HUH?
The a o d e l a s s u a e s t h a t b i r t h r a t e s
s t a y r e l a t i v e l y c o n s t a n t i n p a r t i c u l a r
p a r t s o f t h e w o r l d , a n d t h a t new l and
and a g r i c u l t u r a l t e c h n i q u e s i n c r e a s e f ood
t I o n i n r e l a i i v l y w e l l - u n d e r s t o o d
Of c o u r s e , p o p u l a t i o n c o n t i n u e s t o
go u p , on t h e f a m i l i a r b u t d e a d l y c u r v e .
Ci vilization, and the bulk of mankind,
have about forty y e a n to l i v e . according to
certai n studi es (see p . 6 f i ) . The studies
are depreesingly good, although unfinished.
There are four possible things lo do.
1. Ignore It.
2. Deny ll .
3. Seek Individual salvat ion somehow.
Hide In a remote c orner. Lay in stores.
4. The glorious Oaraeout. Eat. drink
and be merr y, for tomorrow we die. Or
apocalyptic occultism, or whatever.
5. Work ster ling now. in what ever
dir ecti ons might , just mlghl. polm or con
tr ibute to a way oul. ______________________
V
r ^ ,
Now f o r t h e bad news. The r unni ng
r a t i o o f f ood t o p e o p l e , Food p e r C a p i t a ,
t a k e s n s udde n n o s e - d i v e . And t h e n so
does p o p u l a t i o n .
I
frightening, since the numbers plugged Inio Ihe
separate rune are merely hypotheses, to show
Ihe shape of Ihe consequences. II Is the overall
sel of r uns lhat is so gha s t l y, because they el-
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION
Now. it le important to clarify what is
hsppenlng here and what Is nol. Whal Is not
happening: an or acular pronouncement by "Ihc
computer. " showing some transcendental pr edic
tion by a superhuman Intelli gence. What is hap
pening: people are t r yi ng out separat e possible
assumpti ons lo see whsl thei r consequences are,
enacted by the compuier according to the economic
rulea they sel up. Reeull: always Ihe same.
Any set of rules , played out in the unst able
exploding-populat ion worl d beyond the seventi es,
appears to have similarly di r e resul ts.
WHAT HOPE IS THERE?
The original model is only an approxima
ti on. and Ihe basic r es ul t s , as publi shed in The
Limits to Growth (see box) reflect thoBc approx
imations. One of the things that can be done is
lo fill In and expand Ihe model more, to see
whether any hopes can be found in the details
and fine cracks which don'l appear from the
groas resul ts. And. of cour se, lo sludy and
r e- st udy ihe basi c findings. (Por Inst ance, a
small e r r or waa recentl y found: a decimal poini
was misplaced in the "poll uti on' calculati on.
leading lo an overstatement of Ihe pollut ion In
some of Ihe r uns . (But poll ution, remember, is
only part of Ihe problem.)
So there you are. This is a study of Ihe
greatest Importance. We may, Jusl may. be gel
li ng wind of things In lime lo change Ihe outcome.
(If only we knew how. Bul again, this sl udy
Is where serious discussion must begin. )
IBM IS BULLISH ON THE FUTURE
Lewis M. Branscomb. who has the awe
some lille of Chi ef Scientist of IBM, has been
giving numerous talks recentl y thal aeem to be
dir ected against pessimism r esul ting from the
Cl ub of Rome etudles.
"'On the shoulder s of ths Informstlen
processing community r est s Ihe r esponsi
bility for convincing the publi c thal we
have the tools. If 11 has the wUl. u> ad-
dreaa (he complex aystsma management
problems of Ihe f ut ur e. ' Branscomb said.
"'More than any olher profession
our community can r est ore Ihe public's
confidence that from Ihe limited resources
of Ihe worl d can be fashioned a life of
well-managed abundance for a l l . ' he
concluded."
(Keynote apeech, ACM 73. quoted
In Compuierworl d. 5 Sep 73. p . 4 .)
Now begins the winter of the worl d.
We are poisoni ng everything.
With so llllle time left , we are of course
expanding and accelerati ng ever y form of pollut ion
snd destructi on.
We are kil ling Ihe last of our beauti ful
br other *, the whalea. Jusl to provide marginal
amort ization of the whale-ahlpe that are going
to be scrapped anyway.
Item: euppcsedly the Sahars Desert was
mm- made, II Is growing fast.
Sel down upon this beauti ful planet , a
garden spol of the univers e, we are turning it
Into a poisoned pi gst y.
You and 1 may atarve lo death, dear r eader .
In some yesr fairly soon now, sround the l u m of
the c ent ur y. there will no longer be nearly e-
nough food for the teeming bill ions.
Thai , anyway, is whal the pr edicti ons Bay.
The predictl ona are compelling, nol becauae a
computer made them - - anybody can make a com
put er predict anything-- but because the prem
i ses from which Ihe predicti ons grow were
very well thought out.
It is now up to us lo make Ihe predicti ons
come out wrong.
Not by kil ling the bear er of bad tidinga.
o r by prelending they were not clearl y stated
but by seeing whal possible alternatives remain
in the few moments of real choice wc may yet
have- - scant yeara at besi.
To haggle now aboul ideology Is like a r
guing about who is dr iving while we a r c headed
toward a br ick wall with Ihe gas pedal jammed
lo the floor.
The publi c Ihlnks, "science will save us . "
a view al which many scientists sni cker bit t erly.
Perhaps we will be shr unk lo an Inch' a height,
o r fed on rocks, or gi ven gi ll s and super- kldneys
lo live in the ever-more-poisoned sea. Or per-
hapB we will do whal science says ot hers have
done: die out.
This science-wlll -save-us ostr ich-posll lon
is nicely exemplified by Albert Rosenfeld. Science
Editor of Saturday Revlew/ World.
Since '' science" has given us Ihe Boeing
747 and Ihe neutri no, neit her of which could
once, he I hlnks. have been imagined possible,
obviousl y (to him) science can do anything else
we Ihink is impossible! He fully imagines lhal
science will come up wilh something lo lake
car e of geometrically increasing numbers of
people. In pcrpetuily?
"Take a lesson from the neutri no. " he
says. "We can solve our pr oblems. ("Look
lo the Neutrino. Thou Doomsayer," Saturday
Review/ World. Feb 23 1974, 47.)
OTHER FUN
The growing diffision of weapons and
gr udges, and the great vulnerabil ity of almost
ever ything, a ssui e lhal terrorism and political
extort ion will will increase dramati cal ly for
Ihe foreseeable future. On the ot her hand,
whole economic blocs and i ndust ries have
lately mastered and demonst rat ed by example
how to hold Ihc country al bay in or der to
gel tf eil wishes: as everybody can sec what's
happening, and learn from it , the number of
wronching ul'pleasanlr.csses created by t err or ists
and indust ri es und interest blocs will irercjisi .
All these were CHbcntiully foreseen by
Thomas C. Schelling in his mast erl y i960 work.
The Strategy of Conflict. Schell ing formalizes
a theory of intimidation as pari of his sludy of
communicating adver sar ies. (His is a s t r uct ur al
r at her lhan a psychological sl udy. examining
Ihe properties of sit uations whet her or nol Ihoy
a r e psychologicall y perceived. Regrett ably,
percepti on of sit uations is improving all iho
Cousteau says Ihe oceana are dying
a lot f aster than he anticipat ed
- - and gives mankind fifty year s
after life ends Ihere.
Bul even if everything else were all r ight,
the Breeder Reactors are sur e to gel u s . 1 ref er
lo those wonder machines lhal Ihe el ectric com
panies are call ing Clean Energy for the Future.
Whal ia nol explained with such slogans is that
br eeder r eaciors nol only create ener gy, they
creat e atomic waate. breeding new fiaslonabl e
malarial-* including plutoni um. Plutonium ia
well named for the ged of hell . Chemically a
poison and radloacllvely a hor ror , il does nol
go away; wherever we pul i l. it will get back
The mere radiation from ihe atomic crap
is hardly the problem. The radioactive poisons
are gett ing Into the oceana. They are gett ing
Into Ihe clean waiers of the l and. (A December
1973 newa repor t, for Inslsnce. revealed lhal
a 1968 lesk of redloactlve chemi cals was inlo
the wat er aupply of Bloomfield, Colorado.) Now.
atomic enthusiasts call ii a Disposal Problem,
like the quest ion of where to bury the garbage.
But It' s a very different problem. Wherever we
pul It. It will come back. The see? No. that'll
be poisoned alt er the containers go. Deep wells?
The mountains? But Ihere is no pl ace thal can
not be guaranteed against earthquake and re*
cycli ng. It will come back. Though dozens of
generati ons mlghl survive ll , ii will be wailing.
But the br eeder reactors multiply ihls
output. Per haps we could survive Ihe ihe waste
for a few hundr ed year a. til l ii comes back out.
But the ot her part of ll is the fissionable material
which can be made into backyard bombs.
Thai ' s the kicker. Wilh more and more
fissionable crud being di sgorged, Ita availability
(or t er r or i st s who want lo build ihelr own In
creases. Ralph Lapp pointed out last year lhat
the s t ud was shipped In unguarded tr ucks, and
one or two good hij ackings would enable any
br ight kid to build his own dirty A-bomb. By
the year 2000 it is not inconceivable ihei bootleg
atomic weapons will be as widespread as hand
guns in Detroit -- and as much used.
But now. with the br eeder .reactors-- ir.
lots of countri es- - pouring the stuff out, the era
of atomic plenty Is here. The smaller countries
who wanl them are gell ing Ihelr atomic weapons
- - though holding back assembly of the parts ,
for vsrlous reasons. It la generally believed
among bomb-watchers, for Inatance. thal India
and Israel have their s anytime they warn.
Add this to the great avalanche of mlasilee.
tall and homy In Ihelr sll oa, ready to go on two.
laier thr ee or four, sides. (The U. S. official
arsenal now stands at Ihe explosive equivalent
of S bill ion tone of TNT. a ton of TNT for every
human being. And that's Jusl the explosive part ,
nol ihe fallout: a fract ion of these bombs could
destroy all life on earth by Us seething resi due. )
And now. because of the SALT lalks. we may
expeci a new and drast ic Increase of this Readiness
Posture. Koo boy. Whal Is there li sny.
So there It ia. folka. merry times ahead.
Humanity may end with a bang (thermonuclear
exchanges, or jusl desult ory firings urlll we' re
all poisoned o r st er i l e), or a whimper (universal
slbr vaiion) . o r . I would ant icipat e, some spaail c
combination of Ihe two. and all within Ihe (pos
si bl e) lifetime of Ihe average reader . This is,
al sny r al e , what I think most likely.
Except of course we won't see It happen
thal way. We'll watch Ihe st arvati ons on TV
(aa we did Blafra. Bangladesh, now West Africa,
wliai n e x t . . . India?), and isk aboul ihe poor
foreigners who can'l take car e of ihemaelves.
And as Ihe problems Increase and move toward
ouv hear tland, it 'll be blamed on envlronmentallats
and on Ihe news media, til l bang.
Or maybe not. Just maybe.
But we' ve all got lo gr l occcss lo the Club
of Home models, and look for holes or str ategies.
If compulcr modelling systems doing this ki nd of
work are made widely enough available, perhapa
some precocious gr adc-schooler or owlish hobbyist
will find some way out lhat Ihe others hsven't
hil o n . ..
We've gol to ihink har d about everything.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Frederick Pohl and C.M. Kornblulh. The Space
Merchant s. Ball anli ne. paper.
Thomas C. Schell ing. The St rategy of Conflict.
The Grcel American Bomb Machine (cit ation nol
handy) . Paperback.
A book call ed Cold Dawn (elut ion not handy:
originall y publi shed in Ihe New Yorke r)
pr esent s a most discouraging view of
Ihls c ount ry' s acti ons ir Ihe SALT isl ks.
One Access Catalog, not io be named here, gi ves
a recipe for an atomic bomb. Very funny,
ha ha. "The U-235 we are using, (alt hough
Plutonium will work jusl as well) is a
radioactive substancc and deserves some
c ar t i handling. It is NOT radioactive
enough lo ki ll with limited exposure, bul
don'l sleep with II or anyihing. " And so on.
Thanka a lot. fellas.
Ralph l.app had a piece in Ihc New York Times
Magazine Iasi ye ar , pointi ng oul thal
plulonl um le shipped In unguarded t r ucks
and l l ' s only a matt er of lim* before
pur. ks gel Ihcir hands on i l . ..
A piccc in a recent Esquir e. "Did There Ever
Come a Point in Time When There Were
For ty- Thr ee Different Theories about
Watergate? Yes. lo (he Best of Our
Recollecti on." is a very helpful general
s our ce, especially for those who suspeet a
connection beiween "Watergate" and Ihe
assassinat ions of Ihe Kennedys, Malcolm
X, Martin Lulher King. etc. But tor a
real chil l Bee "Mae Br ussell' s Conspiracy
Newslett er In Ihe March (?) 1974
Real i s t , as well ae ''Who Is Organized
Crime and Why Are They Saying Such
Awful Things Aboul I t . same issue.
Glen A. Love and Rhoda M. Love. Ecological
Cr i si s: Readings for Sur vival. Harcourt.
$4 ( pape r ) . A quick way lo catch up on
some bad stuff. Four bueks wel l spent.
William Lei ss. The Domination of Nat ure.
Br at i l l er . S7.
For a dazzling, romant ic and optimisti c view of
the f ut ur e, see Dimensions of Change by
Don Fabun (Glencoe Pr ess, 15 in p s pe r ) .
The Pulurlsl magazine goes oul to members of
Ihe World Fut ure Society. An Associat ion
for The Study of Alternati ve Fut ures.
Post Office Box 30369. Bethesda Branch.
Washington. DC 20014. The magazine
used to be prett y sappy and opUmlatlc.
bui seems lo be acquir ing sophisticati on.
Aonal d K o t u l a k , The L i f e b o a t b t h i c . *
Chi ca go T r i b u n e Ma g a z i n e , 28 Apr 74,
P e r h a p s t h e Cl u b o f Rone s t u d y s h o u l d be c a l l e d - -
T H E H O I F E * H t t C A T W 9 G -
*Z k r e .
P, My f e e l i n g f r ankl y i a t h i s .
That you know I - t hi nki n,
t o n i g h t a s I m b making up ny notes
f or t h i s l i t t l e t a l k , you know,
what t h e h e l l , i t * ! l -
d r a m a t i c , b u t i t n t o t a l l y t r ue
t h a t wh at happen# i n t h i s of f i ce
i n t h e n e t f ou r year a wi l l proba
b l y d e t e r mi n e whet her ther e i t a
c h an c e, a n d i t ' s never been don,
t h . t you c o u l d have sow. s o r t of an
uneaay p e a c e f o r t he next 25 years.
E . Uti huh.
<m*<sn t o Ehr lichnann. Apr 73.)
Thank y o u , Hr. Presi dent .
IT * Ht) W F
Donnel la H. Meadow*. Denni s L. Meadows. J d r -
gen Ran ti ers and William W. Behr ens III,
The Limits lo Growili: A Report for THE
CLUU OF ROME' S Project on the Pr edica-
mcfil of Mankind. Universe Books, p a per ,
J2.7S.
"Thi ngs a r e going io gel worse and worse
and never get any bet t er a g ai n .
attr ibuted lo
Kurt Vonnegut , J r .
FOLKS DON' T NEED THESE LTL SHMOOS! - -
THEY ALREADY GOT ONE TH' BIGGEST
SHMOO OK ALL- TIT EAHTH, ITSELF!
JEST LIKE THESE LI' L SIIMOOS. IT' S
READY T' CIVE EV' RYBODY EV' RYTHINO
THEY NEED?! EF ONLY FOLKS STOPPED
A-FIGHTIN' , AN' A-GRABBIN' - THEY' D
REE-LIZE THET THIS SHMOO-- TH' EARTH--
GOT PLENTY O' EVERYTHING--
FO' EV' RYBODY.'!"
- - Li' l Abner
(Al Capp, The Life and Times of The Shmoo,
Pocket Books. 1949, p p . 121-122.)
Hffkj free^s f y w j t ( W |r
- - - - I M iW 't)
H ' i i 1W f l ' f * J c Q ^ k r b k
OT2.
b h m z
HT f 'Mrf |*f [tl *s
A l l r i g i l t e r e s e r v e d .
Technology i s i n expressi on f man's dreams. I f man di d
Ht I ndul ge Ms f i f r t a Sl ^T. Tils thought s al one Mould I n h i b i t the
development o f technol ogy I t s e l f . Anci ent v i s i o n a r i e s spoke of
d i s t a n t ti mes and pl a c e s , where men f lew around and a bout , and
some could se e each ot h e r a t gr ea t d i s t a n c e . The t echnol ogi cal
r e a l i t i e s of today are al ready o bs ol e t e and t he f ut ur e of
te chnol ogy i s bound only by the l i m i t s of our dreams. Modern
communicat ions media and i n p a r t i c u l a r e l e c t r o n i c media are
outgrowt hs and e xt ensi ons of those senses which have become
dominant i n o ur s oc i al devel oi ment .
Hoo Wac h B p r e s a , "Hy{.e r - . ~ea i i ti<. "
Th i s i s t he ( l i p ai de o t Comput er L i b ,
(Peel f r e e io b e gi n h e r e . The ot h e r s i de
Is j u s t If y ou wanl t o know more about c o mp u t e r s ,
which a r e c h an g e ab l e d e v i ce s for t wi ddl i ng s ym
bol s . Ot he r wi s e s k i p i t . )
(But If y ou c hange your mind It might
be fun lo b r o w s e . )
In a s e n a e . t he o t h e r ai de has been a
come-on for t h i s a i d e. But i t ' s an honest come-
on: 1 f i g u r e t h e more you know, the r e a d i e r
y ou' l l b e f or wh at I'm aayi ng h e r e . Not neces-
sa r l l y t o a g r e e o r be na o l d . n but to t hi nk aboul
il In Ihe n on- ei mpl e t er ms l hat a r e goi ng lo be
n e c e s s a r y .
Th e mat er i al h e r e ha s been chosen l a r ge l y
for Ita e x h i l a r a t i n g a nd i nspi r at i onal c h a r a c l e r .
No mat t er whal y o u r backgr ound o r t echni cal
knowl edge, y o u ' l l be abl e to unde r s t and some of
t hi a , a n d not be abl e t o unde r s t and aome of the
r e s t . T h a t ' s p a r t l y from t he hast y pr ep a r a t i on
of I hi s bo o k , a n d p a r t l y from Ihe va r i e t y of In
t e r e s t s I'm t r y i n g t o compr i s e h e r e . I want to
p r es e n t v a r i o u s dr ea ms a nd I hel r r e s u l t i n g dr eam
machi nes, all l egi t i mat e.
If Ihe c ompui er Is a pr oj ect i ve s ys t e m, or
Ror schach I n k b l o t . ae al l eged on Ihe ot h e r s i d e ,
t he r e a l p r o j ec t i v e s y s t e ms - - Ihe ones wi t h p r o
j ect or s i n t h e m- - a r e al l Ihe more s o. The t hi ngs
peopl e t r y to do wit h movi es, TV and t he more
gl amor ous u s e s of t he comput er , wher eb y it makes
pi c t u r es on s c r e e n s a r e s t r a nge I nver s i ons
and f ol dover s of t h e r e s t of the mind and h e a r t .
Th at ' s Ihe p e c u l i a r or i gami of Ihe sel f.
Ver y wel l . Th i s boo k- - t hi s s i d e , Dream
Machi nes- i s meant to lei you see t he choi ce
of d r ea ms . Not i ng t ha t e v er y company a nd uni -
v e r s l t y seems t o I ns i s t t hal It s syst em i s the
wave of t he f u t u r e , I t hi nk il la more I mportant
lhan e v e r to ha v e Ihe al t e r na t i ve s s p r e a d out
c l e a r l y .
But t h e " e x p e r t s " a r e not goi ng lo be much
hel p; t hey a r e p a r t of t he pr obl em. On bot h
al dea, t he academi c a n d Ihe i n d u s t r i a l , t hey are
bei ng pai nf ul l y pont i f i cal a nd bombast i c In the
j a r r i n g new J a r g o n s ( see "Babelfa in Toyl and, "
p . *7 ) . Li t t l e c l a r i t y la spr ea d by t h i s . Pew
t hl nge a r e f u n n i e r l han Ihe pr et e ns i ons of t hose
who p r o f e s s t o d i g n i t y , s obr i et y and p r of e s s i on
al ism of t h e i r e x p e r t pr ed i c t i ons -- especi al l y
when t h e y , loo a r e p o u r i n g oul t h e i r own pe r s o na l <
vl ewa u n d e r t h e g ui s e of t echni cal i t y. Most pe o
pl e d o n ' t dr eam of wh at ' s going lo hi t t he fan.
And t h e c ompui er a nd e l ect r oni cs peopl e a r e l ike
ge n er al s p r e p a r i n g for Ihe l ast war .
F r a n k l y , 1 t hi n k i t ' a an out r age maki ng it
look as If t h e r e ' s a ny ki nd of sci ent i f i c baal a to
t hese t h i n g s : t h e r e ia an under l evel of t e c h n i c a l i t y .
but l i ke t he f oundat i on of a c at he d r a l , it s e r v e s
only t o s u p p o r t what r i a e s from It. THE TECH
NICALITIES MATTER A LOT, BUT THE UNIFYING
VISION MATTERS MORE.
fft mtft * M s -
If* Itteietr'jirfj /(r.
{ ' 4 s ' u" f t *'eK'
w e < K m u , s c u t u m
if hot w ourrrfie;
B o r i*i ovKifLvy.
L*dis and lenttemen. (he age ol
liahing is al
proenialka
>ul to befin. Palpitating
, r at t n-i ai bkM. will
ir daire, makinj mani-
f a l (he many mysteries of winding
wisdom. Bul if m ore lo ichuoaniB
an increaiungly brutal and dtiagJCg-
able world, we mual step up ou
efforts. And we must hurry Hurry.
Slap right up.
Theodor' M. Jel aon,
"3amun- Tr oni ce. "
Sugrt hnorc ' z l l e w
Al wv. i B u l l e t i n .
"When you're >. iS-35.
dealing wilh media youre in show businc-ii, you
know, whether you like il or nol.*
'Show bminnt,* he said. "Aknolutcly. Weve gotta
be in iliow bmim-iv We've gotta pul together a Icjm
llial will I'rl us ihere."
I nude a mental nole lo m<* Ihe ihow bmimn me
taphor aqain, anil runtmuoJ. IHMs rt jl cridlivc lil-
t*ii( niJ.jl.ly Ii. Vin uliicr w m ..
ic-jcood Gould, Corr el at i on
Freak ( Touerl , 2!.
Till s hook has se ver al sl n ul t,in.-ous Int vn-
c l on s : co o r i e n t ihe begi nner In f i e l d s norc
compl ex and t i e d t oget her than almost anybody
r e a l i z e s ; n e v er t h el es s , co p a r t i a l l y debunk
s e v e r a l r e a l o s o( e xp e r t i s e which I chink de
s e r ve s l i g h t l y l e s s a t t e n t i o n than t hey g et ;
and t o char t the r i g h t way, which I t hi nk uniquely
c ont I nues the Western t r a d i t i o n s of l i t e r a t u r e ,
s c h o l a r s h i p and freedom. In t h i s r es p e ct che
book I s much more old- f nshoned lhan I t may soon
a t t h e gee- whl z, vor y-nov l e ve l .
The main Ideas of i h l s book I pr es e nt nol
aii my own, buc j s ,1 c ur i ous s p e ci e s of r eveal ed
t r u t h . I i has . il l been obvious t o cie f o r some
t i n e , and I bell ev.- It should he obvious as wel l
to anyone who has not been bl i nded by educat i on.
I f you underst and the problems of c r e a t i v e t hi n k
ing and or gani zi ng i deas. I f you have seen che
had t h i n g s sehool so of t en does t o peop l e, If
you underst and che sociology of che I n t e l l e c t u a l
wor l d, and have ever loved a machi ne, t hen t h i s
book says not hi ng you Hn not know a l r e ady .
For e ver y d r e a m. many det ai l s a n d i n t r i
c ac i es have to be whi t t l ed and i n t e r l o c k e d . T h e i r
j oi nt r ami fi cat i ons muat be deepl y u n d e r s t o o d by
I he pe r s o n who i s t r y i n g to c r e at e w h a l e v e r - l t ' i s .
Each confabul at i on of pos s i bi l i t i es t u r n s out to
ha v e t he most I nt ri cat e a nd exact l y de t a i l e d r e s u l t s .
( Thi s i s why I am so i r r i t a t e d by t hos e who t hi nk
"el ect roni c media" are all a l i ke . )
And each possi bl e combi nat i on you choose
h a s di f f er ent pr ec i s e s t r u c t u r e s i mpl i ci t i n i t ,
a r r ange me nt s and uni t s whi ch (low from theae
r ami fi ed det ai l s . Impli cit in Radio l u r k t he
Ti me Sl ot and the Pr ogr am. But many of t hese
pos s i bi l i t i es remain unnot i ced o r u n s e e n , f or a
v a r i e t y of social or economi c r e a s ons .
Why does il matt er?
II mat t ers becauee we l ive In me di a , as
f i s h l i ve i n wat er . (Many peopl e a r e p r i s o n e r s
of the medi a, many a r e ma nl pul a t or a , a n d many
wanl to uae them to communicat e a r t i s t i c v i s i o n s . )
But t odayi al t hia moment, we can and mj at
d e s i gn Ihe medi a, deai gn t he mol ecul es of our
new wat er , and I bel i eve Ihe de t ai l s of t hi a de s i g n
mat t er ve r y deepl y. They wil l be wi t h u s for a
v e r y long t i me, pe r h s p s a s l ong as man ha s left;
p e r h a p s i f t hey a r e as good aa t hey c a n b e . man
may even buy more l i m e ' - or t he ope n - e n d e d
f ut ur e most s uppose r ema i ns . (See " Endgame ,
P. t * . )
So i n theae pa ges I hope t o o r i e n t you some
what t o va r i ous of t he pr oposed d r e a m s . Thi a ia
meant al so t o r ecor d the eff ort s of a few Br e ws t er
McCl ouds, each t i nke r i ng t oward some new fl i ght
of fancy i n hi s own s ensoar i um.
But be ar in mind t hat h a r d - e d g e d f ant asy
i 6 Ihe c or ne r of t omorrow. The g r e a t Ameri can
dr eam of ten becomes t he gr eat Ameri can novel t y.
Aft er whi ch i t ' s a choice of s t yl e, s i ze s n d f i n
anci ng pl an.
The most exci t i ng t hi ngs h e r e a r c t hose
t hal i nvol ve computers: not abl y, be ca us e compu
t e r s wil l embraced i n e ver y pr ea ent a t i ona l medium
a n d t hought f ul medium ve r y s o o n .
Th a t ' s why t hi s ai de ia wedded lo Ihe other:
i f you wanl t o unde r s t and c omput e r s . you can t ake
t he f i r s t st ep by t ur ni ng the book o v e r . 1 f i gur e
t hat t he more you know about comput e r s e s pec i al
l y about mi ni comput ers and Ihe way o n - l i n e s y s
t ems can r es pond to our sl i ght est a c t s - - t he bet t er
y o u r i maginati on can flow bet ween Ihe t e chni cal i
t i e s , can ali de the pa r t s t oge t he r , can d i s c e r n Ihe
s h a p e s of what you would have t he s e t h i n g s do.
The comput er i s nol a l i mi t l ess p a r t n e r , bul 11 i s
de epl y ver sat i l e; to work wil h il we muat u n d e r
s t a nd what ll can do, the opt i ons and t he cost s.
My speci al c once r n, all too l i ght l y framed
h e r e , i s the use of c omput ers lo hel p peopl e
wr i t e , thi nk and show. Bul I t hi nk pr eaeni s t l on
b y comput er i s a br s nch of show b i s a nd wr i t i ng,
nol of psychol ogy, engi nee r i ng o r pe dagogy.
T hi s would be Idle dis put at i on if It di d nol have
f a r - r e a c h i n g consequences for t he d e s i g n s of the
sys i ems we a r e all goi ng t o have to l i ve wi t h.
Al w o r s t , I fear these may lock us i n; a t b e s t .
I hope Ihey can f ur t her t he i ndi vi dual i s t i c t r a d i
t i ons of l i t er at ur e , film a nd s c h o l a r s h i p . Bul
we musl cr e at e our b r ave new wor l ds wi t h a r t .
z e s t , i nt el l i gence, and Ihe hi ghest pos s i bl e i deal 6 .
I have nol menti oned t he emot i ons. Movie6
a nd b o o k s . musi c and even a r c h i t e c t u r e ha ve for
al l of us been pa r t of i mpor t ant emot i onal moments.
The same i6 going lo happen wit h Ihe new medi a.
To wor k al a hi ghl y r esponsi ve comput e r di spl ay
s c r e e n , for I nst snce. can be deepl y e xc i t i n g ,
l i ke f l yi ng an ai rpl ane t hr ough a c a nyon, or
t a l ki ng to somebody br i l l i ant . Thi a i s aa it
shoul d b e . ("The r eason i s . a nd by l i g h t a ought
to be , sl ave lo Ihe emol l ona. " - - Be r t r a n d Rus s el l . )
In Ihe desi gn o r o u r f ut ur e medi a a nd s y s
t ems, we shoul d not shr i nk from t h i s emoti onal
a spect s s a legit imate pa r t of o u r f ant i c ( see p.
) de s i g n . The s ubst r at um of t echni cal i t i es
and (he mi nd- bendi ng, gut - al amml ng eff ect s Ihey
p r oduce , a r e two s i de s of the same coi n; a nd lo
u n d e r s t a n d t he one i s nol ne ce s s ar i l y t o be
al i enat ed from the ot her .
Thus il Is for Ihe Wholi ness of t he human
s p i r i t , t hal we musl de s i gn.
O O f * - 3!
L'S
d i + t f a o * . * - / a s , , -
Jure^sTfyqpr fjem
(" A J
AUTHOR' S COUNTERCULTURE CREDENTIALS
Wri t er , showman. ge ner al i s t . Gemi ni , moon in Li br a. Gemini r i s i n g .
Oneime s e vent h- gr ade dr opout . I have rel at i vel y lii ll e i nt e r es t i n i mpr ovi ng ihe educat i onal syst em wi l hi n t he e xi s t i ng f ramewor k.
Aut hor of what may have been wor l d' s f i r st rock musi cal , "Anyt hi ng a Ever yt hi ng. " Swsr i hmor e Col l ege . November 1957 (wi th Ri char d L. Ca pl a n)
Phot ographer for a y e a r at Dr . Li l l y' s dol phi n lab (Communi cati on Resear ch I nst i t ut e. Miami. F l o r i d a ) . At t endee of the Great Woodstock Fe s t i val
( li ke many o t h e r s ) , s n d it changed my life (as o t he r s have r e p o r t e d ) . What we a r e al l l ooki ng f or i s nol wher e we t hought it waa.
Lif el ong media nut Magazine col l ect or ; hung around TV st udi os a s a chi l d. Compulsive e xpl a i ne r . GimmicJsi by di s pos i t i on, comput err nan b y scci d e s t l n y
Lit
S f t C I A L _
i u r r i f H E t t r
T o T H C T H I t j ) r e i N V M
117s.
i w r u - M . W * *
Gee wh i z 4 f o l k s , h e r e we a r e a t a n o t h e r p r i n
t i n g and a l r e a d y t h e b i g c l o c k on t h e v a i l t e l l s
us t h a t a n o t h e r y e a r h a s g o n e b y .
T h i s s u p p l e me n t i s m a i n l y t h i n g s t h a t h a d t o
be m e n t i o n e d , b u t i t k i n d o f a s sumes y o u ' v e r e a d
t h e book i t s e l f o r a r e g e n e r a l l y f a m i l i a r w i t h
c o m p u t e r s . BOOKSTORE BROWSERS: a v o i d t h e s e f o u r
p a g e s - NEW OWNER OF THE BOOK: Check t h a t t h e
p a g e s a r e r i g h t , Tij i f.
SORRY THE TYPE STILL I SN' T BIGGER, b u t t h a t
w i l l r e q u i r e t h o u s a n d s o f b u c k s i n new n e g a t i v e s
meani ng a l o t more have t o b e s o l d a s i s -
f a * u c w * p o h $ e f i n m u m
The r e d o u b t a b l e PCC i s now s i i i s s u e s and s i x
d o l l a r s a y e a r . P e o p l e ' s Computer Coapany,
P. O. Box 310, Menlo P a r k CA 94025.
BYTE Ma g az i n e, $ 1 0 / y e a r i f y o u h u r r y , $12 l a t e r ,
f rom Gr een P u b l i s h i n g C o . , P e t e r b o r o u g h , NH.
E d i t o r i a l : C a r l He l me r s , Bo* 37 8 , Belmont
MA 02178. H a r d w a r e - o r i e n t e d .
C r e a t i v e Comput i ng: The Ma g az i n e of R e c r e a t i o n a l
and E d u c a t i o n a l Co mp ut i n g. I d e d me c r i c s ,
P. O. Box 789- M, M o r r i s t o w n , NJ >7960. Wei r d
v a r i e t y o f s u b s c r i p t i o n r a t e s : s t u d e n t $6,
" i n d i v i d u a l " $8, " i n s t i t u t i o n a l " $15.
The Computer H o b b y i s t . $ 6 / y e a r . Box 2 95, Cary NC
27511. H a r d w a r e - o r i e n t e d .
Computer No t e s ( f o r A l t a i r u s e r s ; f rom HITS).
Mi c r o- 6 N e w s l e t t e r , f o r p e o p l e r e a l l y i n t o t h e
I n t e l . Hal S i n g e r , C a b r i l l o Hi gh S c t o o l ,
43SO C o n s t e l l a t i o n , Lompoc CA 93436.
and also
S i m u l a t i o n and Gaming Ne v a . Bo* 3039 U n i v e r s i t y
S t a t i o n , Moscow, I d a h o 83843.
E l e c t r o n o t e s i a t h e ma g a z i n e f o r musi c s y n t h e s i z e r
f r e a k s . Be r n i e H u t c h i n s , 60 S h e r a t o n Dr i v e ,
I t h a c a NY 14850.
and somet hi ng e l s e e n t i r e l y ,
P r i v a c y J o u r n a l , a mo n t h l y n e w s l e t t e r on pr obl ems
o f p r i v a c y , many o r mos t o f whi ch I n vol v e
c ompu t e r s . P. O. Box 8 8 4 4 , Was hi ngt on, D.C.
20003; $15 a y e a r .
( Not e: I t i s o f i n t e r e s t t h a t a b i l l on comput er
p r i v a c y i n t h i a y e a r ' s House o f Re p r es e n
t a t i v e s J u a t ha pp en e d t o be HR 19S4. )
One i n d i v i d u a l I know, who r e l i s h e s h i s
c o u n t e r c u l t u r e I mage, t o l d me w i t h a n g r y and
sh a ki n g v o i c e t h a t h e d o e s n ' t b e l i e v e i n copy
r i g h t and t h a t a n y t h i n g t h a t g e t s n e a r h i s
compute r b e l o n g s t o hi m. W e l l , d o n ' t l e a v e
yo ur m a n u s c r i p t s n e a r a u c h a p e r s o n . (Why i s
I t al ways t h e guys w i t h c u s h y and s e c u r e j o b s
who t e l l you t w e e d l e d e d e e , i d e a s s h o u l d be
f r e e , and p a t e n t s and c o p y r i g h t s a r e s e l f i s h ? )
A c t u a l l y , f o r t h e i n d i v i d u a l , o n e o f t h e
s t r o n g e s t f orms o f p r o t e c t i o n a v a i l a b l e l a
c o p y r i g h t . F a r f r o s o b s o l e t e , t h e c o p y r i g h t
makes p u b l i s h i n g , and t h e b e t t e r c omput er
s o f t w a r e , p o s s i b l e . ( I t i s n o t g e n e r a l l y
known t h a t c o p y r i g h t v i o l a t i o n i s a f e l o n y .)
(And r i p p i n g o f f a pr o gr a m y o u ' r e s up po s e d t o
pay f o r i e n o t a b r a v e g u e r r i l l a a f f i r m a t i o n ,
l i k e h i t t i n g Ha r o l d Gene en w i t h a p i e , b u t
g r a n d l a r c e n y . )
Now t h a t A l t a i r s a n d LS I - 1 1 6 have g o t a
l o t o f you g u y s dr ea mi ng a b o u t s e l l i n g s o f t
war e, an i mp o r t a n t q u e s t i o n i s how t o p r o t e c t
your work. Wel l , y ou h a v e a c hampi on.
C a l v i n Mooers ( s e e p p . 1 6- 2 1) i s n o t o n l y
a g e n ui n e Ccmput er P i o n e e r From The F o r t i e s ,
b u t , a l o n g w i t h Her b G r o s c h , p i o n e e r e d t h e
Computer C o u n t e r c u l t u r e . Gr o s c h f l a u n t e d a
be a r d i n f r o n t o f o l d man Wat s on , Wooers
Ht r ove t o make c e mp u t e r s e a s y t o u s e ba ck
when t h a t was unhe ar d o f .
One o f h i s c u r r e n t i n t e r e s t s i s i n ways
t h a t s ma l l i n d e p e n d e n t u n d e r g r o u n d - t y p e p r o
grammers can p r o t e c t t h e i r d e v e l o j r o e n t s - He
and sane a s s o c i a t e s a r e e x p l o r i n g t h e p o s s i
b l e f o r m a t i o n o f a g r o u p f o r t h e l e g a l p r o
t e c t i o n o f s ma l l s o f t w a r e p r o d u c e r s and owner s-
I n c i d e n t a l l y , when you t h i n k seme t h i n g
y o u ' v e w r i t t e n b e l o n g s t o y o u a c omput er
pr ogr am, poetn o r w h a t e v e r - - s l a p t h e f o l l o wi n g
a t t h e b e g i n n i n g , un de r t h e t i t l e :
@ 197S I r v i n g Sner d
s u b s t i t u t i n g , o f c o u r s e , y o u r own name. And
t h e y e a r c u r r e n t l y i n e f f e c t . I f comp ut e r p r i n
t i n g i s u s e d , (C>, u s i n g p a r e n t h e s e s , i s c o n s i
d e r e d an a c c e p t a b l e s u b s t i t u t e f o r c - l n - a - c i r c l e .
T h i s n o t o n l y g i v e s n o t i c e t o p o t e n t i a l
Bor r owe r s , b u t i t h a s c e r t a i n s t r o n g ma g i c a l
p r o p e r t i e s a s a l e g a l i n c a n t a t i o n . Se e your
l a wyer f o r d e t a i l s , b u t d o n ' t h e s i t a t e t o a p p l y
i t l i b e r a l l y t o y o u r own wor k; you may b e g l a d
you d i d .
i W i l .
1975 may be t h o u g h t o f a s t h e y e a r I n whi ch
t h e co mpu t e r unde r g r ou nd s u d d e n l y a p p e a r e d i n
f u l l f o r c e . The A l t a i r was p r o b a b l y t h e b i g
c r y s t a l l i z i n g e v e n t .
Not t h a t t h e r e w a s n ' t a c o u n t e r c u l t u r e be
f o r e . T h e r e wer e t h e g a me s - p l a y e r s a t e v e r y u n i
v e r s i t y , t h e p r a n k pr ogrammers ( s e e p . 4 8 - 9 ) , a nd,
wh e r e v e r comput er s a r e t h e c e n t e r o f t h i n g s , a
Sh a r e d e x p e r i e n c e o f a i s c h ^ i e f a n d b r e a k t h r o u g h .
Ther e was Computer p e o p l e f o r P e a c e , a c l i q u e y
and u n a p p r o a c h a b l e g r ou p w i t h b o o t h s a t t h e con
f e r e n c e s ( a t l e a s t , t h e i r b a c k s we r e a l ways
t u r n e d when you want ed t o a s k q u e s t i o n s ) . Ther e
was t h e hohby f r i n g e .
Bu t now i t ' s gone d i f f e r e n t . I n s t e a d o f
p r e t e n t i o u s company names meant t o a p p e a l t o ob
t u s e b u s i n e s s me n , l i k e Pe r f o r ma n c e Measur ement
S y s t o n s C o n s u l t a n t s Group and Bo t t o m - L i n e - T r o n i c s ,
t he new compani es have r o c k - g r o u p names l i k e
G e n e r a l T u r t l e , I n c . , The Sph e r e a n d Lovi ng Gr a ce
C y b e r n e t i c s . I n t h i s new compu t e r c o u n t e r c u l t u r e ,
t h e ma i n comput er c a n p a n i e s a r e n o t IBM and
Honeywel l a nd Un i va c, b u t DEC a nd HITS and Gen
e r a l T u r t l e ; t h e s t a n d a r d c omput er i s n o t t h e 370,
b u t t h e 11 ( o r p o s s i b l y t h e A l t a i r o r t h e 8 ) .
The s t a n d a r d l a nguage i s n o t F o r t r a n o r Al gol o r
P L / I , b u t BASIC. I n s t e a d o f t h e b i g c o l o r W
t h a t mi d d l e Ameri ca wan t s , t h e u nd e r g r o u n d conpu-
t e r n i k dr eams o f h i s own g r a p h i c s e t u p f o r e v e r
r u n n i n g The Game o f L i f e i n c o l o r ( s e e p p . 48- 9
a nd p i e p . DM26). ( of c o u r s e t h a t ' l l a l a o r e
q u i r e t h e c o l o r TV; s e e " B i t M a p s , p . Z. )
I n s u c h a wo r l d , c o mp u t e r s a r e n o t a t o o l
b u t a way o f l i f e . Thu comp ut e r i s t o y , p e t ,
c h e c k e r b o a r d , mu s i c box a nd TV. Comput er s a r e
f o r maki ng mu s i c , c o mpu t e r s a r e f o r g e t t i n g p e o p l e
t o g e t h e r v i a coomuni t y memor y, c o mp u t e r s a r e f o r
l e t t e r - w r i t i n g , c o mp u t e r s a r e f o r a r t and movie
making and t h e a ni ma t ed d e c o r a t i o n o f t h e heme.
Comput er s a r e f o r games; a v a s t number o f
i n t e r a c t i v e game- pr ograms a r e p u b l i s h e d and
swapped a r ound. Al most a l l a r e i n t h e BASIC
l a n g u a g e . (Bob A l b r e c h t ' s WHAT TO DO AFTER YOU
HIT RETURN i s s a i d t o be d e f i n i t i v e - - $7. 5 0 f rom
P e o p l e ' s Computer Company, 1919 Me n a l t o Ave. ,
Menl o P a r k CA 9402S. Se e a l s o t h e i r magazine
PCC, a s we l l a s S i m u l a t i o n a n d Gaming Newa. )
PLATO games, a somewhat d i f f e r e n t s u b s p e c i e s , a r e
d i s c u s s e d on p . DM27.
The u nde r gr ound c omput er ma g a z i n e s have b e
come a b l i z z a r d ( s e e b o x ) . A l b r e c h t ' s s p r i g h t l y
a nd s u c c e s s f u l PCC, o r i g i n a l l y o r i e n t e d toward
h i g h and g r a d e s c h o o l s , h a s now b r a n c h e d I n t o
hobbyi s t s a s w e l l . On t h e h a r d wa r e s i d e t h e r e i s
The Comput er H o b b y i s t , and now a s l i c k new hobby
ma g a z i n e . By t e / w i t h a f i r s t p r i n t i n g o f 50 , 0 0 0 .
On t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s i d e t h e r e i s a s w e l l new
ma g az i n e c a l l e d C r e a t i v e Co mp ut i n g.
Then t h e r e i s t h e Coni nunit y Memory movaaent .
The b a s i c i d e a o f Communit y Memory i s t o have a
c o mp u t e r r e s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n a nd i d e a s , con-
manl y a v a i l a b l e . I n i t s more g l o r i f i e d and mys
t i c a l f o r m , t h e i d e a seems t o b e t o have a p l a c e ,
i n s i d e t h e c o n p u t e r , wher e i n f o r m a t i o n c an be
s h a r e d by The P e o p l e , f r e e o f I n s t i t u t i o n a l ob
s t r u c t i o n o r t h e p r o f i t mo t i v e .
T h i s v i s i o n i s p e r h a p s u n c l e a r t o o t h e r s
b e s i d e s t h e a u t h o r , b u t i t a t t r a c t s a v a r i e t y o f
p e o p l e i n t e r e s t e d i n some f orm o f g r a s s r o o t s
r e v i t a l i z a t i o n o f o u r o o c i e t y . Some o f t h e s e a r e
d i s i l l u s i o n e d s i x t i e s r a d i c a l s who l o o k t o ' c om
mu n i t y o r g a n i z a t i o n " a s a b u i l d i n g b l o c k f o r a
new s o c i e t y ; o t h e r s a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n more n u t s -
a n d - b o l t s a p p l i c a t i o n s , s uc h a s t r y i n g t o make
b a r t e r a v i a b l e economi c f orm a g a i n , i n an ur ban
s o c i e t y w i t h many n on s t a n d a r d l e f t o v e r s , s k i l l s
a n d wa n t s - ( Pr esumabl y t h i s wo ul d work by h a vi ng
t h e comp ut e r f i n d p a i r s o f p e o p l e w i t h ma t c hi ng
wa n t s a nd t r a d a b l e s ; o r even s e a r c h o u t p o t e n t i a l
t r a d e s a r o u n d m u l t i - p e r s o n r i n g s . )
The f i r s t o f t h e s e s y s t e ms was Re s ou r ce One,
i n San F r a n c i s c o ; I saw a n o t h e r Coonnuni ty Memory
i n Va n c o u v e r , whi ch eeaned t o be i n p r a c t i c e a
s o r t o f a n i ma t ed c l a s s l f i e d - a d s y s t o n . A u s e r
s i t t i n g a t t h a t e r m i n a l c a n p u t i n a d s o f h i s own,
and c a n s e a r c h t h r o u g h t h e e n t i r e f i l e f o r ke y
wo r d s o f i n t e r e s t . As t h e r e i s n o c e n s o r s h i p ,
scone r a t h e r s u r p r i s i n g t h i n g s g e t I n t h e r e , f o r
wh i c h I wi s h we had r oan.
(A n e w s l e t t e r o f s u c h p r o j e c t s , Comnunit y
Co n n u n l c a t i o n B , i s b e i n g s t a r t e d b y Lee F e l s e n -
s t e i n . Loving Gra ce C y b e r n e t i c s , 1807 Del awar e S t . ,
B e r k e l e y CA 9 4 703. )
Ev en f o r t h o b o c o n i n g anew i n t o t h e f i e l d
t h e r a d i o hams and amat eur t e l e s c o p e maker s who' ve
l a i d t h e i r Ma s t e r Cha r ge c a r d s o n t h e l i n e f o r t h e
A l t a i r comput er s r e p r e s e n t a new s o c i a l l i f e .
Ama t eu r c omput er c l u b s ha ve dr awn s t a r t l i n g num
b e r s : f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e Los An g e l e s and San Fr a n
c i s c o g r o u p s a r e c u r r e n t l y p u l l i n g 100 members t o
t h e i r wee kl y me e t i n g s . ( I n San F r a n c i s c o , con
t a c t Fred Moor e, 558 S a n t a Cr u z Avenu e , Menlo
P a r k CA 9 4025. )
T h i s book ai*3 i t s s u r p r i s e s u c c e s s p r o b a b l y
r a t e me n t i o n o f some s o r t i n t h e wo r l d o f u n d e r
g r o u n d comput erdom, ' 7 4 - 7 5 ; a l t h o u g h my u n d e r
g r o u n d s t a t u s may be i n j e o p a r d y . I had i n t e n d e d
t o b y p a s s t h e c o n p u t e r e s t a b l i s h m e n t , and c e r
t a i n l y n o t e x p e c t e d t o become a s s i m i l a t e d t h e r e i n ;
so t h e d o z e n s o f u n i v e r s i t y c l a s s a d o p t i o n s ha v e
come a s a c o n s i d e r a b l e s ho c k, a s h a v e t h e a c c e p
t a n c e a nd l e g i t i m a t i o n I had l o n g s i n c e g i v e n up
o n . My h e a r t f e l t t ha n k a f o r t h i s r e s p o n s e , and
I l l t r y t o l i v e up t o i t . (How i s d i s c u s s e d on
p . Z, l a s t col umn. )
Bu t f o l k s , t h i s a l l i s t h e m e r e s t b e g i n n i n g .
As i t s a y s on d i a m e t r i c a l l y t h e o t h e r s i d e , p . 3,
COMPUTERS BELONG TO ALL HANJOND-
I t began w i t h a bang l a s t Ch r i s t ma s : t h e
c o v e r o f P o p u l a r E l e c t r o n i c s showed ' a comput er
you can b u i l d y o u r s e l f f o r o n l y $ 4 0 0 ' I
I t was r e a l . A young f i r m i n Al buquerque
c a l l e d Mi cr o I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n and T e l m e t r y Sys
t e ms , o r HITS, had f i n a l l y do ne i t : a compute r
f o r we l l u nd e r $1000. I n a box not much b i g ge r
t h a n a t y p e w r i t e r , a machi ne compar abl e t o t h e
Uni vac I . They c a l l e d i t t h e A l t a i r 8800.
Of c o u r s e , i n a way t h i s was a n obvi ous
s t e p . The MXTS c omput er was s i mpl y t h e pack
a g i n g , a s a c o mp u t e r , o f a s p e c i f i c I n t e g r a t e d
c i r c u i t c h i p t h a t had been on t h e ma r ke t f o r
some mont hs- T h i s c h i p , t h e I n t e l 8080, i s a
m i c r o p r o c e s s o r , o r t w o - l e v e l comput er ( s e e p .
4 4 ) , g e n e r a l l y employed f o r f i x e d pu r po s es i n
c as h r e g i s t e r s , p i n b a l l ma c h i n e s , and t he l i k e .
However, t o make i t a " g e n e r a l comput er w i t h
t h e e n g i n e e r i n g , hookups and a c c e s s o r i e s t h a t
e n t a i l e d would be no s m a l l n i a t t e r i f t a k en
s e r i o u s l y . ^ ^
Next in computer hobbyism i t i l l
obviously be the Computer Van.
AIready vane came with snivel
throne8, four-track stereo,
color TV; eo t h i s next step
ie obvious. But most important,
recreational vehicles can be
purchased on very long time-
plane, sometimes seven years.
(HITS has a demo van with Al
ta ir , floppy d is k , lineprinter.
I t drives around showing o f f .
But th e y 'l l s e l l you one like
i t f o r a t r i f l i n g $29,000.)
How for mobile operation we
redo the power supply...
d w - V c u i ? n o n
A l o t o f c o p i e s o f t h i s book have n o t b e e n p u t t o g e t h e r c o r r e c t l y .
We hope t h a t ' s a l l o v e r now, b u t i f t h i a book b e l o n g s t o you
p l e a s e c heck i t . I n c o r r e c t l y - m a d e books w i l l b e e xchanged,
w i t h i n two weeks o f p u r c h a s e ( a d d r e s s on p . 2 ) . Ot h e r wi s e
ALL YOU NEED DO I S CHECK THE NUMBERS ON THE 'COMPUTER LI B' SIDE.
They r u n s t r a i g h t t h r o u g h f r om c o v e r t o c o v e r , e v e n t hough
t h e c o n t e n t s f l i p c a p r i c i o u s l y . I f t h e l e t t e r s "DM" a p p e a r
anywhere amongs t t h e s e plain numbers , you g o t a l o n o n .
ip X
w rs H
s l t
s f s
w
J f
M e-
8 3
A l l t h e DM number s a r e supposed
t o b e on t h i s a i d e o n l y . They poop o u t
a t number 59, and we r e i n t e n d e d me r e l y
f o r c r o s s - r e f e r e n c e .
>Zl
Doapite Ita ****r insipid a rl u Ui i ).
OK ha* n a l U i t a d l u ( g f l t l o i a t tha a o t a i
ol tha Mill i ^ n m ----^ pop-11
lead coteuter of choice Z n | aphlet leatm.
(Tte Fw-ii ta alao attracting considerable Lo-
Inatance. r l r i t t a t l m l City Mak ef lock
la a a t l n g a nBteork or U/45a.)
tar to tuq In i l i t , geiulnely, I r a tha tloy
to tha grand. Durin) tha laat ala rnntha, DK
haa brought gut tha mal l aat ol tha Una, the
LSI-11, all on board tha ait* ol a t h a n of
typteriter paper- lor SIX HIKDKEDATOr i m
IXSJARS. That Inclteea tha l u l l c o t t a r u l
4Kof volatile feet r y . aa a l l aa built-in
daboggar.
I t not quit* tha l u l l etery. Thle LSI-11 la
without poar aupply aid without unibua. In
deed, I t h w that tha LSI-11 happme to ha
newieed laat ( a l l , which coats J 0 with juver
supply aid Onltee. ib front panal. Tha en-
pearana ol a rtely to tha grand MIT5 aixounco-
. n t of January (aaa p. ) . Capecially whan It
a t t e a ai d. ('Buying clube* a n being (mrnal
with tha Ida* ol poollte resources for eha
quantity p r i m aa "Cheap C a r t e r s , * p. V.)
(Sophisticate* Int ar at ad In putting tha
LSI-11 in other equijmant have baan quick to
In which you Bay Insert tha B that glvee yea
floating point la vary cheap optloo), Por tteee
of u who diydriH about unumal luactla&a, auch
aa Hat ( m a u l s ) or graphice or tha llk, thia
'T*nli] la vary auggeatlvei with accoas t= tha
alcroprogim instruction*. a dlf t ermt KH could
te pot in for f u t l ^ l w . t a t l c n e l teatever i t
m nted-- aad your pr o^r a m i d uaa for
your nalarloue purpeea tha binary o s a t e a or-
dlnarlly n a i m d lor floating point.)
IMille ha aay oot ba abla te deal with that,
Danlal 1.. Lawi* at DC la Bolling Headews. i l l . )
At tha high and of tha lina, a bl R>P-11--
tha mdel ?*-- haa boas anvailed, m a i l i n g a
lull 31-bLt aichlnt, In tha huidred-tteoaand-
dollar claee, with cacb* amery and t i a a -a t er i t e
(hit what ol tha van blggar PDP-11 aodal 65.
aaan In the Harltere plant under yet aiethar
operating syatte? will le Been that a l l tha
tiae? Ah. pity that nothing can ha said about
Hultlple oparating l y i t w aro. indeed. tha
tana el tha PDP-11 lina. Hot only ara there
Dec'a own. like RSTS, RT-11. DOS and RSa, idileh
aufler f rm a lack of f l l a eateatiblllcy and
but m thora haa arlaan a lac grander oparating
UNIX-- tha naae'e auggeatlveneea ol harm
guard* la deceptive la raally tha eon ol HI-
TICS Iaaa p. 45). But i t waa flniehed In Mich
lese time. Like Hultlcs. i t ' a a teauty. Lika
Kultlca, i t waa programed in a hlgter language:
tha language i t ' * programed In, t novar, la
called aitely *C*. Tte language waa crated
by Brian Kernlghan. author ol a wldoly-praleed
cotract programing exaieplee frt a othar podia's
aed in *C" by Xen Tta^sen and Dennis Ritchie,
unla ia a d n . Aaida f rm a l l tha usual
of spli tting. Each prograa csn thnw off coplaa
ef i t a l f . which mn Independently and t l ^ *
ogian language eallad S1WLA. and alae appaara
In Alan Kay's malwal e languaga at Xeroa PASO
regrettably, there ia no n r a to dleeuaa thaaa
hara, (For Simula, aaa Ole-Johan Oahl and C.A.R.
Dahl, Dl)kaLra Anl Hoara. structured Programing.
Acad^ic Praia.) Thaaa iMturaa affectively
change the character ol programing eo^lately.
For Inatance, te aivulate a niebtr of objacta
I n t e r a c t ! ^ the pegraa can (pin o i l a sp y el
ltaelf lor every object, and t u h usyy (ilaleking
the raal-aorld object). can then reapocd to Ita
cvitlnually-changing e n v i n w n t aa required,
in other word*. (Me typo of language aoaaa that
aioiUted than they ever did before.
SDWU meta $30,000, and, aa i t happna,
tiona). Uolortunataly thia raiaea certain grave
gueetlone. eisea tha eal^hone cmpany (of tdileh
Mil ube le a branch) la not ruppoaad to ba Ln
the cr^utar programing bualnaaaj and theae who
are in tbe butloeaa ara dlmayad by tM idea ol
Rather throw Ite corporate weight en
tirely behind the POP-11, BBC hae carved out
a t t a i n areaa In tfiieh i t la trying te aarkat
ita U-bl t aid IS-blt oachlnee. tha PDP-6 and
Pnf-15. The POP-8 ia being puahad lor bualaeee
a^licotiooa, with DB'e coBb-llke lai^uagai
alao a vary nice veralen ol the 8 haa appeared,
floppy dlake. keyicepe. and wot-printer optioni
thia le the 'Claaalc.* a t M2.040.
Tba 18-blt TOP-1S line le a t l l l balng oar-
aarkatl aa a *BadlwaUad* aaehine. with IWCR
I K ' a data-taaa eyetm). with virtual huge <-
ory, and with hot dleplaye.
CWPCT1TIVB KXWJktims
On f i n , Intarall. haa put the PUP-8 os
a chip for erne #3. IHoover, aa I t uaually
tuna out. by tfa tiao you gat a l l the porta to
gether i t ooeta >3000 a l t a r a l l , t ut In quan
ti t y i t ' a anetboz aeory, and tha individual p i ca
will drop bob omgb.t
Istorell haa alao lntlaated that they are
working a a chip to elai lat e tha PDP-11. II
ao, thle will of cowoe b r l ^ t h m ----- - ^ a-
gainn the petaat that u a a to have kmrked out
the DljlaU C^^otar Control* lookallke, tha
Tnrltaol 8uo (at lMat Ita direct Barkatisg).
anl aagodarod a lewoait ogalnat Cal data, lot
11 loefeallke, a n t l a r f on p. r.)
r n U k H c r t i & Y * . l & r
M TM my t a , you e4 | ^ Ia oaral Juat
lor it* foil porchaaa prlco> aioee the lalliag
islcaa el o ^ u t a r a aaan I t will probably have m
aarket value io a few yoare. I M ' a great
et^B la large part f rm t a l i g tha a d r w^wtor
o v u r big aaoogh te n o t . )
M l , good old U g l u l tquifMst Ar^ r at l an
tea flaally gotta*. Into tba loaelag bualnaaa:
tal Leamlag, La m l l a l n n t l o i with c . i . u i a t i g .
Tart <li l leaaa CMCeqalpeat B ladlvldaBle oI
good credit tacm 9 ta a n a | M n . C u r a t
rate m a T-yaar lwao la 3. ) paromt a ^ t h .
^ e l M r
Awickally faay daaarl^tioa el MC'e hme
facory, fairly M v a u , oan t e (Mri i s a m t r
balletri atl e toet a l l d Travola La
T HE
But HITS took I t aerloualy, and olterad
with tha Altaic e m a l l tec esaplete ll oa of
i n f l a l f , dlak*. pr l ot are, Interface*, aed,
met Iaportant, aerrl ce f a c l l l t l e e .
Tbe ( I n bad lmovated before, notably whao
chay brought out tho l l r e t teBd-beld celculacor
aoveral yeara teror e. Juet ae thay correctly
antlcipBe^ cbat dmaad, tbay foraaaw t h l e ooe.
They alao cteea uoerrli^ly cbe r lfbc a r -
kat to b q l o 00: electronic bobbylete aod k l t -
bulldere. The klt-aakac enjoy* tbe challenge
or bulldlof e mcblaa (roa only a d l a i r m and
a boa ef paita; aod co be far froa a ropalraan
to Ida m t errera for bla, for (>a ^e the r apa l r -
Tba price drop waa oot ae dr amt lc aa 1c
a l t ht aem to the teoaral public: oor le tha
cputer quite ea cheap a* i t l a m a t f lrec
fiance. Contrary to a public lapreaaion. crea-
taj by ISI aal a Middled preaa over the yeare.
chat cmputara ara toga aod coat all l l o oa ef
dollara, very food coaputere have been avail a
ble lately lor e couple ol tbouaaod, oot cmin-
dng accaeaoilee.
hit tha accaaaorlee preaeot a preblm.
On thet ecere, tbe apparent rock-bottm price
of tha Altalr my have bees alaleadlng, aapa-
clal ly to Uc-bulldere. A coapuiar I t e e l l la
a lla^ dlahrag without eaaory, terainal* aod
program*-- a l l of which pad the ceec of tha
packaae. By the t i a e youve added 61 Barry.
a Caroloal aad BASIC aoftware to your k i t -
bullc Altalr, a tbouaaod dellare hae (1mm
(11400 i f you buy I t already aeeeabled). Then
1< you want t t e dlak (aad who doeee't), t h a t ' e
at laaat f ifteen hundred mre.
Kow klt-bulldera Juat etarcl nt my not
aaa tha point of a l l cheae Irlpperlea; Cbey
puttr, ae cmle^ to real Ire the laBeeelty of
I t a l l aay t e a gradual awkenlni. with aany
happy aoldarlo) eaperlaocea 00 the way, Othara
aay ba b>ou(hc up abort aa thay aeoae what
Ihey're | e t t l n | Into.
Thia la partly e problm ef NITS' cry In*
to reach two eonauaer (roupa a t ooce: the k i t -
builder, who Bay have thought a c ^^ ut er waa a
who looka at the bottm line lor the coat of
Indeed, KITS' low prlcea aroot that low,
When i t come to prlea. they are about SOI atead
of tha conventional c e^ et l t l o n. For Inatanca.
thelr $5000 aetup (with Caraloa) end dlak)
olght ba taken aa roughly equivalent te the DEC
Claeelc at around $10,000 (aee p. Y).
But what you uaually pay for in thia Hel d
I* earvlce end fringe bmefl le. Tbe fundamn-
tal eaet, I t eame to ae, le wtather you caa
<a hack co tbe co^any with your problma.
cuetmer*' c ^ u t e r cteublaa.) KITS' princi pal
contribution le raelly In the tteught they have
given co thnlr mrkac. and the depth with which
they ara aervlng i t . They no doubt entlclpetad
uadariall tbm (tea p. Y). But they aaa tha
advantage In tbla: thay even give out their
Bailing Hat te coapetltere who eal l Altalr
for a quick buck; they appear co be thoroughly
comitted to full-apeccrm coavutar earvlea.
In eight aontha, HITS haa gene frm
twancy-flva to a hundred mployeaa and aeld
OVOI m i l THOUSANDCOHPVmS, whlcb la ama-
thlng like t a or three percent ef the cmpucere
In Aaerlca. Today, the electronic nut*; to-
(ob Albrecht, caliph of countarculcura cm-
puterdm. highly endoreea Altalr Extended BASIC.
Say* 11'a t e r r i f i c .
The nals aarvlce cotter for Al t a l r . haa
been cbe Albuquerque factory, but tha f l r e t ol
thelr regional aervlce eentara ha* now opened
in Nathvllle.
An Altalr aaamblar la running on che FLAT0
H i l a (aee pp. B06-7).
4 i n - f
HITS prleoa ara quite roamnahle. I f you buy a
k i t lor anything le tha Altalr line, I t ' a gen
erally about JS* laaa than the eeemfel^ and
luJ ly-cbaeked^ut veralon.
The teel c e u^ut ar k i t cneta $4 (C631
*eetf>lal), but ignore that 1 i t ' * like e car
without an mgioe. a a u or wteal. A d e l e t e
package (tbalr Beale 1* eat ) . with tha o ^ u -
t a r , ar of naory. terminal aid 8K BASIC lan
guage le 11)91. A mr e hlgh-puwered i y e t
vltb 131 ef fact a m r y aed double eidrov dlak
la IMJ4, c o l l a t e with t t e l r tot n de d Male.
Thare are aany aaparate I t a e , pLana and op
tional i t la peaaltola, ot eouree, to buy a
package eywtm f r m chm lor aa aueh aa you
want te epand.
" A t U i n . f f c n t . v c w u e r
et ural l y i t had t e te in Lea Angelee.
The f l r a t er^wt er etere,* i t T r * .
1* a t 116S6 Pico (at Sarringtoa), w*et
b.A.. ^ a l l e vaat of tha San Diego
rraeeayi 21V4?e-lies. Neure are 2 to
8 Milr111iy t s Friday, 10 n 6 on Sat
urday and Sunday. I t ' * called the Ar-
osck e line ef Altaire.
Airtre* J. Slogor (Me aay* ha 1* now *eoneul-
t ant te a mal l f i n ef actrolagara*), anmuneae
s w ' m u m x **
Be haa emly pn l a a for t t e BkSlC-orlasM bualnaaa
ayatme offered by BAslc-FOOB Corp.. to ba found
la m}or c l t l e a. Bet only done t t e c m e n c t epoii
oot whet f w get La ^ a r k l l t e d a t al l , but t t e aan-
ual le wx l t t * la t e l l i h . A^ Aadrvw hlAmlf
mal da' t a a A t t e eyetm.
(The Baale-FOor * t ^ - - a <> f r m 11 cm
data terparatlOB. M n A t i I t m l f mUa a
f ar i n g b a l na t - q ^ a n * c a l M n u n , Mileh
1* highly pnlaed by Jote b. iv1m , n a t t e r yowag
tfery n b la t t e BUIC la . -V-.
thoy oflar e eynm with U , a BUIC l a t a rpr at ar
Ha l l m e n l . dlepUy aad mamtte for w ^ r i u m
aag baa c Iovbt I , lcmd t t e l ^ a l p r = ^ * i -
p r ^ l m n t t t i teemrk of B l t a n t e u a a a , __ h
r a p u l b l i t a I t a o u b m h for t t e l r _______
t a a e t * v o W < ,
Ka bright g uy la am York.
do good w a audio m k . rtey are'
alao aa e n t e M TUC r ^ a i r etat lon.
J tlaeWBl ea. 3l a/ J- 0H*. s .
43 (nan t a t t e r ^ l s t a a ) .
/ f X \ W T H C S r o r
' m ' / i / V
Mien Xerox Cerperatlon entered t t e cvputar
Dutlneie a few yeere ego, i t amuncod that I t a a
g e l * to chall age IW h*ad-to-lad for dmioatKai
ef the <*ele broad field of information, whatever
**** 1,1 lecoa Bade eeplere. but aaa t t e haod-
( writing on the driai eventually tha haidlii^ of
written Baterlale wi l d croae over inte the u -
tlng raalaj fow are cure In what way. (For three
luture direetlona that have been propoaad, aee
Engelbert, pp. &M46-7, PUtn, pp. U126-7, and
Xanadu1*, pp. BK56-7.)
Ttw laat July laeue of C^uterworld In ' 7S.
tCTMver, tolled of Kerox'e ahai^naent ef the cm-
puter lleld. Specifically, lor ei will atop Baking
----^Jter* thmaelve*. though they e t l l i win Bake
Y). The news n i preaanted In tha fraaework ef ^
* grand tragedy, tha P m t t e a n collapae ef overea-
tanded otbltlon*. Evidently leros Banag^nt
puehed toe hard ln t t e Incmpatible direction
building alsoly for the eventual challarqe of lat.
ve. ahowlng profit* gulekly. The llrm f el l be
tween the teat and tha deck. Joining DCAaid Gen
eral Electric and the othar big cm^nl ee that
found they couldn't Bake i t eell inj c a r t e r * .
But l e r a 1* not a* far out of t t e fiel d aa
a a a eight think.
B In a aecret muntain hideaway t e l l , i m UK
crat Xeroa a t l l l haa parhape tha aharpest
tench ef c^^uter raaeala in the world. And thay
ara planting way tap ahead, ta the t i m amputate
are practically free. If I arm give* thm t t e l r
head, aid deean't eut hack, the csrpcracias will
have l i t t l e trouble In trli*phantly returning to
the field five or ten yeara I rm m , onctlfably
kneeking IW off it* feet In the now aarheta ef
t hat day with a karate-like rwvep.
Thle Place of Powwr le eallad l eroi Palo Alto
Raaarch Cmter, or lerea PARC, and l u < t e i | M n
of California Mellw ^ n a i a l e ^ the unwary.
1 epeke there e few year* ago and found It
buey volleyball gate outalda when I arrived, aid
whan I aaked for the poreen I a e goliq to eee.
the reeeptlonporeen aald te pull up a baanbag aid
wait t i l l he had flnlehed playlr^ volleytell.
lurniehed only with a muntain ol theae hoanbag
aacke. Ae people cate in, they would pull beantega
off the muntain and a i t down on thm.
So t a r te good1 California Mellow. So 1 wont
Into ay rap, and everybody aat llatOTlng. 1 had nc
Idea i f 1 wet getting through, since what I try tc
t e l l people begin* where technology atepe-- mral
precept*, ae i t ware, ter organiring idee* and rye-
t t e in the world el the future (eee thle wlsle OH
aide)-- I ' a uaed to people looking confuaed, or
mrrled, or angry, or even walking eut. There wa*
none of that. Wa* 1 getting through? or were they
everybody following thi*?*
There were mile* end I think eaaeena aald,
"We're with you. Ted."
And they were. I t waa the oatly pleea I've
ever spoken where the audience wa* on the UM
wavelength, going straight on Into syetma Deaign
Thie le obviously tha place te t e l l you about
Alan Kay and the Dynabook.
Tte hotteet project a t keraa FAftc la Alan
Kay'a Dynabeok, formerly the Kiddy ctsputer. Ae
lota el pteple will t e l l you, i t ' e going te ce*t
five huidred dellere, be mall enovgh to carry
erouid on a *heul^r atrap, have a built -i n aciitrt,
run on hattarlee, aid have a l l tha t e k e a kid
wanta to read Irm t t e acraen stored on a eaeeette.
Aid the doe: Ttey'll kiock y^iu out. on a
color TV screen, t hey'll shew you a wildly chaining
pageant el toy soldier*, phetographa, t eaut ilul
patterna, a l l generated by the eo^wter In reel
ti ae (eee 'Bi t Maps." p. ?). And I t you're into
eosputere, theyl l aim you how a l l thl* 1* run by
the beautiful 9ULLTAU languaga ( i t waa previouel>
eallad t t e Kiddy C^iutar. rmmber). which any
bright child can learn and which ha* ama awfully
Thare have baan a l e t ol cena in tha co^uter
So hsw cme xeroa le leaving t t e cmpitar
d lleld?
Answeri they're net teaetly leavingi they're
taking a break until they can aell thle beauty
for live huidred dollar*.
Hhat'* t t e delay?
The Dynateek. or Kiddy Cteputar. 1* actually
You're auppoeed to Laugh. A PDP-10 le a big
c ^ i u t er . t t e t e at . (See pege 41.) A PDP-10 sy*-
t e s e t a hundreds of thouaanda ol d e l l a n.
But the l**t laugh will te Kara' *. The way
coafuter price* are dam, through Inte-
gratal circuits ever mre powerful end cheap, that
POP-10 can t e sold lor SS00 i n . . . (cheek your
Choice) __178 _1979 _1980 __1981 __19B2.
I (Interesting anecdote I the guy* a t xerea PARC
' aaked te buy a PDP-10. but aanagmant hr idled,
aeeing a* haw larm wae ln t t e eovuter bualteea
and Bade oapatl tive aaehine*. So the t ellaa,
vthing daunted, built tbalr m , Thay BOdastly
(Hotai t t e above predictions are baaed, el
court*, on tha a s s ^ t i o n ef Haros aanagmant
knowing what i t ' a dolitg. Asat^tlona of thl* Cypa
in t)a oaputar field a l l t t e often turn eut a te
Tte TM^languege le ibw rumlng tlae-eterte,
l or general n a t m f t , on C^vut i l l t y (aa bbth
tionad <Y>p. 21) , and in a fancier version offered
by Interactive Sclwtae Corp., 66 Brooks Drive.
Braintree, Ha**.. 617/84B-200. teoera has 11-
eenmd t t e lat t er firm to run both hi a baalc
ceseor and Advanced DavelopMita" (ratter a e n t l
in f i l e (yatma aid c ^ u t a r control. AptareotlT
he haa ----- spectacular data-baae atuff in there,
but you woe't t e able to find Ait a t e t I t directly
jp^-1.1 packagea ara tte apealalty ef Interactive
Science*, aid with 1AC thay mn oflar packagea
with both t t e data baa* stuff and otter uouaual
eapabilltle*. Far ljiataiee, thle tiae-atiar ing
TMC can ltaelf call vp ether ^ v * t a r a and sign
Into thm, responding te maaagea aa I f I t m n a
Tte t e v ut l l l cy varalm tern* ta rub far ateat
112 aa teur, t t e Intaractlve Selemea vuelea t a
^mwbat a n - but t t e l a t t e r flea la iatareatad
In 111e9 wtele package*, net uaer-dlddllng.
teeer* haa recmtly received r e g l e t r a t l n for
' i n t n w / # w s
i e L i S 6 m i ( & c ' P E i w
1* a - t 1*1" you hear everywt e r *. Tte r*te
but la tte tey Chat t t e standard ananor te quea-
By 1i|aiiaam " Peopia feel thl* with * emtals
bitt anaaa b a m a m aany ef DK* fane laved It
ter t e t telag like IM- I t ' s like t em Jackie
On page S3 of thia took I aay> *1 hope te te
able t o repart in future editlana of thle book
that IW to* aoved firmly and credibly m a r t
aaking i t * syetma clear and elaple te use, with
out raqulrlng laborlou* attention te ne edlea^a-
pllcatlona and oppressive r l t u a l a . '
Thl* haa ln fact occurred, and I ao report.
In an earth-ehaking anteuncmaat la January,
IBMt otally reversed the policy ef Ita u ^ n c a i
dlvlalon for the l e s t ten yeara. Tat t e Jaded la
tha preea that thl e event tea not, 1 think, pro-
parly recognised.
Aatoundlng aa I t aay t e frm t t e c^^any that
gave the world JCL and the m/ST, In January IW
atepperi into the world ef eay eovuters, bringing
out tha 6yatm/32, a a i n l e ^ u t e r fer buslnaaa.
You een only rent I t ea as Interactive terminal,
with a progcaa ereatad by IBHwhich cannot be mdj
fled (called an Industry Application Package or
1AP). But tteee l i t t l e png'*** praept users
atsp-by-*tep throwfh what they are auppoaad to be
doing, and apprently are very clear and helpful
This about-face i s In aeny wsys gratlfyLi^
fer them of ua who have teen advocating easy,
acreen-tesed *ystms for yters and years. At Ion
laat I t give* i n * "lagltiaacy" to Binicovuters
for bualneee, and I t helpe co^anies that already
provide such services, such aa Baalc/Four.
I t will ba interesting to a e i f IW knows
tew t e Bake thing* elaple, conaldaring the ezper-
lenee they have lavished <n the opposite policy.
Anyway, with t hi s aove 1 teuld a y that IBHhaa
purged i t a e l l of a t l a s t 30%of i t a discernible
evil, i f thia begins a real change.
A delicate pn b l m will r eatrlct the Imaet
of the }3 l t a e l f , hotever. That i s that IBHwant
I t * only as a gateway t s I t s big cosaiterei
prssmably. I f uaers were allowed to progrm I t ,
they'd find tey* out of having to ua* the biggie.
H H A T U l U I
Aa I t happan*. t e know what IBK'e biggest
neat aove will t e . I t 1* scaetMnj to t e called
tha Future systea (PS). PS will be a c t ^ l e t a
line e l ctaputars and c^aunicatlons techjilquas
for t hte, but t h a t ' s a l l we knowj security 1*
very tight . Supposedly TS ealata and la running'
but what la i t ? All we know la that l u sched
uled Introduction haa teen pushed hack f rm 1979
ta aaaetlae e ft a r 1980.
Anytey, I have acted a lot ef a n y people
what they thought FS ms going to t e. and t ere
A ^ ^ l e t e l y aedular line ef c^^utars and
termlnala with a unlbua-type architec
ture. (RUHDRi thia would ellainate
A mlcrprogramed line of equlfvent. whose
A t otally PL/1 systaa.
A line of equlpunt with evsr-changing
aicreprogrmaed "fan-dancs* intarfaeea,
auch that no a b a t i n g mnufacturar
can ever find eut what they are. (A
charge by Kerb Creech and nmereu*
A ompleta and l^regnable t e u l ayatm for
a l l eyatellc Information, which cen
only t e keyed inte through IBC terainale
proceeted on IBH t e^ut er e, tranmitted
through I8H s a t el l i t e s, and r a d eut
through IBH terminale. (FACTi IBH tea
applied fer a sat el l i t e.)
Totally CTaepetible with ealating 370 hardware
Tutally lnc^te*tible with ealst ite 370 hard-
mkea a l e t of mney on edapters aid
A line of pocket-slcad and putable aqulpMnt
b ui l t around Magnetic Bubble Technology.
uaa interactive sefewera. (Thle would
euddenly e l i a l a t e hundreda of thouaanda
C V B e * C * p y 7 r
Cm ^ l i - l -
wae a "cmputer hardwrltite analyals" booth. You
wrote your nma on a card (Hollerith, natch) aid
thia a a put through a elot. A typwrlter (mrke
"IW) pr l nt t e eut the *analy*l.
I waan't there, but i t waa alaoat certainly
a braaan fake. Preamably the typewrlur waa an
ordinary Hag card Selectric, Heaory Typewriter or
t t e like. The flatteuae operator could eiaply
chooM what he wanted the printout te say by ths
insertion ol a card (on the termer) or the bwlat
ol a di al (an the l a t t e r ) .
Incidentally, while IW le probably the prin
clpal ^ ^loyar ef Dutchess County, we should net
^ aatuae direct coq>llclty.
i n
" T * K o F f i t f C F ' T H e f U W
A rmarkable l**ue ol Bualna** Weak (June
30. 1975) carried e 36-te9C a ct i o n a i l e d an
"executive briefing," whatever that i*. on the
Office of the Future, whatever that 1*.
The a rt i cl e waa actually t t e thing* aplicad
together! futuriat lc* gab around th* t i t l e , aid
* repart on the ee-ealled word procesalng ln-
duatry.* terd procaeelng, a ( Il l y IW term,
teana handling t e at by trleky office equljaent
( a e Type Ughter," p. 14).
i n controla the word proeeaaing aarkat.
with such aaehine* t* the Hag Card Selectrie and
the abmlnabla (in ay opinion) KT/ST. Aa ra-
t ert ed by Bualneee Weak. IMa teal c strategy
i s t s t a l l bualnesmen that they have te have a
centralized typing pool of specially trained
typleta to uae theae things, sc t t e office has
to t e reorganised. The eeereurl ee hate the new
organisation because I t aake* t h a into keypunch
Operator* tha pean/eaecutlve dlctetmy ia a
tradi tional aspect of IM producu. It m i d
a m but t t e whole thing i s put ovsr ss Modern.
Now Xeroa haa a e e up with a c^^etl tlve
aaehine. t t e 800 (aee Diablo, p. Y). aid Bualneee
"te* Intone* that only tteee two fi r m have the
a w y and c a p l u l <s succete is coveting te
c r a t * t t e Office o l t t e Futur*. t e l l , this is
Tbe big Bistake IBM's coepetllore almys
am u aake i a to l e t IW define t t e preblm,
and than go ln te try to c ^ e t a on the t et t l * -
ground, and In tha term*, that IW has laid out.
But i t la net eenalbl* te play lellew eh* leader
on s i l v e r y leg* through a boobytrappte n a i f .
Hewxarea haa stepped once the slippery lte-
t e t th* right thing wuld te te um**k th* ab
surdities ef the IBMgme with new init iat ives
which thay cantet possibly mulata.
Th* offi ce ef the future, in th* opinion
ot the auttar, will hav* t ethlte t e de with the
Uly e c^ l ea i t i ea of autmaUc typing- i t will
hav* screens, and keytoard*. and peealhly a
printer for outgoing l e t tere, but paalbl y not.
All your business Inlomatlon will ba tellable
te tha screen inst antl y. An all-mbraelng data
a structure will told ovary farm ef lafonetlan
amarleal and teat ual in a cat*'-sradle ot
linkage*! and you, th* u a r , whatever your Job
t i t l e , my gulekly rove your ecreen through tte
entire Infesmtleft-cpace you are entitled te
Indeed "programs- will Mver te*moii ciIlv la-
vokad a t a l i i thay will slaply taka effect a*
you j e t near. In tha display te*ea, b a t hi n g
whlcb naeda i^date. A dleplay-drivan Inform-
w
*
B i &
t e l l , t t e ant i - t r ust t r i a l of IW is un-
darmy. In an awkmrd s t a r t , opposing lead
ettorreys aecuaed each othar e l professional
aisconduct. placing both t e n ' s careers under s
cloid as th* fight began.
Tte way i t cmes through in th* trade preta
th* coverteant a m* to be pulling punches and
Biasing the point el what Ita own w l t n a a s *ay.
A large-scal* boteh aay be in progress. (Tte
cmpajter liduatry Association, or IBH-haters
club, etfars transcripts ef the IW t r i a l , aa
m i l aa dally siaasrlss. Tte group's headquar-
tera ere ibw at 1911 N. Port Heyer Drive, teeel)
what i s tte point of I t a l l ? Th* Juatim
Mpertmnt Is seeking to break up IBM. (Aceor-
dlte to one theory. I t note* point* after the
ITT-Kartford bualneee.I
Ttere le a lot of ei^eretlt lon about IW
when t t e Juatlce Departeent announced i t wuld
pioacut e. But why? Heah wiener, editor ef
Coautar Declelona. think a i m will be broken
up: "The Jgatice Department wanta I t . and IW
wants I t , and the stockholder* will Bake mre
money. They've alra d y drawn tha dotted Unee.'
A key queatlon ia what difference I t would
make. (Remember what happened e l t e r they broke
up standard oil? Hot auch.) A phony breakup
would altely a k e the different dlvlalon* into
different cv^anies. la v i ng the product line
a p l l t tould in l a a way foster c ^ e t l t l e n
asong the daughter corporations. But idiat way?
overwhela lit igat ors by the quantity of doc-
umnte supplied, aany ol whleh are atered on
co^utera in f ul l-taat term. To give you en
I d a of the hiamgou* magnitudes Involved, a e
flguree Juet caae up in recent lltlgatloai with
sandara Aaeocieus. sanderc Is suing IW. and
recently aeked IBMhow aany documents IW had
that were 'pertinent' to t t e cat*. Tte reply:
"Active f llea, approrinately 906,054,000 pegeai
inactive l l l es , approalmately 421.6S0.000 pages.
altarmath ol a suit by Control Data, in which
m se t t l t e . m s th* destruction of the g r a t ll
deass which had been conatructed to the vaat t i l
el IW'* recerd*i the Indaa la gone end unavell-
To a lot ef people thle Juat aema co have
tine; and that ia net a a t t a r of bigneaa. but
the atyla of IBH'e control, Coteutere eteuld
vete livea. and ehould help lighten our loeds
and al i ght en our ainde, clarifyiDg the ctveplea-
Itlee of everything- Unfortunately. iW'e aethe
creati te rigid and oppraaalve and polntleaely
ceaplu systms, fobbing thea off ae "eelantlflc
the tectelquea diseased on pp. S2-S6.
People should te free to uee c a p i t a l aa
they ouoht to te uaed. each in hla pereenal atyl
of optlona and clarifying sereen graphica, rathe
than each fm'eon and offi ce worker teing locked
Into hie "tternly ellotted eandplle," ea
ciMlnqe put i t . And that ia the preblm.
f e a i T i m o G W t W
Haney Foy, t t i Sun never Sete on IW. Met re-
Hill Lu Kedgere' Think ia eut In paperback, wit)
Datametlon devoted large acti on* ef i t a Pebruai
WeiifrL'e .
HAJOft PRWIS. " C^ u t er a ere ee c t ^ l i c a
only a eo^eny aa large aa IBH can put together
the technical teaaa ntceeary te make t h a work
THE COROLLARY. " C^ u t er e are *e c^teUca
that thare'a just ao way to aka I t pe**lhle fc
c ^^ et i t ora to heek up their equlpaent to eura.
The truthi elmet anybody ean aake eenalble am
putere that w i t and t i e together (visibly. On
IW a n do I t wrosg and aake i t sti ck.
I R l W
uaful terda for diacuaaii^ t t e IW
problem, (thanke te Cceputar Deelaloa aagazl
in which n a ef them mre f l r a t publiehad
01973. 1975 Tteoder H. Kelten.)
i te l e g y
the etudy ef IW.
a p h y
the wiadm of IBH, i t e e wt e. one wla
te IM.
U^erceptlble
offi cially noticed by IM.
mlt eatle
puBlUigly ltelah.
ltebrogllo
IM eeftware.
itool ogia
cl<my or InapproprUte t e n . asp. <a
which aiaipeil* l u e l f , auch a* *ran
accaa* ter cyclical aee**a, ' d i rect
Access davice'fer indirectly acceeali
device, and ' vi rt ual systm* for r a J
*V*tm Involving virtual huge amory.
haudeclal
____ lng a put a eurae en the FDP-10.
rwrow
neared forthcoming code fer th* Putt
Sytm IExtended Alnarlly oodte, DecI
a l l y tegaalsed. m t r a r y Klwtoe)
l t a p h l l y * ^
woraip ef OH.
i t e e l l *
a m * It e a raad u , or wLth
Iteaga.
Uwpoly
U n i t ) f ^ * , r *
the a f e t y aid toqatterma* of IM.
I d p e n a agelnat IM, i f any.
l ^ ecl am
the breakleq t e of IM by the Justice
HITS' new c d ^ u t e r w i l l be based on Oil
motorola 6800, end s e l l i n k i t f e n f o r around
$300. But t h e i r a al n 1* t o t h e
A l t a i r , a l i ne based on th* I n t e l SOSO, and
the cu at m er a already i n t o t h a t aachine w i l l
not be i n any way l e t down, they aay.
A c p u t e r k i t based on tha Mour ola 6800,
with 21K bytes o f core, e a e s e t t e r ecorder and
TV di spl ay (32 ehara. by 16 l i ne s ) l a o f f e r s
for $ l a,4S by the SPHSIE. 96 Eaat S00 South,
Bount iful , Utah 84010.
Tw c o p u t a r k l t a , one b u i l t around tha PACE
and another a Nova lookal i ke, )uve eean announce
by B i l l Godbout El e ct r e ni ce , Box 2355 Oakland
Air port , Oakland CA 94614. Ha a l ao plana an 11
leokal ika.
Or you a i g h t gat an LSI-11. An LSI-11
buying pool i a taalng foraed by Hal Laahley,
Southern c a l Coaputer Society, P.O. Box 967,
S. Paaadsna CA 91030.
Proceaeor Technology, 2465 4th S t . , Berkeley
94710, Bakes a t e a t di aplay k i t f o r t ha Al t a i r
for $160 (you supply tha TV a o n l t o r and evident ly
tha keyboard). 64 char ac t er par l i n a , 16 ll na a .
Boot strap E nt e rpr i s e s , Ann Arbor, a re a l w
working on a e i a i l a r u n i t , eal l ad *The Duab Tar*
l n a l , with a eolor option.
i l
HITS l a c ^ s i t t a d now a bui l di ng a video
t a n i n a l , the CT-6096, t h a t w i l l provide both
text and graphlce. Following apeea are not f i n a l .
r t J I J i 8 f t hS/r / f o o o .
I t w i l l have a keyboard and video a o n i t o r ,
pl<q s t r a i g h t I nt o the A l t a i r , and r e f r e s h f r
Al t a i r a ^ n r y aodules- - which aay double aa reg
ular i t y , I f you d o n ' t Bind garbage on tha
scrsen.
I t w i l l hava 24 l l n a a of upper-eaee charec-
t a r a . SxB dote to the c har ac t er , 80 c har ac t ar a
to tha l i n a on a b u i l t - i n u n i t o r . In addi t i on
i t will o f f e r graphiea f r a b i t aapa (aee p. z ) ,
ei t he r 120x120 or 240x240. (Tha r a a o l u t l o n w i l l
be iwi t c h - aa l ec t a bl e, i f you hava enough buffer
o o r y j a acraen of t e x t takaa 2K, eo doea a
120x120 p i c t u r e , and 240x240 takaa a whola 4K.J
Suffer aMory w i l l alao be di v l d a b l e I n t o eepa-
r at a 'pages* of t e xt o r graphic*; and two pages
will be supsriapoasbl s, I n t er l a ci n g a l t e r n a t e
video f i e l d a (aee pp. 0H6-7). Note t h a t r ef reah-
aent l a f r a randoa-access, r a t h e r than a e r i a l ,
w r y , so t h a t a u l t i p l e f i e l d a eannot be ov erl ai d.
* f X & s o e . ' G j
While none haa been announced aa y e t , a nualc
syn t h ss l re r t h a t plugs i n t o tha A l t a i r w i l l a l s i t
c e r t ai n l y be avail able i n 1976.
(Note t h a t t h i a could provide an e n t i r e l y new
fora of i n t e r a c t i v e t e r a i n a l I f uaed wi t h tha
Hachsprsss e q u l ^ a n t i aae ne ar by. )
OEC'a own floppy dl a k , for t h e 6 and 11,
f i n a l l y c a n out. Pr i ce f o r l l s $3000 f o r ona
d r i v e, $4000 for double.
LDictapa, di l c h l a v i r t u a l l y t he saae as
OBCtape but unpatanted, haa j u s t e v e o u t a t
$2000 for one dr i v e, Includi ng c o n t r o l l e r and
i n t e r f a ce t o 11 or Nova ( I n t e r r u p t - d r i v e n ) .
Note t h a t the u ni t i a c ont act a i d rugged, and aay
be B>r s ui t abl e than dlak o r c a s s e t t e f or these
e f us concerned about p or t ab l e r i g e and van-
eounting. Ca pu t e r Operat ions, I n c . , 10774
Tucker S t . , B e i u v l l l e MD 2070S. (The bad newei
software costa $300 f o r t he d r i v e r , p l u s S7S0
to d e c i f you want operating f y i t v RT-11.)
o r l es , I n c . , c l e v e r l y s e l l s
K>ry banks for the 11 which can a t t a c h to
t o two r u - l L i i t onee- - t hu s connecting the
two aachines without uaing DEC'S expensive
Unibus coupler.
Aleo for l l s i Por aat i on, I n c . , s e l l s a
curious pr eg r aa ae r ' s console t h a t t r a p s and dl s -
playa the l a a t alxteen Unibus a l d r e i M * r e f e r
enced; and Fabrl-Tek o f f e r s a cache aMory for
the PDP-11/45.
I S S j
I - I ?
21
*
i s : .
A a l a a r p r i n t e r , the eodal
3600, which p r i n t a a t 13,360 l i n e s per a l n ut e .
1-ike a o at of t h e i r p r i n t i n g aachi nes. I t ' s good.
I t i s ba s i c a l l y aa e l e c t r o s t a t i c dr> co pi er , li ke
the o r i g i n a l Xerox 914. en which tha pa t ent a have
run out . (Even Toshibafax new aakes one.)
Anytay, t h i s spec t a cu l a r b e as t w r i t e s with
a scanning l a s er on the e l e c t r o s t a t i c d r o . But
I K has cl everl y found the way around t h s p r o b l a
e f spoil age of the d n a sur facei i n s t e a d o f Juat
a polished a e t a l sur face, i t ' a a renewable s u r
f ace, which i a I t s e l f changed a u t ^ a t l c a l l y when
r aq u l r a l for new laagas.
Moreover, you can hava up t o 18 type r en t s ,
dsfinad In 16a24 dot a a t r i c e s . (THESE ARE H R
CMA PLCPFT DISK, AND UP TO POUR KAY BE CUMBHT
AT AMY OSE TIKE.) Ponts are u a er -d e si g na b l s.
A f l ae h- p ro j e ct o r can put busi ne ss f er as on
the d r w .
Now f o r the bed newsi baaa p r i c e i a $310,000,
plua extenslTe e xt ra charges. Also i t d o e s n' t
aake car ton eeplsa, and need* a new t e i of paper
s pl i ce d on the eid every 20 a i mi t ea.
(Canon, of Japan, has out a v r e aodest
l a s e r p r i n t e r t ha t goes a t only 4000 l i n e s per
a i o u t e . And i t a l so p l o t s . Burroughs i s said
t o be t r y i ng to get t ha bi ^ s out e f a a i a l l a r
d i v i a .)
T I W . Y ^ a n c - H C
One of tha buys of ctaeputar h i s t o r y I s wai t-
i r q up a t Aaerlcan Used C e ^ u t e r . i n Boston,
617/261-1100.
Hoorex, for t o t u n f a t h n a b l e reason, b u i l t
i n the ear l y 70a a a ^ u t e r intended t o be upwerd-
c on pat l bl e h a tha 360/20. But I t was r o t a 360.
W>y did they do t h l a ? Th* kind of people who
shop around would not buy 360/20e, and t he kind of
people who buy 360/20* would scar cel y leave IBM'a
a k l r t e a t upgrade t l a e .
Thus the Meaorex 40 hae, q u i t e understandably,
been di acont lnued. And a l l tha ones they had l e f t
a r e waiting for you hrand new up a t Aaeriean Used
Coaputer for $he heart-stopping p r i ce of
fzsoo.
That p r i c e includea 4Bk bytes
How for the bad news.
I t c o i l bare-kcnee, with aoftware, and no
hardware support. You get the wiring di a gra a with
i t , and a l i e t of other owners, and your e on your
own. AUC does hava spare p a r t s , however. And
p e r i p h e r a l s , a o s t l y v r e expensive.
Hr. Honeson of AUC t o l d ae on t l t t phoM that
i t had 1S8 in s t r u c t i o n * , including 6 4 - b l t f l oat i ng
p o i n t , 3 2- b i t binary. On studying t he l i t e r a t u r e ,
however, i t appears to ae t h a t the i n s t r u c t i o n - s e t
he d e ec ri t ed i s alcroprograaaed, with the a i cr o -
code intended t o be read i n a t s t a r t u p t i a e .
(Thera a r e 6S Bi cr oIns t ruct i on*.) Haybe you ean
g e t the alerocode f o r these 1S6 I n s t r u c t i o n s aid
Bayba you c a n ' t . Haybe you d o n ' t c a r e , i f youre
wel l enough fixed to handle ona of theee.
I t c a e * in basic black, 2aSs4 f e e t , f l t e in
a van, and supposedly does not need a i rc en d l t i o n -
in g. Supposedly p l t ^ - c v p a t l b l e with 370 pr i -
p he r a l e: I t ' s r e a l l y a s i x t e e n - b i t machine, and
i t haa e i g ht s e t s of ei ght r e g i s t e r s , having been
designed t o p e t f o t a up t o e i g h t f un ct i on s s l a u l -
t aneousl y.
So. 64 a al n r e g i s t e r s , 4K dynaalc a l c r o s t o r s ,
48K o f aeaory, for about tha p r i ce of a uaed n)P-
11/10 with 4K. Saelling s a l t s , anyons?
T , l J ) l f tgL 04f c ,
"Diabolc" uas a gwne o f the t usnt iaa t h i t i n
volved poking a spinning ob je ct . Oddly, Chat's
uhat todays Diablo i nvolves.
Redoubtable Hax Pal eveJcy, who brought you
S c i e n t i f i c data S y s t v s (which Xerox bought and
r e c e n t l y shut down). Rolling Stons and the aevls
*Harjoe* hss another winner, which h e ' s also
This i s the Diablo c ^ pany. which f i r s t
aade dlaka and now Bakes a sensat i onal p r i n t i ng
aaehljie. i t has a whirling p l a s t i c ' d a i e y
wheel* of type. Interchangeable, and can type
30 c har act er s per second i n e i t h e r d i r e c t i o n , as
a s well as draw p i c t u r es of a s o r t .
The basic di f f s re n es between theee p r i n
t e r s snd conventional t ypewri t er s, l i k e the Sel-
e c t r l c , i s t h e i r use of a r v o s r at h e r than r a t
c h et s . This aeans t h e i r ehar act er a can be posi
t io ne d In aany Intermediate p o s i t i o n s , unlike
t he fixed posit ion* a v ai l abl e on an ordinary
typewrit er . For i n st ance, the Diablo can posi
t i o n the type t o 1/60 e f an inch ho r i zo n t al l y
and 1/48 of an inch v e r t i c a l l y . (Hice f o r j u s t i
f i e d t y pe set t i n g. )
There are new a nuaber e f aachines of t h i s
kind. F i r s t case the Diablo p r i n t e r , o f f i c i a l l y
t he IlyType I : then the engineers who b u i l t t h a t
went o f f and created a c n p e t l t l v e p r i n t e r cal l ed
the QUME ( p r o n . ' k y n a ' ) ; now t h e r e ' s an iaproved
Diablo HyType H i Int er dat a aakes a compet itive
u n i t , the Caroussl p r i n t e r , with a l i t t l e p r i n t
cupi and t o aake thlnga t o t a l l y confused, t h e r e ' s
a s p e ci a l nodel Diablo cal l ed the 800, which
c a n ' t be connected to coaputers but i s sold for
o f f i c e u a aa a word pr oce s s or . "
A nuabsr of eonpanies Bake terminal * In the
$5000 hallmark b r a c i n g one or the o t h e r of
t l t t s e p r i n t e r s . Gen-Coa Systeas aakee ona around
t h e Dlabloi Afrierson-Jacobson aakee one around
t h e QUME. Hero* aakes i t s own coaputer t e r a i n a l ,
the 3010, around tha Diablo I which, i t should
be no t i , can be rented for as l i t t l e as three
a en t hs , a t $190/aonth.
The one everybody wants for t h e i r ctnputars
I s c a l M the Xertta 800, but eo f a r t h a t i s not
a v a i l a b l e as a c t ^ u t e r t a n i n a l . i t goea f as t er
t t a n the e t her Diablos and e f f s r s t ypefaces that
look b e aut i fu l for typeset t i ng) aud\ n i c e r , i t
s m s , than t hs types e u r r s n t l y a v ai l ab l e for ths
o t he r Diablos.
For t l e a a in t e r es t ed in j u e t hooking up the
p r i n t e r aechanlan. for s u b s t a n t i a l l y l e s s y
than a whole t e r a i n a l , i n t e r f a c e s f o r hooking
t l a Diablo or QUHE pr i n t e r * t o PDP-B or PDP-11
a r e a v ai l abl e f rc a Data S y a t a s Dssign. I n c . ,
1122 Universi ty Avenue, Berkeley CA 94702.
SUGGESTIONS TO XBR0X C0RCERNI8G DIABLO PRINTERS.
He e>viTQt.
1. S l l t t * 800 a s a terminal, f o r goo&isae take.
2. Faili ng t h a t , ake those p r e t t y t ypef aces
availabl* f o r the others.
3. Already you o f f e r black and red ribbona; a
blue and ysll&J ribbon wauId permi t p r i n l l r y
PJCTUIES IX FULL COLOR, a development o f
great i n t e r e s t tc th s nan/ conput er graphics
f reaks.
t , gguever, t hat uould require s&neuhat f i n e r
p osi t i o ni n g o f the platen; say, 1/120 i n both
di re ct i on s.
S. . . . f a i l i n g whieh, you could put out a "gt\tphta
daisy v i t h intermediate d o t po si t i o n s
aauiaalent to dot posit ion* betueen those
nai aoaiiabTe.
S. Could tfm Diablo o*ehtni be mad* to sound less
l i k e a d e n t i s t ' i r i l l l
?. Bov about a portable?
Mn H i l l l s and Aadia Perlaan, of the L0GD
group a t MIT, e r e working on a s p e ci a l * p r s l l t s r -
ata* t e r a i n a l t o allow non-readare ( possibly i n
cluding chiaps and g e r i l l a s ) to pr ograa in LOB,
e s p e c i a l l y on the Geiral Tur t l e 2500 (see 'Min
s k y ' s c o ^ u t e r , ' nearby). P l a s t i c a e d l t cards
w i l l luve syahol* for the various p i c t u r e and
u s l e - b e x functi ons. To w ri t e a pr ograa, or
e c e at e a B v l e on the scope, tha uaer w i l l lAsert
functi on eards in s l o t s . Color ceding w i l l bs
used f or prograa t r an s f e r i a red sard Beans
t o the red suhr mt i ne.* Sines t h i s i s MIT, the
f u l l recursi ve p a a r of the s y s t a t w i l l e f eourse
be a vai l abl e- (My hope i s t h a t c h i ^ a n s e a a and
o t h e r l i t t l e el ot ni ks can be taught recurel vs
p r o g r a d e f i n i t i o n . Tten w i l l the public wake 19
t o c x ^ u t e r s being easy?)
H m s w i d m w i e n .
lfo Jkew^aj
0 > V a T E ^ ,
T N f f iV iN StUR ue
The great Haruin Minsky i s reno&isd on f i v e
continents. Dean o f the ancrphoue f i e l d o f "ar
t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e , " and re f er red to uithout
ambiguity ae "Marvin" throughout o c p u t e r l a n i ,
he i e a t h e o r e t i c i a n ' s theoret ici an.
But a t the heart o f every t heoret ici an, I
t h i n k , burnt the dreat that he v i l l scmeday prove
the o u t r i g h t , u o rl d l y vnpcrtance o f h i s ttought s.
Like Deaery, a t l a s t he v i l l go to h i s suit oase
and get out hie guns, and the audienae v i l l cheer.
The great Marvin Minsky hat come out
General T u r t l e , Incorporated, i s a toy
coepany t h a t t he t e aa of Hlnaky and Papert put
together t o a a r k e t t h e i r educational Rapucer
accessor ies. (Sse p. 57.1
They've sold a few, but the iapact has been
B d e e t . And, as a a a l e r ef the p r oj ec t puts I t ,
"W* wanted t o g e t our Ideas for education out to
the worl d. '
So they decided to build a t e r a i n a l . But
i t grew, aa t e r a i n a l dssign* w i l l , i t i s now
the GTI 2$00.
R n b e r t h s t o r t o i s e and t hs hars? This
i s the h e i r l e s t t o r t o i s e on four wheels. F i r s t
d s l i v e r l e s t h i s f e l l .
And h e r e ' s whet you gee for your f i ve thou
sand d o l l a r s
m e B u e R . C H W W A i l
a 16- bi t a n p u t e r l i k e rone you ever taw.
8 working r e g i s t e r s , in addition t o PC.
32 scratchpad r e g i a t e r a (70 naieaecond).
2SO-nano second 1/ 0 .
4K of a a i n OMDry, 250 nanosecond. (Expand
a b l e, of ceuree.)
IK OP MICROPROGRAM H0RY, 40 NANOSECOND,
DYNAMICALLY ALTERABLE. (Expandable to
4K.) Likewise 16 b i t s .
h b v P p M W W K . e W
Caseette ndswry, 1 drive.
Alphafcatical diaplay, standard video, with
Bxl6-dot character generator, 64 char
a c t e r , DYNAMICALLY ALTERABLE. Also
expandable.
Vectoring graphic di spl ay with 2D r o t at i on
( t u r t l e g e o u t r y ' * * l i n e s are speci
f i e d not by endpoints h i t by angles and
l e n g t h ) . 512x512 resol ut i o n, 1 B i l l i o n
andpoints/aec r ef resh.
I aaked Dan H i l l i s , a mstiln* e f the grot?), about
the p o s s i b i l i t y of I n s t a l l i n g tha 2500 i n a van.
' Think of i t as a r ec re at i on al vehicl e with the
van opt i onal ,* ha sai d.
Y
Wiat Bakes p o u l b l e the coeputer counter
c ul t u r e and everything e l se i e , of eourse, the
spectacul ar d e v e l o ^ e n t of e l ec t r on i c chip t ech
nology, the t echni ques e f shrinking g r ea t elec
tr o ni c c i r c u i t s t o a l t no s i a s . Electronic
r i g s t h a t were shoeboa-eize ten years ago are
t y p i c a l l y now etched on chips t hs si c e of your
t h t n t e a i l and sold for s few d o l l a r s , no Batter
what they contai n.
A few year s ago, the chlpa only contained
buildi ng bl ocks, such as r e g i s t e r s u n i t s for
holding i n t o n a t i o n t a ^ o r a r l l y . But now in
ths al d-s eve n t i e e they havs coa l to contain
whole ctv pu t e re , or large secti ons of t h w .
(The d i s t i n c t i o n between aieroprocaesora and
coaputera i a taken up en p. 44.)
The f i r s t b l gg l s s wars f m I n t e l : the 8006
snd then the 8080, a chip t h a t haa b a c a e the
h e ar t s f tha A l t a i r (eea p. X), aa well ae r i v a l
ccaputers.
Hew eceputer chips kssp cealng out j piple
keep t e l l i n g ae t o aenti on s p e ci f i c ones, but I
c a n ' t keep t r a e k of thea. Tha Motorola 6800
* * popular 1 I t w i l l eoon be the h e ar t of new
computers f r a HITS and SPHERE (aee p.W end Y) .
(An a u g a a t e d and f a a t e r copy of the 6800 l a r e
putedly being sol d by H05 Technology for $20.)
Another I n t e r e s t i n g e o ^ u t e r chip i s the PACE
ai cr oprocessor f r o National Sai conduct or, with
four working r e g i s t e r s snd a t en-i er d stack;
with 16K aoDr y i t cost s $500. (The PACE i s
hlddsn in sn a u t m a t i c drink aljiar and booxa
Invsntory c o n t r o l l e r f r a e l ec t r o Units Corp.,
San Jose, C a l i f . Adjuata pr i ce s to hours and
can svsn wat er t h e drinks p r s cl s s l y . Claiaed
t o aake a b a n t e e ownerehip of hars p r a c t i c a l . )
Becauea of ch i ps, the pr i ce e f ccaputer a si n
w r y i s col l apsi ng apace. S c a t h i n g l i k e a
d o l l a r a word i n the a l x t l e a , i t i s soaething li ke
l i k e a dine a word now. t i t I n t e l new of f e r a a
st orage chip holding 16X b i t s for $55, which i s
3 s b i t , and a f ri end e f aina e s t i a s t a s t h a t
aMDry chip* w i l l c o st 1/10 ef a cant per word in
1976.
These c o s t e o l l a ps s s causa aany to pr ed i c t
the id of di sk and tape. But t h a t s p r w a t u r s .
Wills t h e w sappi er chips hold a l o t for a l i t t l e ,
t h e i r content s dlaappaar when the l i g h t a go out.
Unt i l laser-punched tape ceaes slong, disk snd
aagnet i e tape w i l l be vary auch with us as long-
t e n aid nackup s t o r s g s devicss.
Mcauaa o f the aet i cn in chip technology,
a pot e nt i a l ) l a p o r t a n t aav^ ent In e a p u t e r design
aey hava been passed ove n the *aacrovdules* de-
v e l o p ^ a t Washington Universi ty l o St . l o u t s by
ass Clark ( f a t h e r of the or i gi n a l DEC aodules) ,
and as s o ci at e s .
Ths b s s l c idea of the aacRMdule approach
waa t o have e n p u t e r subsections t ha t ware
p l e t e l y int ar pl uggabl e. with t h you ean bui l d
any c ^ q u t a r , t o your own daaign, i n a couple of
days. The s y s t a e x i s t s now snd i t w r k s j u s t
f i n e i c ounters, r e g i s t e r s , a e r i s t can be a t
tached quickly by cable.
Unfortunately, the c ost i s high and they
havent founl a aanuf act ur er . with chip pr i ces
f s l l i n g , and ehi p know-how widespread, i t a hard
to j u s t i f y charging ten or so t l a s s as auch for
opponents j u a t because they can be plugged to
gether f e s t a l . ( Ju at as unf ort unately, every
t h i n ; i n the a a c r v e d u l e y s t i s b u i l t en sec
t i o n s ef twelve b i t s . ) For t h i s reason the St.
U>uls f olk a r e having t r ouble g e t t i n g c < B e r c l el
sponsorship. Itowaver, perhsps boh br i g h t hun
gry ehip ct*pany, reading t h i s , wu l d l i k e to
ge t Into t he M c r a e d u l e geae. An) preewably
w h i t t l e t hs Module down to
EQDIPtW
P A G E
The aoet glaaorous o np u t e r * being b u i l t
today a l l H a i t o be openly call ed by t h e i r devel-
P*r * b ee: the Gre enb l st t empMKtt. Hinsky's
epu t e r, the Aadahl aac hi n e, t hs Crsy coaputer.
A M D A H L
The Aadahl c o ^ u t e r or S y a t a 470, a euner-
put er of the 360 a e r i e e by one of the euviwho
designed t h o r i g i n a l l y a>* p i k*
avail able f n Aadahl Corporati on, 12S0 East
Arques Avenue. Sunnyvele CA 94086. (They are now
a dvertisi ng for s y e t m people who know the in
s i d e . of OS/XVT. VS, e t c . ) . The f i r s t 470 i s up
snd n i M i q a t NASA's I n s t l t u t s f e r Space st udi es.
Co l wb l . u. But IM i s s a i d t o be readyirq one
of t h e i r faaous 'knockout* aachlnss to do i t In
(Dstaastion, July 75, 94 .)
O C T o ( i T O |
Of course you've t>e^ht t h a t hardwired
setups were for iloppy analog types of thing,
b i t here tom m hsve THE CHESS MACHINE, unter
et ral ght f aced const r uct i on e t the h i t Al u b ,
which w i l l provide HARDWIRED THREAT ANALYSIS.
Yee, I t s advanced perceptron a rc h i t e ct u r e w i l l
siiroossdly be cspable of analysi ng thr eat a to
any given po s i t i o n in a GRAND PARALLEL PLASH.
The lapact of t h l e a s t oni shi ng d e vel o^ an t on
the world e f Electr onic Ct aes, or anything a l s s ,
p r e d i c t . V
Over a very niae luneh
a t Roditys in Chicago,
Prof. Minsky and I d i s
cussed possibl e s t y l i n g
f o r his &*vputer. He
parti cularl y lik e d the
arrongngnt suggested
in t h i s sketch: a f o l d -
down keyboard and the
displ ays s or t o f on poles
so they could be seen
e as i l y through a croud
o f tyetonders. The fon
d le uould only uork, o f
course, v i t h the ecopee
rtnoved. V e ' l l see Li m t
uhat i t f i n a l l y looks
li k e .
Uneatiafi ed with the etru c t ur e of no real
cwput er*. they s r e b u i l d i ng s t HIT'a Al Lab a
ct aput ar whoas native language le LISP- I t will
have 32 b i t s with v i r t u a l a a o r f , and axscute
LISP l i k e a bat out of h a l l .
In a refreahl ng r e v e r s a l e f t rends. I t wi l l
be for one ueer a t a t i a e . *Tiae-aharlng l a an
idea wtess t l a s has gone,* chuckles ons p a r t i
c i pant . (Project MAC. where tlae-ehar l ng grew
1 H C C W C P M T O I L
Seyaour Cray, Beater ccaputer bu i l de r , crea
ted tha 6600 e y s t v f o r Cont rol Dsts. Indeed, he
had tha audacity to reiuire CDC to build the cca-
puter factory on the pr op er t y adjoining hi* own
s s t a t s In Chippews P a l l s , Minnesota. Mow t h a t
h s s broken of f t o e t a r t h i e own ecapany (with
aoney f n * CDC, a a n g o t h e r s ) , the new cosgmter
f actory adjolna h i a e e t e t e en the other si de. The
Cray-1, another supercosputer, i s neerln} ct spl e -
t i e n there.
Patent 13,875,932 haa m been lasued for
How Machapress' e l e c t r o n i c eez aachine or what
ever i t i a (you saw i t f i r s t on p. m i ) . In tha
i l l u s t r a t i o n we see i t t i c k l i n g a alKrt.
After you eend Mecheprsss hi s f i fty-buck
royal t y, you can e i t h e r buy t he k i t or a pre
b u i l t aodal. Coneava or convex, as tha poet
says. (Etchinga a re anted i l u vi a n and watarteds
a re ct no np l a ce j as an i n v i t a t i o n , what sore ln-
clal va cseuppence could be proffered?)
Speaking e f Machspress, i t l e a s t h a t the
unusual 1/0 e q u l p n n t o f f e r e d by the Federal
Screw itorks (Trey, Mich.) i s only s voice output
Sur prisingl y, a voice input deviee i s now
c ^ B o r c l a l l y a v ai l abl e t ri m Threshold Technology,
I n c . , Cinnaaineen. MJ. r o r $10,500 you g e t a
deviee t h a t w i l l recognise 32 spoken w r d s , and
lcrophenaa. (Each user has to t r a i n i t on hia
32 l o r d s , but s spsr a t e vocabulari es asy be
st or sd on the ^ n t e i f o r d i f f s r s n t users or
purposes. This i s s t i l l a t ny f roa the
fabled ' t a l k i n g c s p u t e r * sea pp. DM13-14 f e r
pr cbl ai s aid o bj e ct i o ns - - b u t i t s undeniably a
useful step.)
- mi
G W H I C *
The h a l f t o n e syst em o f KUMRRO, rumored on
p. DM36, i s r e a l , c l e v e r i ndeed! i t d i v i d e s t h e
h a l f - t o n e problem i n t o two p a r t s , one t he o r i g
i n a l p i c t u r i n g o f t h e s c e n e , t h e o t h e r i t * p r e s
e n t a t i o n I n t h e t e r m i n a l . That means t h a t t h e i r
s y s t a a pe r mi t s one c e n t r a l image g e ner at or t o
send out p i c t u r e s t o as many t e r mi nal s a t de
s i r e d . Unl i ke t h e Watki ns Box (see p . DM37),
whose h a l f - m l l l i o n - d o l l a r opul ence can be poured
o n l y on a s i n g l e user a t once, i n t h l e syst ea
t h e c e n t r a l r es o u r ce can be d i s t r i b u t e d among
v a r i o u s u s e r s , wi t h each o n e ' s p i c t u r e changed
i n t e r m i t t e n t l y , o r pour ed on a s i n g l e user f or
f u l l ani mat i on. C u r r e n t l y i t runs i n For t r a n,
t r a n s mi t t i n g encoded p i c t u r e s t o t h e unusual t e r
mi nal s r equi r ed ( b u i l t around T r i n i t r o n s ) . But
a S p e c i al c e n t r a l p r o c e s s o r l e f or es een.
The ays t an i s c a l l e d CHARGE, and Ron Swallow,
i t s devel oper, i s i ndeed a hard c h a r g e r . ( Sof t
ware: B i l l Und er h i l l and Roger Gunwaldsen.)
Swall ow's game I s n t movies o r engi neeri ng g r a
p h i c s ; he want s CHARGE t o compete head- t o- head
wi t h PLATO (see pp. DM26-7). And a t t h e p r i c e s
h e ' s t a l k i n g a b o u t - - $SOQO p e r t er mi nal and
$150,000 f or t h e c e n t r a l p r o c e s s o r - - who knows?
UHP.F.AL ESTATE: f o r r e l a j z '. i o n , Ron uorka or.
the "dream house he knepe in ttid e the e ya te n .
T u t y T W ) , 1 u |
Si nce t he f o r t i e s , t h e r e have been cont i nua l
announcement s t h a t vi deo d i s k s movies you p l a y
on your TV o f f a r e c o r d were r i g h t around t he
c o r n e r . E a r l i e r t h i s y e ar t hey were supposedly
going t o be a v a i l a b l e b e f o r e Chr i st mas. Now they
n i g h t be on s a l e , "on a l i m i t e d b a s i s , " i n 1976.
(TV Guide, 1$ Aug 75, p . 7 . ) Because of t he g r ave
d i f f i c u l t i e s o f e n g i n e e r i n g - - i na cc ur a ci es i n pun
chi ng t he c e n t e r hol e mean the t r a c k cant he l p
bei ng o f f c e n t e r , f o r I n s t a n c e sane o f u s a r e
s k e p t i c a l .
Two systems have been conf i de nt l y announced.
P h i l i p s , t he f i r m t h a t gave ua t he audi o c a s s e t t e ,
has a s yst aa t h a t w i l l f ol l ow t ha s p i r a l t r a c k on
the di sk f r an underneat h wi t h a l a s e r . The di s k
t u r n s a t 30 r e v o l u t i o n s pe r second, or one t ur n
per TV frame, so i t can supposedl y f r eeze On one
frame when d e s i r e d .
The o t h e r s y s t a a i s from r c a , which has
a l ong h i s t o r y of me-t oo announcement s, but a t
l e a s t two o f them made i t b i g ( t he 45 record and
t h e c o l o r TV s y s t a a now used i n t h e USA), s o RCA
shoul d not be di s mi s s ed o u t of hand. Thei r di s k
e y s t m w i l l supposedl y go a t 450 r p s (7. 5 r e v o l
u t i o n s / second) , b u t t h e y s t i l l mean t o t r a c k i t
wi t h a ne ed l e . The man from TV Guide says h e ' s
seen I t and I t w r k l p e r f e c t l y , b u t I 'would p e r
s o n a l l y look f o r hi dden wi r es.
(MCA, an e n t e r t a i n me n t congl omerat e, has
h i t c h e d up wi t h P h i l i p s and p r i n t e d a c at a l og o f
a l l the s ovi es t h e y w i l l supposedl y make a v a i l a b l e
on di sk f o r the "MCA-Phlli ps" system Huch as
Dest ry Ri des Again f o r around t en bucks. Thi s i s
probabl y j u s t a b l u f f ) w i t h t h o p r i c e o f audi o
r ecords what t hey a r e , no way i s a movie goi ng t o
c o s t ten bucks- But i t makes RCA look weaker,
which i s pr obabl y t he pur po s e .)
The p r o s p e c t s u r p r i s e d then, b u t MAGI ( s ee
p. DM36) al l ows aa how t hey mi ght l e t you make
movies on t h e i r over - t he- phone movie-maki ng s e t u p
(sket ched on p . DM36). P r i e s t o capabl e o ut -
d e r s , i f the s of t war e meshed, would be about $50
an hour. (Six hour s makes one minut e o f f i l m,
not count i ng t h e phone b i l l . Cheap i f you know
movie e c o i m i c s . )
Meanwhile, John l^>wry, a t D i g i t a l Video Lab
o r a t o r i e s i n Tor ont o, has been devel opi ng hi gh-
q u a l i t y video s u i t a b l e f o r t r a n s f e r t o t h e a t r i c a l
f i l m. He and t h e y have devel oped a 655- l i ne
c o l o r e y s t wi t h heavy d i g i t a l e nhanc s t t nt
(aee " Pi c t u r e P r o c e s s i n g ,* p. DM10). I s c a r c e l y
b e l i e v e By n o t e s , b u t I saw I t , and wrot e down
t h a t i t was comparabl e t o 35aaa s t u d i o c o l o r .
The day of " e l e c t r o n i c cameras" t h a t i s , f i l m -
q u a l i t y vi deo-- may be upon us soon.
AtDUt 1972, t h e r e wae announced an e l e c t r o n
i c a l l y - c o n t r o l l e d c o l o r f i l t e r t h a t could chareje
t o any hue i n nanoseconds. That would t o j u s t
h a t we a l l need f o r c o l o r movies f r o a 03Ms
b u t what happened t o i t ?
Mi l l i o ns o f peopl e saw conput er g r a p h i c s f or
t he f i r s t time on t he PBS Accent of Man" s e r i e s ,
where a s cr een drawing o f E a r l y Man's s k u l l was
seen t o r o t a t e and g r a d u a l l y change i n i t s f ea
t u r e s . Thi s waa s t a r t l i n g even i f you know about
computer g r a p h i c s , s i nc e it seoaed to be pr oceed
i ng frcsn complex d a t a concer ni ng t he e n t i r e
s k u l l s and t h e i r changes.
Not so. Act ual l y what you saw was a s e r i e s
o f s k u l l drawings by Pa t e r Fo l d e s , a P a r i s i a n
a r t i s t , wi t h t he coaput er g e ne r a t i ng t r a n s i t i o n a l
drawi ngs between t h a n . ( Indeed, t hough you saw
Pr of . Bronowskl next t o t he s c r e e n , you di d not
s ee him next to t he s cr een a t t h e same t i me t he
drawi ngs were changing becaus e t h a t had t o be
f i l med v e r y s l owl y. )
The s yst ao was c r e a t e d by Nest or Burtnyk and
Ma r c el l l Hei n, o f t he Nat i onal Research Council
of Canada. I t currently r uns only On an SEL 840A.
( I t was a l s o used by t he Nat i onal Fi lm Board o f
Canada f o r c r e a t i n g F o l d e s ' s p l e n d i d f i l m "Hun
g e r . ) They can pr evi ew by r o l l i n g t hr ough b i t
map vi deo on a moving-head d i s k . (See Burtnyk
and Mein, "Ceoputar Generat ed Key-Frame Anima
t i o n , " J . SKPTE, March 71, 149- S3. )
What about t he ani mat ed f i g u r e t h a t t a l k s t o
J o e Gar l a gl ol a be f or e b a e e h a l l games? Haha
T h a t ' s a rubber puppet mat t ed i n f resi a b l a ck toX)
t h e guy who does t he voi c e works t he mouth.
Many u n lik e ly in d iv id u a te have stormed th a t
h eartbreak toon o f Hollywood, le a v i n g eadder but
u ia e r b u t Ivan S u th e rla n d , dean o f e onput sr
g ra p h ics? W ell, having fou n d t h a t th e n w i e -
makere a re no t ready f o r image s y n t h e s i s th e
dreamanrithB unprepared, ae i t u e r e , f o r th e T o ta l
Forge he ia so jo u rn in g a t th e Hand Corporation.
A f e l l a named Cha r l es McCart hy, o f suburban
Chi cago, t aught the "Coaput er Eye* f r o# S p a t i a l
Dat a Sys t ons, and w i l l do ma i l - o r d e r p i c t u r e con
v e r s i o n s . H e ' l l conver t your f a v o r i t e snapshot
t o a p r i n t o u t of t he same s u b j e c t made o f l i g h t
and dark l e t t e r s . I f y o u ' r e i n t e r e s t e d i n having
t he a c t u a l g r ey- s ca l e da t a f o r pr oc e s s i n g i n your
own c o ap ut e r , i nq ui r e .
The t b i u s Group, I n c . , P. O. Box 306, Win
f i e l d IL 60190.
Kant a c omput e r - cont r ol l ed v i d e o c a s s e t t e
r ecorder? The model t o a s k f o r i s t he Sony 2850,
c o s t i n g (gasp) seme s i x t housand bucks. An i n
t e r f a c e t o t h e PDP-11 i s made by CKX Systems,
635 Vaqueros, Ave. , Sunnyvale CA 94086-
I n c i d e n t a l l y , scaled-down CKX e d i t i n g s et ups
a r e begi nni ng t o g e t around. F o r i n s t a n c e , they
hava a small set up I n the p l e a s a n t o f f i c e s o f DJN
Fi l m & Tape, 4 East 46, NYC: t h r e e o f t he above
Sonye and t hs D1X Model 50 c o n t r o l s e t u p , using
a PDP-11 and key scope. Though p r i c e s a r e by t he
j ob, t he ba s i c charge i e $75/ hour . (Not s t h a t
t ha b i g ora set up, wi t h a d i s k , i s t he model 300.)
i B C F K p s r L W
At t ho hi gh end o f t h i n g s , a f i r m c a l l e d
Three Ri ver s Coap&ny has come i n wi t h a 3D vec
t o r i n g s y s t a a (compet i t ors di s c us s e d p. DM30).
Supposedly they can pack a l o t more l i n e s On ths
The p r i c e o f t h e GT40 d i s p l a y (see p . DM21),
which a l l i n a l l i e one o f t h e b e s t d i s p l a y s on
t h e mar ket , has j u s t dropped t o $6500. To d i s
gui se t h i s p r i d e dr op, DEC gi v e s you t h e smal l er
t ube and no keyboard.
And a t the low and, a f i r m c a l l e d Hegatek
i n San Diego o f f e r s l i n e - d r a wi n g COT c o n t r o l l e r s
f o r $1000 t o $3000. Al l p e r mi t ani mat i on. You
have t o Suppl y t he o s c i l l o s c o p e . Thei r equi i ne nt
pl ugs i n t o t h e PDP-11 o r t he Nova, o r i n one
case connect s i n tandem t o an ASCII t i me- shari ng
t e r mi nal ( ! ] .
The 11 and Nova models work d i r e c t l y from
BASIC; your program i n Basi c p u t s l i n e l i s t s i n
t h a d e v i c e ' s b uf f e r menory. The t i me- shari ng
model conver t s incoming l i n e l i s t s f r o a ASCII t o
b i n a r y and s t or e s them i n t e r n a l l y . 2S6 l i n e s
wi t h 8 - b i t r e s o l u t i o n c o s t $1900, Sl l cPand $1600
f o r 11, Nova and t ~ s r e s p e c t i v e l y ; 1024 l i n e s
wi t h 10- b i t r e s o l u t i o n c o a t S2BO0, $2000 and
$2500 r e s p e c t i v e l y . (Nova and 11 models can be
c oa p l e t e l y updated i n two r e f r e s h c y c l e s , y i e l
di ng as much ani mat i on as anyone can de ce nt l y
expect f o r the p r i c e . Sof t ware i s suppl i ed t o
pr ovi de d i s pl ay Out put from Nova, PDP-11 o r ti me
s hari ng BASIC; a l s o t - * F o r t r a n . )
Meanwhile, f o r t h e hands-on e l s c t r o n i c s guy,
Opt i c al E l e c t r o n i c s , I n c. makes a l l k i nds o f r o
t a t i o n modules. You can b u i l d your own 3D r o t a
t i o n s e t up o u t Of t h e i r modules f o r a coupl e of
thousand) b u t , of c ou r s e , t h e f ancy d i g i t a l I/O
f or hi gh- speed r ef r es hment i s not a v a i l a b l e -
An i n t e r e s t i n g c a p a b i l i t y o f t h e 0EI equipaenl' ,
though, i s t h a t you can b u i l d 40- o r even SP-
r o t a t l o n aystons o ut o f t h e i r modules, w n .
? I T W S
Exce l l e nt manual s on t he PLATO s ys t a a and
TUTOR l anguage a r e now a v a i l a b l e from CERL, Uni
v e r s i t y o f I l l i n o i s , Urbana.
The next ge ner at i on o f PLATO t ermi nal s i s
cooi ng down the l i n e . The mi c r of i che pr o j e c t o r
i s wi t heri ng away, as was e a s i l y f or e s ee abl e)
meantime, s t e ps are bei ng t aken toward a s r e
hi gh-performance t e r m i n a l , by p u t t i n g a cmput er
i n I t . Thi s i s bei ng done bot h by Jack S t i f l e ,
who has done i t wi t h ths I n t e l c h i p , and Roger
Johnson, who has tha pa n el i n t s r f a c e d t o an 11.
(11 f ans pl e as e n o t e t h e i m p l i c a t i o n : i t i s pos
s i b l e t h a t the i n t e r f a c e may ba market ed. )
Meanwhile, PLATO-like t e r mi nal s ( t he model
AG-60) a r e a t o u t $5000 (r<m Ap p l i c a t i o n s Group,
I n c . , P. O. Box 444B, Hawse, Ohio 43S37. Not e
t h a t t h e s e have st a ndar d non-PIATO i n t e r f a c e s
and st andar d keyboards, but t h e Owens - I l l i noi s
p l a n a pa nel ( er roneousl y c a l l e d Corning e l s e
where i n the book) b l a z e s i n a l l i t s g l or y.
The main devel o]Kent i n c a i u t e r g r a p h i c s i n
t he l a s t year has been the sudden upsur ge of t he
bi t - map approach t o c p u t e r dl e p l a v . Whi le the
approach, and e qul f ne nt f o r i t - - l i k e t h e Data
Disk s y s t m have bean around f o r some t i me, t he
f a l l i n g p r i c e o f e l e c t r o n i c s , e s p e c i a l l y i n t he
maaory a r e a, have made i t a br upt l y t he c heapest
and t hus the most popular t ype of c oaput e r d i s
p l a y f o r gr aphi c s .
A " b i t map" i s a s e r i e s of dot p o s i t i o n s ,
or b i t s , r ecorded i n soae form of f a s t mesry
and r ead Out i n sync to a convent i onal scanned
vi deo s y s t n ( see pp. 0H6-7) . Th* one b i t s
s t a nd f or dot s o r l i t t l s s qua r e s , t he zer oes
f o r not hi ng, and t he video s y s t a a b r i g h t e n s the
c or r espondi ng zones on the s c r e en. T h i s method
h a s c e r t a i n di sadvant ages p a r t s of p i c t u r e s
cannot be a u t o a a t i c a l l y d i s t i n g u i s h e d or sepa
r a t e l y ani mat ed, as wi t h s ubr out i nl ng d i s p l a y
(see "Tha Mind' s Eye, " e s p . p . 0K23)-- b u t f or
t he money i t ' s g r e a t - Si z e s gi ven r e f e r t o the
number of s quares i n the r e c t a n g l e o f t h e p i c t u r e .
BLACK-AND-WHITE
An o f f - t h e - s h e l f bi t - map s y s t a a f o r the
PDP-11 or t he Nova I s a v a i l a b l e from I nt er medi a
S y s t o a s , 20430 Town Center Lane, Cupe r t i no CA
95014 (52750 or $2500 r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . May be
ganged f or gr ey- ec al e o r c o l o r . I t ' s 2S6*2S6.
For t h e A l t a i r , t he f o r t h c o a i n g 8096 d i s pl ay
( see p . Y) w i l l have 120*120 o r 240x240 bi t - map
g r a p h i c s , f o r p r i c e s s t a r t i n g around $1000.
COLOR
Ext r a b i t maps, p l u s e l e c t r o n i c s , can g e t you
c o l o r ) I f you double the number of b i t * you can
double the nuaber of a v a i l a b l e r o t o r s on your d i s
p l a y , ad i n f i n i t e .
On the smal l s i de , 64x64 c ol or wl l s h o r t l y
be a v a i l a b l e f o r t he A l t a i r f r c a t he D i g i t a l Group,
Denver. A 128x120 eol or bi t - map s y s t a a f o r t h e 11
has j u s t been announced by DEC ( f or " nucl e ar medi
c i ne" Of a l l t h i n g s but t hey w i l l p a r t wi t h i t
t o anybody f or 8 o r 10 thousand ( not y e t f i x e d ) ) ,
'i hey s t r e s s t h a t t h i s w i l l be the f i r s t o f a modu
l a r s e r i e s o f bi t - map d i s p l a y s , wi t h p l u g i n s f o r
d i f f e r e n t degrees of r e s o l u t i o n and d i f f e r e n t
c h a r a c t e r ge ner at or s .
Ramtek and Coatal bot h make 256x256 hit -map
syst ems, pr i ced i n the $16,000 ar e a.
Above t h i s r s s o l u t i o n s p e c i a l TV s y s t o s tend
t o be ne ce s s ar y. Both Ramtek and Comtal make very
expenai ve syst oas f o r t he pur pose, u s i n g
s o l i d - s t a t e and d i s k r e s p e c t i v e l y .
You may o r may not have heard o f t he Advent
TV p r o j e c t o r , t he most g l o r i o u s TV t h i n g t h e r e i a .
I t c o s t s $3500 and p r o j e c t s a f o u r - f o o t p i c t u r e i n
t he b e s t TV c o l o r you can f i n d . A l o t o f guys a r e
bi t - mappi ng t o i t .
At MIT t h e y ' v e g o t bi t - map c o l o r on tho Ad
ve nt a t b e t t e r t ha n 400*500 r e s o l u t i o n . (An opt i on
pl anned f o r the Fl yi ng T u r t l e ( see p . Y) w i l l a l
low i t s core nOTory t o be used wi t h t h e Advent as
a bi t - map d i s pl ay r e f r e s h e r . ) At Ce o t a l t h e y ' r e
goi ng f o r 1000*1000 on the Advent , r e j i g g e r i n g t he
e l e c t r o n i c s frcxa s c r a t c h.
The most spe ct a cul ar demonst r at i on of bi t - map
c o l o r so f a r has no doubt been the f i l m done by
Dick Shoup e t a l . a t Xerox PARC ( see p . X), show
ing t he super animati on t h a t ' s p o s s i b l e when b i g-
computer r esour ces are gi ven over t o bi t - map a n i
mat i on. Thei r system i s 600x800.
5'Cr*iSftKV P*Key
A l l those scoreboar ds and wi secr acki ng l i g h t -
g r i d s , now t h a t t hey a r e g j ipu t a r - c o n t r o l l e d ,
r a i s e a l l ki nds of p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r non- frame
a ni ma t i on. The b i g ones c o s t i n t h e m i l l i o n s ; a
smal l one f or shopping c e n t e r s c o s t s a hundred
gr and (Milleni um I nf o Systems, Sant a C l a r a CA).
Wit hin a year or so, though, you ought t o
be abl e t o g e t a n i c e ani mat ed d i s p l a y - p a n e l of
some s o r t f or t he si de o f your van, assuming
you' ve g o t tha conput er i n s i d e .
2 J >
A s u r p r i s e s oa et hi ng- or - ot her from DEC, the
VT5S, r e p r e s e n t s a breakt hrough of some s o r t . But
what were they t hi nki ng of ?
"Graphic c a p a b i l i t y " has been added t o an
o r di nar y upper- case keyscope. S p e c i f i c a l l y , the
a b i l i t y t o make two gr aphs, i . e . , two wiggly l i n e s
(no Bxsre) soewwhere between t he l e f t and r i g h t
Si des o f t he sc r e en. You can a l s o shade i n under
them, and add coordi nat e g r i d s . I t * $2500, and
o bv i ousl y g r e a t I f your e bonkers f o r 2D graphs.
QiOS
IBM, which di d not t ake par e i n i t * develop
ment, 1s sponsori ng a $100, 000 CHARGE i n s t a l l a t i o n
a t t h* Uni ve r s i t y o f Waterl oo, I n Canada.
f w t m
Labor Day, 1975
MORE THANKS
I n hangi ng t o g e t h e r t h i s
vol ume o r i g i n a l l y , 1 f i t t e d
t hanki ng Heeh Wiener, br azen t
br as h young ol d - f as h i o n e d new
e d i t o r o f Coaputer Deci si ons,
who ha s changed t h a t p u b l i c a
t i o n f r o a s t o l i d t o pepper y.
Thanks a l s o t o ay good
f r i e n d Robe r t W. F i d d l e r , Es q. ,
p a t e n t a t t o r n e y and s t i l l an
e x- phi l os oph y pr o f e s s o r a t
h e a r t , f o r many d e l i g h t f u l and
wi t t y c onver s at i o n s on pr obl oas
of p a t e n t , copyri ght and t he
v a g a r i e s of i n t e l l e c t u a l pr op
e r t y . Any harebrai ned i d e a s on
t he s e t o p i c s expreesed her e,
however, a r e almost assur edl y
For much o f t h e i nforma
t i o n i n t h i s suppl ement I am
g r a t e f u l t o Bob Al br echt of
PCCi ment i oned here and t he r e -
F i n a l l y , s p e ci a l thanks
t o Comaander Hugo McCauley,
b e t t e r known t o you as Hugo's
Book S e r v i c e , f o r h i s yeaaan
perf ormance In shi ppi ng out
t he books - - not t o menti on c a r
r yi ng them up and down s t a i r s ,
t ypi ng t h e mai l i ng l a b e l s ,
c hecki ng f o r bad ones, and
s endi ng o u t a l l those not es of
apol ogy when we were Out of
books a gai n and agai n and agai n.
And t o l o n g - s u f f e r i n g t o l a amj
Megan McCauley, my es p ec i al
g r a t i t u d e .
WHATEVER
The se a- t o- s hi nl n g - s e a
Nel son Empi re now c o n s i s t s of
a l o t o f unsol d books, a IK Al
t a i r and a second p a i r o f shoes.
My scheme f o r t aki ng on Appren
t i c e G e n e r a l i s t s may have t o
wai t awhi l e. So may C f p u t e r
I l h , t h e f i l m . But j u s t wai t .
Speaki ng o f which, what
about t h i s book, hey, now?
E v e n t u a l l y t h e r e w i l l be
a new e d i t i o n . Yes, t h e t ype
l e hor r e ndous l y smal l , and t h a t
w i l l have t o be f i x e d . But
t h a t i n v o l v e s new negat i ves f o r
ever y pa ge, an expendi t ure of
t hous ands of d o l l a r s , and some
r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n of how t h i s
shoul d a l l be s e t up.
Ther e have been sever al
i n t e r e s t i n g p l a n s . One was t o
s p l i t t h a c ont ent * o f t h i s book
i n t o t h r e e books, add ma t e r i a l ,
e n l a r g e t he t ype and have them
each t h i s s i z e and p r i c e . Ten
t a t i v e t i t l e s were Computer Lib
/Dream Machi nes, Computers
A r i s e !/ Coap ut e r s A r o u s e , and
G u e r r i l l a Coaput l nq/ El ect r enl c
Monkeyshi nes. Sample cover,
f o r G u e r r i l l a Comput ing: King
Kong cl i mbi ng the f r o n t panel
o f a 370 ho l di ng Pat t y Hearst .
( I a l s o daydreamed at o u t put
t i n g o u t a 10- v o l i s e encyclo
pe di a i n t he same f ormat , em
br ac i ng psychol ogy/ soci ol ogy,
b i o l ogy/ evo l ut i o n ar y s t r a t e g y ,
h i s t o r y (as s t r at egy) / mor e h i s
t or y ( as mood and f e e l i n g ) ,
r e v o l u t i o n versus c on t i n u i t y
(a t wo- si ded pos i t i on p a p e r ) . . .
t he Go-Mani acal Encycl opedi a.
But r ea s on has p r e v a i l e d , and
such f o r a y s have been post poned
I n d e f i n i t e l y .
The p r e s e n t plan i s f o r
Coaput er Li b t o be r ewr i t t e n
and r e s e t i n bi gger t y pe , a t
l e a s t 256 pa ges , wi t h a t l e a s t
8 c o l o r pages and col or covtz.
(We're t a l k i n g about f a l l '76
or l a t e r . ) Pr i c e w i l l have t o
be $15. I f you t hi nk t h a t ' s a
r l f S f f you can * t l l l g e t t h i s
on e . (A nuaber of peopl e have
c t n p l a i n e d to ae about t h e $7
p r i c e t ag of t h i s volume. Have
they ever bought ot he r books?)
La t e r I would l i k e t o p u t Out
an ant hol ogy of By f a v o r i t e a r
t i c l e s i n t he f i e l d , usi ng t he
Comput ers Ari se VCe g u t e r s
Arouse I t i t l e and format, and
wi t h soae good 3D I f p o s s i b l e ,
i n any c a s e , I want t o s t a y i n
the p u b l i s h i n g gamei I h a v e n ' t
had so much fun i n year s. Oth
e r p r o j e c t e d volumes i ncl ude
The I nner Beyond, by Shei l a
McKenziei Di r t y Dri ving and t he
S t r a t e g y of T r a f f i c by "Dri ver
Edr" and The Nelson Coaputer
Gl os s a r y. Soon I hope to be
a bl e t o t ype s et f r oa my own
c o ^ u t e r , and p o s s i b l y to share
t M s f a c i l i t y -
Thi s has been a most i n
t e r e s t i n g year . I have been
p l e a s e d t o meet , and ot herwi s e
e nj oy, t h e v a r i e t y of c l e v e r ,
charming and/ or l uhr i coua p e r
s ons wto have sought me ou t
s i n c e t h e book f i r s t appeared;
a s wel l a s a l l the speaking en~
g a g m e n t s , s o i r e e s and what not.
I am de l i gh t e d t o r ec ei ve
r e l e v a n t ma t e r i a l and communi
c a t i o n s o f any ki nd, alt hough
problems o f t i me, di s o r g a n i za
t i o n and B e d of t en pr ecl ude
a Per sonal Type Reply.
I t has been a r e a l l i f t f o r
my mor al e t o share a t of t he s e
I deas and enthusi asms wi t h a
wi der p u b l i c a t l a s t . I t i *
you, f i n a l l y , who have t o c a r e ;
and I am ve r y gl ad you do.
Aa t o th* e o s t import ant
ma t t e r s , t h e r e i s a news b l a ck
o u t f o r t ha i n d e f i n i t e f u t u r e .
Pl ease Land by.
Next year i n Xanadu.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
E v e r y b o d y a t C h i c a g o C i r c l e Campus
ha s b e en v e r y s p o r t i n g a b o ur t h i s p r o j e c t .
I aa g r a t e f u l n o t o n l y o t t h e e n c o u r a g e
ment and a s s i s t a n c e o f v a r i o u s i n d i v i d u a l s
( e s p e c i a l l y J o s e p h I . L i p s o n , Davi d C.
M i l l e r a nd Samuel S c h r a g e ) , b u t f o r t h e
a t mo s p h e r e o f s u p p o r t whi c h ha s made t h i s
p o s s i b l e . My t h a n k s t o t h e Dep a r t me n t o f
A r t a nd t h e O f f i c e o f I n s t r u c t i o n a l Re
s o u r c e s De ve l op me nt f o r f r e e i n g me from
l e a c h i n g d u t i e s , t o t h e Comput er C e n t e r
and t h e De p a r t me n t o f Ch e mi s t r y f o r l e t
t i n g a e u s e p i c t u r e s o f t h e i r e q u i p me n t ,
and e v e r y b o d y f o r t h e i r e nc o u r a g e me n t .
I wo u l d l i k e t o t h a n k t h e Wal t Di s n e y
o r g a n i z a t i o n f o r t h e i T p e r m i s s i o n t o d e
p i c t t h e i r w o n d e r f u l c h a r a c t e r s , and e v - -
e r y o n e e l s e who f u r n i s h e d m a t e r i a l s and
p e r m i s s i o n s f o r t h e t h i n g s h e r e i n .
T h a n k s a l 9 o t o t h o s e who l o o k e d o v e r
some o f t h e m a t e r i a l , e s p e c i a l l y H e r b e r t
Gr os ch o f C o m p u t e r w o r l d , Dan McGuTk o f
t h e Comput er I n d u s t r y A s s o c i a t i o n , and
Wi l l i a m R o d g e r s .
1 am p a r t i c u l a r l y g r a t e f u l t o t h e
many who h a v e e x p l a i n e d c o mpu t e r s t o me
o v e r t h e y e a r s , e s p e c i a l l y Dave D e n f i i s t o n ,
R o b e r t F e n i c h e l , Andrew J . S i n g e r , J o h n
R. L e v i n e .
My t h a n k s t o Ton Ba r na r d f o r some o f
t h e e a T l y t y p i n g , and f o r t h e P o r t a - Xa n .
I am g r a t e f u l t o Comput er D e c i s i o n s
ma gaz i ne f o r t h e i r good w i l l , and h e l p i n
r e s e a r c h i n g c o mp u t e r i mage s y n t h e s i s .
My r oommat e Tom D e F a n t i , me n t i on e d
e l s e w h e r e i n t h i s b o o k , ha s been c o n s i d
e r a t e b e yo nd t h e c a l l o f d u t y i n g i v i n g
o v e r a l l t h e f i r s t - f l o o r r ooms o f our
hous e t o t h i s p r o j e c t f o r s i x mont hs .
My t h a n k s f i n a l l y t o t h e many o t h e r s
whose good w i l l ha s k e p t me g o i n g , i n
p a r t i c u l a r my f o r m e r w i f e and e t e r n a l
f T i e n d , De b o r a h S t o n e Ne l s o n .
S p e c i a l g r e e t i n g s t o my f r i e n d and
n e i g h b o r , Mr s . J o h n R. N e i l l : I hop e you
e n j o y t h e u s e s wh i c h y o u r h u s b a n d ' s i l
l u s t r a t i o n s o f T i k - T o k t h e Machine Man
have f o u n d h e r e .
L a s t l y , f o r h e r c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o
mo r a l e ( a n d f o r n o t f o o t p r i n t i n g t h e
p a s t e u p s ) , l e t ' s ha v e a war n hand f o r
Pooky t h e Wonder Dog.
The occasional Oz Ill ustr ati ons are ail by
John R. Nei ll , from vari ous oul- of-copy ri ght Oz
books by L. Fr ank Baum, especial ly Qzma of Oi
a nd Tl k- Toh of O t . TUc-Tok. the Machine Man,
Is the f i gur e to whom occasional all egori cal s i g
nificance Is at t ached her e by Juxt aposition.
The O* pi ct ur e In Ihls spread Is from
The Pat chwork Ol r l of Os.
Thought you might wonder.
Persons of sagacit y have been sayi ng for
some time lhat we are meierieli aUc.
In an Important sense t hi s la not so.
The machi nes, and toys, and Involvementa
wa buy Into, are In but a small proport i on of
cases owned simpl y aa scores, for t he i r eoet
as consumption symbols.
Rat her, we buy t hi ngs l hat REPRESENT
IDEALS, hoping our sel ves lo part ake of some
abstr acti on or Image-- the Pl ayboy roan, the
Smart Busi nessman, the Cl ever Homemaker.
Each product t r i es to tell ua It Is lha key
st one of a way of li fe, and Ihen, at least at that
moment of pur chase, we st ep Int o, we embrace
thal Way of Ufa, coveri ng our sel ves wilh tha
f eel i ng, the aura, the magic we saw In I t a com
mercial .
Thi s Is not mat eri al i sm. It la wishful
gr aspi ng st mi asm a. (Fol lowing s ent ence op
t i onal . ) It la communion, with the object seized
si mply ihe Objecti ve Correlati ve of a hoped-for
t r ansaubsl andat l on. ( S o r r y . ) Its a seeki ng,
not t o possess, 4 to belong.
D.W. GRIFFITH-- look the movle-box and crested
the phot opl ay, no l onger a t wi st ed stage
pr oduct i on.
WALT DISNEY creat ed a hypnoti c pantheon of
ki ndl y and Innocent semi - ani mal s. sent i
mentally uni vers al , gener al l y acceptable.
JOHN W. CAMPBELL-- aa author and then edi tor
of Astoundi ng, t ur ned Ameri can aci ence-
flction from Ihe Buck Rogers sps c e Opera
lo the human s t o r y , bui l t ar ound thought -
out premi ses and s t r u c t u r e s .
IVAN SUTHERLAND-- programmed and syatematlzed
a computer setup for hel pi ng people think
and work wit h deepl y- sl r ucl ur ed plclorlal
I nformation. (See p. ) b, Zj . )
DOUG ENGELBART-- foresaw the use of comput er
screens as a way of expandi ng the mind,
and over the last decade and a hal f haa
brought aboul Juat thst .
And more, and on.
- M -
ANOTHER QUICKIE
Compare Ali ce, when she gets t o Wonderland
("Deary me! Cur i oser and cur i os er ")
wit h Dorothy Gal e, t r ansport ed to Oz
("How do I get back to Kansas?! ! ! " )
Fantasy ties In with ever yt hi ng, i ncl udi ng
American gi l - oul - n- do-H.
I al ready said on the other side t hat the
compuier Is a Rorschach, and you make of It
some wil d reflection of what you are your sel f.
Ther e i s more lo It lhan thal.
Ameri ca is the land where the machi ne Is
an inti mat e part of our fantasy life.
Germans are too l i t er al , t hey csn get off
on wel l- oi led cogs. The French are loo vague,
( I' ve noti ced that German Bclence-flclion maga
zines had covefB of machi nes and planet s; French
sci ence-fi ct i on magazines, of dragons and peopl e
with wi ngs. Our sclence-flct lon cover s show
people wit h mschl nes. Intimately, emot i onal l y.)
German fantasy la Icy end Impersonal, Fr ench
fantasy loo personal , and American f ant asy le
apl at i n t he middl e, unit i ng both: man and
machi ne, means and ends, emotion and det ai l s.
Men always longed to fly, bul It was her e
lhat t hey f i r st di d, Thi s Is the land of Ihe
MOVIE. a fantasy fabricated wit h endl ess dif fi
cult y usi ng vari ous kinds of equipment.
The mad t i nker er i s a fabled char act er
In our fiction.
T h i s i s the land of the kandy kolor hot
rod, the Hel l's Angel chopper , the dr i ve- i n
movie. And t he wild hot - r od, In fact, la j usl
Ihe f li p side of the deep-carpeted Cadill ac: each
l a f ant a s y. an ext ensi on of Ita owner ' s image
of hi msel f in t he worl d,
Thus It was nol an hist ori cal acci dent ,
but ut t er l y predetermi ned, lhal In t he hands of
Americans the computer would become s way of
real i zi ng e ver y conceivabl e wild fantasy t hal
was dear l o them.
T hi s i s perfectl y all r i ght , This Is as It
shoul d be . Thi s i s the beat part of our cuHure-
Not "Let a hundred flowers bl oom.* but "Let a
hundr ed gizmos cl ank. " This has sped Immeas-
ur sbl y t he Imaginati ve development of many di f
ferent t hi ngs we might wanl . I t r y h e r e fai rl y
to expl ai n a few di fferences among them.
Ther e Is Juat one probl em wi th al l t hl s .
Now that all t hese things exi st , or come near er
to e xi s t i ng, whi ch ones wil l ot her people want?
What wil l it be possibl e for everyone t o have?
And how can we tie all these t hings t oget her?
( No t e : t h i s t h e s i s i a b e i n g a d vanc ed
o n l y h a l f - a e r l o u a l y . T h e r e h a v e b e e n a
n u a b e r o f e x a c t l y - d r a a a f u l P r a n c h a n t , and
f o r t h i s t h r e e - n a t i o n a l i t y S p l i t t o bo
r e a l l y t r u e , t h e y woul d a l l ha v o t o havo
c o n e f r o a A l s a c e , n e x t t o Ger manyi J u l o s
V e r n e , D a g u e r r e , t h e b r o t h e r s H o n t g o l f l e . ' ,
t h e b r o t h e r a L u w i e r e , t o name a f e w . )
( f eHmN T 5
i f
2 DREAM MACHINES
4 APPARATUSES OF APPARITION
6 VIDEO
6 LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE:
THE CATHODE-RAY TUBE
a HOLOGRAPHY
B S a n d i n ' s Image P r o c e s s o r
9 30DY ELECTRONICS
10 PICTURE PROCESSING
11 AUDIO G COMPUTERS
12 THREE COMPUTER DREAMS:
12 Al ( a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e )
I S IR ( i n f o r m a t i o n r e t r i e v a l )
15 CAI ( c o m p u t e r - a s s i s t ed
i n s t r u c t i o n )
16 "No More T e a c h e r s '
D i r t y L o o k s . "
20 Till: MIND'S F.YE
( c o m p u t e r d i s p l a y )
24 COMPUTER MOVIES
26 PLATO
28 "Laws o f t h e Un i v e r s e
Hyper - Comi c s "
30 THE MIND S EYE MOBE:
3D LINE SYSTEMS
31 D c F a n t i s Coup de GRASS
32 HALFTONE IMAGE SYNTHESIS
1. P o l y g o n Sys t ems
34 2. S h a d e s o f R e a l i t y
( n l c c r g r o y s )
37 3 . H a r d e n i n g o f t h e
A r t i s t r i e s ( s p e c i a l ha r d wa r e )
39 4. Compui er Image Cor p.
40 TIIL MIND'S EYE MORE:
n Di me n s i o n s
41 The C i r c l e . G r a p h i c s H a b i t a t
4 2 The T i s s u e o f Thought
4 2 How t o Lea r n Anyt hi ng
43 On W r i t i n g
43 The H e r i t a g e
44 HYPERMEDIA, HYPERTEXTS
46 l i n g e l b a r t
48 FANTICS
S2 TIIINKERTOYS
56 XANADU
58 WHAT NELSON IS REALLY SAYING
59 FLIP OUT
foe of wee-Mi
In ihc ruiUMd oi iKeir ubjKts, which they
lad are thr prauraaix of new artritic i n | a
lhat will in tom adiuluB thrrmtlm a* amriha
f r o of bring, Maalcn and Hnotion n a mrw
hoe Ggarc rrwnfiilhy manin| . 7>it* m hae
Ii b ! ihc old hero of lhooind (ana,* lha
jndiridailnl who alien, die*, and t* iriuu,
liuthloin| and conquering along lh way. Ib-
Uhq, he is Protean, capable of mfinil* chauum
ia appearance and tlylc, a magician, a Bahhe-
rar bringing gif la. Ht rnpfom categorin n d
cailimm ihe r w . and i n doing ao he holda
ooi ihe promis- of fusion m a hignej leaeL
If nch a hero were to become Ihc model for
tie approaching age. he wmld probably im he
the founder 01 a mam rnuitiiiriil or ihe god of
a new rrligicai. He wmld he nwtr ekxtvr. m
ehangefol lhan hi* p n d o i a i L He wmild be a
amieici who treat* ilw mental r a i d aad the
Internal wtrid on equal ten**, grrmg ^jirit la
the Term and Be*h u> the laner. He weald ba
a naata of paradox and a player of gnaw,
naUa a a new language. Hmone payer aright
be ihe b n of Sake:
Mrr GrJ u i np
rnmoMfUwinm
Amd VoUal tiacp.
Kenneth Cavander,
'Voyage o f the Psychenaut a . "
Harpere . Jan 74, p. 74.
grandfather,
Theodor Holm.
T h i a book ( b o t h e i d a a ) i a ba s ed l n p a r e on my t a l k s a e o r b e f o r e
t h * Amer i can Chemi cal S o c i e t y , t ha Ame r i c a n Documen t a t i on I n s t i t u t e
t h a Anar l e a n Management A s s o c i a t i o n , t h e A s s o c i a t e d P r e s * , t h e Asso
c i a t i o n f o r Comput i ng M a c h i n e r y , t h e C e n t r a l I n t e l l i g e n c e Agency, t h l
I n a t i t u t e of E l e c t r i c a l and E l e c t r o n i c s E n g i n e e r * , t h e P r i m i n g aod
Pub I t ah l a g A s s o c i a t i o n , t h e Hand C o r p o r a t i o n , t h * S o c i e t y f o r I n f o r
m a t i o n D i s p l a y , t ha S o c i e t y of Mot i on P i c t u r e and T e l e v l a l o n E n g l n e e r a ,
TIME I n c o r p o r a t e d , Union T h e o l o g i c a l S e mi n a r y ( t h a Auburn l e c t u r e s )
Xer ox P a l o A l t o Re s e a r c h C e n t e r , and v a r i o u s a r t s c h o o l . , c o l l e g e s .
u n i v e r s i t i e s aod J o i n t C o a p u t e r C o n f e r e n c e s .
OOT THE DOOB I S ' 7 4
I ha v e wan t ed t o w r i t e ao i n t r o d u c t i o n t o c o m p u t e r s , and a a e p a r a t e book on F a n t l c e , f o r y e e r e .
But t h a I da a o f b i n d i n g cham b a c k - t o - b a c k i n a Whole E a r t h f o r m a t , w i t h l o t * o f mi a c h l e v o u * E n r l c h -
a a o t m a t e r i a l , d i d n t h i t ma t i l l J a n 73. I ha ve t r i e d t o add a l l t h e s t i m u l a t i n g and e x h i l a r a t i n g
t u f f 1 c o u l d f i n d , e s p e c i a l l y p e r s o n a l ( s a t l o n s , as on t h e o t h e r a i d e ; c o mp u t e r e a r e d e e p l y p e r s o n a l
S C h l n e a , c o n t r a r y t o l e g e n d , and ao a r e a h o w l n g - a y s t e r n s . I r e g r e t h a v i n g t o t h r o w ao many o f my
c once r n* i n t o comi c r e l i e f , b u t I hope t h a t some r e a d e r s w i l l s e n s e ehe * e r l o u e n e t be l ow.
The f i n a l l n * p l r a t l o o f o r t h l e book came f r om a o m e t h l n g e a l l e d che Domebook. t h a t t e l l s you
e t r a i g h t f o r w a r d l y how t o make Geode el c Domes. And o f e o u r e e I ' m b l a t a n t l y I m i t a t i n g , l n a way, ehe
wo n d e r f u l Whol e E a r t h C a t a l o g o f S t e w a r t Br a n d . Ae I t h i n k b a c k , t h o u g h , che t o n e a l a o coaea l o pa r e
from P e t e S e a g e r * w o n d e r f u l b a n j o bo o k , a nd Tom M c C a h i l l e a uco mo b l l e r e v l e w a I n Me cha ni c I l l u * e r a c e d .
Aa co c he l a e c a e p e c t , c h a t o f t a k i n g my c a a e co t h e p u b l i c b e c a u e e t h e e x p a r t * won' t l i s t e n , t h e ool y
p r e c e d e n t I c a n t h i n k o f l e K s j . Al e x a n d e r de S e v e r s k y ' e V i c t o r y Thr ough A i r Power , t e l l i n g eha coun
t r y how h e t h o u g h t we a h o u l d wi n Worl d War I I .
T h l * p r o j e c t , s i m p l e i n p r i n c i p l e , haa beeo i n f i n i t e l y b o t h e r * o m e . S*1f - p u b 11 c a t 1on waa nec**-
** r y b e c a u s e no p u b l i s h e r c o u l d ha ve compr ehended t h e c o n c e p t o f t h i a b ook; I h e a r t i l y recommand H i l l
Henders on ( e d . ) ' * Tha P u b l l e h - I t ~ Y o u r * a l f Handbook. $4 f rom The Pue h c e r e Book P t e e s , Bo* 845, Yonkers
T 10701.
p r e e e n t p r o d u c t i s o o t t h e book I ha d me ant t o w r i t e . Moat 1* f l r e t - d r e f c ; how eh* eeneence*
do rN j o . ( B e l i e v e i t o r n o t , 1 do o o t l i k e u n d e r l i n i n g t h i n g s - - e f i r s t - d r a f t e x p e d i e n t . ) Fa c t -
c h e c k i n g and b i b l i o g r a p h i e s had t o b* l a r g e l y a b an d o n e d . B e t t e r p l a n n i n g c o u l d ha v e i n c r s s e e d
t yp e a l i a ; and ao o n . H a l f t h e m e n u e c r i p t , and t h e g l o e e a r y , had co be k i c k e d a a l d e ; I n c l u d i n g s e c
t i o n * on m o v i e * , " m u l t i - m a d i a , " m i c r o f i l m , t r a i n i n g e l n u l a c o r a , augment ed s t a g e p r o d u c t i o n s o f che
f u t u r e , and g o o d n e * * know* wh a t . S o r r y f o r a l l e h a c .
. . . WITH A LITTLE HELP PBOM MY FBI ENDS
T h i a p r o j e c t c o u l d n t v e r ha ve b e an c o m p l e t e d w l t h o u c eh* d e d i c a t e d e n d e x t r a o r d i n a r y e f f o r t * of
my wi *e and warm f r i e n d * S h a l l * McKenzi e and Uade F r e e ma n , b o t h f a c u l c y member* a e C i r c l e , who heve
ay d a e p e a t g r a t i t u d e . They ga ve moocha and week* o f t h e i r good t i me t o c he t e d i o u s a s p e c e e o f ehl *
p r o j e c t ( wh i c h I c o o t l n u o u a l y u n d a r a s t imae e d . ) 1 h o p e I t haa be en woreh e h e l r work aa w e l l a* ay own.
Ma. I f c l a o z l e , whose c o n c e r n ( o r I n t e l l i g e n t c hange l o e d u c e e l o n dr ove h e r co b o u n d l e s s e f f o r t s on
e hl * p r o j e c t , - h a a a l a o my d e e p e a e a d m i r a t i o n .
Tha a a d t h i n g abOuC i t a l l i s Chat 90Z o f t h e a e e f f o r t a a r e u n n e c e s s a r y . A d e c e n t comput er Cext
*y*e*m ( o f w h i c h o n l y a c o u p l e e x i s t a a y e t ) woul d h a v e o b v l a c e d a l l ehe f l n d l n g - a n d - r e t y p l n g pr obl ema.
I f e e l d e e p l y f o r e v e r y o n e who haa t r o u b l e w r i t i n g by c o n v e n t i o n a l means, and who w o u l d n t I f onl y
r ee d I**
o r A f P ^ HiOK J
I t s e e m s d i f f e r e n t c o mpa ni e s e r e a l l t he
t i me i n t r o d u c i n g w o n d e r f u l n e w d e v i c e s t h a t wi l l
r e v o l u t i o n i z e , u h , w h a t e v e r It i s we d o w i t h , u h ,
I n f o r ma t i o n a n d s t u f f . T h i n g s y o u ' l l a t t a c h t o
y o u r TV t o g e l h i g h b r o w p r o g r a m s o r d i r t y mov i e s .
Mi cr of i l m d e v i c e s t h a l wi l l s h r i n k t h e c o n t e n t s
o f t h e Va t i c a n L i b r a r y lo a d ot on y o u r g l a s a e a .
Go g g l e s t h a t a how y o u h o l o g r a p h i c c o l o r m6 v l e s .
A p i n c e - n e z t h a t l e t s y o u s e e t h e f u t u r e . And
s o o n .
R e a d i n g P o p u l a r Me ch a n i c s o r t h e S a t u r d a y
r e v i e w of p a t e n t s I n t h e New Y o r k T i m e s , y o u
g e t t h e i d e a of S o met hi n g B i g , New a n d Wo nd er
f u l Ab o u t t o H a p p e n , s o w e ' l l al l h a v e a c c e s s t o
a n y t h i n g , a n y t i m e , a n y w h e r e .
But i t ' s b e e n t h a t wa y l o r d e c a d e s , a n d
wi t h c e r t a i n e x c e p t i o n s h a s n ' t h a p p e n e d y e t .
He r e a r e s ome t h i n g s t h a l h a v e c a u g h t o n ,
a n d a r e mo s t l y f a mi l i a r l o u s a l l .
Bo o k . N e w s p a p e r . Ma g a z i n e . Ra d i o ( AM).
P h o n o g r a p h r e c o r d ( 7 8 ) . T a p e r e c o r d e r , t " .
B l a c k - a n d - w h i t e t e l e v i s i o n . Ra d i o ( FM) . P h o n o
g r a p h r e c o r d ( 3 3 ) . P h o n o g r a p h r e c o r d ( 4 5 ) .
Co l o r t e l e v i s i o n . T a p e c a r t r i d g e ( 1 " ) . T a p e
c a s s e t t e ( P h i l i p s , c a . 1 / 8 " ) . S t e r e o r e c o r d s
a n d t a p e s . Oh y e a h , a n d movi es : 35mm, 16mm,
0mm, S u p e r 8mm. Ca r o u s e l p r o j e c t o r s . Vi e w-
m a s t e r a t e r e o v i e w e r s .
He r e a r e s ome t h i n g s i n I he p r o c e s s of
c a t c h i n g o n ( an d no l a s s u r e d o f s u c c e s s ) :
Q u a d r o p h o n i c a o u n d . Dol by. Chr omi um, d i o x i d e
t a p e e m u l s i o n . S u p e r 16 movi e f o r ma t .
Bu t f o r e v e r y t h i n g t h a t d i d c a i c h o n . d o z e n s
d i d n ' t . Some e x a mp l e s : 12 - l nch 45 r p m r e c o r d s .
11 . 5 mi l l i me t e r mo v i e s . RCA' s { - I n c h t a p e c a r t
r i d g e , wh i c h b e ca me a model f o r l h e m u c h s ma l l e r
Phi l i pB. Wi re r e c o r d e r s .
S* | 0W BW 'M C M O K t SMk}&<lS<H*SS
You C a n ' t T e l l t h e E x p e r t s Wi thout T h e y P r o g r a m You
( Cf. " C a l l i n g a S p a d e a S p a d e , p . I J . )
I N Tomb
G u y ' s B a c k g r o u n d T e l l - T a l e P h r a s e s fc J a r g u m e n t a t i o n
T e l e v i s i o n : "Medi a" ( me a n i n g t e l e v i e i o n );
1. Vi deo f r e a k s "Sof t war e" ( mea ni ng v i d e o t a p e s ) .
2. Ne l wo r k P e o p l e " Pr o g r a mmi n g " ( me a n i n g c ompet i t i ve s c h e d u l i n g ) ;
" Sof t war e" ( me a n i n g f i x e d - l e n g t h TV s h o w s ) .
3. C a b l e O p e r a t o r s Head e n d , u p s t r e a m k d o w n s t r e a m , b a c k - c h a n n e l ,
" i n t e r a c t i v e TV" ( me a n i n g a n y f or m of i n t e r a c t i v e
c omp ut e r s y s t e m t h e y c a n g e t i n o n ) .
M a t h / E n g i n e e r i n g I nfor mat i on t h e o r y , c h a n n e l c a p a c i t y , b a n d wi d t h ,
f e e d b a c k , a n y t h i n g c o mp l e x a n d I r r e l e v a n t .
Di s pl a y E n g i n e e r i n g Ful l d u p l e x , e c h o p l e x , a s p e c t r a t i o , s c r o l l , c u r s o r ;
" i nf or ma t i on t r a n s f e r " ( me a n i n g t e l l i n g o r t e a c h i n g ) ;
" dat a d e l i v e r y " ( acl t h e r e o f ) .
Pr o g r a m me d "Sof t war e" ( me a n i n g s e q u e n t i a l o r b r a n c h i n g t e l l - i -
I n s t r u c l i o n . t e s t m a t e r i a l s ) ; " P r o g r a m m i n g " ( c r e a t i n g I h e s e ) ;
C o m p u t e r - A s s i s t e d r e i n f o r c e me n t s c h e d u l e s ( mea ni ng p r e s e n t a t i o n a l o r d e r ) ;
I n s t r u c t i o n " i n p u t s ( me a n i n g i d e a s a n d i nf or mat i on) : " f e e d b a c k
(mea n i ng r e p l i e s ) ; ' ' s i mu l a t i o n s " ( mea ni ng p i c t u r e s o r
e v e n t s a u s e r can i n f l u e n c e ) .
P u b l i s h i n g " Sof t war e ( me a n i n g b o o k s ) .
A d v e r t i s i n g , " De mo g r a p h i c s ( me a n i n g f a c t i o n s ) : campa i g n s t r a t e g y
Pu b l i c R e l a t i o n s , ( mea ni ng how y o u h i t a m a r k e t ) ; " pe n e t r a t i o n "
M a r k e t i n g ( mea ni ng e x t e n t t o w h i c h y o u r s t u f f c at c hes o n ) ;
" P r o g r a mmi n g " ( m e a n i n g a n y t h i n g w h a t e v e r ) .
Ar t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e A n y t h i n g ma t he mat i ca l ; t h e o r e m s , d i s c r i m i n a t o r s , n e u r a l
n e l s ; " p r o g r a m m i n g " ( me a n i n g s e t t i n g u p a n y t h i n g
v e r y c ompl i c at ed a n d i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e ) .
Mc Luhan a t i c Gl obal Vi l l a g e , mo s a i c , s u r r o u n d ; " Pr o gr a mmi ng "
( mea n i ng p s y c h o l o g i c a l i n d o c t r i n a t i o n ) ; a nyb ody
e l s e ' s t e r m s , d y n a m i c a l l y i n f u s e d wi t h new s e n s e s .
Nel s oni an Medi um ( me a n i n g s t a b i l i z e d p r e s e n t a t i o n a l c o n t e x t ) ;
Wri t i ng a n d Cr e a t i o n ( m e a n i n g t ho ugh t f ul p r o d u c t i o n
o f s o me t h i n g p r e s e n t a b l e , w h e t h e r s e q u e n t i a l o r n o t .
i n a medi um) ; " P r o g r a m m i n g ( mea ni ng g i v i n g
e x a c l i n s t r u c t i o n s t o a c o m p u t e r ) ; medi a i n t e g r i t y ,
i n v e n t i o n s & c o n v e n t i o n s ; h y p e r t e x t , t h i n k e r t o y , f ant i cs
T h e n t h e r e a r e t he thingB t h a t c a u g h t on
f o r a wh i l e a n d w e n t a wa y . S t e r e o p t i c o n s ( an d
t h e i r b e a u t i f u l d e s c e n d a n t , t h e T r u - V u e . wh i c h
I l o v e d a s a k i d ) . Cy l i n d r i c a l r e c o r d i n g s .
Pi an o r o l l s . And so on .
T h e n t h e r e a r e t h e v i d e o r e c o r d i n g s y s
t e m s . CBS' EVR d i e d be f o r e i l g ot a n y w h e r e .
RCA' s S e l e ct aVi s l on i s n t o ut ^ e t . 2 - i n c h q u a d
i s s t a n d a r d i n t h e s t u d i o s , i - i n c h P o r t a - P a k
i s s t a n d a r d a mong t h e Vi deo F r e a k a , a n d i l l ooks
l i k e S o n y s 3/ 4" c a r t r i d g e wi l l wi n a s I he mai n
s a l e s a n d s t o r a g e medi um. ( T h e P h i l i p s s y s t e m
h e r e l o o k s a s t h o u g h it w o n ' t ma ke i t . a n d 1- i n c h
i s d u b i o u s . ) But w h a t ' s t h i s we h e a r a bo ut
v i d e o d i s k s ( t we n t y - f i v e y e a r s a f t e r t h e y a n n o u n
c e d P h o n e v l s l o n . Ah. w e l l . ) ?
T h e t h i n g l a , so ma ny o f t h e s e t h i n g s s e em
l o s o u n d a l i k e . T h e y al l me nt i on " i n f o r ma t i o n
r e t r i e v a l , " e d u c a t i o n , t e c h n o l o g y , p o s s i b l y " t h e
I n f o r ma t i o n e x p l o s i o n " a nd " t h e k n o w l e d g e i n
d u s t r y . " P r e s s r e l e a s e s o r e f f u s i v e n e w s p a p e r
a r t i c l e a ma y u s e p h r a s e s l i k e " s p a c e - a g e , "
" f u t u r i s t i c , " " McLu h a n es q ue " o r e v e n " Or we l l i a n "
( t h o u g h f ew p e o p l e who u s e t h a l w o r d s e e m to
know w h a t Or we l l st o o d f or ; s e e p . * * ^ ) .
An d t h e i n t i mi d a t i n g c omp a n y n a mes !
Ou t f i t s wi t h n a me s l i ke Ge n e r a l L e a r n i n g , I n c . ,
o r S y n e r g i s t i c C y b e r n e t i c s , I n c . , o r e v e n
Co mmu n i c a t i o n s | R e s e a r c h | M a c h i n e s , I n c .
S u r e l y s u c h p e o pl e mu s t k now w h a t t h e y a r e
d o i n g , t o u s e s u c h s c i e n t i f i c - s o u n d i n g p h r a s e s
a s I h es e !
T h e n t h e r e a r e t h e b u s i n e s s m a g a z i n e s .
I n t h e l a t e s i x t i e s t h e y w e r e t a l k i n g a b o u t " Th e
K n o wl e d g e I n d u s t r y " ( a f i c t i o n , it l u r n e d o u t ,
o f an e c o n o m i s t ' s l u mp i n g a l o t o f t h i n g s t o g e t h e r
o d d l y ) . Now t h e y t a l k a b ou t t h e Ca b l e TV o u t
f i t s a n d t h e Vi deo C a r t r i d g e o u t f i t s a s t h o u g h
t h e y ' r e t h e c a l ' s p a j a m a s .
; ti me t
a n d a mong t h e s e a r e a s , 1 h a v e d e v e l o p e d c o ns i d
e r a b l e c y n i c i s m a n d a b a d c a s e o f t h e g i g g l e s .
O r i g i n a l l y i t al l s e e m e d l o fi t t o g e t h e r a n d t o be
l e a d i n g s o m e w h e r e , b u t t a l k i n g t o pe o pl e a t all
l e v e l s , a n d e i t h e r g i v i n g a d v i c e o r t i y i n g to
i n t e r p r e t I he a d v i c e o f o t h e r s , I am c onvi nce d
t h a t whai we h a v e h e r e i n t h i s wh o l e a u d i o -
v i a u a l - p r e s e n t a l i o n a l w h i z b a n g f i e l d i s n o t h i n g
l e s s t h a n a v e r y h i g h o r d e r o f c o l l e c t i v e i n s a n i t y .
T h e s t r a n g e way c o mp a n i e s a d o p t a n d d r o p v a r -
i o u a p r o d u c t l i n e s , a n d v e r b a l i z e wh at t he y t hi nk
t h e y a r c d o i n g , s e e m t o me a c ombi n a t i on of
l e mmi ngi s m a n d a w i l l i n g n e s s t o f oll ow a n y Aut h
o r i t y i n an e x p e n s i v e s u i t . 1 h a v e t a l k e d to
e n o u g h v i c e - p r e s i d e n t s a n d p r e s i d e n t s of compu
t e r c o mp a n i e s , p u b l i s h i n g c o m p a n i e s , n e t w o r k s ,
me d i a o u t f i t s a n d s o o n , t o b e t o t a l l y c e r t a i n
t h a t I hey h a v e no s p e c i a l k n o w l e d g e o r u n u s u a l
b a a i s o f i nf or mat i on : y e l t h e s e p e o p l e ' s r e m a r k s ,
a s a mpl i f i e d t h r o u g h t h e b u s i n e s s r e p o r t e r s ,
s e n d l he whol e n a t i o n e - d i t h e r i n g . T h e r e a r e
t i mes 1 t h i n k e v e r y b o d y i n Me d i a i s e i t h e r d e l u d e d ,
m i s g u i d e d , l y i n g o r c r a z y .
THREE CRUCIAL POI NTS.
1. SYSTEMS "IN THE HOME. "
T h e e m p h a s i s h a a c h a n g e d f r om t r y i n g to
s e l l s n a z z y s y s t e m s l o t h e s c h o o l s ( whi ch do n' t
ha v e I he mone y) t o t h e h o me . T h i s i n t u r n
h a s c o n v i n c e d moat p e o p l e t h a t t h e n e w s ys t e ms
h a v e t o b e v e r y l i m i t e d , l i k e j i m m i e d - u p TV s e t s .
(We e a s i l y l os e t r a c k o f t h e f act t h a t yo u can
h a v e a n y t h i n g ' ' i n t h e home" i f y o u want t o pay
f o r i l ; a n d an e conomy i n w h i c h Ma r a n t z es and
s no wmo b i l e s ha v e c a u g h t on b i g i n d i c a t e s t hat
s ome p e o p l e a r e g o i n g to b e w i l l i n g t o p a y for
r e a l l y hot s l u f f . )
2. CATCHING ON.
T h e k e y q u e s t i o n i s n o t how good a syst em
i s i n t h e a b s t r a c t , b u t w h e t h e r i t wi l l c at c h o n .
( Obv i ou s l y I f w e ' r e p u b l i c - s p i r i t e d we wan t t he
be a t s y s t e m s t o c a t c h o n , o f c o u r s e . )
T h i s ma t t e r o f C a t c h i n g On i s a f i ckl e and
c r u c i a l b u a l n e s s .
Ac c o r d i n g t o o n e a n e c d o t e , Mr . Bell
c o u l d n ' t I n t e r e s t a n y o n e i n h i a I n v e n t i o n , whi ch
h e wa s s h o w i n g a t s o me t r a d e f a i r . T h e n who
s h o u l d come by b u t t h e E m p e r o r of Br a zi l ( ! ) .
who w a s a b out t o l e a v e wi t h h i e r e t i n u e o f a d
v i s e r s . "What i s t h a l ? " a s k e d l h e Emp e r o r of
B r a z i l . "Not hi n g t o b o t h e r w i t h , " t h e y s a i d , and
t r i e d t o r u s h him b y , b u t he s t o p p e d a n d l oved
I t , a n d o r d e r e d t h e f i r s t p a i r o f t e l e p h o n e s s ol d .
T h i s ma de t he h e a d l i n e s , a n d t h e s a l e o f t e l e
p h o n e s b e g a n .
An o t h e r a n e c d o t e . It i s l e g e n d a r y t ha t
I n v e n t o r s o v e r v a l u e t h e i r own w o r k . Yet a / l e r
Tho ma s E di s on h a d I n v e n t e d t h e k i n e m a t o g r a p h ,
o r " mo v i n g p i c t u r e . a d e v i c e y o u l ooked i nto
t u r n i n g a c r a n k , he d e c l i n e d t o b u i l d a p r o j e c t o r
f o r I t , s a y i n g t h a t t h e n o v e l t y wo u l d w e a r of f .
Ob v i o u s l y h e d l d ' t q u i t e a e e wh a i " c a t c h i n g on"
woul d me an h e r e .
Wonder f ul Sys t ems T h a t Were Gon na Be
W H t i e c w s + y o k r r
V e S T E W A * . ?
1 o n c e r e a d a m i n d - b l o w i n g r e v i e w a r t i c l e In
Fi l ms i n R e v i e w . e a r l y s i x t i e s 1 t h i n k ,
on s c h e m e s l o make t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l
movi e s be f or e 1930. T h e r e w e r e d o z e n s .
Th e i t h e r e wa s t ha t m u l t i s c r e e n f i l m Napol eon
a l e g e n d d o n e i n t h e n i n e t e e n - t w e n t i e s .
( T h s t one r e a l l y e x i s t e d . )
P h o n e v i s i o n . a bout 1947 o r s o , wa s g o i n g to
s t o r e a h a l f - h o u r mov i e on a 12 - i n ch d i s k .
Di d t h e y ge l t h e i d e a f r om t h e LP? Did
t h e y r e a l l y t h i n k t h e y c o ul d d o it ?
T h e Ger ma n p h o t o - g i z mo , a r o u n d 1950: a s p e ci a l
c a m e r a t hat s u p p o s e d l y c r e a t e d a s c u l p t u r e
of w h a t it was p o i n t e d a l . ( But how d i d
it know what wa s b e h i n d t h i n g s ? )
A w e i r d l e n s a r o u n d 1950 I t h i n k It wa s d e p i c
t e d a s h a v i n g a b l u e c e n t e r a n d a r e d p e r i
p h e r y , l i ke a fi f t i es hoodl um t a i l - l i g h t
t h a t wa s somehow g oi ng l o f i n d " r e s i d u a l
t r a c e s " of col or i n b l a c k - a n d - w h i t e p i c t u r e s ,
an d make 'em i nt o c o l o r , z o wi e , J u s t b y
c o p y i n g t hem.
T h e n t h e r e wa s t he Pa n a col o r C a r t r i d g e . Du r i n g
t h e Days of Ma dn e s s - - 1960, I t h i n k It was
a r a t h e r good l i t t l e movi e g a d g e t was
b e i n g p u s h e d b y a fi r m c a l l e d Pa n a c o l o r .
It h a d t en p a r a l l e l movi e a n d a u d i o t r a c k s ,
1 b e l i e v e , on a 70mm s t r i p . T h e p r o t o t y p e s
w e r e b u i l t by Ze i s s .
pa c t movi e p r o j e c t o r . I k e p t t r y i n g t o p e r
s u a d e t he c o mp a n y ' s p r e s i d e n t t h a t t h e y had
i n a d v e r t e n t l y d e s i g n e d a s p l e n d i d d e v i c e
f or b r a n c h i n g movi es ( s e e " Hy p e r f i l m s , "
P
E xer c i s e f or t h e r e a d e r : map out p r o p
e r t i e s of t he b r a n c h i n g a n d e x p o s i t o r y
s t r u c t u r e s i mpl i ci t i n s u c h a d e v i c e . ( I t ' s
o n e - d l r e c l i o n a l . Got t a r e w i n d wh e n you
ge l l o t he e n d . But you c a n J ump b e t we e n
t r a c k s when i t s e ems a p p r o p r i a t e . )
Anyway , i t ' s go ne n ow.
The G r e a t R o b e r t Cr umb.
( Pr om Zap Comi x HO.)
" I * f t *
t U r t . i i
> f t e tr*H+*J
H e r e i ; * o "
f a r m * [rovcsl.
* I z . y e i t i i .
* * f r * v 4 i .
HARDWARE. SOFTWARE AND WHATNOT (reprise)
Among the many odd things lhat have
resulted from ths collision of computer people
with educat ors, publishers and others has been
the respectful Imitation of computer ways by
those who didn' t quite understand them. Again,
the cargo cult.*
The most dismal of these practices has been
the adoption of the term "software" for any intel
lectual or artistic property .** This wholly loses
the distinction, made on the other side of the book,
between:
hardware (programmable equipment)
software (programs, detailed plans
of operation lhat the hardware
carries out)
contents or data (material which is
worked on by, moved in or
presented by the hardware
under control of the software)
In other words, hardware and software
together make sn environment; data or contents
move and appear in that environment.
The publishing-and-picturefolk have missed
thle distinction entirely. Not realizing that their
productlona are the contents (material, matter,
dala, stuff, me s s a g e . . . ) that come and go in the
prefabricated hardware-software entlronments,
they have mushed this together into a state of
self-feeding confusion.
(The matter has not been helped by the
computer-assisted instruction people see p . DM I 5
whose branching productions seemed to them
enough IJke computer programs lo be called
"software.")
" Primitives exposed to "civilized" man imitat
his ways ridiculously -in religious ri t ual s,
hoping for the shipments of canned goods,
etc. that his behavior seems to bring down
from parts unknown.
B k - s r o t r - w s e
* * Mere corroborative detail,
to enhance an otherwise
uninteresting nar rat i ve. . . "
Pooh-Bah,
Lord High
Everything
Else
3. STANDARDIZATION "The Emperor has no clothes on!"
In o rde r for something to Catch On, it has
to be standardized. Unfortunately, there i s mo
tivation for different companies to make thei r own
little changes In order to restrict users to Its
own products. The best exsmple of how to
avoid this: Philips patented its audio cartridge
to the teeth, but then granted everybody free
use of the patent provided they adhered to the
exact standardization. The result has been the
system's spectacular success, and Philips, rather
than dominating a small market, has a shar e of
a far lar ger market, and hence makes more
money. That' s a virtue-rewarded kind of story.
The other problem with standardization,
though, is that we tend to standardize too soon.
We standardized on AM radio, even though FM
would probably have been better. (One Major
Armstrong, a great figure in the development
of radio, committed suicide when nobody would
accept FM. If he could only have heard our FM
of today, he might h a ^ said "Oh. nut s , " and
l ived. )
Another example. When they designed the
Touch-Tone phone pad. the Bell people evidently
saw no reason to have ll match the adding ma
chine panel, so they put " 1" in the upper left
rat her than (he lower lefl. Now there ar e lols
of people who use both arrangements, every day,
and at least one of them curses lhe designers'
lack of consideration.
Another interesting example of Catching
On: during the early sixties, it was fun being
at places where they were jusl getting Xerox
copiers for the first time. Everyone would ar
gue that nobody needed a copier. Then, grud
gingly, one would be ordered. The first month's
use invariably would exceed the estimate for the
first year, and go up and up from there.
The worst aspect of the confusion among
the corporations ie that certain deficiencies and
crudities of vision slip into the mix. Unless
our new media and Iheir exact ramifications and
concomitants are planned with the greatest care,
everybody stands to lose. We must understand the
detailed properties of media. (The first question
to ask. when somebody is showing you the
Latest and Greatest, is; "What are the properties
and qualities of the medium?" The followup
questions come easily with experience: How of
ten do you have to change It, what are the bran
ching options, what part could somebody acci
dentally put in backwards, are there distracting
complications? etc. )
1 am unpersuaded by McLuhan. His in
sights are remarkable, yet suspicious: he sup
poses thal electronic media are all lhe same. How
can thia be? Here we may now decide what elec
tronic media we want in lhe future-- and this de
cision , I would s ay , is one of lhe most important
we have lo face.
The engineers seem to be quite the oppo
site of McLuhan: somehow to them it' s always a
multiple-choice, mulll-engineerlng problem, dif
ferent every time; "this technique is good for A,
that technique is good for B." But the net ef-
fecl is the same: "electronic media are generally
the same." I would claim that the' re all differ
ent, all ten million of them (TV being only one
electronic medium out of the lot), and the dif
ferences matter very very much, and only a few
can catch on. So it matters very much which.
Some are great, some are lousy, some are sub
tly bad, having a locked-ln information struct ur e,
built deep-down into the system. (Example:
the fixed "query modes" built into some systems.)
One last point. Everybody only has a
24-hour day. Most people, If they increase con
sumption of one medium (like magazines or books)
will cut down on anolher (like TV). This d r a s
tically reduces the sorts of growth some people
have been expecting. Except, now, if we can
begin to replace some of the Inane paper-ahuffllng
and paper-losing of the business world, and
replace lhe creepy activitlea of the school (as now
generally constituted) with a more golden use of
time and mind. Read on.
Small Boy
(name withheld)
?---------------------------- s .
Last year I actually heard a phone company
lecturer say that in the future we
will have "Instant Access to Anything,
Anytime, Anywhere."
What they' re pushing ie Picturephone, which
it seems to me is unnecessary, wasteful
and generally unfeasible.
(See: Robert J . Robinson, "Picturephone-- Who
Needs It?", Datamation 15 Nov 71, 1S2.)
0 | j W t f l r
I n any medium w r i t t e n , v i s u a l , f i l m i c
o r w h a t e v e r you g e n e r a t e I n s t a n t a n e o u s l y
a n a t mo s p h e r e , a p a t i n a , , a mi asma o f s t y l e ,
i n v o l v e m e n t , p e r s o n a l i t y ( p e r h a p s i m p l i c i t ) ,
o u t l o o k , p o r t e n t . C o n s i d e r
The compl acency o f t h e S u l z b e r g e r s '
New Kork Ti me s
The c y n i c i s m and m i s c h i e f o f K r a a s n e r ' s
R e a l i s t
The p e r k i n e s s and s e n s e o C f reedom o f
Sesame S t r e e t
The p e r s o n a l i z e d , f o c u s s e d f o r e b o d i n g
o f Or s on Wel l es f i l m s i a s d i s t i n c t
Cron t h e i m p e r s o n a l ! z e d , f o c u s s e d
f o r e b o d i n g o f H i t c h c o c k -
N e x t t o t h i s m a t t e r o f mood, a l l e l Be p a l e s :
t h e a c t u a l c o n s t r a i n t s and s t r u c t u r e s o f medi a,
t h e e x p o s i t i o n s a nd c o m p l i c a t i o n s o f p a r t i c u l a r
c o g n i t i v e wor ks a nd p r e s e n t a t i o n s w i t h i n medi a,
a r e a s n o t h i n g .
Time a f t e r t i n e , t h e e d u c a t i o n a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t ha s
t h o u g h t s a ne g r e a t r e v o l u t i o n wo u l d cosie t hr o u g h g e t t i n g
new k i n d s o f e q u i p a e n t i n t o t h e c l a s s r o o m .
F i r s t I t was w v i e s , More r e c e n t l y I t ' s be en ' ' a u d i o
v i s u a l " s t u f f , t e a c h i n g m a c h i n e s , f i l t f l oops and c o mp u t e r -
a s s i s t e d i n s t r u c t i o n .
I n no c a s e s have t h e e n t h u s i a s t s f o r t h e s e s y s t e ms
s e e n how t h e e q u i p n e n t woul d f i t i n t o c o n v e n t i o n a l e d u
c a t i o n o r , more l i k e l y , s c r e w t h e t e a c h e r up. Te a c h e r s
a r e e m b a r r a s s e d a nd C l u s t e r e d when t h e y ha ve t o monkey
w i t h e q u i f i n e n t I n a d d i t i o n t o e v e r y t h i n g e l s e , a nd f i t t i n g
t h e a v a i l a b l e c anne d m a t e r i a l s i n t o t h e i r l e s s o n p l a n s
d o e s n ' t work o u t w e l l , e i t h e r .
The o n l y r e a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r c hange l i e i n s y s t e ms
t h a t w i l l e hange t h e I n s t r u c t o r ' s p o s i t i o n f r o a a manager
t o a h e l p e r . Many t e a c h e r s w i l l l i k e t h i s , many w i l l n o t .
M f C W P J L ( W | W (
when somebody shows you an electronic or other
presentational system, device or whatever.
A certain kind of slight-of-hand goes on.
It' s very easy to get fooled. They may show
you one thing and persuade you you've seen
another.
And if you're canny enough lo ask about
a feature you haven't seen they' ll always say,
"WE'RE WORKING ON IT."
It' s only dishonest if ihey say. "It' ll be ready
next monlh."
A s e l f - e m p l o y e d r e p a i r ma n o f m o b i l e homes
named Donal d We l l 9 h a s I n v e n t e d a s o l a r - p o w e r e d
t omb s t o n e t h a t c a n show movi es and s t i l l p i c t u r e s
o f t h e d e p a r t e d , a l o n g w i t h a p p r o p r i a t e o r g a n
mus i c and any l a s t words o r e u l o g i e s s e l e c t e d
by t h e d e c e a s e d .
The d e v i c e l e a c t i v a t e d by a r emot e
c o n t r o l
d e v i c e c a r r i e d by a v i s i t o r t o t h e g r a v e 9 i t e .
The movi e s woul d be shown on s t w e l v e - i n c h s c r e e n
mount ed n e x t t o t h e e p i t a p h .
"You c o u l d a l s o have p i c t u r e s o f C h r i s t a s
c e n d i n g t o h e a v e n o r C h r i s t on t h e c r o s s , wh a t e v e r
you w a n t , " s a y s W e l l s . " I t a dds a whol e new d i
me ns i on t o g o i n g t o t h e c e m e t e r y . . . . "
Cl evel and P l a i n Dea l e r
(Quoted i n n a t i o n a l Lampoon
True Fact o, ' l ay 74, 10 . )
b a s i c a l l y c o n s i s t s o f t h e m a n i p u l a t i o n o f r u b b e r p u p p e t s
bv mi n i c o m p u t e r , t h r o u g h c a b l e s a n d p u f f s o f a i r .
H a l t Di s ne y P r o d u c t i o n s .
;e h l *><>1
y
Would you b e l i e v e t h e r e waa t e l e v i s i o n b r o a d c a s t i n g
o v e r t h e a i r w a v e s i n t h e n i n e t e e n - t w e n t i e s ? The t h i n g i s ,
i t u s e d b i z a r r e s p i n n i n g e q u l p n e n t b e c a u s e t h e r e wer e no
CRTs ( s e e " L i g h t n i n g i n a B o t t l e , " n e a r b y . ) Onl y w i t h
t h e d e v el opment o f r a d a r i n Worl d War I I d i d t h e r e a l s o
c a n e a p r a c t i c a b l e Ca t h o d e Ray Tube, maki ng hone t e l e v i s
i o n f e a s i b l e .
But t h e b i g c o mp an i es wer e a t f i r s t v e r y c o n s e r v a t i v e
l n t h e i r m a r k e t i n g , f i g u r i n g t e l e v i s i o n woul d b e a l u x u r y
i t e m o n l y . I t t o o k a man named Madman H u n t s , who c a r i c a
t u r e d h i m s e l f i n a Nap o l eon h a t , t o a e e t h a t m i l l i o n s would
buy t e l e v i s i o n l f t h e p r i c e was r i g h t . So h e came o u t wi t h
Hunt s TV I d t h e l a t e f o r t i e s . As I r e c a l l , t h e Hu nt s TV
c o s t $100 and ha d o n e t u n i n g kn o b . ( T h i s was l e s s I n t i m i
d a t i n g t h a n t h e row o f knobs on more e x p e n s i v e s e t s . ) I
d o n ' t know how Hu n t s c a a e o u t on I t a l l , b u t h i s o p e ni ng of
t h e mass ma r k e t made t h e b i g g e r c o r p o r a t i o n ! r e a l i s e i t was
t h e r e . ( Th i s same t h i n g may y e t happen a g a i n l n newer
m e d i a . )
O r i g i n a l l y a l l t h e r e was waa Krasy Kat a nd Far mer
Brown c a r t o o n s . But b e h o l d , s o o n e r t h a n you c o u l d s a y
" v e r t i c a l h o l d , t h e r e wer e S i d Ca es ar a nd Imogene Coca
on t h e Admi r al Show, a nd we wer e o f f .
A q u a r t e r o f a c e n t u r y l a t e r , t h e b e e t o f t e l e v i s i o n
l a no b e t t e r a nd t h e b u l k o f t e l e v i s i o n i s a b o u t a s bad
a s i t e v e r was.
We " u n d e r s t a n d " t e l e v i s i o n . That i s , we know whs t a
TV show i s , how i t f i t s t o g e t h e r and eo on .
ICECUBES
But what p e o p l e d o n ' t r e a l i s e a bout TV i s t h a t t h e
go v e r n i n g f e a t u r e i s t h e t i m e - s l o t . I n a ny medium w i t h
t i m e - s l o t s , wh e t h e r TV, r a d i o o r c l a s s r o o m e d u c a t i o n , t he
t i m e - s l o t r u l e s b e h a v i o r . What ever can h a pp en i e a s con
s t r a i n e d a s i c e c u b e s i n a t r a y .
T h i s l a t h e l i m i t i n g f a c t o r when o p t i m i s t s t r y t o
u s e TV f o r t e a c h i n g . I f I t s coming o v e r a c a b l e , e v e r y
t h i n g ha s t o be s c h e d u l e d a r ou nd I t , and t h e c o n t e n t s a r e
c l i p p e d and c o n s t r a i n e d t o f i t t h e t i m e - a l o t . I t may be
b e t t e r wi t h v i d e o t a p e .
CABLES
I n t h e l a s t d o s e n y e a r s , Cabl e TV, o r CATV, ha s
become b i g b u s i n e s s . A Vi deo Cs b l e i s a h i g h - c a p a c i t y
e l e c t r i c a l c a r r l e T t h a t r u n s t h r o u g h a g i v e n n e i g h b o r
hood o r r e g i o n . B u s i n e s s and i n d i v i d u a l s may " s u b
s c r i b e " and g e t t h e i r own s e t s hooked o n t o t h e c a b l e .
What t h i s d o e s f l r e t o f a l l 1s Improve r e c e p t i o n .
The f o u l e d - u p v i d e o p i c t u r e c au s e d by s u c h e x t r a n e o u s
o b j e c t s as t h e World T r s d e C e n t e r I n New York can be
c o r r e c t e d by h o o k i n g I n t o t h e v i d e o c a b l e : you g e t a
n i c e , s h a r p p i c t u r e .
I n a d d i t i o n , t h o u g h , t h e c a b l e o f f e r s e x t r a c h a n n e l s .
Now, t h e b u s i n e s s me n who have been t h r o w i n g t o g e t h
e r t h e s e v i d e o c a b l e o u t f i t s a r e ai mi ng f o r s o m e t h i n g .
They have been t h i n k i n g t h a t t h e s e e x t r a c h a n n e l s woul d
n e t them a l o t o f money: by showi ng t h i n g s on t hem t h a t
c a n ' t be o f f e r e d on t h e a i r hi ghbr ow dr ama , o r pe r h a p s
X - r a t e d s t u f f t h e y c o u l d g e t e x t r a r e v e n u e . ( You' d pay
e x t r a t o wat ch i t by b u y i n g an u n e c r a m b l e r , o r w h a t e v e r . )
Thl e I s t u r n i n g i n t o somewhat o f a d i s a p p o i n t m e n t .
The c a b l e p e o p l e had f o r e s e e n , e v i d e n t l y , t h a t pe opl e
woul d s t a y home i n d r o v e s t o s e e t h e new o f f e r i n g s on t h e
c a b l e . I n Show B u s i n e s s I t ' s e a s y t o f o r g e t , t h o u g h , t h a t
e ver ybody h a s o n l y t w e n t y f o u r h o u r s l n a d a y , a nd f a r l e s s
t h a n 26 h o u r s t o d i s p o s e o f f r e e l y ; ao e v e r y l e i s u r e o c cu -
p s t i o i r i s c ompet i ng w i t h e v e r y o t h e r l e i s u r e o c c u p a t i o n .
Ho r e o v e r , t h e r e s i d u a l l e i s u r e o c c u p a t i o n , when t h e r e ' s no
t h i n g e l s e t o d o , i s TV. I t woul d seem t h a t few p e o p l e
woul d wat ch mor e t e l e v i s i o n I f i t wer e b e t t e r , b u t many
woul d wat ch l e a s l f t h e y c o u l d a f f o r d t o go o u t .
EXTRA CHANNELS
I n r e c e n t y e a r s , a number o f e x t r a c h a n n e l s ha ve been
made a v a i l a b l e by l a w. Thes e a r e t he UHF, o r U l t r a High
Fr equency c h a n n e l s . T h e s e , l i k e c a b l e s , r e p r e s e n t a c on
s u l a r b r e a k t h r o u g h b u t w i l l ha ve o nl y n e g l i g i b l e i m p a c t .
THE PROBLEM OF ORGANIZATION
What ever e l s e you may s a y a bout t hem, t h e ne t wo r k s
and TV s t a t i o n s a r e a t l e a s t o r g a n i s e d a s g o i n g c o n c e r n s
w i t h i n t h e I n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e c o u n t r y . I d e a s
o f "communit y t e l e v i s i o n " and o t h e r s uc h schemes whi ch c a l l
f o r some new f or m o f s o c i a l o r g a n i s a t i o n t o s p r i n g f o r t h
a r e a bout a s p l a u s i b l e a s "communi t y c o n t r o l " o f s c h o o l s
and p o l i c e o r a t b e s t l i k e l y t o b e a e I n f l u e n t i a l a s
" c o u u n l t y s o c i a l c e n t e r e . "
INTERACTIVE TV?
Some p e o p l e , I w o n ' t aay who, have g o t t e n a l o t o f
money f o r s o me t h i n g t h e y c a l l " i n t e r a c t i v e t e l e v i s i o n .
What t h i s t u r n s o u t t o mean I s any form o f c o mp ut e r t i me
s h a r i n g t h a t w i l l u s e home TV t e r m i n a l s and v i d e o c a b l e s .
The q u e s t i o n s a r e why u s e home TV t e r m i n a l s and v i d e o
c a b l e s , i n s o f a r a s t h e y woul d seem t o p r o m i s e o n l y com
p a r a t i v e l y l o w- g r a d e p e r f o r m a n c e ; and wh e t h e r t h e s e pe o p l e
h s v e t h o u g h t o u t a n y t h i n g a b o u t t h e p o t e n t i a l c h a r a c t e r i s
t i c s o f t h e v a r i o u s me d i a t h e y pr op os e w i t h s u c h abandon.
Not h i n g I ha v e s e e n o r h e a r d a b o u t t h i s i s r e a s s u r i n g .
ALTERNATE" TELEVISION, o r VIDEO FREAKS
I n r e c e n t y e a r s , many young f o l k s ha ve ta l csn t o v i de o
a s a way o f l i f e . I n t h e mos t e xt r e me c a s e s t he y s a y t h i n g s
l i k e " t h e w r i t t e n word i s d e a d , " p r a p t e d p e r h a p s by McLuhan.
I ha ve f ound I t r a t h e r d i f f i c u l t t e t a l k t o v i d e o f r e a k s .
( I t may b e t h a t some o f them a r e a g a i n s t s poken words aa w e l l . )
I r e a l l y j u s t d o n ' t k n w what t h e y ' r e a b o u t .
The work o f t h e s e pe opl e i e a s e x u b e r a n t aa i t i s s t r a n g e .
1 h a v e n ' t s e e n much o f I t o r u n d e r s t o o d much o f what I have
I n some c a s e s , " a l t e r n a t i v e t e l e v i s i o n " si mpl y means do c u
m e n t a r i e s o u t s i d e t h e nor mal framewor k o f owner s hi p and r e p o r t
i n g . I n one e x a o p l e c i t e d by Shamberg ( s e e b i b l i o g r a p h y ) ,
v i d e o f r e a k s d i d e x c e l l e n t c o v e r a g e o f t h e 1966 Re publ i c an conven
t i o n . P e o p l e wer e al l owed t o s pe ak f o r t h e m s e l v e s , u n l i k e " n o r
mal " TV j o u r n a l i s m where " c omment a t or s " t e l l you what t hey s e e .
Now, t h i s i s h a r d l y r e v o l u t i o n a r y ; i t i s j u s t good documen
t a r y - maki ng t h a t s huc ks dumb t r a d i t i o n s a r t i s t i c a l l y , much l i k e
t h e Pe nne bake r f i l m s . However, v i d e o e n t h u s i a s t s c l ai m I t i s
somehcw d i f f e r e n t , and i nde ed c l a i m t h a t v i d e o i e d i f f e r e n t i n
p r i n c i p l e f rom f i l m s . I have b e e n u n a b l e t o g e t a s a t i s f a c t o r y
c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f t h i s i d e a .
Vi deo i s b e i n g us e d i n o t h e r ways , h a r d e r t o u n d e r s t a n d , by
a r t i s t s ( b e s t d e f i n e d a s p e r s o n s c a l l e d " a r t i s t s " w i t h i n t h e a r t
wo r l d t o d a y ) . Ver y odd " v i d e o p i e c e s " have been shewn a t a r t
shows, wher e t h e o b j e c t seems t o be t o c o n f u s e t h e vi e wer o r
knock hi m i n t o a c o n d i t i o n o f E n l a r g e d P e r s p e c t i v e , s h a l l we s a y .
And a v a r i e t y o f n o n ^ b j e c t i v e v i d e o t a p e s a r e now b e i ng c r e a t e d .
(A g a l l e r y show i n 1969 was c a l l e d " Vi deo a s a C r e a t i v e Medium"
i mp l y i n g s a r c a s t i c a l l y t h a t i t had n o t be en b e f o r e , on t h e
a i r w a v e s . )
Saae v i d e o f r e a k a t h i n k o f v i d e o a s i n t r i n s i c a l l y r a d i c a l o r
R e v o l u t i o n a r y . I n t h i s r e s p e c t t he y d i f f e r i n t e r e s t i n g l y f r c n ,
s a y , t h e e d i t o r s o f t h e N a t i o n a l | -*mpo o n . The e d i t o r s o f t h e
N a t i o n a l Lampoon a p p e a r t o be p o l i t i c a l r a d i c a l s , b u t do n o t s u g
g e s t t h a t t h e ve r y medi a o f c a r t o o n and j o k e - p l e c e a r e t he ms e l ves
r e v o l u t i o n a r y . Scute v i de o f r e a k s a p p e a r t o be p e r s ua ded t h a t t h e
medium o f t e l e v i s i o n i t a e l f 1s I n h e r e n t l y a v e h i c l e f o r change .
I can u n d e r s t a n d one i n t e r e s t i n g s e n s e i n whi ch t h i s may be
t r u e s Shamberg t a l k s a bout v i d e o a s a met hod o f a e l f - d l a c o v a r v .
S e e i n g y o u r s e l f on TV d o e s , o f c o u r s e , c o n f e r c e r t a i n I n s i g h t s .
But Shamberg s u g g e s t s i t may expand p e o p l e ' s c o n s c i o u s n e s s i n
l a r g e r w a y s - - a l l o w i n g pe o p l e t o s e e t h e b l e a k n e s s o f c e r t a i n
p u r s u i t s (he u s e s t h e exampl e o f Shoppi ng) , f o r I n s t a n c e . But
i f t h i s doe s h i t hone t o p e o p l e , i t d o e s n ' t seem t o me t o be t h e
nedi um t h a t ' s d oi ng i t b u t t h e s e l e c t e d c o n t e n t a s i n a l l p r e
v i o u s me di a . Maybe I ' v e mi s s ed t h e p o i n t i n seme way.
T hes e de vel opment s a r e a l l v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g . I t can be
hoped t h a t t h o s e t r y i n g t o d e v e l o p new f orms o f c a n u n i c a t i o n
w i l l make an e f f o r t t o c c n a u n i c a t e b e t t e r w i t h t h o s e who, l i k e
t h e a u t h o r , o f t e n c a n n o t comprehend what t h e y a r e d oi ng.
But d e c e n t r a l i z e d t r a n s m i s s i o n o f
i n f o r m a t i o n shoul d be d o mi n a n t , n o t f u g i
t i v e . Each c i t i z e n o f Medi a- Ameri ca
s h o u l d g u a r a n t e e d a s a b i r t h r i g h t a c c e s s
t o t h e means o f d i s t r i b u t i o n o f i n f o r ma -
( Shamber g, p . 67)
Wel l , we went down t h e r e w i t h our
P o r t a - P a k and t r i e d t o t a k e i t i n s i d e .
A gua r d came ove r and s a i d we c o u l d n ' t
and e ven t hr ew one o f us o u t o f t h e boot h
w h i l e t h e o t h e r wae i n s i d e . A gua r d
t e l l i n g you what t o do i n a c y b e r n e t i c
envi r onment ? "
( Shamber g, p . S3)
( " C y b e r n e t i c " i s e v i d e n t l y a code
word h e r e f o r what t he y t h i n k i s
good, t r u e , b e a u t i f u l and i n e v i
t a b l e . Cf . p . D/1 | 5 . )
H About t h e o nl y g e n e r a l i s a t i o n t o be
made i s t h a t coms uni t y v i d e o w i l l be
s u b v e r s i v e t o any g r o u p , b u r e a u c r a c y , or
i n d i v i d u a l whi ch f e e l s t h r e a t e n e d by a
c o a l e s c i n g o f g r a s s r o o t s c o n s c i o u a n s s s .
Because n o t onl y doe s d e c e n t r a l i s e d TV
s e r v e a s an e a r l y war ni ng s y s t e m , i t p u t s
p e o p l e i n t ouc h wi t h one a n o t h e r a bout
connon g r i e v a n c e s . "
(Shamber g, p . 57)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mi chael Shamberg a nd Ra i nda nce C o r p o r a t i o n ,
G u e r r i l l a T e l e v i s i o n . ( H o l t , 54. )
TUBE, an unde r gr ound TV ma gaz i ne . $ 8 / y r .
TUBE, 1B26 S p a i g h t S t . , Madi son, WI
53704.
Ca bl e R e p o r t , $ 7 / y r . 192 N. C l a r k S t . ,
Ro o d 607. Chi ca go. Sampl es $1.
"SCANDAL IS RAMPANT i n t h e c abl e
t e l e v i s i o n I n d u s t r y . Only Ca bl e Re
p o r t f o l l o ws c a b l e TV devel opment s
from t h e c i t i z e n s p e r s p e c t i v e and
t e l l s you wh a t s h a ppeni ng a nd w h a t ' s
goi ng wr ong. " Ad i n Chi ca go READER.
Ni c h o l a s J ohns on, How t o T a l k Back t o Your
T e l e v i s i o n S e t . Bant am, 95#
umw
INhB0TT&
TH*
A c a t h o d e - r a y t u b e i s a c t u a l l y a b o t t l e f i l l e d
w i t h a va cuum a n d s ome f u n n y e l e c t r i c a l e q u i p -
m e n t . The e q u i p me n t i n t he n e c k o f t h e b o t t l e
s h o o t s a beam of e l e c t r o n s t o w a r d t h e bot t om o f
t h e b ot t l e.
T h i s beam of e l e c t r o n s i s c a l l e d , m o r e o r l e s s f or
h i s t o r i c a l r e a s o n s , a c a t h o d e r a y . T h i n k o f i t a s
a s t r a w t h a t can be w i g g l e d i n t h e b o t t l e .
Act ual l y t he b o t t l e i s s h a p e d s o a s t o h a v e
a l a r g e v i e w i n g a r e a a t t h e bot t om ( t he s c r e e n ) ,
a n d t h i s s c r e e n i s c o a t e d w i l h s o m e t h i n g t h a t g l o w s
w h e n e l e c t r o n s hi t i t . S u c h a c h e m i c a l i s c a l l e d
a p h o s p h o r .
Now, t wo u s e f u l t h i n g s c a n b e d o n e wi t h t h i s
b e a m.
1) It c a n be ma de b r i g h t e r b y i n c r e a s i n g
t he v o l t a g e , wh i c h i n c r e a s e s t h e
n u mb e r o f e l e c t r o n s i n t h e b e a m .
2) T h e beam c a n b e m o v e d ? T h a t i s . i t
can be ma de t o p l a y a r o u n d t h e f a c e
of t he t u b e I he wa y y o u c a n s l o s h
t he s t r e a m of a g a r d e n h o s e b a c k
a n d f ort h on t h e l a w n ; o r w i g g l e a
s t r a w i n a coke b o t t l e . T h e be a m
can be move d wi t h e i t h e r m a g n e t i s m
o r s t a t i c e l e c t r i c i t y . T h i s i s a p p l i e d
i n Ihe n e c k o f t h e b o t t l e o r e v e n
f rom o u t s i d e t h e n e c k b y d e f l e c t i o n
p l a t e s , wh o s e e l e c t r i c a l p u l s a t i o n s
d e t e r mi n e t he p a t t e r n t h e be am
t r a c e s on t h e s c r e e n . ( Not e t h a t t h e
beam c a n b e move d o n ( he s c r e e n at
g r e a t s p e e d . )
T h e v e r t i c a l d e f l e c t i o n p l a t e s c a n p u l l t he
b e a m u p o r down on t h e s c r e e n , c o n t r o l l e d by
a s i g n a l t o them;
t h e h or i zont al defl ect i on p l a t e s c a n p u l l t h e be am
s i d e w a y s on t he s c r e e n , c o n t r o l l e d b y a s i g n a l
t o t he m.
By s e n d i n g combi ne d s i g n a l s t o bot h h o r i
z ont al a n d v e r t i c a l def l e ct i on p l a t e s , we c a n ma ke
t h e e n d o f t he beam*- a b r i g h t dot o n t h e s c r e e n ,
s ome t i mes c al l ed a Qyi ng s p o t j u mp a r o u n d i n
a n y p a t t e r n on t he s c r e e n . A r e p e a t e d p a t t e r n
of t h e beam on t he face o f i he CRT i s c a l l e d a
r a s t e r .
Fr om t h e s e two c a p a b i l i t i e s - - b r i g h t e n i n g
a n d movi ng t h e beam- * a n u m b e r o f v e r y s p e c i a l
t e chnol ogi es emer ge:
TELEVISION us e s s s i g - s a g s c a n n i n g p a t
t e r n whi ch r e p e a l s o v e r a n d o v e r .
T h i s zi gzag p a t t e r n i s a l w a y s t he
s a me , ni ght a n d d a y .
I r wt Hwir t v whcw we
W ) K * v e A B E T T E * . J Y S T t ^ ^ O U .
L ef f t , k N * " v 1* f c *
You can u s u a l l y s e e t he l i n e s c l e a r l y
on a b l a c k - a n d - wh i t e s e l . T h e p i c
t u r e c ons i s t s o f t h e c h a n g i n g p a t t e r n
of b r i g h t n e s s o f t h i s b e a m , wh i c h
comes i n o v e r t h e a i r w a v e s a s t ha
t el e vi s i on s i g n a l .
RADAR DISPLAY u s es a CRT to show reflec
t ed images around where the r a dar
antenna i s st andi ng. Thia u s es a
sca nni ng r a s t e r of a s t a r shape,
br i g ht en i n g the beam when reflected
images a r e received.
COMPUTER CRT GRAPHICS generally use
t he CRT in st i ll another way; the
beam i s moved around the scr een in
s t r a i gh t l i nes from point to point.
(Between different parts of t he pi c
t u r e the beam is darkened, t urned
v e r y low so you don' l see i t . )
Because the image on a normal
CRT fades qui ckl y, the computer must
o rd i n a r i l y draw the pi cture again and
again and agai n. (Methods for this
a r e dis cus s ed on p . pH 2*5.)
SPECIAL KINDS OF CATHODE-RAY TUBES
The CRT i s not merely a single invention,
but an e n t i r e family of inventions. The ordi na ry
CRT, which we have discussed, i s. vi ewed at one
end by a human b e i n g , has an image which fades
q ui ckl y, and can have its flying spot dri ven in
any ki nd of r a s t e r o r pattern.
Here a r e some other kinds of CRT:
The pi c t u r e t ransmi t t er, which has different
ver sions and names: Vidicon, Image Orth icon,
Plumbicon. e t c . THIS IS THE MAGICAL DEVICE
THAT MAKES THE TELEVISION CAMERA WORK.
AND YET, BY GOSH, IT'S JUST ANOTHER CRT.
Except Instead of the pi ct ure coming into i t as
an el ect ri cal s i gnal and out of it as an optical
i mage, t he pi c t u r e comes into it as an optical
image and goes out of it as an electrical signal :
How can t h i s be?
The t ube s i t s Inside ths television camera-,
which i s an o r d i n a r y camera, like, With a lens
proj ect i ng a pi c t ur e t hrough a dar k chamber
onto a s ens i t i ve surf ace . But Instead of the
surf ace b ei ng a fi l m, the surface is the faceplate
of a CRT with some kind of a special pickup
phosphor:
T V
The el ect ron beam, which is j us t like any
ot her electron beam, i s made to zigzag across
the faceplate i n a st andard television r a s te r .
And t he special phosphor of the tube measures
the b r i g h t n e s s of t he pi ct ure at the spot the
beam i s h i t ti ng. I have no idea how this hap
pe n s . but i t ' s chemical and electronical and mys
t er ious , and i s b as e d on the way the phosphor
i nt eract s with t he light from erne side and the
el ectrons from t he ot her side at the same time.
Anvhow. a measurement signal comes out of the
f aceplate, indi cat i ng how bri ght the projected
p i ct ure i s in t he v e r y spot the electron beam i s
now hi t t i n g .
As the beam cr i ss- crosse s the faceplate in
the zig-zag television r a s te r , then, a continuously
changing output signal from the faceplate shows
the br i ght nes s e s all across lhe successive l i nes
of the scan.
And that i s the television s i gnal . Together
with synchr onizi ng Information, i t ' s what goes
out over the ai r waves, down your antenna and
into your s e t . Your set , obeyi ng- the. synchron
izing information, bri ght ens and darkens its own
beam i n proportion to the bri ghtness of the
individual teeny regions of the faceplate in the
television camera. And this produces t he s ci n
tillating surface we call television.
The color tube is a weird beast indeed.
There ar e s eve r al types, but we' ll only talk
about the simplest (and many think the b e s t ) ,
Sony' s Trinilron(TM) tube.
This i s an ordinary CRT which h a s , i n
stead of a uniform coating on the faceplate, tiny
vertical s t r i p e s of three primary colors r e d ,
blue and g r e e n . (You thought the primary col
ors were r e d , blue and yellow, didn' t you. If
you' re mixing pigments that happens lo be t r ue .
For some ungodly reason, however, if you' r e
mixing l i g h t s , the colors that yield all ot her s
t u r n out to be r e d , green and blue; it t u r n s out
that yellow light can be made oul of red and
green. If you don' t believe me go to a chintzy
har dwar e s t o r e , get a red and a green b u l b ,
t urn 'em on and see what happens in a white-
walled room. )
At any ra t p, color television uses addi
tional color s i g na l s , and in the Trinitron t hese
control the r e sponse of the faceplate. If the
color signal s ays "green" as the electron dot
crosses a ce rt ai n par t of the s cr een, the color
s ignal tells t he green st ri pes lhat t hey' r e free
to light up when hi t . If i t ' s Yellow Time, the
s ignal tells both the red st ri pes and the gr e en,
and so side by si de they light up red and g r e e n ,
as the beam cr os s es lhem, but the total effect
from more lhan a few inches is Yellow.
Most American color TV set s , however, at
least up till t hi s yea r , used something ver y dif*
ferent , something entirely weird called the
Shadow Mask Tube. I' ll spare you the p i c t ur e ,
but ther e were s eve ral different electron beams
often r e f e r r e d to jokingly as the "red electron
beam," "blue electron beam" snd "green electron
beam," though of course they were identical in
c haract er. These hit a perforated si eve, up
near the s c r e e n, called the shadow mask, and
the color si gnal tweaked the unwanted beams
so they did not hi t different-colored phosphor
dots that were i ntricately arranged on t he s cr een.
Im s or r y I s t a r t e d to explain this.
Multi gun t ubes have more than one electron
gun and more t han one electron beam. They
can be used i n different ways (aside from the
old shadow-mask TV t ube, mentioned above).
For i nst ance , one gun can be driven in a
video r a s t e r , lo show television, while anot her
gun can be used as a computer display, drawing
individual lines with no regard to the TV pat t er n.
The storage CRT comes i n two flavors:
viewable and non-viewable. But what it does
i s ver y neat: it holds the pi cture on the screen.
The mechanisms for this are of var i ous t y p e s ,
and i t ' s all weird and electronic, but the idea
i s that once something is put on t he screen by
the el ect ron beam, it stays find s t a y s . Up to
several minutes, usually. The main manufac
t u r e r s ar e Tektronix, Princeton Electronic Pro
duct s, and Hughes Aircraft; each of ihese ihree
has a product that works by a different melhod.
Note: Tektronix' t ube bui l t into a num
b e r of different computer di spl ays, and is rec
ognizable by its Kelly green surf ace . They
themselves make complete computer terminals
around t hi s scope for $4000 and u p , bul lots of
other people put it in thei r product s also. It
shows whatever has already been put on the
scr een, and the electron beam does not have to
repeat the action. However, it usual l y only
stays lit for about a minute.
Princeton Electronic Products (guess where)
is a much smaller outfit, so per haps it is appro
priate that they make a much smaller storage
tube. It i s about one inch squar e at its storage
end, and you don' t look at it di re ct l y. Instead,
an image can be stored on it ei t her wth a TV
ra s t e r or by computer-driven line drawi ng.
After t he image is stored on i t , though, it func
tions as a TV camera: the pi ct ure st ored on the
plate can be read out with a scanni ng ra ste r,
exactly as i f it were a picture transmi t t er in a
television camera. The Princeton folks have
built a quite expensive, bul quite splendid,
complete terminal around this device: it can hold
both video and computer-drawn p i c t u r e s , super
imposed o r combined, and sends them back oul
in st andard black-and-white TV. $12000.
CRTS which br i ng in a p i ct ure one way
(such as a video ra ste r) and send it back out
another way (such as by letting a computer
search out individual points) are called scan
c onve r t e r s .
A word about this last method. It is often
desired by computer people to t ur n a picture
into some form of data (see p. )(_,). Scan conver
t e r s, usual l y by the three manufacturers named
above, can be hooked up to let the computer pro
gram poke around in the picture and measure the
br i ght ness of the picture in a r b i t r a r y places.
A device which examines the br i ght nes s of some
thing in a r bi tr ar y places i s called a flying spot
s c a n n e r . ) Here are some different kinds of
Oying-spot scanners:
y i Ac . 0 i f a l f i t v
I have heard it said that it might be pos
sible to build a CRT with a changeable mirror
surface: that i s, the scr een becomes mirrored
temporarily where it is being hit with the elec
tron beam. Interesting. This would mean that
you could make computer displays (and TV)
bright and projectable to any degr ee , s s y , by
pouring a super-lntensity l aser beam on it . "Be
great for writing 'Coca-Cola' on t he moon,'1 says
a friend of mine. If you believe in as t r a l pro
jection .
BIBLIOGRAPHY: C o l o r TV T r a i n i n g M a n u a l , Sa n s h C o . I
B o b b s - H e r r l l l ( $ 7 ) . I s a w e l l - i l l u s t r a t e d and
i n t e l l i g e n t i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e TV u s e o f CRTs.
Z Z I
SV t>l M '5
j M 6 t p e p c e s s c
' i f f * . \ : I,.
Pan S a n di n,
p r o f e s s o r o f A r t
a t V. o f I l l i n o i s , I
Chi cago C i r c l e ,
eaye v e r y u i s e
t h i n g s ( h a v i n g ;
been a p h y s i c i s t ) , 1
and ue u e r e g o i n g P
t o have a Dhol e
s e c t i o n on t h a t ,
b u t o b y ou ean e e e I
t he r e u a e n ' t room.
Dan i e l J . Sandi n ( pronounced san-DEEN) haa
epent t he l a s t s e v e r a l year * p u t t i n g t o g e t h e r a
d e v i c e he c u r r e n t l y c a l l o t h e IP (Image P r o c e s
s o r ) . I t ' s a s ys t e m o f c i r c u i t s f o r c hangi ng
and c o l o r i z i n g TV. What f ol l ows I s t h e f i r s t
p u bl i s h ed d e s c r i p t i o n o f I t .
I r e g r e t t h a t t h e f ol l owi ng I s p r o bab l y
one of t h e Dost d i f f i c u l t s e c t i o n s o f t h i s book.
( I f you know n o t h i n g a bo ut v i de o, r ea d Et mznppo^
........ T ^ . . f i r s t . ) 0 1 1 6 - 7
The i d e a I s b a s i c a l l y t o c r e a t e a c ompl e t e
l y g e n e r a l i z e d s ys t e m f o r s l t e r l n g t h a c o l o r and
b r i g h t n e s s o f v i d e o images. ( I . e . , t h e sys t em
does n o t move them on t h e s c r e e n . Thus I t
d i f f e r s from t h e Comput er Image l i n e of v l d e o -
t w i a t l n g g r a p h i c s s y s t e ms , which a l t e r p o s i t i o n s
of o b j e c t s ; se e p. DM . Note a l s o t h a t
t ' at h e r s i m i l a r f a c i l i t i e s e x i s t a s p a r t o f , e . g . ,
t he Sc ani mat e s ys t e m, f . DM 31 )
T h i s means t h a t b a s i c a l l y S a n d i n ' s sys t em
p l a ys wi t h t h e p a r t of t h e TV s i g n a l c a l l e d ,
or b r i g h t n e s s ( a s d i s t i n c t from o r y , t h e s i g
n a l s f o r h o r i z o n t a l snd v e r t i c a l movement o f t he
S . .
Now, a s a p h y a l e i s t and f l e l d - t h e o r e t l c i a n ,
Sandin a ppr oa che d t h l e a s a problem i n g e n e r a l i t y ;
and i nde ed, t h e e t y l e o f g e n e r a l i z a t i o n ehoul d be
a p p r e c i a t e d . Sa ndi n r e p e a t e d l y chose f l e x i b i l i t y
and power r a t h e r t han obvi ousness i n t h e p a r t s he
c r e a t e d . The r e s u l t i n g syst em I s b ot h p s r s l mon -
l ou s snd p r o d u c t i v e .
Hi s f i r s t i mp o r t a n t d e c i s i o n was t h a t a l l
p a r t s o f t h e s ys t e m sho u l d be compat i bl e and i d i o t -
p r o o f , eo t h a t a ny u a er c oul d f r i v o l o u s l y p l ug i t
t o g e t h e r any way a t a l l wi t h ou t b u r ni n g ou t t h e
c i r c u i t s .
I n d e e d , Sa ndi n de ci de d t o b u i l d i t l i k e a musi c
s y n t h e s i z e r : by making a l l syst ems e l e c t r i c a l l y com
p a t i b l e ( aa t h e y a r e on t h e Moog and I t s p r o g e n y ) ,
any s i g n a l can be uaed t o a l t e r o r I n f l u e n c e any
o t h e r s i g n a l . T h i s i s a v e r y pr ofound d e c i s i o n ,
whose f a r - f l u n g r e s u l t s h s ve no t y e t been f u l l y e x
pl or ed e ven among S a n d i n ' 8 r a t h e r f s n s t l c a l s t u d
e n t s .
B a s i c a l l y , t h e I ncoming vi deo Image i s " s t r i p
ped" o f I t s s y n c h r o n i z i n g i n f o r ma t i o n , so t h a t a l l
s i g n a l s t u r n i n g up i n t h e g u t s of t h e machi ne msy
be f r e e l y m o d i f i e d . Onl y a t t he f i n a l o u t p u t e t a g e
a r e t h e J o t s and t i t t l e s o f t he vi deo s i g n a l p u t back
Thu a t h e f i r s t and l a s t bl ocks o f t h e Image
P r o c e s s o r a c t l i k e bookends, between whi ch t h e o t h e r
modul es have t h e i r f u n . The f i r s t b l o c k makes t he
incoming s i g n a l i n t o " naked" v i d e o , t h e l a a t b l o c k
d r e s s e s i t up r e s p e c t a b l y a g ai n .
, Hfvr ei-oct. Sx o t eSU.
I , DUYPv'Tm
P I r
^LvijevC*n I (**TK
---------------- ^ I I n o a k i )
J L
M _ _ _ _ I
For t h e a ake of r l a r i t v we w i l l r e f e r t o t he
(**TX
w i k l . j
For t h e s a k e o f c l a r i t y we w i l l r e f e r t o t he
o u t p u t s a s p i c t u r e s , o r a s b l a c k , whi t e o r g r e y ,
which t h e y would b e i f t h e y went s t r a i g h t o u t t o a
s c r e e n ; b u t t h e y may be t u r n e d back i n t o t h e s y s t e a
and f u n c t i o n a s i n p u t a aa w e l l . "Whi t e" means +. 5
v o l t s , " b l s c k " means - . 5 v o l t s .
Let u s c o n s i d e r , t h e n . Sandi n s modul es and what
t h a y do i n d i v i d u a l l y t o t h e b r i g h t n e s s s i g n a l z_.
Combi nat i ons a r e beyond t h e ecope of t h i s a r t i c l e
What Dan ' a p r o c e s s o r
can do t o t e l e v i s i o n
i s no t t o be b e l i e v e d .
Savage c o l o r s o r
d e l i c a t e o f f - w h i t e s ,
s o l a r i s a t i o n s and
p i c t u r e s on t o p o f
p i c t u r e s . Then t h r o u g h
" vi de o f e e d b a c k "
( p o i n t i n g a TV camera
a t a TV s a r e e n ) ,
t h e s y s t e m e an g e n e r a t e
t h r o b b i n g an i ma t e d
ocbuebs and s p i r a l s
o f i t s oun. Shaun.
R e t u r n
^ HoLo&e^ '
1. ADDER-MULTIPLIER. Thl e combinee two i n p u t
c h a n n e l s , e i t h e r d i r e c t l y o r ae s p e c i f i e d by a t h i r d .
A s m -
E * % 1 T T A W M j E O F U W R V i j
k) HC 4 H'T F't- K o e i f r l "A l . ( . Y
4 , i t MOW
Diagram o f hou hol ogram i s made, p . DH ?0.
rtOtf iQBW W . , .
V u A
The c hannel A I np ut s a r e added t o g e t h e r and- Mul
t i p l i e d by C; t h e channel B I n p u t s a r e added t o g e t h e r
and m u l t i p l i e d by t he r eve r s e o f Cj b ot h r e s u l t s a r e
added t o make t h e o u t p u t . (NOTE: t h i s u n i t I s used
among o t h e r t h i n g s , f o r f ade s and k e y i n g . )
2. COMPARATOR. Thle i s l i k e K o d e l i t h f i l m, mak
i n g an image I n t o s t a r k bl s c k and w h i t e . I t s out put
l e p u r e b l a c k or whi t e . One I n p ut Si g n a l ( t h e vi deo)
l a compar ed wi t h a no t her I nput s i g n a l ( r e f e r e n c e l e v e l ,
o t h e r v i d e o , what eve r ) .
Whi le one l a g r e a t e r t h e ou t p u t goes a l l b l a c k ,
and wh i l e t h e o t h e r I s g r e a t e r I t goes a l l wh i t e .
3 . VALUE SCRAMBLER. Thl e I s a s i n g l e module
d i v i d i n g t h e p i c t u r e i n t o e i g h t l e v e l s . I t msy be
t h o u g h t o f as e i g h t o f t h e sbove c ompar at o r s , d i v i d
i n g t h e b r i g h t n e s s spect r um by quant um j umps. The
f l o o r and c e l l i n g of t h e s i g n a l t o be d i v i d e d a r e
s p e c i f i e d by t h e two c o n t r o l c h a n n e l s , b ut t h e d i v i d
i n g l i n e e between them a r e t he n a u t o m a t i c a l l y d e t e r
mi ned. Each c or r es pondi ng o ut p u t l e v e l nay be con
t r o l l e d by a knob.
Thus from a r ange o f I np ut v a l u e s , we gee an
o u t p u t s t e p - f u n c t i o n each o f whose b r i g h t n e s s e s I s I n
d i v i d u a l l y a d j u s t a b l e .
Note t h a t t he ee de vi ce s may be a r r a n g e d In
p a r e l l e l , t h u s d i v i d i n g t he b r i g h t n e s s spect r um I n t o
a s many l e v e l s as de e l r e d .
4 . OSCILLATOR MODULE ( ver y u n u s u a l ) . Sa n d l n ' s
o s c i l l a t o r s a r e v o l t s g e c o n t r o l l e d . J u s t l i k e t he ones
i n musi c s y n t h e s i z e r s . However, i f g i v e n any ki nd of
a sync s i g n a l , t he y l ock i n t o t h e n e a r e s t mu l t i p l e
( o r s u b mu l t i p l e ) wi t h i n t h e s p e c i f i e d r ang e . (But
t h e n t h e c o n t r o l s i g n a l , i f a ny, tweake i t h i gh e r o r
l o w e r . ) St a n da r d i z e d out p ut cooes i n s i n e , s quar e and
s a wt oot h.
Hologr aphy i e one of t ho s e Modem M i r a c l e s
t h a t we r e a l l y c a n ' t g e t i n t o . I t l e mi n d - b l o wi n g .
I n f l u e n t i a l , and of u n c l e a r i mp o r t a n c e .
T h e o r e t i c a l l y p r e d i c t e d by Denni s Gabo r , t h e
hol ogr am ( Cr eek "whole p i c t u r e " ) was f i n a l l y made
t o work i n t h e l a t e f l f t l e e by L e i t h and U p a t n l e k s .
S i n c e t he n dozens of o t h e r t y p e s o f h o l og r a ms ha ve
been e xper i me nt ed w i t h , i n c l u d i n g c o l o r h o l o g r a m s ,
movie h ol ogr ams , vi de o h ol ogr ams , a u d i o h o l o gr a ms
a nd g r a c i o u s know what .
B a s i c a l l y a hologr am i s an a l l - a r o u n d p i c t u r e .
I t d o e a n ' t l oo k l i k e a p i c t u r e , b u t l o o k s l i k e a
smudged f i n g e r p r i n t o r o t h e r ml a t a ke o f some k i n d .
Yet i t i s a marvel .
A b a s i c hologr am ( a c t u a l l y i t s h o u l d be
c a l l e d a l a s e r hologr am o r L e i t h - Do a t n l e k a h o l o
gr am, bu t we' v e no ti me f o r such d i s t i n c t i o n s )
I s one of t h e s e smudgy p i c t u r e s wh i c h , when vi e wed
un de r a pr o p e r l a s e r s e t up , s h ows you a t h r e e -
di me n s i o n a l p i c t u r e . Worse t ha n t h a t : a s you move
you r h e ad , t h e p i c t u r e changes c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y .
I t l o o k s , not l i k e t he f l a t s u r f a c e l e 1 s , b u t l i k e
a l l t - u p box wi t h a model I n i t .
What does t h e hologr am do? A c t u a l l y i t r e
c r e a t e s , n o t a s i n g l e vi e w, but t h e e n t i r e t a n g l e
of l i g h t r a y s t h a t a r e r e f l e c t e d from t h e r e a l ob
j e c t . Even down t o b r i g h t r e f l e c t i o n s , wh i c h
s c i n t i l l a t e i n t h e us ua l way, ae f rom chromi um.
The on l y pr obl em: o r d i n a r i l y t h e y ha ve t o b e .
used wi t h l a s e r l i g h t , whic h I s s p o o k l l y o n e -
c o l o r e d .
Notee from a l l o v e r : a r t a t y l l s t S a l v a d o r D a l i
p r e s i d e d s t an u n v e i l i n g o f " t h e w o r l d ' s f i r s t 360
hol ogr am" a t a New York g a l l e r y n o t l o n g a g o . The
a u b j e c t was song s t y l i s t A l i c e Cooper .
The Haunt ed House a t Di sney Worl d I n F l o r i d a
w i l l r i d e you t hr o ug h a b u i l d i n g f u l l o f h o l o g r a ms .
T h a t ' s one wsy t o move t h r o ug h g h o s t s , a l l r i g h t .
Ther e i e a New York School o f Ho l ogr aphy.
6. FUNCTION GENERATOR. Th i s d e v i e e i s h a r d e s t t o
e x p l a i n . L e t ' s do I t I n te rms of t h a t f i r s t mo du l e , t h e
A d d e r - M u l t l p l l e r . Know how t h e A d d e r - M u l t l p l l e r p u t s o u t
e i t h e r a p o s i t i v e o r a n e g a t i v e p i c t u r e , d e pe n d i n g on
which i n p u t you s e l e c t ?
The two planned us es were A) wi t h s s yn c , t o
g e n e r a t e f i x e d p a t t e r n s , snd B) wi t h o u t a aync, t o
g e n e r a t e movable p a t t e r n s . I f bo t h i n p u t s a r e us e d ,
i t becomee s stu bbor n l ock- on v o l t a g e - c o n t r o l l e d o s
c i l l a t o r , which t e nds t o gr ab a t p a s s i n g s u b w l t l p l e s .
5. DIFFEREHTIATOR. B a s i c a l l y t h i s s e e s edgee In
t h e p i c t u r e , o r sny o t he r p a r t o f a s c a n - l i n e whose
c o l o r i s c hangi ng. I t s out p ut i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o
change o c c u r r i n g i n t he b r i g h t n e e e of a s c a n - l i n e ,
Ae t h e i n p u t goes from bl a ck t o wh i t e i t s ou t p u t i s
l i g h t ; as t h a I nput goes from whi t e t o b l a c k i t s o u t
put i a d a r k . (Tbs i n p u t hol e s e l e c t e d d e t er mi n e s t he
amount of m u l t i p l i c a t i o n . )
We l l , t h e F u nc t i o n Gene r a t or d i v i d e s t h e i n p u t b r i g h t
n e s s es i n t o t h r e e r a n ge s , and m u l t i p l i e s e ac h r an ge p o a l -
n e g a t i v e . I n p r o po r t i o n t o i t s own knob s e t t i n g . t i v e c
Thus t h e combi ned s e t t i n g o f t h e t h r e e knobs g e n e r a t
es a " f u n c t i o n , " o r c ur ve , from t he el o pea o f t h e I n d i v i d
u a l s e t t i n g s . See gr aph. What i n phot ogr aphy I s e a l l e d
" e o l e r l z e t l o n " r e p r e s e n t s J u s t one of t h a a e combi ned s e t
t i n g s . The o t h e r s s r e namel eas.
o urrur
rit:d S
It. c#
7. COLOR ENCODER MODULE. Thi s I s t h e l a s t b l o c k .
I n t o i t go t h r e e s i g n a l s , t he de s i r e d r e d , b l u e end g r e e t
and out cornea e t anda r d BTSC vi deo.
DM 0
$ J > Y E u e n s N i ^ s
" I e i n g t h e bo d y e l e a t r i e . . . " Wal t Whit man
T h e r e a r e v a r i o u s p e o p l e who wa n t t o a t
t a c h e l e c t r o n i c s t o p e o p l e ' s b o d i e s a n d b r a i n s .
T h e r e a r e b a s i c a l l y t wo s t a r t i n g p o i n t s
f o r t h i s a m b i t i o n . One i s a u t h o r i t a r i a n , t h e
o t h e r i s a l t r u i s t i c . 1 a n n o t s u r e b o t h s c h o o l s
a r e n o t e q u a l l y d a n g e r o u s , h o we v e r .
L e t s c o n s i d e r f i r s t t h e a u t h o r i t a r i a n s .
P r o f . D e l g a d o o f Y a l e h a s d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t any
c r e a t u r e ' s b e h a v i o r c a n be c o n t r o l l e d by j o l t s '
t o t h e b r a i n . D e l g a d o h a s d e a l t e s p e c i a l l y w i t h
t h e n e g a t i v e c i r c u i t s o f t h e b r a i n , t h a t i s ,
p l a c e s w h e r e a n e l e c t T i c & l i mp u l s e c a u s e s p a i n
( o r " n e g a t i v e r e i n f o r c e m e n t " ) . I n D e l g a d o ' s
n o s t s t u n n i n g d e m o n s t r a t i o n , he s t o p p e d a c h a r
gi ng b u l l w i t h j u s t a t e e n y r a d i o s i g n a l . En
t h u s i a s t i c a l l y D e l g a d o t e l l s u s how f i n e t h i s
s o r t o f t h i n g w o u l d b e f o r c o n t r o l l i n g U n d e s i r
a b l e Human B e h a v i o r , t o o .
Now, l e t ' s c o n s i d e r j u s t wh a t w e ' r e t a l k i n g
a b o u t . I n t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s , n e e d l e s a r e i m
p l a n t e d i n t h e c r e a t u r e ' s b r a i n . T h i s c a n i n
v o l v e r e m o v i n g a s e c t i o n o f t h e s k u l l , o r i t c a n
be done m e r e l y b y h a mme r i n g a l o n g h o l l o w n e e d l e
s t r a i g h t i n t o t h e s k u l l and t h u s t h e b r a i n .
The r e s e a r c h e r , o r w h a t e v e r we w a n t t o c a l l
hi m, h a d b e t t e r know w h a t he i s d o i n g . But due
t o t h e r e m a r k a b l e ma s s a c t i o n o f t h e b r a i n , t h e
d e s t r u c t i o n c a u s e d b y s u c h n e e d l e s w i l l h a v e n o t
o b s e r v a b l e e f f e c t s i f d o n e p r o p e r l y .
The h o l l o w n e e d l e , o n c e i n p l a c e , be c ome s a
t u b e f o r s h i e l d e d e l e c t r i c a l w i r e s , whos e b a r e
m e t a l l i c t i p s may t h e n be u s e d t o c a r r y l i t t l e
e l e c t r i c a l j o l t s , t o w h a t e v e r b r a i n t i s s u e i s
r e a c h e d b y t h e t i p o f t h e n e e d l e , wh e n e v e r t i n y
s i g n a l s a r e a p p l i e d .
Now t h e r e a r e r e g i o n s o f t h e b r a i n , d i s t r i
b u t e d i r r e g u l a r l y t h r o u g h i t s m y s t e r i o u s c o n t e n t s ,
whi ch a r e l o o s e l y c a l l e d t h e " p l e a s u r e " a nd
" p a i n " s y s t e m s . Th e y a r e c a l l e d t h a t b e c a u s e o f
what t h e o r g a n i s m d o e s whe n you j o l t i t i n t h o s e
p l a c e s . (We do n o t know w h e t h e r j o l t s t o t h e s e
a r e a s r e a l l y c a u s e p l e a s u r e o r p a i n , b e c a u s e
t h e s e t h i n g s h a v e n ' t b e e n done t o human b e i n g s .
Ye t . The c r e a t u r e s i t h a s b e e n done t o c a n ' t
t e l l u s j u s t how i t f e e l s ; t h u s " p l e a s u r e " a n d
" p a i n " a r e i n q u o t a t i o n ma r k s . For now. )
Anyway, w h a t h a p p e n s i s t h i s . I f you s t i m
u l a t e a c r e a t u r e i n t h e " p a i n " s y s t e m i t t e n d s t o
s t o p wh a t i t i s d o i n g - - t h i s i s c a l l e d n e g a t i v e
r e i n f o r c e m e n t - - a n d i f you s t i m u l a t e i t i n t h e
p l e a s u r e s y s t e m , i t t e n d s t o do more o f wh a t i t
was d o i n g . P o s i t i v e r e i n f o r c e m e n t .
Now, t o s ome p e o p l e t h i s s u g g e s t s w o n d e r f u l
p o s s i b i l i t i e s .
D e l g a d o , f o r i n s t a n c e , b e l i e v e s t h a t t h i s
t e c h n o l o g y g i v e s u s e v e r y t h i n g we n e e d f o r t h e
c o n t r o l o f A n t i - S o c i a l T e n d e n c i e s . C r i m i n a l s ,
p s y c h o p a t h s a n d Ba d Guys l n g e n e r a l - - a l l c a n be
e f f e c t i v e l y " c u r e d " ( i . e . , p u t on t h e i r b e s t b e
h a v i o r ) b y t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s . A l l we h a v e t o d o ,
heh h e h , i s g e t i n t o t h e i r h e a d s , he h h e h , h a b i t s
o f p r o p e r b e h a v i o r . And w i t h t h e s e new t e c h n i q u e s
o f r e i n f o r c e m e n t , we c a n r e a l l y t e a c h ' em.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y De l g a d o i s p r o b a b l y r i g h t .
I n p r i n c i p l e t h i s i s j u s t a d r a s t i c f o r m o f
b e h a v i o r c o n t r o l on t h e B. F. S k i n n e r mode l ( d e p i c
t e d a l s o i h N i n e t e e n E i g h t y - F o u r and A Cl o c k wo r k
Or ange) , Th e new s y s t e m i s mor e s t a r l t a nd s t a r t
l i n g b e c a u s e o f i t s v i o l a t i o n o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s
body i n t e r i o r , b u t n o t i n p r i n c i p l e d i f f e r e n t .
S k i n n e r h a s t h e sa me n a i v e , s i mp l e mi n d e d s o l
u t i o n s f o r e v e r y t h i n g . A l l " we" h a v e t o d o - -
u s i n g " we" t o me an s o c i e t y , t h e good g u y s , good
guys a c t i n g o n b e h a l f o f s o c i e t y , e t c . - - i s c o n
t r o l t h e b e h a v i o r o f t h e b a d g u y s , a nd e v e r y t h i n g
w i l l b e b e t t e r , a n d " we " c a n a c c o mp l i s h a n y t h i n g
"we" d e s i r e .
The r e a d e r may s e e s e v e r a l p r o b l e ms w i t h t h i s .
I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e ( a nd t h e l a s t ) , t h e r e i s
t h e o b v i o u s q u e s t i o n o f who we a r e , a n d i f we a r e
g o i n g t o c o n t r o l o t h e r p e o p l e , who i s g o i n g t o
c o n t r o l u s .
At a t i m e wh e n o u r " h i g h e s t " l e a d e r s show
t h e a s e l v e s p r e o c c u p i e d w i t h l ow r e t a l i a t i o n s a nd
l owe r i n i t i a t i v e s , we c a n wonde r i n d e e d i f i t i s
n o t mor e i m p o r t a n t t o p r e v e n t anyone f r o a e v e r
g e t t i n g t h i s k i n d o f c o n t r o l o v e r humans t h a n t o
f a c i l i t a t e i t .
Eve n i f t h a t w e r e n ' t a p r o b l e m , t h e r e i s t h e
moTe s i mp l e m i n d e d q u e s t i o n o f who i n t h e e x i s t i n g
s y s t e m wo u l d u s e s u c h t e c h n i q u e s . I t t u r n s o u t ,
o f c o u r s e , t h a t t h e y wo u l d b e a d d e d t o wh a t i s
l a u g h a b l y c a l l e d t h e C o r r e c t i o n a l S y s t e m , o r e v e n
more l a u g h a b l y c a l l e d t h e J u s t i c e S y s t e m . Al l
t h e s a d i s t s y o u c o u l d p o s s i b l y wa n t wo r k t h e r e .
(And no d o u b t some v e r y n i c e g u y s - - b u t e x p e r i
me n t s h a v e d e m o n s t r a t e d h o r r i f i c a l l y t h a t d e c e n t
p e o p l e , t u r n e d i n t o " g u a r d s " e v e n f o r a s h o r t t i m e ,
a d o p t t h e p a t t e r n s o f b r u t a l i t y we h a v e known f r om
t i me i m me m o r i a l . )
So , l i k e t r u n c h e o n s a nd e l e c t r i c s h o c k t h e r
apy a nd s o l i t a r y c o n f i n e me n t and e v e r y t h i n g e l s e ,
t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s - - i f t h e y a r e u s e d - - w i l l e n t e r
t h e r e a l m o f A v a i l a b l e P u n i s h me n t s , n o t t o be u s e d
w i t h c l i n i c a l p r e c i s i o n b u t w i t h g r a t u i t o u s l y b r u
t a l i z i n g i n t e n t , new t o o l s f o r p u n i t i v i t y and
s a d i s m . The " c o r r e c t i o n a l " s y s t e m wo u l d h a v e t o
be m a g i c a l l y c o r r e c t e d i t s e l f b e f o r e s u c h t o o l s
c o u l d b e e mp l o y e d w i t h o u t s i mp l y ma k i n g t h i n g s
w o r s e . And t h e p r o s p e c t i s n o t go o d .
Suc h s c h e me s gr ow, o f c o u r s e , f r o m a c a r i c a
t u r e o f t h e m a l e f a c t o r - - t h i n k i n g h i m t o be some
s o r t o f m i s w i r e d c i r c u i t , r a t h e r t h a n a human b e i n g
c a u g h t up i n a n g e r , p a i n , h u m i l i a t i o n a n d unem
p l o y m e n t .
( T h e r e a r e a l s o a l o t o f c a n a r d s a b o u t Fr e e
W i l l , b u t t h e s e do n o t h i n g f o r e i t h e r s i d e i n t h i s
c o n t r o v e r s y . )
NEW FACULTIES
S t a r t i n g f r o m an e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t o u t l o o k ,
v a r i o u s d e s i g n e r s and b i o - e n g i n e e r s a r e t r y i n g
t o a d d t h i n g s t o t h e human body and n e r v o u s s y s
t e m, f o r t h e v o l u n t a r y b e n e f i t o f t h e r e c i p i e n t .
A numbe r o f r e s e a r c h a nd d e v e l o p me n t e f f o r t s
a r e a i me d a t h e l p i n g t h o s e w i t h s e n s o r y i m p a i r
m e n t s , a n d e l e c t r o n i c s o b v i o u s l y i s g o i n g t o
i n v o l v e d .
An e x a m p l e : a f i r m c a l l e d L i s t e n i n g , I n c .
i n B o s t o n , f o u n d e d by Wayne B a t t e a u (whom J o h n W.
Ca mp b e l l c o n s i d e r e d one o f t h e G r e a t Men o f Our
T i me ) , d e v i s e d a s y s t e n f o r h e l p i n g t h e t o t a l l y
d e a f t o h e a r . S u p p o s e d l y t h i s c o u l d t r a n s m i t t h e
a c t u a l s e n s a t i o n o f h e a r i n g i n t o t h e n e r v o u s s y s
t em by some s c a r c e l y - u n d e r s t o o d f or m o f e l e c t r i
c a l i n d u c t i o n . The ma c hi ne was s o l d o f f ; wh e t h e r
i t e v e r g o t a s a f e t y r a t i n g I d o n ' t know.
T h i s i s t h e s o r t o f t h i n g p e o p l e wo u l d l i k e
t o do f o r t h e b l i n d , as w e l l .
Now, i n p r i n c i p l e , i t mi g h t be p o s s i b l e t o
t r a n s m i t a n i ma g e i n some way t o t h e a c t u a l v i s
u a l a r e a o f t h e c e r e b r a l c o r t e x . ( T h i s mi g h t o r
mi g h t n o t i n v o l v e o p e n i n g t h e s k u l l . ) Some body' s
wo r k i n g on i t .
I n a r e l a t e d t r e n d , numer ous d e s i g n g r oups
a r e a t t e m p t i n g t o e x t e n d t h e c a p a b i l i t i e s o f t h e
human b o d y , by means o f t h i n g s v a r i o u s l y c a l l e d
p o s s u m s . w a l d o e s a nd t e l e f a c t o r s .
" P o s s u ms " ( f r o m L a t i n " I c a n " ) a r e d e v i c e s
t o a i d t h e h a n d i c a p p e d i n movi ng, g r a s p i n g and
c o n t r o l l i n g . Wh a t e v e r mo t i o n s t h e p e r s o n can
make a r e e l e c t r o n i c a l l y t r a n s p o s e d t o w h a t e v e r
r e a l m o f c o n t r o l i s n e e d e d , s u c h a s t y p e w r i t i n g
o r g u i d i n g a w h e e l c h a i r . ( " Wa l do" i s H e i n l e i n ' s
t e r m f o r a p o s s u m t h a t c a n be o p e r a t e d a t a d i s
t a n c e . )
I n t h e s p a c e p r o g r a m, t h o u g h , t h e y c a l l t hem
t e l e f a c t o r s . A t e l e f a c t o r i s a d e v i c e wh i c h c o n
v e r t s o r a d a p t s body move ment s by m a g n i f i c a t i o n
o r r e mo t e mi mi c k i n g . Un l i k e p o s s u ms , t h e y a r e
me a n t t o b e o p e r a t e d by p e o p l e w i t h n o r ma l f a c u l
t i e s , b u t t o p r o v i d e , f o r e x a mp l e , s u p e r h u ma n
s t r e n g t h : c r a d l e d i n a l a r g e r t e l e f a c t o r b o d y , a
man c a n p i c k u p i mmense l o a d s , a s t h e movement s
o f h i s ar ms a r e c o n v e r t e d t o t h e move me nt s o f t h e
g r e a t e r r o b o t a r ms .
T e l e f a c t o r s c a n a l s o wor k f r om f a r , f a r away.
Thus a man s i t t i n g i n a b o o t h c a n c o n t r o l , w i t h t h e
movement s o f h i s own a r ms , t h e a r t i f i c i a l ar ms o f
a r o b o t v e h i c l e on a n o t h e r p l a n e t .
( T h i s w h o l e r e a l m o f s e n s o r y a n d mo t o r me c ha n
i c s a nd t r a n s p o s i t i o n i s an i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t o f
wh a t I c a l l " F a n t i c s , " d i s c u s s e d on pp. MyS- fr ).
The n t h e r e a r e t h o s e who, l i k e How Wa c h s p r e s s
( s e e n e a r b y ) , wa n t t o expa nd ma n ' s s e n s e s be yond
t h e o r d i n a r y , i n t o new s e n s o r y r e a l m s , by h o o k i n g
hi m t o v a r i o u s e l e c t r o n i c s .
THOUGHTS
T h e r e a r e t wo p r o b l e ms i n a l l o f t h i s . The
f i r s t nnd w o r s t , o f c o u r s e , i s who c o n t r o l s and
wh a t w^; . ' h o l d t he m b a c k f r om t h e mo s t e v i l d o i n g s .
Re c e n t h i s t o r y , b o t h a t home and a b r o a d , s u g g e s t s
t h e a n s we r s a r e d i s c o u r a g i n g .
The s e c o n d p r o b l e m, w i s p i s h a nd t h e o r e t i c a l
n e x t t o t h a t o t h e r , i s w h e t h e r i n t u r n i n g t o wa r d
b i z a r r e new p l e a s u r e s and i n v o l v e m e n t s , we w i l l n o t
l o s e t r a c k o f a l l t h a t i s human. ( Of c o u r s e t h i s
i s a q u e s t i o n t h a t i s a s k e d by so mebody wh e n e v e r
a n y t h i n g a t a l l c h a n g e s . But t h a t d o e s n ' t mean i t
i s a l wa y s i n a p p r o p r i a t e . )
I n t h e f a c e b o t h o f p o t e n t i a l e v i l a nd dehum
a n i z a t i o n , t h o u g h , we c a n wi s h t h e r e w e r e some
b o u n d a r y , some good and c o n s p i c u o u s s t o p p i n g p l a c e
a t wh i c h t o s a y : no f u r t h e r , l i k e t h e t h r e e - m i l e
l i m i t i n ' i n t e r n a t i o n a l l aw o f o l d . 1 p e r s o n a l l y
t h i n k i t s h o u l d be t h e hua a n s k i n . P e r h a p s t h a t ' s
o l d - f a s h i o n e d , b e i n g l o n g b r e a c h e d by t h e P a c e
ma k e r . But w h a t o t h e r l i n e s c a n we d r a w?
The p r o s p e c t s a r e h o r r o r s h o w , me d r o o g i e s .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
T. D. S t e r l i n g , E.A. B e r i n g , J r . , s . v . P o l l a c k
a nd H. Vaughan, J r . , V i s u a l P r o s t h e s i s !
The I n t a r d i g<p<-Y D i a l o g . ACM
Monogr aph. $21.
PSVC^O-ACDOSTld J>|Lj)0HICS
I ori gi nal l y ha dn' t i n t e nde d t o i ncl ude a ny
t hi n g l i ke t hi a l n t h e book, want i ng It to be a
f ami l y- st yl e access cat al og a nd al l t hat , but t hi s
pa r t i c ul a r i tem seems fai r l y I mpor t ant .
Remember how we l a ughe d at t he Orgasmo-
i r o n l n Woody Al l en' s Sl ee pe r ? Well, it t ur ns
out not to be a j oke.
An i ndi vi dual named How (not Howard)
Wachs pr eas, e l e ct r oni c ker - i n - r eal dence at a San
Fr anci s co r adi o st at i on, ha s be e n devel opi ng j uat
t h a l . except t hat he ha s more el eva t ed purpose s
l n mi nd. The se cr et was b r o k e n to t he worl d
i n Oul magazi ne ear l i e r t hl e y e a r ; but Hefner,
t he publ i s he r , evi dent l y hel d back t he more
s t a r t l i ng phot ogr aphs of a model In el ect nml cal l y-
i n duce d ecst aay.
Wachspr ess' devi ces t r a ns pos e sound (aa
a udi o si gnal s ) into feel i ngs ; you t ouch your
body wi t h an open- ended t ube o r ot her soft
f i xt ur e at t ached t o hi s de vi c e - - whi ch i n t urn
i e at t ached to a hi -f i .
The sensa t i ons, i t i s cl ai med, are pro
f ound and movi ng. You may t a ke them anywhere
on your body; t he effect la de epl y r el axi ng and
emot i onal l y engr oasi ng. Wachs pr es s t hi nks he
ha s r eache d an e nt i r e neurol ogi cal syst em t hat
wa s n' t known bef or e, much l i ke Ol ds' di scovery
of t he " pl easur e cent er " i n t he br ai n; he aees it
a s a new modali ty of e xper i e nce and a gener al
i z at i on of musi c and t ouch. Tha t la t he main
poi n t . "Hyper -r eal i t y" i s wh e r e he s s ys It gels
you: a poi nt cur i ousl y congr ue nt wi t h t he aut hor ' s
own not i ons of hyper t ext and hyper medi a aa e x
t ens i o ns of t he mental l ife.
Thi a s ai d, we can c o n s i d e r t he pruri ent
a s pe ct s of Wachspress' Audl t ac and Tel el ac devi -
c es (whi ch he i nt ends to mar ket In a coupl e of
y e a r s as hi - fi ac cessor i e s, b ' g o s h ) . When
pl ayed wit h t he ri ght audi o, i n t he ri ght pl acea,
a nd a good oper at or at t he cont r ol a , t hey provi de
a s exual exper i ence sai d to be of a hi gh or der .
Wachspr ess ' wor k t i es i n i nt er est i ngl y wit h
t oda y' s "awareness " movement , of whi ch Esalen
i s t he spi r i t ual ce nt e r , whi ch hol ds t hat we have
got t en oul of (ouch wi th our bodi e s , our feel i ngs,
o u r nat i ve perc ept i ons . As s u c h , t he Wachapreas
machi ne s may be an unf ol dl ng- mecha nt sm for t he
unfe el i ng t i ght ness of Modem Man- - as wel l as
a l e s s profound t reat ment for " mari t al di ffi cul ti es"
a nd Why-Can' t - Johnny-Come-Lat el y.
Inscrut abl e San Fr anci s co! Wachapreas
gave a number of demonst r at i ons of hi s devi ces
i n Bay Ar ea c h u r c h e s , unt i l he became di s t ur bed
at Immodest use s of t he probe by female communi
c a nt s who had st ood In l i ne to t r y t he machi ne.
( Audl t ac. L t d . . Dept . CLB,
1940 Washi ngt on St . .
San Fr anci s co CA 94109. )
H a r r y Me n del l , a good f r i e n d o f mi n e , r i g g e d an
i n t e r e s t i n g e x p e r i me n t w h i l e he was s t i l l l n h i g h BChool .
He ua ed a l i t t l e H e w l e t t - P a c k a r d m l n i c w p u t e r , whi ch
t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r had g e n e r o u s l y l o a n e d t o h i s Kn i g h t s of
Col umbus Comput er Cl ub o f K a d d o n f i e l d , N . J .
H a r r y hooked t h e H e w l e t t - P a c k a r d up t o a CRT d i s p l a y
( s ee p p . t h e t o p o f t h e CRT. f o l l o wi n g
h i s p r o g r a m , t h e c o a p u t e r c o n t i n u o u s l y d i s p l a y e d t h e l e t
t e r s o f t h e a l p h a b e t . A l i t t l e m a r k e r ( c a l l e d a c u r s o r )
woul d a k i p a l o n g u n d e r n e a t h t h e l e t t e r s , a c t i n g a s a mar
k e r f o r e a c h o f them i n t u r n .
H a r r y r i g g e d one more e x t e r n a l d e v i c e : a s e t o f e l e c -
t r o d e a . Thes e would be s t r a p p e d , h a r m l e s s l y , co t h e head
o f a s u b j e c t . H a r r y s c o a p u t e r pr ogr a m us e d t h e a e e l e c -
t r o d e a t o M a a u r e a l p h a r hyt hm, one o f t h e a y s t e r i o u a
p u l a e a l n t h e b r a i n t h a t cone and g o .
E v e r y t i me t h e s u b j e c t f l a s h e d a l p h a , Ha r r y s pr ogram
woul d co py t h e l e t t e r above t h e c u r s o r t e t h e b o t t o m o f
t h e s c r e e n .
S i t t i n g l n t h i s r i g , s u b j e c t s wer e a b l e t o l e a r n ,
r a t h e r q u i c k l y , TO TYPE WORDS AND SENTENCES. J u a t by
f l a s h i n g a l p h a rhyt hm when t h e c u r s o r was u nd e r t h e r i g h t
l e t t e r s .
J u b i l a n t , Har r y showed t h i s s e t u p t o an e n l n e n t n e u r o
p h y s i o l o g i s t f r a g r e a t u n i v e r s i t y n e a r b y , a na n s p e c i a l
i z i n g i n e l e c t r o d e hookupe. Har r y was a h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t
and d i d n o t u n d e r s t a n d a b o u t P r o f e e s l o n a l l s a .
Wh a t ' s s o g r e a t a b o u t t h a t ? a n i f f e d t h e emi n e n t
p r o f e s s i o n a l . " I can t y p e f a s t e r . *
So H a r r y dr opped t h a t and we n t on t o o t h e r s t u f f *
O i l
FTOtV C E P g>C l kf e-
"Picture processing" ia an important technology,
largely separate from the reat of computer graphics.
It meana taking an incoming picture, usually a photo
graph, and doing something to it. (Some now call this
area computer pictoricB.1)
Flrat of all, there ia image enhancement. Thia
meana taking pictures, dividing them into points whose
brightness is separately measured,and then using spec
ial techniques for making the picture better. To
people familiar with photography, this may seem im
possible; to photographers it is a maxim that photographs
always lose quality at each step. Nevertheless, various
mathematical techniques such as Fourier Analysis (men
tioned elsewhere) do just that, producing a new data
structure improving on the original data. Surfaces ap
pear smoother, edges sharper.
(These techniques have been extensively used to
clean up photographs sent back from our unmanned apace
vehicles both those used exploring other planets and
those spying on our own see Secret Sentries in Space.
Bibliography.) %
Then there are recognizers programs that look at
the data structure from sn Input picture, and try to
discern the lines, corners and other features of the
picture. (Uhile your eye lnstsntly sees these things,
computers do not, and must look at the dots of a picture
one'-by-one. How to analyze pictures In such tedious se
quences Is no simple matter.)
For recognizing more complex objects in pictures
boxes, spheres, faces or whatever more complex struc-
ture-analyzing programs are necessary. As the possibil
ities of what might be in a picture Increase, these in
creasingly become guessing programs. (This becomes a
branch of artificial intelligence, a misleading term for
a curious field, discuBsedonjANZ 'fY.)
Numerous cooputer people think it la important to
match up our computer graphic display systems (described
Variously on this side of the book) to image input sys-
tema. This 1s a matter of taste.
Th e s e a r e a l l b a s i c a l l y t e c h n i q u e s f o r ma k i n g a
d a t a s t r u c t u r e . Any d a t a s t o r e d i n c o a p u t e r s mu s t h a v e ,
o f c o u r s e , a d a t a s t r u c t u r e wh i c h b a s i c a l l y meane a ny
a r r a n g e m e n t o f i n f o r m a t i o n y o u c h o o s e , ( e e e p . 2 6 _<f . )
These various techniques are Intended to create re
duced data structures, recording only the 'most impor
tant" data of the picture from which new and varying
pictures may be created, reflecting the "true" structures
originally shown in the initial picture. How much it's
going to be possible to create these data structures
from input pictures remains to be seen*, some of us think
its not going to be generally worthwhile.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Azrlel Rosenfeld, "Progress ln Picture Processing
1969-71." ACM Computing Surveys June 73,
81-100.
Ken Knowlton and Leon Harmon, "Computer-Produced
Grey Scales." Computer Graphics and Image
Processing. April 72, 1-20.
Philip J. (Class, Secret Sentries in Space. Random,
1971, $8. Interesting general book on geopo
litical strategy and orbital photoreconnais-
aance. "Now-it-can-be-told" approach.
S A t u u t e p i c t u r e o r
- ibOR o w n HOHt Q50N TY,
OR .
You can get pictures of
any area you want from ERTS
(Earth Resources O b s e r v a t i o n
Systems) satellites, from
EROS Data Center (no, not a
dating service, see p. )*
Sioux Falls SD 57198, or call
605/594-6511 bet. 7 AM 6 PM
central time.
LI ZZI E OP THE LINEPRINTER
A f amous c o n v e r t e d p i c t u r e . The p a i n t i n g
was d i v i d e d i n t o 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 b r i g h t n e s s - m e a s u r e d s p o t s
b y H. P h i l i p P e t e r s o n o f C o n t r o l D a t a C o r p o r a t i o n ;
t h e n e a c h d o t was made i n t o a s q u a r e o f o v e r p r i n t e d
l e t t e r s o n t h e p r i n t i n g d e v i c e . The p r o g r a m a l l o w
ed 100 l e v e l s o f g r e y . Above: C o n t r o l D a t a ' s v e r
s i o n , r e p r i n t e d by p e r m i s s i o n . Bel ow: a c ut - do vm
v e r s i o n t h a t o f t e n t u r n s u p . ( Pr om o r i g i n a l f l a t
2D a r t w o r k b y Len D a v i n c l o f M e d i c i A s s o c i a t e s . )
NOTEi t h i s i s n o t a " ccr oput ax p i c t u r e . " T h e r e
i s no s u c h t h i n g . I t ' a a q u a n t i z a t i o n p u t o u t on
a l i n e p r I n t e r .
......... n w * r r s w i r r i i t i t t m < < l
u n n n n i i i n i ' W W . . . . . . . . . . . . . i i K n r u n t H H T f > t t t >
...
............ .
m u m i m n m m n .............
i m wtminiinuiwuiii ii**.... . . f w i i t n i u m w i w
B t i t i n t t w c w m n n M M M i . i - i i i - ..........m i n n n n w ! H t t >
lH Hm tiHWHtfM lfKM M B...........
i m t n w n m t n i m i i " " i ................. t m i n n m m m i M n
4i i 4fiii i i f m i
w i u m n w H M w i i m n t u i i m . u i i m i m u t i i w u i m n m m i
r w K t r M r t n w i i n i H i n f i i m i h i n n w m i i n T w w i i M i
t l W M W f I I M I H W I H W I O T l M n l H H W l W I I W W f r n W f W H t f C M
w u u i w w K m w t i t w w i
H l k K H M H H M M W I H K t H M I H H I H I'll! I I f 141 I f W l l t M I M M t
m i i m i i i u u i D i i i i t n i i u m u u i f t i i w K H i m i i i u i i r t e r t m i
t N m u t m M i w i i m n i i n i *1111111 - * pm r
m i i i i h h * * * . * . e n n n t t t r r f i r
( [ c t i t m o c i r N H n i i t i i 11
11 H l l W H ' J H I H l H t f l l l M t u i l l i l l M M i x m i m i I CL'WUIH i 114141
> t < i i < * i i i r n r t i ( ( i i n " " ...........
.......................................
*>.* f u l m i v j j .o v u j i l U i t t l
F i i i i i M ' H t i i K N .................. .. K i i m n r w r w
t i > m i i n i ( i i n ( ( m i u i i : n r H v . f m t n t m a i i t i c j i i f i n
r n n m m n a i i M d i i i i h i i i i m i i i h w w m h h i i p i ' W m m
f c M K * M I T D K |
Ke nnet h Knowlton i s a Bell Labs l i f e r .
T a l l , p a t r i c i a n a n d g r a c i o u s , h i s w o r k , l i ke
S u t h e r l a n d ' s , s h o ws t he i n n e r l i g h t o f u n i f y i n g
i n t e l l i g e n c e . He w o r k s i n Max Mat hews' s e c t i on
of Bell Labe a t Mu r r a y Hi l l , wh e r e t h e y do al l
t h a t i n t e r e s t i n g s t u f f wi t h mu s i c a n d p e r c e p t u a l
p s y c hol ogy a n d s o o n . D u r i n g t he l a s t d e c a d e ,
Knowllon has t u r n e d o u t v a s t q u a n t i t i e s o f a r t
i c l e s , p r o c e s s e d p i c t u r e s , mo v i e s , a n d a ct ual
c omput e r l a n g u a g e s ; whi l e a ny o r d i n a r y man
would be s a t i s f i e d to b e so p r o d u c t i v e , a p p a r
e n t l y h e doe s a l o t o f o t h e r t h i n g s in h i s wor k
t ha t he d o e s n ' t t a l k a b o u t .
Some of Kn o wl t o n ' s b e s t - k n o w n wor k
ha s b e e n i n p i c t u r e p r o c e s s i n g , w h e r e he ha s
c o n v e r t e d p h o t o g r a p h s i n t o mo s a i c s o f ti ny
p a t t e r n s whi ch n e v e r t h e l e s s show t he o r i g i n a l .
His f i r s t w i d e l y - k n o w n l a n g u a g e was
BEFLIX (BE11 Labs mo v i e - ma k i n g s y s t e m ) ; t hi s
was p r o g r a mme d f o r t h e 7094 i n t he e a r l y s i x t i e s .
BEFLLX al l owed t he u s e r to c r e a t e motion p i c t u r e s
by a c l e v e r mosai c p r o c e s s t ha t u s e d t h e o u t
put c a me r a more e f f i c i e n t l y . ( Ac t ua l l y, t he l e n s
W89 t h r o wn o u t o f f ocus ma nua l l y and t he e n t i r e
f r ame c r e a t e d a s a mos a i c of a l p h a b e t i c a l c h a r a c
t e r s ; t h i s d i d t h e whol e t h i n g much mor e q u i c k l y
a nd i n e x p e n s i v e l y . )
(Some of t he c l e v e r d a t a - h a n d l i n g t e c h
n i q u e s of BEFLIX Knowl t on t h e n t u r n e d a r o u n d
a nd u s e d i n L, a l a n g u a g e wh i c h made t h e s e
t e c h n i q u e s a v a i l a b l e to o t h e r c o mp u t e r p e o p l e .
Thi 6 may s ound l i k e o n l y a c o mp u t e r t e c h n i c a l i t y ,
but i t ' s Ihe s o r t of t h i n g t h a t ' s wi de l y a p p r e c i a t e d .
(L6 s t a n d s f o r " bel L L a b s ' Lowe r - Le ve l List
L a n g u a g e . " ) )
Wanting to ge t o u t s i d e a r t i s t s i n t e r e s t e d
in BEFLIX and r e l a t e d me d i a , he wor ke d f o r a time
wi t h f i l m- ma ke r St a n V a n d e r b e e k ; f rom t hi s
Knowlton saw t h a t a r t i s t s ' n e e d s w e r e more
i n t r i c a t e t ha n he ha d a n t i c i p a t e d . Augment i ng
BEFLIX wi t h some o f t h e t h i n g s Va n d e r b e e k
a s k e d f o r , Knowlton came u p wi l h a new l a n
gu a g e c a l l ed TARPS ( T wo- Di me ns i ona l Al pha -
Numer i c Ra s t e r P i c t u r e S y s t e m ) . T h i s i n t u r n
l e d to EXPLOR ( EXI ' l i c i t ( l y p r o v i d e d 2D P a t t e r n s , )
Local ( ne i g h b o r h o o d ) O p e r a t i o n s , a nd R a n d o m -
n e s s ) . EXPLOR i s f a s c i n a t i n g b e c a u s e of i t s
or i g i n a l i t y a nd g e n e r a l i t y not onl y does it
modify p i c t u r e s a n d s e r v e a s an a r t i s t ' s tool ,
but it h a s f a s c i n a t i n g p r o p e r t i e s as a c omput e r
l a n g u a g e and ma y e v e n h a v e a p p l i c a t i o n s i n
complex s i mu l a t i o n s f o r t e c h n i c a l p u r p o s e s .
Si nce V a n d e r b e e k , Knowl t on ha s e n t e r e d
i nt o a l ong and f r u i t f u l c o l l a b o r a t i o n wi t h Li l l i an
Sc h w a r t z , a t a l e nt e d a r t i s t . T h e i r many films
h a ve b e e n c l e v e r , s t a r t l i n g a n d po we r f u l . I
must s a y t hat t h e y gr ow o n you: I l i ke d them a t
f i r s t , but when 1 saw f i ve o r s i x i n a row t h i s
J a n u a r y , I f ound t hem J u s t i n c r e d i b l e . Be c ause
t h e y a r e a b s t r a c t , a nd f ul l o f f a s t - c h a n g i n g
p a t t e r n s a nd r e v e r s a l s , t h e y t a ke some a d j u s t i n g
to; b u t t h e y ' r e wor t h s e e i n g o v e r a nd o v e r .
EXPLOR may be t h o u g h t of as a h i g h l y
g e n e r a l i z e d v e r s i o n of Conways game of Life
( s ee p . 4 f ) . You s t a r t wi t h two- di mensi onal
p a t t e r n s a s y o u r d a t a s t r u c t u r e ; t he s e c a n be
a b s t r a c t i o n s o r e v e n c o n v e r t e d p h o t o g r a p h s , a s
i n a r e c e n t Knowl t on- Sc hwa r t z fi lm s howi ng
Mu y b r i d g e s Ru n n i n g Man. In y o u r EXPLOR
p r o g r a m , you may t h e n c a u s e t he p a t t e r n to
c h a n g e b y d e g r e e s , e ach c e l l o f t he p a t t e r n
r e a c t i n g to t he c e l l s a r o u n d i t o r to random
e v e n t s as speci f i e d by t he pr og r a mme r .
EXPLOR, r u n n i n g wi t hout e x t e r n a l d a t a ,
comes up with some e x t r a o r d i n a r y s n a k e s k i n a n d
Ja c k Fr o s t p a t t e r n s . But i t s u s e s in t r af f i c
si mul at i on and v a r i o u s o t h e r s t u d i e s of p o p u
l at i ons i n s p a c e coul d be v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g .
EXPLOR has obvi ous a r t i s t i c a p p l i c a t i o n s .
Lillian Schwar t z i s u s i n g i t e x t e n s i v e l y i n film-
ma ki ng. I t s now r u n n i n g on a mini comput er
f e e d i n g to a modified Sony T r i n i t r o n c o l o r TV.
( Thi s color s e t u p waa c r e a t e d b y Mike Noll
and i s de s c r i b e d in a r e c e n t i s s u e of t he CACM,
though only for b l a c k - a n d - w h i t e TV; t he c o l o r
is mor e r e c e n t . It s t o r e s t he col or p i c t u r e a s
a l i st of s e quent i al c ol or s r e p r e s e n t e d i n t he
comput er s cor e memory, e a c h dot b e i n g r e p r e
s e n t e d . Cf. " Boyel l ' s T e r r a r i u m , " p . > K 3 l - )
Knowlton ha s used EXPLOR f or t e a c hi ng
comput er a r t at t he Un i ve r s i t y of Cal i f or ni a;
the l a ngua ge is avai l abl e p r ogr a mme d i n "medium
si z e " Fo r t r a n from Ha r r y H u s k e y , De p t . o f
Information and Comput er S c i e n c e . U. o f Ca l .
at Santa Cr u z , Santa C r u z , Cal i f or ni a.
11A n r*
Knoulton and Leon Hannon have done a
l o t o f experiments with picture con
version (eee bibliography). Here i e
a phone made i n t o teeny patterns
(ahoun around). (^Knovlton &Harmon.
This ie a non^gimple picture
conversion. The original
photograph uos converted into
measured points; but these
were in turn made into grou-
together patterns by a
program in the EXPLOR language.
() Knoulton &Harmon.
M J ) I P
Wish there were room to calk about plain
regular audio here matters like "binaural"
recording, and Why don't they make hi-fi systems
based on a Grand Bus (see p M 2 )? But theres
no room here.
AUDIO AND COMPUTERS
People are occasionally still startled to
hear thdt computers can make sound and music.
They can Indeed.
First of all, note that an Incoming sound Is
a fluctuating voltage and can thus be turned Into
a data structure, i.e., a string of measurements.
To make sound by computer is the obverse. If
the coaputer can be set up to send out a string of
measurments, these can be turned back into a fluct
uating voltage, and thus make sounds.
In the easiest case, the computer can just
sefid back out the voltages It originally got in.
This is rather ridiculous using the computer
just as a recording device but it's a clear and
simple example.
The question after that is what next: how to
have the computer make interesting streams'Joutput
measurements, i.e., sounds and tones.
There are numerous methods we cant go Into.
Max Mathews, at Bell Labs, has for years been doing
music by computer; his current systea Is called
GROOVE. Heinz von Foerster, at the University of
Illinois (Urbana), has been doing the same. An
other lab at MIT has just gotten a PDP-11/45 (see
p. *or the 8ame purpose.
(The problem is: can the computer keep up
with the output rate needed to make music in real
time? maybe the 11/45 can.)
Another approach is to relieve the computer
itself from making the tones, and use other de
vices-- music synthesizers for this, controlled
by the computer. This is essentially the approach
taken with General Turtles Music Box (see p. S7 )
and at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Cen
ter ,where their RCA Mark II music synthesizer an
immense one-of-a-kind jobbie is under more general
computer control.
w . l . t
Q j f c l .
4*!-
t v I * H v c t V
MUSICAL NOTATION
Note that the computer handling of musical
notes, ae symbols, is another task entirely,
closely resembling computer text handling (mention
ed variously in the book). A high-power structur-
ed-text system or Thinkertoy (see p.fi*ft5) is fine
for storing and presenting written music.
And, of course, such stored musical notation
(a data structure) can obviously be played by
the hookups mentioned.
SPEECH BY COMPUTER
You may have heard about various kinds of
talking computer." Thia deserves some explanation.
Computers may be made to "talk" by various
means. One la through an output device that
simply stores recordings of separate
words or syllables, which the computer selects with
appropriate timing. (Machines of this type have been
sold by both IBM and Cognltronlce for a long time.)
A deeper approach ia to have the conputer synthe
size speech from phonemes, or actually make the tones
and noises of which speech is composed. These are
very tricky matters. Bell Labs, and others, have been
working on many of these approaches.
The real problem, of course, ia how to decide
what to say. (This was discussed under Artificial
Intelligence, p. )
AUDIO ANALYSIS AND ENHANCEMENT
The problem of analyzing audio ia very like the
problem of analyzing pictures (see p.f^iO), and indeed
some of the same techniques are used. The audio goea
into the computer as a stream of measurements, and
the selfsame technique of Fourier Analysis is employed.
This reduces the audio to a series of frequency measure
ments over time but, paradoxically, loses little of
the fidelity.
Once audio is reduced to Fourier patterns, it can
be reconstituted in various ways: changed in tining and
pitch independently, or enhanced by polishing techni
ques like those used in image enhancement (see ).
This haa been done with great success by Tom Stock-
ham at the University of Utah, who has reprocessed old
Caruso records into improved fidelity. In the picture
we see him with equipment of some sort and an old record.
(Stockhaa has been in the news lately, bb one of
the panel puzzling over the notorious 18-Minute Gap.)
(The author has proposed the name Kitchensynctm ^
for a system to synchronize motion pictures with "wild1
sound recording l>y these means.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thomas G. Stockhaa, Jr., "Restoration of Old Acoustic
Recordings by Means of Digital Signal Processing.
Audio Engineering Society preprint no. 831 (D-4),
presented at Audio Engineering Society 1971 con
vent ion.
Prentiss H. Knowlton, "Capture and Display of Keyboard
Music," Datamation May *72, 56-60. Describes a
setup he built at U. of Utah thst allows pianists
to play music on an ordinary keyboard, and converts
the input to symbolic representation in tbe com
puter. It uses an organ, a PDP-8 and a couple of
CRT displays.
Heinz von Foerster and James Beauchamp, Music b Computer*.
Wiley, 1969. HAS RECORDS IN BACK.
Some of the early Bell Labs work may be heard on an
excellent Decca LP with the misleading title
"MUSIC from MATHEMATICS." (Decca DL 79103). (The
mathematical myth Is discussed on p. 8*).)
U n ive r s ity o f Utah
8X1
W '(
i K t t l l ^ e K d e
I R c t V i t v * | J -
til"(c
, p u / u ' - ^ n i i / e ^ \
I i * / f r w - it'o iA y
l f j f o r A n t
M . tU c v i'('i c f c / e t j p .
Th es e a r e t h r e e t opi c s o f g r e a t i mp o r t a n c e ;
o f I mp o r t an c e, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , l eae for w h a t t hey
ha v e a c t u a l l y a c c o mp l i s h e d t h a n f or t he d e g r e e
t o whi ch t h e y h a v e c o n f u s e d a n d I nt i mi dat e d p e o
p l e who wan t l o u n d e r s t a n d w h a t ' s g oi ng o n .
Merel y t o men t i o n l h e m can be o n e - u p m a n s h i p .
Al l t h r e e t i t l e s me an s o m u c h , so many d i f f e r e n t
s peci f i c t h i n g s , a s t o mean al most not hi ng wh e n
l umpe d t o g e t h e r a s a wh o l e . Al l t h r e e h a v e d e
v e l o p ed a web o f i n t r i c a t e t e c h n i c a l f act s ( and
somet i mes t h e o r e m s ) , b u t t h e a ppl i c abi l i t y of
t h e s e e l e g a n t f i n d i n g s i s i n a l l t h r e e c a s e s a
ma t t e r open t o c o n s i d e r a b l e s c r u t i n y .
Si nce e a c h of t h e s e f i e l d s h a s d e v el o pe d
a c o n s i d e r a b l e b o d y o f t e c h n i c a l d o c t r i n e , t he
r e a d e r mi ght wel l a s k : why a r e n ' t t hey o n t he
o t h e r s i d e o f t h e b o o k , t he c omput e r s i d e ? The
a n s w e r i s t h a t t h e y a r e c o mp u t e r ma n ' s d r e a m s ,
d r e a ms of c o n s i d e r a b l e I n t r i c a c y a nd p e r s u a s
i v e n e s s , a n d we a r e not c o n s i d e r i n g t h e t e c h
n i c al i t i e s h e r e a n y w a y . As o n t he o t h e r s i d e ,
t he pr o b l em I s t o h e l p you d i s t i n g u i s h a p p l e s
f rom o r a n g e s a n d wh i c h way i s u p . F o r mor e
go e l s e w h e r e , b u t I h ope t h i s or i ent at i on wi l l
make s o r t i n g t h i n g s out q u i c k e r f or yo u .
T h e s e t h r e e t e r m s - - " a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e , "
" i nf or mat i on r e t r i e v a l , " " co mp u t e r - a s s i s t e d
i n s t r u c t i o n " - - h a v e a n u m b e r of t hl nga i n com
mon. F i r s t , t h e n a me s a r e so p o r t e nt ou s a nd
f or mi dabl e. Se c o n d , i f you r e a d o r h e a r a n y
t h i n g i n t h e s e f i e l d s , c h a n c e s a r e il wi l l ha ve
a n a i r of un f at h o mab l e t e c h n i c a l i t y . Bot h s t r a n g e
t e chni ca l i s m a n d d e e p ma t hemat i cs may combi ne
t o gi ve you a s e n s e t h a t you c a n ' t u n d e r s t a n d
a ny of i t . T h i s i a w r o n g . T h e fact t h a t t h e r e
a r e o b s c u r e a n d Deep T e a c h i n g s i n e ac h h a s no
b e a r i n g on t h e g e n e r a l c ompr e hens i bi l i t y o f what
t h e y a r e a b o u t . Mor e I mp o r t a n t l y , t he q u e s t i o n
o f how a p p l i c a b l e al l t h e t h i n g s t he s e peopl e
h a v e b e en d o i n g i s g o i n g to be Is a que s t i on
o f c o n s i d e r a b l e I mp o r t a n c e , e s p e c i a l l y when
some of t h e s e p e o p l e wa n t t o t a ke s ome t hi ng o v e r .
Don' t get s n o we d .
Each o f t h e s e f a s c i n a t i n g t e r ms i s a c t u a l l y
a r oof o v e r a v e r i t a b l e zoo o f di f f er ent r e s e a r c h e r s ,
of t en of ( he most e c c e n t r i c a n d i n t e r e s t i n g s o r t ,
e ac h g e n e r a l l y wi t h h i s own d r e a m of how hi s
own r e s e a r c h wi l l b e t h e b r e a k t h r o u g h f or
h u ma n i t y , o r f o r s o m e t h i n g . It woul d t a k e a
Lemuel G u l l i v e r t o t o s how y o u t he c o l o r f u l n e s s
a n d f as c i na t i on of t h e s e f i el ds : a g a i n , we j u s t
s c r a t c h t h e s u r f a c e h e r e .
An o t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g t h i n g t h e s e t h r e e f i el ds
n a v e In common: t he f r e q u e n t u s e of a c l a s s i c a l
c o mp u l e r ma n ' s p u t d o wn o n a n y b o d y who d a r e s
q u e s t i o n w h e t h e r t h e i r s u p e r - u l t i m a t e goa l s can
e v e r be a c h i e v e d .
Th e l i n e i s , "WE DON' T KNOW HOW TO DO
THAT YET. "
If some b o d y p u l l s i t on y o u , t he r e p l y Is
s i m p l y , "How d o y o u k now y o u e v e r wi l l ?"
CWtfWf W G o o j )
a w T e i t J O K E S
I l l u s t r a t i n g a l s o c e r t a i n pr obl ems o f Ar t i f i ci al
I n t e l l i g e n c e .
A v e r y l a r g e a r t l f i c l a l - l n t e Ui g e n c e s ys t e m
( g o e s t h e s t o r y ) h a d b e e n b u i l t f or t h e mi l i t a r y
to h e l p i n l o n g - r a n g e pol i cy p l a n n i n g ; f i n a n c e d
b y ARPA, wi t h p e opl e from M . I . T . , S t a n f o r d
a n d s o o n .
" Th e s y s t e m i s now r e a d y l o a n s w e r q u e s
t i o n s , " s a i d t h e s p o k e s ma n f or t he p r o j e c t .
A f o u r - s t a r g e n e r a ] b i t of f t h e e n d of a
c i g a r , l o o k e d whi ms i c a l l y at h i s c o m r a d e s a n d
s a i d
" As k t h e ma chi ne t hi s : Will It b e Peace
o r War ?"
T h e c l e r k - t y p i s t ( Sp4) t r a n s l a t e d t h i s
I nt o t h e q u e r y l a n g u a g e a n d t y p e d i t i n .
T h e ma c h i n e r e p l i e d :
YES
" Ye s w h a t ?" be l l owed t he g e n e r a l .
T h e o p e r a t o r t y p e d I n t he q u e r y .
Came t h e a n s we r :
Yes SIR
f i W B C i h L f y m u G e i / c L Z
. . . S O f t o f
" A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e " I s a t once t h e e e x i e e t
and a o s t ominous t e r n i n t h e wo r l d . I t c h l l l e and im-
p r e s a e e a t che s a ne t i a e . I n p r i n c i p l e I t meana t he
s i m u l a t i o n o f p r o c e s s e s o f mi nd, by sny mesas a t a l l ;
b u t i t g e n e r a l l y t u r n s out t o be some f o r a o r a not her
of c o a p u t e r s i m u l a t i o n ( s e e " S i m u l a t i o n , " p . 7 9 ) .
A c t u a l l y , " a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e " h a s g e n e r a l l y be
come an a l l - i n e l u e l v e t e r n f o r sys t ems t h a t amaze, a s
t ou nd . m y s t i f y , and do n o t o p e r a t e a cc o r d i n g t o p r i n
c i p l e s whi ch can be e a s i l y e x p l a i n e d . I n e way, " a r t i
f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e " i s an e v e r - r e c e d i n g f r o n t i e r : ae
t e c h n i q u e s becoae wel l -wor ked o u t and un d e r s t o o d , t h e i r
a pp ea r a nce of i n t e l l i g e n c e , t o t h e e o p h l a t l c a t e d , con
t i n u a l l y r e c e d e s . I t ' s l i k e t h e oc e a n: however much
you t a k e out o f i t , i t a t l l l s t r e t c h e s oo aa U m l t -
l e a a a s b e f o r e .
U n f o r t u n a t e l y l aynen a r e eo i mpr e s ae d by c oa put e r s
I n g e n e r a l t h a t t he y e a a l l y suppose c omput ers can do
a n y t h i n g i n v o l v i n g I n f o r ma t i o n . And p u b l i c u n de r s t and
i n g l e n o t f o s t e r e d by c e r t a i n t y p e s o f e t u p i d demon
s t r a t i o n . One y e a r I hear d from numerous pe opl e about
how " t h e y ' d seen os TV about how c omput ers w r i t e TV
s c r i p t s " what had a c t u a l l y been ehown wee a hokey en
a ct ment o f how t h e comput er c oul d r e a d o n l y de ci de whe
t h e r t h e Bad Han g e t s s h o t o r t h e Good Cuy g e t s s h o t
b o t h out comes d u t i f u l l y e n a c t e d by guya i n cowboy o u t -
f l t e . Duh.
I t shoul d be p e r f e c t l y obvi ous t o anybody who's
br u s hed even s l i g h t l y wi t h c omput e r s , however f or
The Br us h, aee t h e o t h e r a i d e t h a t t hey j u s t d o n ' t
work l i k e a l n d e . But t h e anal ogy hangs s r ound. (Ed
mund C. Be r kel e y wr ot e a book I n t h e f o r t i e s , I b e l i e v e ,
wi t h t h e mi s l e a d i n g t i t l e of Gi a nt B r a i n s . o r Machines
That T h i n k . The I dea l a s t i l l a r o u n d . )
H e r e ' s a ve r y si mpl e exampl e, t hough. Consi der
a na ze drawn on a p i e c e of p a p e r . J u a t by l o o k i n g , we
c ann ot e l mu l t a n e o u a l y comprehend a l l i t s pat hways; we
have t o poke around on i t t o f i g u r e o u t t h e s o l u t i o n .
Computers e r e s o r t of l i k e t h s t , b u t more e o . Whil e our
e yes can t a k e i n a si mpl e p i c t u r e , l i k e a s q u a r e , a t
once, t h e c o a p u t e r program must poke ar ound i n I t a dat a
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a t l e n g t h t o s e e whet we saw a t once.
The p r i n c i p l e hol ds t r u e i n g e n e r a l . The human
mind can do I n a f l a s h , a l l a t once ( o r " i n p a r a l l e l " )
many t h i n g s t h a t must be t e d l o u e l y checked and t r i e d
by t h e h i g h l y a e q u e n t i a l comput er pr ogram. And t he
more we know a bout comput er s , t h e a o r e i mpr e s s i ve t he
human b r a i n becomes. (The seemi ng c l e v e r n e s s of soae
s i mpl e pr ograms does not pr ove t h e s l o p l l c l t y o f t he
phenomens b e i ng i m i t a t e d . )
N e v e r t h e l e s s , i t i s I n t e r e s t i n g t o t r y t h i n g s
wi t h c o a p u t e r s t h a t a r e more l i k e what t h e mind does;
and t h a t I s mos t l y what a r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e I s
a bo ut .
I n v a r i o u s c a s e s t h i s ha s r e s u l t e d i n h e l p f u l
t r i c k s t h a t t u r n out t o be u s e f u l e l s e wh e r e i n t he
c onp ut er f i e l d . I n t h i s s e n a e , a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e
l a a o r t o f l i k e ment hol : a . l i t t l e aay improve t h i n g s
h e r e snd t h e r e . But ( i n my o p i n i o n ) , t h a t does not
mean a whol e l o t of i t would make t h i n g s b e t t e r s t i l l .
N e v e r t h e l e s s , some a r t l f i c i a l - l n t e l l l g e n c e en
t h u s i a s t s t h i n k t h e r e l e no U n i t on what machi nes can
do. They p o i n t out t h a t , a f t e r a l l , t h e b r a i n l a a
a a c h i n e . But so l e t he u n i v e r s e , pr es umabl y; and
w e ' r e n e v e r goi ng t o b u i l d one of t h o e e , e i t h e r .
PATTERN RECOGNITION
Thl a l e one of t he most a c t i v e a r e a s I n s r t l -
f l c l a l i n t e l l i g e n c e , perhapa b e c a u s e o f Defense
Depart ment a oney. ( I t n i g h t be n i c e , goes t he
r e s s o n l n g , t o heve guns t h a t c oul d r e c o g n i s e t a nks ,
a a c h i n e s t h a t c oul d l ook ove r a e r i a l Teconnal eesnce
p i c t u r e s , r a d a r s t h a t coul d r e c o g n i s e a l e e l l e s . . . )
What i t b o l l s down t o I s t h e s t u d y o f c l u e s sad
g ue s s i ng aaong a l t e r n a t i v e s . I o some c a a e s , w e l l -
de f i n e d c l u e s can be found f o r r e c o g n i z i n g s p e c i f i c
t h l n g a , l i k e p a r t s o f p i c t u r e s ( even s t r a i g h t l i n e a
cannot be r ec ogni ze d by c o n p u t e r w i t h o u t a complex
p r ogr a a) or l i k e h a n d wr i t i n g ( s e e b e l o w ) . I n t he
worse c a s e s , t hough, c a r e f n l s t u d y o n l y r a i s e s t he
noa t hor rendous t e c h n i c a l p r o b l e n s , and t h e p u r s u i t
o f t h e s e t e c h n l c s l p r o b l e n s i s i t s own f i e l d o f
s t udy ( a r t l c l e a have t i t l e s l i k e " S e n s i t i v i t y P a r a -
a e t e r s l a t h e Adj ust ment o f D i s c r l n l n s t o r s , " meani ng
I t Sur e I s Hard t o Draw The L l o e ) .
But I n some f e l i c i t o u s c a a e s , r e s e a r c h e r a a c
t u a l l y b o l l a r e c o g n i t i o n p r o b l a down t o a manage
a b l e s y s t e n of c l u e s . For I n s t s n c e , t a k a t h e pr o b
lem of w r i t t e n I nput t o c omp u t e r s . (Sone pe opl e
d o n ' t l i k e t o t ype and would r a t h e r w r i t e by hand
on s p e c i a l i nput t a b l e t s . ) But how can a pr ogram
r e c o g n i s e t b e l e t t e r s ? Aha: t h e a n s we r , k i d a , l a
i n your t e x t .
The Ledeeo Ch a r a c t e r Re cogni ze r ( d e s c r i b e d I n
d e t a i l i n Newman and S p r o u l l , P r i n c i p l e s o f I n t e r
a c t i v e Computer G r a p h i c s , Appendi x 0) I s s method
by which a program can l ook a t a hand-^l rswn c h a r a c
t e r and t r y t o r e c ogni ze i t . The pr ogr am e x t r a c t s
a s e r i e s of " p r o p e r t i e s " f o r t h e c h a r a c t e r and
e t o r e a t he n I n aa a r r a y . Ever y c h a r a c t e r i n a gi ven
p e r e o n ' s bl oc k l e t t e r i n g w i l l t e n d t o have c e r t a i n
p r o p e r t y s c o r e e . But t h e Ledeen r e c o g n i z e r must
s t i l l be t r a i n e d , t h a t i a , t h e a v e r e g e p r o p e r t y
s c o r e s of t h e l e t t e r s t h s t e ec h i n d i v i d u a l drawa
muet be put I n t o t h e s y s t e n b e f o r e t h s t i n d i v i d u a l ' s
l e t t e r i n g can be r e c o g n i z e d . Even t h e n I t ' s s q u e s
t i o n o f p r o b s b i l l t y , r a t h e r t h a n c e r t a i n t y , t h a t
a gi ven c h a r a c t e r w i l l be r e c o g n i z e d .
- - - - - - - - - V \
C P W O T C e ; J M T T W k / .
You J o / T THIUK THCV THUf*.
W n . K l r . )
----------
HEURISTICS (pronounced hewHI St l ce)
I f we want t o aake a comput er do what we know
p e r f e c t l y wel l how t o do o u r s e l v e s , t he n a l l we do
l e w r i t e a program.
Aha. But what i f we want a c o n p u t e r t o do
somet hi ng we do not know how t o do o u r s e l v e s ?
We must s e t up i t e p r o g r a a t o b r ows e, and a e a r c h ,
and s e i s e on what t u r n s out t o work.
Thi s I s c s l l e d h e u r i s t i c s .
What I t amounts t o b a s i c a l l y l a t e c h n i q u e s f o r
t r y i n g t h l n g a o u t , c hec ki ng t h e r e s u l t s , end c o n t i n u
i ng t o do a o r e and more o f what a e e n s t o work.
Or we coul d phr a s e I t t h l e way: l o o k i n g f o r
s u c c e s s f u l s t r a t e g i e s I n wha t e v e r e r e a w e ' r e d e a l i n g
w i t h . As a h e u r i s t i c pr ogrem t r i e s t h i n g s o u t , I t
keepe v a r i o u s acoreB of how w e l l I t ' a d oi ng a s o r t of
a e l f - c o n g r e t u l s t l o n and nakee a d j u e t M n t S I n f av or
o f what works b e s t .
Thus t he G r e e n b l a t t Chess Pr ogr am, n e n t l o n e d un
d e r " Che s s , " ne ar by, can " I n v e n t " c h e s s s t r a t e g i e s
and " t r y t h a o u t " what I t a c t u a l l y doea i s t e s t
s p e c i f i c p s t t e r n s of moves f o r t h e o v e r s l l goodness
of t h e i r r e s u l t s ( I n t e r n s o f t h e u s u a l p o s l t l o n s l
a dvant a ges i n c h e a s ) , and d i s c a r d t h e s t r a t e g i e s t h a t
don t g e t anywhere. I t does t h l a by c c n p a r l n g I t s
" s t r a t e g l e e " ( p o s s i b l e move p s t t e r n s ) a g a l n a t t he
record' a of cheas mat ches whi ch a r e f e d i n t o I t .
( I f you' ve r ead t h e o t h e r a i d e o f t h e book,
h e u r i s t i c s aay be t hought o f a a a f o s n o f o p e r a t l o n e
r e s e a r c h ( p. T t ) c a r r i e d on by t h e c o n p u t e r I t s e l f . )
I n soae ways h e u r l e t l c e i s t h e n o e t m s g l c s l s r e e
o f a r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e : I t s r e s u l t s a r e t h e a o s t
i mp r e s s l v s t o laymen. But . l i k e ao many o f t h e comput
e r a a g l c e , I t b o l l s down t o t e c h n l c s l l t l e s whi ch l os e
t h e romance t o a c e r t a i n e i t e n t .
W i F / C H t
im&fz
l W / ' K
(if kV far
<ty7-)
/o&4KJTt i Af ( L K M C . GJoriwt-r;
NEUBAL SIMULATION
An I mpo r t an t br anch of A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e i e
c once r ne d wi t h what bunches of i magi nar y ne ur ons coul d
do, even ne u r o ns t h a t we nade up t o f o l l o w p a r t i c u l a r
r u l e s . Thi s a r e a of s t udy l a somewhere bet ween n e u r o l
ogy and ma t he mat i cs ; a i c h of i t l a concer ned w i t h t h e
m a t h o a t l c a of l n a g l n a r y e e t u pa , r a t h e r t h a n t h e p r o p e r
t i e s o f a c t u a l n e r v e - n e t a , a s s t u d i e d by p s y c h o l o g l e t a ,
p h y a l o l o g l a t a and o t h e r s . (Tha h y p o t h e t i c a l e t u d l e a ,
of c o u r s e , a l e r t r e s e a r c h e r s t o c o u p l e i c o n f i g u r a t i o n s
snd p o a a l b l l i t l e a t h a t aay t u r n out t o oc cur i n r e a l i t y ,
m i l a s b e i n g i n t e r e a t i n g f o r t h e i r own s a ke and
c o n c e i v a b l y a s u s e f u l weys of o r g a n i s i n g t h i n g s t o be
b u i l t . )
However, an e e r l l e r myth, t h a t you coul d s i m u l a t e
ne ur on s t i l l you go t a p e r s on , i s s bout dead.
SIMULATION OF THOUGHT-PROCESSES
Nobody t a l k s anymore about s i m u l a t i n g a r t i f i c i a l
b r a i n s ; t h e r e ' s t o o j c h t o i t , and I t i n v o l v e s d i r t y
a p p r o x i m a t i o n s .
However, a c l e a n e r a r e a I s I n t he s l m u l s t i o o of
t h o u g h t : c r e a t i n g comput er p r o gr a as t h a t a l a l c ma n' s
me nt a l p r o c e s a e s a a he dopea t hr ough v a r i o u s pr obl ems .
Tr y i n g t h l n g a o u t , deduci ng t h ought s from wh a t ' a a l
r ea dy known, f o l l o wi n g t hr ough t h e consequences of
g u e s s e s t h e s e can a l l be done by p r o g r a a s t h s t " t r y
t o f i g u r e o u t " s ns we r s t o p r ob l ea s l i k e The Ca n n l b s l
and The Mi s s i o n a r y , o r what ever.
AUTOMATA
" Aut omat a , as t h e t e n l a used I n t h i s f i e l d ,
i s J u s t a f s n cy word f o r I magi nary c r i t t e r s . p a r t l -
c u l a r l y l i t t l e t h i n g l e s t h a t behave i n a s s e t waya.
(The Game o f L i f e , s e e p. 1 8 , i s an a u t o a a t o n i n
t h l e a e n s e - )
SELF-ORGANIZING SYSTEMS, SELF-REPRODUCING SYSTEMS
AND SO PORTH
Thes e a r e te r ms f o r I magi nary o b j e c t s , havi ng
e x a c t l y d e f i n e d ma t hemat i cal p r o p e r t i e s , a bout whic h
va Tl oue a b s t r a c t t hl n g a can be pr oven t h a t t end t o be
o f i n t e r e s t onl y t o m a t h a a t i c l a n s .
SPEECH
1. SENTENCE GENERATION
The p r o b l a o f c o a p u t e r s speaki ng huaan l a n g u a g e s
n o t t o b e c o nf us e d wi t h c oaput e r l an gu ag e a, pp. 15- 25 and
e l s e wh e r e I s I n c r e d i b l y compl i cat ed. J u a t be c a u s e l i t t l e
human t y k e s s t a r t d oi n g i t e f f o r t l e s s l y , i t i s e s s y t o aup-
pose t h s t i t s a b a s i c a l l y easy problem.
Ho way.
Onl y a i n c e t he m i d - f i f t i e s h s s huaan l anguage begun
t o be u n d e r s t o o d . That waa when Noam Chomsky d i s c o v e r e d the
i n n e r s t r u c t u r e o f huaan l anguages: n a a e l y , t h a t t h e lo ng
( and compl ex) s e n t e n c e c o n s t r u c t i o n s of la nguage s r e b u i l t
ou t o f c e r t a i n e x a c t o p e r a t i o n s . Pr e vi ou s l i n g u i s t s had
s o u gh t t o c l a a a l f y t h e aent e nce e t r u c t u r e s t h e ms e l v e s ; t h i s
l e d t o c o m p l e x i t i e s which Chomsky d i s c o v e r e d wer e unn e ce s
s a r y . I t i s u n n e c e s s a r y t o c a t a l o g s e n t e n c e t y pe s them
s e l v e s ' I f we can s i mpl y i s o l a t e , I n s t e s d , t h e e x a c t p r o c e s s
e s by whi ch t h s y a r e ge n e r s t e d .
Thes e p r o c e s s e s he c a l l e d t r a n s f o r ma t i o n s ( a t e r m he
bor rowed f r om ma t h e ma t i c s ) . Al l u t t e c s n c e s a r e c r e a t e d f r oa
c e r t a i n e l e m e n t a r y p i e c e s , c a l l e d k e r n e l a . which a r e t hen
chewed by t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s i n t o s u r f a c e s t r u c t u r e s , t h e
f i n a l u t t e r a n c e s . Exampl es of k e r n e l a : The man l i v e s i n t h e
ho us e , The hous e i s wh i t e . Re s u l t of combining t r a n s f o r ma
t i o n : The man l i v e s i n t h e whi t e house. Ker n el : 1 go.
Re s u l t o f p a s t - t e n s e t r a n s f o r ma t i o n : I want .
The moat I mp o r t a n t f i n d i n g , now, i s t h a t t h e t r a n s f o r -
ma t l o n s a r e c a r r i e d ou t I n o r d e r l y s e q uenc es : any a e n t e n c e s
can ha va more t r a n e f o r a a t l o n a c a r r i e d out on I t , a l l a d h e r
i ng t o t h e b a s i c r u l e s , r e s u l t i n g i n t he moat complex s e n
t e n c e s o f s ny l a n g u a g e .
L i n g u i s t s s i n c e t hen have confir med Chomsky' s con
j e c t u r e , s nd p r oce ede d t o work out t he f undament al t r a n s
f o r ma t i o n s o f ma j o r l anguages , i n c l u d i n g Eng l l a h.
Now, one r e s u l t of a l l t h l a I s t h a t i t t u r n s o u t t o
be e a s i e r t o g e n e r a t e s e n t en c es I n s l anguage t han t o un
d e r s t a n d t hem. Why? Becauae i t i s compar at i vel y e ae y t o
p r o g r a a c omput e r s t o appl y t r a n s f o r ma t l o n a t o k e r n e l s ,
BUT v a r y h a r d t o t a k e a p a r t t he r e s u l t . A complex " s u r -
f s ce S t r u c t u r e " may have numerous p o s s i b l e k e r ne l s - does
"Time E l l a * l i k e an arr ow" have t he same s t r u c t u r e aa
" S u s i e s l o g s l i k e a b i r d 1' o r " F r u i t f i l e s I l k a s n o r ange ?"
R e s u l t : t o pr ogram s computer t o g e n e r a t e epaech
t h a t l a . I n v e n t a e n t e n c e s about a d a t a s t r u c t u r e and t y pe
t h a a o u t l a c o mp ar at i v el y e a s y , b ut t o have i t r e c o g n i z e
incomi ng s e n t e n c e s , and br ea k t h e a up i n t o t h e i r k e r n e l
a e a n l n g s , i s n o t .
We a a y t h i n k of a l angu ag e - g e ner a t i ng computer s y s
tem aS f o l l o ws :
2 . SENTENCE RECOGNITION
Chomsky and o t h e r s hava di scover ed t h a t s e t s o f t r a n s
f o r ma t i o n r u l e s ( o r i t r i r s . p r a i s e be) v a r y c o n s i d e r a b l y .
I t l a p o s s i b l e t o I n v e n t l anguages whose s u r f s c s e t r u c t u r e s
a r e e a s y t o t a k e a p a r t , o r p s r s s : such l anguages s r e c e l l e d
c o n t e x t - f r e e l a n g u a g e s . (Moat c a ^ u t e r l a n guage e, s s e o t h e r
s i d e , s r s o f t h i s t y p e . ) Unf or t una t e l y n a t u r a l l a n g u a g e a ,
I l k a E n g l i s h and Fr ench and Ravaho, a r e n o t c o n t e x t - f r e e .
I t t u r n s o u t t h a t t h e huaan b r a i n c s n p i c k s p a r t la nguage
s t r u c t u r e s b e ca u s s I t ' s so good a t aakl n g s e n s i b l e gue s s es
a s t o what I ' meant and i f t h e r e 1s one t h i n g ha r d t o
p r o g r a m f o r c o m p u t e r s , i t i s s e n s i b l e g u e s s i n g .
( B u t s e e " H e u r i s t i c s , " n e a r b y . )
T h l a Ma n s t h a t t o e r a a t a computer sys t e ms whic h w i l l
r e a l s s n t e n c a a a p a r t i n t o t h a l r a aa nl n ge l a q u i t e
d i f f i c u l t . He c a n ' t g e t i n t o t ha v a r i o u s s t r s t s g l e s h e r e ;
bu t w i t r e s e a r c h e r s c u t t h a probl em down I n one way o r
o t h e r .
I '
I
T h * * * s p ^ t a , a o b . . , 4
L - b m ^ j
11 Do you
JS
O z m a o f O z
I d o n t know, " answered Do r o t h y , who bad
more t o read. " Li s t e n to this, Bi ll i na:
DI RECTI ONS F O R US I NG:
Fo r T H I N K I N G : Wi n d l he Clock- work M a n under his
left ar m, (marked No. 1.)
F o r S P E A KI N G : Wi n d t he Cl ock-work Ma n under his
r i g ht ar m, (mar ked No. 2.)
Fo r W A L K I N G a nd ACTI ON: Wi n d Cl ock- wor k In t he
middl e o f his back, ( ma / k e d No. 3. )
H. H.-TM. M*d
Well, I decl ar e ! " gasped t he yel l ow hen, in
a ma z e me nt ; i f the copper man can d o h a l f o f these
things he is a very wonderful machine. But I suppose
i t is all h umbu g, like o many ot her pat e n t e d articles."
" We mi ght wind him up, " suggested Dorothy,
and see wha t he' l l do. "
3. SPEECH OUTPUT AS SOUND
p o s s i b l e I n p r i n c i p l e t o s e t up computers t o
t a l k " by c o n v e r t i n g t he l anguage s u r f a c e a t r u c t u r s s t h s t
t h e i r pr ogrems come up wi t h i n t o a c t u a l sound. Sse
" Au d i o , p . DH 1 1 .
4. SPEECH INPUT TO CCMPUTEHS BY ACTUAL SOUND
we have been t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e c omput er ' e mani
p u l a t i o n o f l anguage a s an a l p h a b e t i c a l codi ns o r a l ml l a r
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . To a c t u a l l y t a l k a t a computer l e e not her
S e t t l e o f f i s h . Thi s mesns b r e a k i n g down t he sound i n t o
phonemes and t hen b r ea k i ng i t I n t o a d a t a a t r u c t u r e which
can be t r e a t e d wi t h t he r u l e s o f g r a * a r a whole not her
d i f f i c u l t s t e p .
A few a t t e mp t s have been made t o a a r k e t d e vi ce s which
would r e c o g n i s e l i mi t e d speech and c o n v e r t I t t o symbols t o
go i n t o t h e computer. One o f them, whi ch supposedl y csn
d i s t i n g u i s h aaong t h i r t y o r f o r t y d i f f e r e n t spokan words,
i s su pp os e d l y s t i l l on t h e ma r ke t . S p e c i f i c u s a r s have t o
" t r a i n " i t t o t he p a r t i c u l a r s of t h e i r v o i c e s .
J > rumors of " d i c t a t i o n machi nes" which
w i l l t y p e what you s s y t o them. I f s u c h t h i n g s e x i s t 1 hava
been u n a b l e t o conf i r m I t .
(Everybody saya t h a t of c ou r s e what we want 1s t o be
a b l e t o e o M l c i t c wi t h computers by s p e e c h T s pee ki ns
p e r s o n a l l y . I c e r t s l n l y d o n ' t . E x p l s i o i n g my pu nc t u at i on
to human s e c r e t a r i e s i s hard enough, l e t s l o n e t r y i n g t o
t e l l i t t o s c o a p u t e r , when i t ' s eas y enough t o t ype I t I n . )
5.- ALL TOGETHER NOW
The c p l e K l t y of t h e pr oblem s h o u l d by now bs c l e a r .
( \ > H P u r t " t > W s
b J - r n
GORDON PASi:
G o r d o n P a s k i s on e o f t h e m a d d e s t mad
s c i e n t i s t s I h a v e e v e r m e t , a n d a l s o o n e o f
t h e n i c e s t . An e l o q u e n t L n g l i s h l e p r e c h a u n
who d r e s s e s t h e E d w a r d i a n d a n d y , T a s k sows
awe w h e r e v e r h e g o e s . A f or meT d o c t o r and
t h e a t r i c a l p r o d u c e r , Ta s k i s o n e o f t h e g r e a t
i n t e r n a t i o n a l f a s t - t a l k e r s , c o n f e r e n c e - h o p p i n g
r o u n d t h e g l o b e f r om U t a h t o W a s h i n g t o n t o
h i s p r o j e c t a t t h e B r o o k l y n C h i l d r e n ' s Mus e u n.
T h i s s p r i n g , 1 9 7 4 , h e h a s b e e n a t t h e U n i v e r
s i t y o f I l l i n o i s a t C h i c a g o C i r c l e , b u t s o o n
he g o e s b a c k t o E n g l a n d a n d h i s l a b o r a t o r y .
I n a f i e l d f u l l o f b r i l l i a n t e c c e n t r i c s ,
P a s k h a s n o d i f f i c u l t y s t a n d i n g o u t .
P a s k i s o n e o f t h e A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i
g e n c e r s who i s w o r k i n g on t e a c h i n g b y c o mp u
t e r , a b o u t w h i c h mor e w i l l b e s a i d ; b u t t h e
o r i g i n a l c o r e o f h i s i n t e r e s t i s p e r h a p s t h e
p r o c e s s o f c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n a n d a b s t r a c t i o n .
P a s k h a s d o n e a good d e a l o n t h e m a t h e
m a t i c s o f s e l f - c o n t e n p l a t i n g s y s t e m s , t h a t i s ,
s y m b o l i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f w h a t i t m e a n s f o r
a c r e a t u r e ( o r e n t i t y ome ga ) t o l o o k a t t h i n g s ,
s e e t h a t t h e y a r e a l i k e , a n d d i v i n e a b s t r a c t
c o n c e p t i o n s o f t h e m. A c r o w n i n g mo me n t i s
wh e n Omega b e h o l d s i t s e l f a n d r e c o g n i z e s t h e
c o n t i n u i t y a n d s e l f h o o d . ( P a s k s a y s s e v e r a l
o t h e r s - - s c h o l a r s f r o m A r g e n t i n a , R u s s i a a n d
e l s e w h e r e - - h a v e h i t o n t h e s a me f o r m u l a t i o n . )
M o d e l s a n d a b s t r a c t i o n , t h e n , a r e w h a t we
may c a l l t h e f i r s t h a l f o f P a s k ' s w o r k .
Gor don P a s k u i l l bo o o n t i n u e d o n p . 4 M 7 *
CYBERNETICS
G o r d o n P a s k c a l l s h i s f i e l d C y b e r n e t i c s .
T h e t e r m " c y b e r n e t i c s i s h e a r d a l o t , a n d i s
o n e o f t h o s e t e r m s w h i c h , i n t h e m a i n , ma n k i n d
w o u l d b e b e t t e r o f f w i t h o u t ; a l t h o u g h a f t e r
t a l k i n g t o P a s k I g e t t h e s e n s e t h a t t h e r e may
b e s o m e t h i n g t o i t a f t e r a l l .
T h e t e r m " c y b e r n e t i c s " w a s c o i n e d by No r -
b e r t W i e n e r , t h e f a m o u s l y a b s e n t - m i n d e d m a t h
e m a t i c i a n who ( a c c o r d i n g t o l e g e n d ) o f t e n
f a i l e d t o r e c o g n i z e h i s own c h i l d r e n . ' Wi e n e r
d i d p i o n e e r i n g wo r k i n a n u m b e r o f a r e a s . A
s p e c i a l c o n c e r n o f h i s wa s t h e s t u d y o f t h i n g s
w h i c h a r e k e p t i n c o n t r o l b y c o r r e c t i v e m e a s
u r e s , o r , a s h e c a l l e d i t . F e e d b a c k The t e r m
" c y b e r n e t i c s " he made o u t o f a G r e e k wo r d
f o r s t e e r s m a n , a p p l y i n g i t t o a l l p r o c e s s e s
w h i c h i n v o l v e c o r r e c t i v e c o n t r o l . I t t u r n s
o u t t h a t a l m o s t e v e r y t h i n g i n v o l v e s c o r r e c t i v e
c o n t r o l , s o t h e t e r m " c y b e r n e t i c s " s p r e a d s o u t
a s f a r a n d a s t h i n l y a s y o u c o u l d p o s s i b l y w a n t
( T h e p u b l i c i s u n d e r t h e g e n e r a l i m p r e s s i o n
t h a t " c y b e r n e t i c s " r e f e r s t o c o m p u t e r s , a nd
t h e c o m p u t e r p e o p l e s h o u l d b e c a l l e d " c y b e r
n e t i c i a n s . " T h e r e s e e ms t o b e n o t h i n g t h a t
c a n b e d o n e a b o u t t h i s . S e e " c y b e r c r u d , "
p . g . T h i s i s a n e v e n w o r s e t e r m m e a n i n g
" s t e e r i n g p e o p l e i n t o c r u d , " s p e c i f i c a l l y ,
p u t t i n g t h i n g s o v e r o n p e o p l e u s i n g c o m p u t e r s . )
P r o p e r l y , t h e c o r e o f " c y b e r n e t i c s ' s eems
t o d e a l w i t h c o n t r o l l i n k a g e s , w h e t h e r i n
a u t o m o b i l e s , c o c k r o a c h e s o r c o m p u t e r s . How
e v e r , p e o p l e l i k e P a s k , v o n F o e r s t e r , As hby
( a n d s o o n ) a p p e a r t o e x t e n d t h e c o n c e p t g e n
e r a l l y t o t h e s t u d y o f f o r m s o f b e h a v i o r a n d
a d a p t a t i o n c o n s i d e r e d i n t h e a b s t r a c t . The
v a l i d i t y a n d f a s c i n a t i o n o f t h i s w o r k , o f
c o u r s e , i s q u i t e u n r e l a t e d t o w h a t y o u c a l l i t .
THE TUBING MACHINE
I s t h e i w t t c l s n l c s l a b s t r a c t Automst on.
A Tur i ng Nachine, nanmd a f t e r I t s d i s c o v e r e r .
I s a hy po t h e t i c a l devi ce whic h ha s sn I n f i n
i t e r ec o r di ng t e pe t h a t I t can s o v a back snd
f o r t h , and t he a b i l i t y t o make d e c i s i o n s de
pendi ng on wh e t ' s w r i t t e n t h e r e .
Tur i ng pr oceeded t o p o i n t o u t t h a t no
m a t t e r how f a s t you 90 s t e p - b y - s t e p , you can t
e v e r out r un c e r t a i n r e s t r i c t i o n s b u i l t I nt o
a l l s e q u e n t i a l p r oce s s es as r e p r e s e n t e d by
t h e Tur i ng Machine. Thi s l a y s heavy l i m i t s
on what can e v er be done s t a p - b y ~* t p bY
c omput er . ( I t means w have t o lo ok f o r
n o n - s t e p - b y - s t e p methods, whic h much of
A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e Is a b o u t . )
DO WE MAHT TALKIBG STSTEMS?
I had one q u i t e i r r i t a t i n g exper i ence wi t h a
' ' convers at i onal " ayat em, t h a t l a , computer pr ograa
chat was supposed t o t a l k back t o a e . I vae sup
posed co t ype co 1c I d Engl i sh aod I t vaa supposedl y
going t o t ype back co ae I n Engl l ah. 1 found t h e ex
per i ence t h o r oughl y I r r i t a t i n g . Ky ai de o f che con
v e r s a t i o n , which I s i n c e r e l y c r i e d t o keep si mpl e,
produced r e p e a t e d apo l ogi e s and confusi on from t he
pr ograa. The guy who'd c r e a t e d che pr ogr aa kept ex
p l a i n i n g c hat t h e p r o gr a a would be improved, ao
Chat evenCual l y I t c oul d handl e responses l i k e v i n e .
My r e a c t i o n was, and l a , Who neede l e t
Many peopl e i n t h e coaput er f i e l d s e ea Co t h i n k
we want t o be a b l e t o t a l k t o coaput ers and have t he a
cal k back t o ua. Thi a l a by no Beans a s e t t l e d B a t t e r .
Tal ki ng pr ogr a aa a r e compl i cat ed and r e q u i r e a
l o t of apace I n t h e machi ne, and (acre i a p o r t a n t l y )
r eq u i r e a l o t of t i a e by pr ogr aMer e who coul d a chi eve
( I t hi nk) s o r e I n l e a a Cl M by ot he r meana. Moreover,
cal ki ng pr o g r a as produce an i t T l c a c l n g s t r a t e g i c a l
paradox. I n d e a l i n g v i c h huaan bel oge, we knew vhec
we' r e d e a l i n g wi t h , and can a d j u s t what we eay acc or d
i n gl y; t h e r e l e no wav co c e l l , except by a l o t o f ex
p er i ment i ng, what t h e p r l n c l p l e e a r e i n s i d e a p a r t i c u
l a r t a l k i n g p r o g r a a ; so t h a t cryi ng t o a d j u e t co i t
l a a s c r a l n and ao I r r i t a t i o n . (Coapare: t a l k i n g t o a
s t r a n g er who aay o r aay not Curn out Co be your now b o s s . )
Now, soae p r o g r a a o e r s keep eeyi ng t h a t e v e n t u a l l y t h e y ' l l
have l c a c t i n g J u e t ae eaarc aa a r e a l pe r s on, eo we n e e d n ' t
a d j u e t ; but t h a t ' s r i d i c u l o u s . We alwave a d j u s t t o r e a l
peopl e. I n o t h e r words, t he huaan di scomf ort and i r r i t a
t i o n of pavchl na t h e s v s t m o ut can never be e l i a l n a t e d .
Fur t her more, on t o d a y ' e s e q u e n t i a l e q ul paent and
wi t h f e a e i b l e b u d g e t s . 1 p e r s on a l l y t hi nk t he l i k e l i h o o d
of Baking p r o g r a as c h at a r e r e a l l y g e ner al t a l k e r s i e a
f o o l i s h g o a l . There a r e many s l a p l e r waye of t e l l i n g
coaput er syst ems what you want t o t e l l t h e a l i g h t pen
c hoi ce, f o r exampl e.
Moreover, havi ng t o t ype i n whole Engl l ah phr as e s
can be i r r i t a t i n g . (We c a n ' t even gee i nco t he pr o bl ea
of having t h e c o nput er pi ck a p a r t Che audi o l f you c al k
i t i n . )
Thi s i s n o t t o eay underst andabl y r e e t r l c t e d t a l k i n g
s ys t e a s s r e bad. I f you know and underst and t he s o r t s of
r esponse t h e syst em makes Co what ki nds of t h i n g , t hen an
E n g l l e b - l l k e r esponse i s r e a l l y s c l e a r meeaage. For I n
a t anc e, t h e JOSS syst em ( t he f i r s t Qui cki e l anguage
see p. IS) had en el oquent message:
eh?
which a c t u a l l y a e a n t , What you have J u s t tgged I n doee_jiot_
f i t t h e r u l e e o f a cc ep t a bl e I nput f or t h i s s y s t e a . But I t
was s h o r t , i t was q u i c k, I t waa si mpl e, and i t wee al most
p o l i t e .
S i m i l a r l y , t a l k i n g ayat e as t h a t use an e xac t vocabu
l a r y , whose l l m i t e and a b i l i t i e s a r e knwn t o t h e per s on,
a r e okay. (Wlnogred, eee Bi bl i ogr aphy, hae a n i c e exaapl e
of t e l l i n g a computer t o s t a c k blockS) where t h e eyetem
knows words l i k e bet ween, on, sbove and ao on. ) Where
t h i s i s underst ood by che human, 1C can be a genui ne con
venience r e t h e r t han a apurl oue one.
(The probl eB of r udeness i n comput er di a l ogue haa not
been auch d i s c u s s e d . Thi s l e p a r t l y because aany pr ogr a a-
a er a a r e noc f u l l y aware of I t , o r , I ndeed, some s r e so
s k i l l e d i n c e r t a i n s u b t l e forms of r udeness t hey woul dn' t
even know chey we r e n ' t a cc e p t a b l e . The r e s u l t i s t h a t c e r
t a i n t ypes of putdown, poke, perempt or i ness and lmportunacy
can f i nd t h e i r way i n t o coaput er di al ogue a l l t oo e a s i l y .
Or , t o put i t a n o t h er way: nobody l i k e t o be t a l k e d back t o.
Cf. Those e t u p l d gr ee n TRANK YOU l i g h t * on a ut omat i c c o l l
boot hs. )
Now, c h l e l e n o t t o ssy t h a t r es e a r c h i n t h e e e a r e as
l e wrong, o r even t h a t r e e e a r c h e r e ' hopes of some br eak
t hrough l n t al k l n g - ey a t e ms i a mlegulded. I em s a yi ng,
b a s i c a l l y , t h a t t a l k i n g systems cennot be t eken f o r g r a n t
ed ae t he pr oper goel l n computers t o be uaed by pe o pl e;
t h a t t h e problema o f r udeneee, and I r r i t a t i n g t he human
u e er , a r e f a r g r e a t e r t han many of t hese r e s e a r c h e r s sup
pose; snd t h a t t h e r e may be a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h l e p o c e n t l a l -
l y e t e r n a l l e p r e ch a u n - cha s i ng.
I f l i k e t h e a u t h o r you a r e beaueed by ehe g r e a t
d i f f i c u l t y of g e t t i n g al ong v i t h human be i nge, t hen t he
c r e a t i o n o f e x t r a n eo u s bei nge of I mpenet r abl e c h a r a c t e r
wi t h vaguel y human q u a l l t l e e can only al ar m you, and
t he pr o s p ec t of t h e e e e d d l t l o n a l c r y p t e - e n t l t l e s which
n e t be fended and p l a c a t e d , clawing a t ua f r m t h e i r
n i ches a t ever y t u r n , l e bot h d l e t a e t e f u l and a l a r a i n g .
A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e e n t h u s i a s t s u n f o r t u n a t e l y
t e n ! t o have a ma g i c i a n ' s out l ooki t o make c l e a r how
t h e i r t h i n g s work would s p o i l t he ehow.
Thus, f o r a r a t h e r p e c u l i a r a r t show he l d a t New
York' s Jewi sh Hueeua i n 1970, a group f r a MIT b u i l t a
l a r g e de v i ce t h a t s t a cke d bl ocke under c o n t r o l o f a
m i n l e e ^ u t e r ( I n t e r d a t a br a n d ) . Now, t he f a c t t h a t i t
could s t a c k and r e* t a ck bl ocks wi t h j u s t a ml ni eo s ^ ut e r
waa r e a l l y q u i t e an acct m^l l shment . but t h i s was not
expl ai ned.
I n s t e a d , ehe b l o c k - e t a c k i n g mechanism waa e ncl os e d
i n a l a r g e g l a s s pe n, i n which numerous g e r b i l s - - hoppy
l i t t l e r o d e n t s - - were f r e e t o wander a bout . When a g e r -
b i l eaw t h a t a b l ock was about t o be s t a cke d on hi m, he
would s e n s i b l y aove.
Now, i t i s f a i r l y humorous, and n o t c r u e l , t o p u t
g e r b i l s I n t o a b l o c k - s t a c k i n g machi ne. But t h i s was
o f f e r e d t o t h e p u b l i c as a devi ce p a r t a ki ng o f a f a r more
gl o b a l a i s a l o n , t h e exper i ment al I n t e r a c t i o n o f l i v i n g
c r e a t u r e s and a dynamic s e l f - i mpr ovi ng e nvi ronment ,
bl ah b l a h b l a h .
Pas s er s by were awed. "Why a r e t hose ani mal s i n
t h e r e ? one would s a y , and t he more i nformed one would
u s u a l l y s a y . ' I t ' s s<ne ki nd o f s c i e n t i f i c e xper i me nt . *
Wel l , t h i s i s a t w i l i g h t a r e a , between s c i e n c e and
whimsi cal hokua, b u t one cannot h e l p wi shi ng si mpl e and
ht aor ous t h i n g s c o u l d be pr es e nt e d wi t h t h e i r s i x p l l c l t y
and humor l a i d b a r e .
1remember wat chl j i g one g e r b l l who s t ood mot i onl es s
on h i s l i t t l e kangar oo ma t c hs t i c k l e g s , wat chi ng t he Great
Grappl er r e a r r a n g i n g h i e wor l d. GerblLe a r e a i ewh a t i n
s c r u t a b l e , b u t I had a cense t h a t he wae wor s hi pi ng i t .
He di d n o t move u n t i l t h e bl ock s t a r t e d coming down on t op
of him.
I t a k e t h i s a s an a l l e g o r y .
S t t
The r e a l que s t i on l a , can a aet^ of pr ocedures
pl ay chess? Because Cha t ' s what t h e computer pr o
gram r e a l l y does, e nac t a s e t of pr oce dur e s .
And t h e answer l a ye s , f a i r l y we l l .
Now, a cheBa pr ogr aa i e not s oa et hi ng you Joe
down on ehe back of an envelope one a f t e r n o o n . I t ' s
u s u a l l y an Imaense, convol ut ed t h i n g Chat peopl e have
worked on f o r ye a r s . (Al though I vaguel y r e e a l l Chat
second pl a ce l n t he 1970 I n t e r c o m p u t e r cheee c ont e s t
waa won by a pr ogr aa t h a t occupied onl y 2000 l o c a t i o n s
l n a 1 6 - b i t mini comput er l n o t h e r words, a compact
and e r i c ky s n e a k e r . )
Now, si mpl e games ( l i k e t l c - t a c - t o e and Nlm and
even Cubi c) can be worked eue e l l Che wey: a l l a l t e r
n a t i v e s c s n be examined by t he program and t he beet
one found. Not eo wi t h chess.
Chess b s s l c a l l y i nvol ve s , because of I t s very
many p o s s i b i l i t i e s , a "combi nat or i al expl os i on" of
s l t e r o a t l v e e ( see p. 4 f ) : Chat i s , t o l ook s t " a l l "
t he p o s s i b i l i t i e s of a ai dgaae would t ake f o r e v e r '
( per haps l i t e r a l l y che Turing pr obl em), and thue
means w e t be found f o r di s c ar di ng some p o s s i b i l i t i e s .
The s t r u c t u r e o f branchi ng p o s s i b i l i t i e s i s a
t r e e *(eee p . ) i 00 t h a t methods of pr uni ng" Che
c r e e t u r n o u t t o be c r u c i a l .
Ba s i c a l l y Chere e r e two epproeches t o t he desi gn
of chesa p r o g r a a s . In one epproach, t he programmers
l ook f or s p e c i f i c c h r e e t s sod o p p o r t u n i t i e s I n t he
d s t a s t r u c t u r e r e pr es e nt i ng t he bos r d, snd t r y t o f i nd
good s t r a t e g i e s f o r s e l e c t i n g good moves en t he b a s i s
o f t h a . Thi s i s t he approach t aken i n CORO, t he
"Cooper-Kos"chess program. The pr ogrammers s e l e c t i v e l y
cope wi t h l n d l v l d u e l problems and a t r s t e g l e s s s t hey
t u r n e u t t o be ne ce es a r y. ( This meana t h a t i t l a
l i k e l y t o have s p e c i f i c Ac h l l l e e ' h e e l e ; whi ch, of
c ou r s e , t he a ut hor s of t he pr ogrea keep t r y i n g t o r e
p a i r by addi ng s p e c i f i c c o r r e c t i o n s . )
A d i f f e r e n t s ppr osch I s t aken by t he Gr e e n b l s t t
ches s program. Thi s 1s b a s i c a l l y a bi g H e u r i s t i c prog
r a a . I t " l e a r n s " b e s t s t r a t e g i e s l n chess by "watching"
t h e game. That l e , your pour h l e t o r l e e l c hes s matches
t hr ough i t , and l c t r i e s out s t r a t e g i e s - - maki ng va r i ous
t e n t a t i v e r u l e e about what kl nde of aoves a r e good, t hen
s c o r i n g t he ee u v e i accordi ng t o t he r e e u l t e of making
C h e i ^ s s s een l n p o s i t i o n a l advant ages t h a t r e e u l t e d l n
a c t u a l l y champl onahlp pl ay.
Obvi ousl y t h i s i s a f i e l d l o I t s e l f , You won' t get
gr ant e f o r I t , but Co t hose who r e e l l y c ar e about both
c hess and c o a p u t e r s , I t ' s the onl y t h i n g t o be doi ng.
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS CYBERCRUD
Fred Brooks, t h e keynote epesker s t t he IEEE coa
pu t e r c onf e r e nce l n F a l l 74, seems Co have e a l d t h s t
HAL 9000 ( t he unct uous, c r s l t o r o u s Pr esence l n the
a ovl e 2001) waa t he way computers shoul d b e . (Comguter
Dec i s i ons , Apr 74, 4 . )
I f i n d i t hard t o be l i e ve t h a t anybody coul d t hi nk
c h a t . Nev e r t h e l e e s , t he r e are t hos e a r t i f l c i a l - l n t e l l l -
gence f r e a k s whose view lc i s t h a t t he pur pose of a l l
t h i s l e e v e n t u a l l y ( s ) co c r e a t e s e r v a n t s t h a t w i l l read
our mlnde and do our bi ddi ng, (b) s e r v a n t s who w i l l t ake
t h i n g s over end w i l l impl ement human m o r a l i t y , r ega r dl ee s
of our bi ddi ng (though we h i o i n i s r e m f r e l l t o do s o
a s In Asi mov' s I_, Robot ); or even ( c) c r e s t e ms s t er s who
w i l l t a ke ever yt hi ng over aod run e ver y t h i n g accor di ng to
t h e i r own p r i n c i p l e s aod t ha h e l l wi t h ue. ( I met e men
i n s b s r , a f t e r en ACM meet i ng, who cl el med t o be l i e ve
t h i s was Che purpose of I t a l l : t o c r e a t e t h e mast er r s ce
t h a t would r e p l a c e u e . )
THE THREE LAWS OP ROBOTICS
1 A r obot may not I nj ur e a human b e i n g , o r ,
t h r o u g h i nact i on, allow a human b e i ng t o come
t o ha r m.
1- - A r obot must obey t he o r d e r s gi ven It b y
human be i n g s except wher e auch o r d e r s woul d
confl i ct wi t h Ihe Fi r st Law.
3- - A r obot must pr ot ect i l s own e xi s t e nce aa
l ong ae 9uch pr ot ect i on does not confl i ct wi t h
t he F i r s t o r Second Law.
- - Handbook of Robot i cs,
56th Edi t i on, 20S8 A . D . .
quot ed i n I . Asi mov, Robot.
M * * t o & I H If t W M . , T l e K f t
E M ZA W HL s e t y o u M oU
(Hhat t he ELISA program t y p e s , we r e p r e s e n t a s a l l capsi
what t h e person types i s not . )
PLEASE TELL ME YOUR PRDBLDi.
I am f e e l i n g depr essed.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEM FEELING DEPRESSED?
Ever s i n c e ay a e t h e r l e f t .
TELL HE MORE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY.
My f a t h e r i s very s t r i c t .
PLEASE GO ON.
Las t n i g h t I dreamt he spanked me.
WHAT MOULD IT MEAN TO YOU IP HE SPANKED YOU?
Di d n ' t yotl ever g e t epanked?
HE WEHE DISCUSSING YOU, NOT ME.
You'r e j u a t a di a b machi ne anyway.
DO COMPUTERS PRIQ1TEN YOU?
(quoted i n Wlnograd, 74-5)
The f a s c i n a t i n g t hi ng about t h e ELISA pr ogram i s
t h a t i t s e a t s s o l i k e a r e a l person* t h a t i a , a psycho
a n a l y s t o f t he n o n d i r e c t i v e , Ca r l Rogere sc hool .
But a l l i t i s i s a bag o f t r i c k s .
I t has a l o t of canned p hr as e s I t can throw out ,
l i k e PLEASE TELL ME YOUR PROBLEM.
Then i t s p o t s c e r t a i n t ypes o f eent e nce s and t ur ns
them around. I f t he person t ype s a eent ence begi nni ng wit h
" I a m . . . " , t he ELIZA program t u m e i t around wi t h HON LONG
HAVE YOUR BEEN. . . ?
And i t looka f or s p e c i f i c words which i n d i c a t e a sen
t ence can be t ur ned around f o r a convi nci ng r e a u l t . Por i n
s t a n c e , i f t he person uses t he word "ever yone, " t he program
Sl apl y r e p l i e s , MHO IN PARTICULAR CAN YOU THINK OP?
And c e r t a i n hi ghl y- char ged words a r e a l g n a l s t o throw In
a s i n g e r , r e g a r d l e s s o f what t h e us e r may have s a i d . Por i n
s t a n c e , i f t he person uses t he word " mot he r , " t he aaehi ne
r e p l i e s :
TELL HE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY.
Now. do not be f ool ed. Ther e I s no Ghost i n the
Machine. The program does not " under st and" t he us er .
THE PROGRAM IS MERELY ACTING OUT THE BAG OF TRICKS THAT
JOE WE1ZENHADM THOUGHT UP. C r e d i t where c r e d i t I s due:
n o t t o The Coaput er ' e t e n l s c l e n c e , b u t t o WeiEenbaia's
c l e v e r n e s s .
(Look a t t he above sample di a l ogue and s s e l f you
guess what t r i c k s t he program waa u s i n g . )
The t hi ng i s , many peopl e r e f u s e t o b e l i e v e t h a t i t ' s
a program. Even when t he pr ogr am' s t r i c k s a r s expl ai ned.
And even b o m who undsr st and &U2A l i k e t o c a l l i t up
f r a n t h e i r t e r mi nal e f or compani onship, now and than.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
T er r y Wlnograd. "When H i l l C o ^ u t e r e Understand People?"
Psychology Today May 74, 73-9.
(Weizenhaum'j f u l l a r t i c l e on O.IZA appeared i n t he
C m l c a t l o n a of t he API eoMt l me l n t ha mid or
l a t e s i x t i e s ; a f l owchar t r s v e a l e d I t s a a j o r t r i c k s .
I have st r ong hunches about the I nner work
i ngs of men who get mi l li ons of dol l a r s from the
Depart ment of Defense and t hen s a y i n pr i vst e
t hal r eal l y t he y' r e goi ng t o us e i t t o creat e a
machi ne so int el l i gent i t can pl ay wi t h t he i r c hi l
d r e n . (Nol to name names o r a n y t h i n g . ) An
obvi ous quest i on i s , do t hey pl a y wi t h t hei r
chi l dr en? No. t hey pl oy wi t h c omput ers.
But Ihe point he r e i s not lo hassl e the
d r ea mer s , Juet to s or t out t he dr eams and pul
them on hanger s so you can t r y them on. and
30S ) maybe choose sn ensembl e f or your s el f .
A c c o r d i n g t o A r t h u r C. C l a r k e ' s r e t r o a c t i v e n o v e l
2 0 0 1 : A S p a c e O d y s s e y ( S i g n e t , 196B, 9 S < ) , t h e HAL 9000 tr c*
c o m p u t e r s e r i e s Be gan a s f o l l o w s :
" I n t h e 1 9 9 3 s , Mi ns ky a n d Good h a d shown how n e u r a l
n e t w o r k s c o u l d b e g e n e r a t e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y - - s e l f -
.r e p l i c a t e d - * i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h a n y a r b i t r a r y
l e a r n i n g p a t t e r n . A r t i f i c i a l b r a i n s c o u l d b e gr own
by a p r o c e s s s t r i k i n g l y a n a l o g o u s t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t
o f t h e human b r a i n . " ( P . 9 6 . )
I d o n t know who Good i s , b u t t h e s e a r e among t h e l i n e s
Mi n s k y h a s b e e n w o r k i n g a l o n g f o r y e a r s , s o 1 ho p e h e ' s
e n c o u r a g e d by t h e news o f w h a t h e ' s g o i n g t o a c c o m p l i s h .
Anyhow, s o o k a y t h e y gr ow t h e UAL 9000 i n a t a n k .
Th en how c o n e i n t h e D e a t h - o * H a l s c e n e we s e e K e i r D u l l e a
b o b b i n g a r o u n d l o o s e n i n g c i r c u i t c a r d s , j u s t a s i f i t
w e r e a p l a i n o l d 1978 c o m p u t e r ?
P o s s i b l e a n s w e r * 1 . I t i s r u m o r e d t h a t C l a r k e ' s
r e t r o - n o v e l wa s C l a r k e 1^ r e b u t t a l t o K u b r i c k ' s f i n a l f i l m .
P o s s i b l e a n s w e r * 2 . HAL' s t a n k s o f n e u r a l g l o p a r e
c o n t r o l l e d b y P D P - l l s , one t o a c a r d .
( Of c o u r s e , i f y o u t a k e t h e l e t t e r s a f t e r H, A a n d L
i n t h e a l p h a b e t , y o u g e t 1 , B a n d M. So maybe t h o s e a r e 1 1 3 0 s . )
DEUS EX MACH1NA
Obvi ousl y such b e l i e f s a r a o u t s l d a t h e r e a l s of
s c l e n c s o r e ngi n e e r i n g . They bsl oog Co pur e s p e c u l a t i o n ;
and whi l e v a r i o u s mechaolsma have i n f a c t been pr ogr amed
t o c r oa k, s t a g g e r , s t a c k bl oc ks , cospose s e nt enc es and so
on, t o suppose t h s t we s r e i n any r e a l se ns e anywhere near
mi micki ng human i n t e l l i g e n c e , l e t a l one s ur p a s s i n g aod
s u pe r s e di ng i t . I s s l t h e r t o be t o t s l l y f ool ed o r t o hanker
a f c e r s o m c u r i o u s dream from i n s i d e y o u r s e l f .
As we s s l d on Che ocher s i d e o f Che book, everybody l n
c oaput e r s ha s deeper mot i vat i ons and i n t e r i o r t w i s t s t hat
f o r a h i s own s p e c i a l d e e t o t h e s e machi nes; and when i t
c o m s t o our c hoi ce s of f ant a s y machi nes, obvi ousl y an even
deeper l e v e l of psyehi c i mpr i nt i s p r o j e c t i n g I t s e l f i n t o
cbe worl d.
. . . EX KENSA
Peopl e vbe f a n t a s i z e abouc wondrous c r e a t u r e s and d e i t i e s they
want t o make out of t he computer obvi ous l y have s e e t h i n g i n
t e r e s t i n g i n t h e i r own heads from which t h s t comes. Perhaps
i t cones f r c * s d e s i r e f o r Imagi nary pl aymat es , or an ambi
val ence coward auchor l cy, or goodness knows whac; Chere a r e so
many odd peopl e a t d i f f e r e n t ends of A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e
t h a t t h e r e may be a l o t of d i f f e r e n t ps yc hol ogi c al systems
s t work. Or maybe a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e I s j u s t where Cbe
most b r i l l i a n t , det ermi ned aod e c c e n t r i c dreamers go. Anywsy,
I c s n onl y a s k t he ^ us t l on, not g i v e t he answer.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ter r y Wlnograd, "When Wil l Computers Understand People?
Psychology Today May 74, 73-79.
P a r t i c u l a r l y r eadabl e a r t i c l e .
Ni chol as Negroponte, The Ar c hi t e ct ur e Machine. MIT Pr ess.
Tskee t he view t h a t computers shoul d be made l ot o
magi cal a er vaot s which not only handl e b o t h e r s n e
d e t a i l s , but more or l eee read ou* minds as wel l .
Leonard l l hr, Pa t t e r n Recogni t i on. Lear ni ng and Thought:
Comcuter-P-"f, r *fl Models of Higher Mental Pr o-
e s s e s . Pr e nt l c e- Hal l .
Art hur V. Hol t , "Al gor i ct a f or a Low CosC Hand PrlnC
Reader . " Computer Deaign Feb 74, 85-89.
Edward A. Felgeobaum and J u l i a n Feldman ( eds . ) i
Computera and Thought. McGraw-Hill.
Old but a t l l l good f or e r l e n c a d o n .
A j o u r n a l : A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e (North-Holl and
P ubl i s hi ng Co. , Jour nal Di vi s i on; P. O. Box 211,
Amsterdam, The Net herl anda. Was $26.50 a year l n 1973.
T h i s ' l l ahow you what t h e y ' r e t h i nki ng about now.
Roger Lind, "The Robots Are Coming, The Robot e Are
Coming." Out. Feb 1974.
Typi cal layman's hype. You d o n ' t ge t t o l d u n t i l the
second page t h a t a t y p i c a l i n d u s t r i a l "robot " l e a
huge mechanlem wit h one gr appl i ng a r a .
Edward W. Koadrowlcki and Dannie W. Cooper, "COCO I I I :
t he Cooper-Kos Cheas Program. " CACH J u l y 73, 411-427.
Gr e e n b l a t t , R.D. , Eaet l ake, O. E. , and Cr ocker , S. D. , The
Greenbl act Chess Program. " Proc PJCC 67, 001-810.
R.C. G a * l l l , "An Exaalnacion of Tl c - Ta c- Toa- l i ke Games."
Pr oc. NCC 74, 349-355.
I Hf OR W C N t rrE ie^ L
" I n f o r ma t i o n R e t r i e v a l " 1b one of t h o a e te r ms
t h a t laymen thr ow a r ound as 1f I t wer e a manhole
c o v e r . I t eounda a s t hough I t means bo n uc h, b o v e r y *
i c h . And eo you a c t u a l l y h e ar people s a y t h l n g a l i k e :
"But t h a t would m e a n . . . ( pr e g n an t pause) . . . I n f o r ma
t i o n R e t r i e v a l ! ! ! " S i m i l a r l y , some o f t h e hokey new
c o p y r i g h t n o t i c e s you aee In books f rom W i t h - I t p u b l i a h -
e r a I n t o n e t h a t s a i d books nay n o t be " p l a c e d I n a n y I n
f or mat i on r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m . . . " I t a k e t h i s t o mean
t h a t t h e p u b l l e h e r a a r e f o r b i d d i n g you t o p u t t h e book
on a b o o k s h e l f , b e c a u s e " I nf o r ma t i o n r e t r i e v a l " s i mp l y
means any way a t a l l o f g e t t i n g back I n f o r ma t i o n f r o *
a n y t h i n g . A b o o k s h e l f , a l nc e I t a l l ows you t o r e a d t h e
s p i n a s o f t he boo ks . I s I ndeed an I n f o r ma t i o n R e t r i e v a l
System.
I t happens , i n c i d e n t a l l y , t h a t the p h r a s e " i n f o r ma
t i o n r e t r i e v a l " was c oi ne d I n t h e f o r t i e s by Ca l v i n Hooer s ,
i n v e n t o r o f TBAC* Language ( s ee pp. 1 8 - 2 1 ) . ( I f Wiener
bad coi ned i t be mi ght have c a l l e d i t Get back. I f Dl e b o l d
had c oi ne d i t i t mi ght have been Thnught omat l on. )
Anyhow, numerous e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t t h i n g s go on I n
t h e f i e l d , a l l under t h e name of I n f o r ma t i o n R e t r i e v a l .
Here a r e some.
1. Non- Computer r e t r i e v a l . ( See Becker and Hay e s ,
Aut omat i c I n f o r ma t i o n R e t r i e v a l . ) Thes e t h i n g s a r e k i n d
of o l d - f a s h i o n e d f u n c a r ds wi t h h o l e s punched a l o n g t h e
edge, f o r I n s t a n c e , t h a t you s o r t wi t h k n i t t i n g n e e d l e s ,
or t he mor e r e c e n t s ys t ems wi t h h o l e s d r i l l e d i n p l a s t i c
c a r d s . Tr oubl e I s , o f c o u r s e , t h a t compute r s ace becomi ng
i c h mor e c o n v e n i e n t and even l e a s e x p en s i v e th an t h e s e ,
c o unt i ng your mm ti me a s bei ng wor t h somet hi ng.
2 . Document R e t r i e v a l . Th i s b a s i c a l l y i s an a p p r o a ch
t h a t g l o r i f i e s t h e ol d l i b r a r y c ar d f i l e , e xce pt now t h e
a t u f f i s s t o r e d i n compute rs r a t h e r than on c a r d s . But
wh at a s t o r e d I s S t i l l t h e name of t h e document , who WTOte
i t , where I t was p u b l i s h e d and so on. Ob v i ous l y h e l p f u l
t o l i b r a r i a n s , b u t s c a r c e l y e x c i t i n g .
3- Aut omat i c document i n d e x i n g . Some o r g a n i s a t i o n s
f i n d i t h e l p f u l t o ha ve a computer t r y t o f i g u r e o u t v h a t
a book 1 b a b o u t , r a t h e r t han have a p e r s o n l o o k a t i t and
check. ( I d o n ' t aee why t h i s s a ves a n y t h i n g , b u t t h e r e you
a r e . ) Anyway, t he t e x t o f t h e document ( o r s e l e c t e d p a r t s )
a r e pour ed th r oug h a computer pr ogram t h a t s e l e c t s , f o r i n -
a t a n c e , ke ywor ds , t h a t l a , t h e moBt i mp o r t a n t words i n i t ,
o r r a t h e r wor ds t h e pr ogram t h i n k s STe most I mp o r t a n t . Then
t h e s e keywords can go on t b e h e adi ngs of l i b r a r y f i l e c a r d s ,
o r wh a t e v e r .
Ther e a r e v a r i o u s r e l a t e d syste ms by whic h p e o p l e
s t u d y , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e c i t a t i o n s between a r t i c l e s , b u t
we wun t g e t i n t o t h a t .
Cont en t r e t r i e v a l . Kow we ' r e g e t t i n g t o t h e sexy
a t u f f . A s y s t e a f o r c o n t e n t r e t r i e v a l I s one t h a t somehow
s t o r e a i n f o r ma t i o n I n a computer and l e t s you g e t I t b a ck
The t r i c k on b o t h c ount s I s of c our s e how.
H a l l , a s we s a i d on t he o t h e r s i d e o f t h e b o ok, a ny
i n f o r ma t i o n s t o r e d i n a co np ut er has a d a t a s t r u c t u r e ,
whi ch s i mp l y means what eve r ar r angement of a l p h a b e t i c a l
c h a r a c t e r s , numbers and a p e c l a l codes t h e compute r happens
t o bs s a v i n g .
I n a c o n t e n t - r e t r l e v a l syste m, I n f o r ma t i o n on some
s u b j e c t i s somehow jamaed I n t o a d a t a s t r u c t u r e p o s s i b l y
even by human c o d e r s and th en s e t up s o pe opl e c an g e t
i t back o u t a g a i n I n aome way. Lot of p o s s i b i l i t i e s h e r e ,
g e t i t ?
I n t h e w i t s t a r t l i n g of t h e s e s y s t e ms , t h e QAS, o r
"Questi on- Answer ing Sys t em, " some s o r t of d i a l o g u e pr ogram
( s ee " A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e , " n ear by) t r i e s t o g i v e you
answer s a bo ut t h e d a t a s t r u c t u r e . But t h i s means t h e r e
hava t o b e a whole l o t of pr ogra ms:
Then t h e r e I s t h e ma t t e r o f c o n s i s t e n c y . The r e a l l y
I n t e r e s t i n g s u b j e c t s a r e the ones wher e d i f f e r e n t a u t h o r s
c l ai m o ppos i ng f a c t s t o s u pp or t o p p o s i t e c o n c l u s i o n s .
In o t h e r wor ds , t h e r e i s i n c o n s i s t e n c y w i t h i n t h e c o n t e n t
of t he f i e l d . I n t h i s case such s ys t e ms a r e g o i n g t o have
a pr oblem. (See "Raaho-Hon P r i n c i p l e under " T i s s u e of
Th ought , " f f ~ y \ '*"1.7^
Anot her f u nd ame n t a l p o i n t 1b t h i s . I t may be e as y
enough t o pr ogram a syste m t o answer t h e q u e s t i o n ,
VHAT TIME DOES THE NEXT PLANE LEAVE FOR LAGUAHDIA?
b u t I t i s a l o t s i m p l e r t o Ad l s p l a y s c h e d u l e s y o u r e y e can
r un down, or a l l o w you t o go lo ok a t some ki nd o f g r a p h i c
d i s p l a y .
Speaki ng p e r s o n a l l y , I d o n ' t I l k a t a l k i n g t o machi nes
and I d o n ' t l i k e t h e i r t a l k i n g back t o me. I ' m n o t s a yi ng
you have t o a g r e e . I ' m j u a t t e l l i n g you y o u ' r e a l l o we d t o
f e e l t h a t way.
5. Sc r ee n s umna r l ee These s y s t e ms l e t you s i t s t
a c o a p u t e r d i s p l a y s c r e e n and r ead summari es o f v a r i o u s
t h i n g s , a s we l l a s r u n th r ou gh t hen wi t h v a r i o u s pr ograms
t o lo ok f o r ke ywor ds . (The Mew York Times now o f f e r s s uch
a s ys t e m, c o s t i n g o v e r a thousand d o l l a r s a month t o sub
s c r i b e r s . )
6. " F u l l - t e x t s y s t e ms . 11 Thes e a r e s y s t e ms t h a t
one way or a n o t h e r a l l o w you t o r ead a l l t h e t e a t o f
s omet hi ng f rom a compute r d i s p l a y s c r e e n . Th er e a r e
t h o s e of us who aee t h e a e as the wave o f t h e f u t u r e , X
b ut aany o t h e r s a r e p e r f e c t l y o u t r age d a t t h e t h o u g h t -
( Hy p e r t e x t s y s t e ms , now, a r e s e t u p s t h a t a l l o w you t o
r ead I n t e r c o n n e c t e d t e x t s from compute r d i s p l a y s c r e e n s .
s . . nl1-7-)
Thi s ha s been b r i e f and has s ki pped a l o t . Anyway,
a s you s e e , IR I s no one t h i n g .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Vannevar Bus h, "As We Hay T h i n k . " A t l a n t i c Mo n t h l y .
J u l y 194$, 101- 108.
Theodor H. Ke l s o n , "Aa He H i l l T h i n k . " P r o c . On l i n e 72
C o n f e r e n c e , Br une i U. Uxbr i dge, Engl and.
G. S s l t o n , Re ce nt S t u d i e s I n Aut omat i c Text A n a l y s i s
and Document R e t r i e v a l . JACM, Apr 73, 2 5 8- 2 70 .
Donald E. Wal ker ( e d . ) . I n t e r a c t i v e B i b l i o g r a p h i c S e a r c h :
The Us er / Comput e r I n t e r f a c e . AFIPS P r e s s , $15-
Theodor H. Nel s o n, " Ge t t i n g I t Out o f Our S y s t e m. " I n
S c h e c h t e r ( e d . ) , C r i t i q u e o f I n f o r ma t i o n R e t r i e v a l
( Thompson Books , 1947) .
J . C . R . L l c k l l d e r , L i b r a r i e s o f t h e F u t u r e . MIT P r e s s ,
1965. C l e a r and r e a d a b l e s unaar y o f t h e r e s t o f t he
f i e l d ; t h e n he goes on t o a d vo ca t e " p r o c o g n i t i v e
s y s t e m s , " s ys t e ms t h a t w i l l d i g e s t w h a t ' s known I n
any f i e l d and t a l k back t o you, u s i n g t e c h n i q u e s
o f a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e .
Whate ver i t s o t h e r m e r i t s , t h i s book i s g r e a t
f o r s h a k i n g pe o p l e up , e s p e c i a l l y l i b r a r i a n s . I t
s e e a s s o o f f i c i a l -
Ri char d H. L a s k a , " A l l t he News T h a t ' s F i t t o R e t r i e v e . "
Computer D e c i s i o n s . Aug 72, pp. 16- 22.
Like A r t l f l c l s l I n t e l l i g e n c e and I n f o r ma t i o n Re t
r i e v a l , Comput er - As s i s t e d I n s t r u c t i o n s o u n d s l i k e some
t h i n g e x a c t and i mp r e s s i ve but I s i n f a c t a s c a t t e r i n g of
t e c h ni qu e s t i e d t o g e t h e r onl y nomi nal l y by a g e n e r a l I d ea .
The r e a l name f o r i t s houl d be Automate d Dia logue
Tea chi n g . That would l mi e d i a t e l y a l l ow you t o a s k , shoul d
computer t e a c h i n g use dl a l o g u e a ? But t h e y d o n t want you
t o ask t h a t .
I n t h e c l a s s i c f o r mu l a t i o n of t h e e a r l y s i x t i e s , t h e r e
wer e goi ng t o be t h r e e l e v e l s o f CAI: " d r i l l - a n d - p r a c t i c e "
s y s t e ms , much l i k e t e a c h i n g a a c h i n e s , t h a t s i mpl y helped
s t u d e n t s p r a c t i c e va r i o u a s k i l l s ; a mi ddl e l e v e l ( o f t e n
i t s e l f c a l l e d , c o n f u s i n g l y , " c o m p u t e r - a s s i s t e d i n s t r u c t i o n " ) :
and a t h i r d l e v e l , t h e S o c r a t i c s y s t e m, wh i c h would supposedly
be I d e a l . S t u d e n t s s t u dy i n g on S o c r a t i c s y s t e a s would be
e l o q u e n t l y ond t h o u g h t f u l l y I n s t r u c t e d and c o r r e c t e d by s
p e r f e c t b e i n g i n t h e machi ne. "We d o n ' t know how t o do t h a t
y e t , " t he p e o p l e keep s a y i n g. Ye t , i n d e e d .
(My p e r s o n a l vie w on t h i s s u b j e c t , e x p r e s s e d i n an a r t i c l e
( f o l l o w i n g ) i s t h a t Comput er - As si st ed I n s t r u c t i o n i n many
ways e x t e n d s t h e wor s t f e a t u r e s of e d u c a t i o n a s we now know i t
I n t o t he new r ea l m o f p r e s e n t a t i o n by c o mp u t e r . )
J)0tS Tftt NMC PMiOV
>M<r A B f i L
This Is a t r ue Story. (The d e t a i l s ar e approx
imate.) I t may provide c e r t a i n I n s i g h t s .
An As s i s t ant Commissioner of Educati on was
being shown a CAI system by r epr e s e nt a t i ve s of a
large and well-known computer company.
One one s i de o f the Conmlssloner st ood a s a l e s
man, who wanted him t o be Impressed. On t he other
s i de stood one Or. S. , who knew how t he system
The t er mi nal , demonstrat ing a h i s t o r y program
that had hur r i e dl y been put t oget her , t yped: WHO
CAPTURED FORT TICONDEROGA?
"Can 1 type anything?" asked t he Assi st ant
Conmlssloner.
" Sur e , " said t he salesman, ignor ing t he Fr anti c
head-shaking o f Dr. S.
The As s i s t ant Comnlss loner t yped: Gypsy Rose
Lee.
The machine r epli ed:
NO, BUT YOU'RE CLOSE. HE CAPTURED QUEBEC A
SHORT TIME LATER.
The As s i s t ant Conmlssloner e vi de nt l y enlivened
many a luncheon wit h t h a t one, and Con^uter-Assisted
i n s t r uc t i on was e f f e c t i v e l y dead f or t he r e s t of the
adml ni st r at I on.
"Fo i l c m -
w r f ei
t*. *. c t c r i t .
These s yst ems can be q u i t e s t a r t l i n g I n the- way
t hey s e e* t o und e r s t a n d you ( s ee L l c k l l d e r book; a l s o
Hinogr ad p i e c e under A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e ) . But t h e y
d o n ' t u nde r s t an d you. They are j u s t poor dumb p r o g r a ms .
Many pe opl e ( i n c l u d i n g L l c k l l d e r ) seem t o s e e l a
|Quest l on- Anawer l ng- Syst ems the wave o f t h e f u t u r e .
Ot he r s , l i k e t h i s a u t h o r , a r e s k e p t i c a l . I t ' s one t h i n g
t o have a t y i t a t h a t can deduce t h s t Gr e e n ' s House I s
West of Re d ' s Rouse f rom a bunch, of i n p u t s e n t e n c e s on
t he s u b j e c t , but t h e q u e s t i o n of how much t h e s e c an be
i mproved i s I n g n u do u b t . A syste m t h a t cSn a n s we r t h e
q u e s t i o n , ' Vhat d i d Hegel aay about d e t er mi n i s m? " I s
oma ways away, t o p u t i t mi l d l y .
I t I s a t r ui s m t hat Mendel' s t heor i es
genet i cs got " l o s t " a f t e r publ i cat i on I
1865, t o be redi scovered in 1900. " I f
only t he r e had been proper Information
r e t r i e v a l under the r i ght c a t e g o r i e s , "
people o f t e n say. Recent s t udi e s i n d i
c at e t h a t the publi cat i on containing
Mendels paper reached, or got ne a r l y t
' p r a e t t c a l l y a l l prominent b i o l o g i s t s <
t he mid-nineteenth cent ury." (Scl ent ! I
American, J ul y 68, 55.)
I t ake t h i s as suggesting t h a t t he pr ob
lem I s n ' t cat egor i cal r e t r i e va l a t a l l .
I t ' s mult I -connected a v a i l a b i l i t y (see
" hype r t e xt ,
ANOTHER ANECDOTE
Some o f us have been saying f or a long time
t h a t l earning fr<xo computers ought t o be
under cont r ol o f t he student.
One g r o u p ( never Bi nd who) h a s t a k e n ho l d
o f t h i a i de a and g o t t e n a l o t o f f u n d i n g
f o r i t under t h e name o f STUDENT COWTBDL.
Thi s gr oup t a l k s as I f i t wer e s o a e ki nd o f
s c i e n t i f i c br ea kt hr ough.
A f r i e n d o f i n e s u g g e s t s , howeve r , t h a t
t h i s p h r a s e may have b r o u g h t t h e f u n d i n g
b e c a u s e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s t hou gh t i t meant
c o n t r o l o f t h e s t u d e n t .
BIBLI OGRAPHY
Geor ge B. L e o n a r d , E d u c a t i o n a n d E c s t a s y .
D e l l , $ 2 . 2 5 . Ar gues f o r maki ng
e d u c a t i o n an e n t h u s i a s t i c p r o c e s s .
The odor H. N e l s o n , "No More T e a c h e r s '
D i r t y Lo o k s . F o l l o w s .
k i t
All these things
are very technical.
The reader
must decide
for himself
which,
if any,
are misguided.
(The following ar ti cle appeared i n the September, 1970 i ssue of Computer Decis i ons ,
and got an ext r a or di nar y amount of attention. I have changed my views somewhat
we all go t hr ough c hange s , after al l but after consideration have decided to r e - r un
it in the or i ginal form, without qualifications, mollifications or a nyt hi ng, for its unity.
Thanks to Computer Decisions for use of the ar t wor k by Gans and for the Superstudent
pi ct ur e on the cover , whose ar t i s t unfortunately i n s i s t s on pr e s e r vi ng his anonymity.
Did you find school dismal and dreary?
Did it turn you off?
Here the author proposes safe and legal
ways to turn kids on.
by Theodor H. Nelson
The Nelson Organizat ion
New York
Some think the educational system is basically
all right, and more resources would get it working
agai n. Schools would do things the same way. ex
cept more so, and things would get better.
In t hat case the obvious question would be, how
can computers help? How can computers usefully
supplement and extend the traditional and accept
ed forms of teaching? Thi s is the question to which
present-day efforts in "computer-assisted instruc
ti on called CAI seem to respond.
But such an approach is of no possible interest
to the new generation of critics of our school sys
tem people like John Holt ( Why Children Fail),
Jonat han Kozol (Death at an Early Age) and
James Herndon (The Way It Spozed To Be). More
and more, such people are severely questioning the
general framework and structure of the way we
teach.
These writers describe particularly ghastly
examples of our schooling conditions. But such
horror stories aside, we are coming to recognize
t hat schools as we know them appear designed at
every level to sabotage the supposed goals of edu
cation. A child arrives at school bright and early
in his life. By drabness we deprive him of interests.
By fixed curriculum and sequence we rob him of
his orientation, initiative and motivation, and by
test ing and scoring we subvert his natural intelli
gence.
Schools as we know them all run on the same
principles: iron all subjects flat and then proceed,
in groups, at a forced march across the flattened
plain. Material is dumped on the students and their
responses calibrated; their interaction and involve
ment with the material is not encouraged nor taken
into consideration, but their dutifulness of response
is carefully monitored.
While an exact arrangement of intended motiva
tions for the student is preset within the system,
they do not usually take effect according to the
ideal. It is not that students are //^motivated, but
motivated askew. Rather than seek to achieve in
the way they are supposed to. students turn to
churlishness, surliness, or intellectual sheepishness.
A general human motivation is god-given at the
beginning and warped or destroyed by the edu
cational process as we know it: thus we internalize
at last that most fundamental of grownup goals:
just to get through another day.
Because of this procedure our very notion ot
human ability has suffered. Adult mentality is
n
i)* ib
An i nt er es t i ng poi nt , i nci dental ly, i s that people r e a d t his a lot of di fferent ways.
One Dean of Education hi lar i ousl y misread it as an a cr os s - t he- boa r d p l u g for CAI.
Others r ead i n i t various forms of menace or advocacy of generalized mechanization.
One l e t t e r - w r i t e r said I was a menace but at least wr i t i ng arti cles ke pt me off the
s t r eet s. Here i s my fundamental point: c omput er - ass i st ed i nst r uct i on , applied t hought
l e s s l y and i mi t at i vel y, t hr eat ens to extend the wor st feat ur es of education as it "IF now.
cauterized, and we call it normal. ' Most people's
minds are mostly turned off most of the time. We
know virtually nothing of human abilities except
as they have been pickled and boxed in schools; we
need to ignore all t hat and start fresh. To want stu
dents to be normal is criminal, when we are all
so far below our potential. Buckminster Full er, in
/ Seem To Be A Verb, says we are all born ge
niuses; Sylvia Asht on-Warner tells us in Teacher
of her success with this premise, and of the bril
liance and creative potential she was able to find in
all her schoolchildren.
Curricula themselves destructively arrange the
study situation. By walls between artificially segre
gated "studies and "separate topics we forbid the
pursuit of interest and kill motivation.
In ordinary schooli ng, the victim cannot orient
himself to the current topic except by understand-
t o o k *
ing the official angle of approach and present a
tion. Though tie-ins to previous interests and
knowledge are usually the best way to get an initial
sense of a thing, there is only time t o consi der the
officially presented tie-ins. (Neither is t here time
to answer questi ons, except briefly and rarely well
and usually in a way that promotes order by
discouraging ext raneous tie-ins from coming up. )
The unnecessary division and walling ot sub
jects. sequencing and kibbling of material lead peo
ple to expect simplifi cations, to feel that nami ng a
thing is understandi ng it, to fear complex wholes;
to believe creat ivity means recombi nat i on, the
parsing of old relations, rather than synthesis.
Like political boundaries, curriculum boundar
ies arise from noticeable features of a cont i nuum
and become progressively more fortified. As be
hind political borders, social unifi cation occurs
within them, so t hat wholly dissimilar practitioners
who share a name come to think they do the same
thing. And because they talk mainly to each other,
they forget how near is the other side of the border.
Because of the fiction of "subjects, great con
cern and consideration has always gone i nt o cal
culating the correct teaching sequence for each
subject. In recent years radical new teachi ng se
quences have been introduced for t eachi ng various
subjects, including mathematics and physics. But
such efforts appear to have been mi si nformed by
the idea of supplant ing the wrong t eachi ng se
quence with the "ri ght teaching sequence, one
which is "validated. Similarly, we have gone from
a time when the instructional sequence was a bal
ance between tradition and the lowest common de
nominator of each subject, to a time when teachers
may pick "flexible optimized strategies from text-
If the computer is a universal control system,
lets give kids universes to control.
<3
I
X
-If
TIT
Education oughi to be dear, inviting nnd enjoyable,
without booby-traps, humiliations, condescension or
boredom. It ought to teach and reward initiative, curi
osity, ihe habit of self-motivation. intellectual involve
ment. Studcnls should develop, through practice, abili
ties to think, argue and disagree intelligently.
Educators and computer enthusiasts tend to agree on
these goals. Bul what happens? Many of ihc inhuman
ities of the existing system, no less wrong for being
unitentional, arc being continued into coniputcr-assist-
cd leaching.
Although the promoters of computer-assisted instruc
tion, affectionately called CAI," seem to think of them
selves as being at the vanguard of progress in all di
rections, the field already seems to operate according
:o a stereotype. We may call this classic or "conven-
ional CAI, a way of thinking depressLngly summarized
n The Use of Computers in Education" by Patrick
iuppes, Scientific American, September, 1966, 206-
220, an article of semi-classic stature.
It is an uncxamined premise of this article that the
computer system will always decide what the student
is to study and control his movements through il. The
student is to be led by the nose through every subject,
and the author expresses perplexity over the question
of how the system can decide, at all limes, where to
lead the student by the nose (top of col. 3, p. 219).
But let us nol anticipate alternatives.
It is often asserted (as by Alpert and Bitzer in "Ad
vances in Computer-Based Education," Science,
March 20, 1970) that this is not the only approach
current. The trouble is that it seems to be the only ap
proach current, and in the expanding computer uni
verse everyone seems to know whal c a i is. And this
is it.
Computer-assisted instruction, in this classical sense,
is the presentation by computer of bite-sized segments
of instructional material, branching among them ac
cording to involuntary choices by ihe student ("an-
swere") and embedding material presented the student
in some sort of pseudo-conversation ( Very good.
Now, Johnny, point at the . . .")
CAI; Based on nnnccessuy premises
At whichever level of complexity, all these conven
tional c a i systems arc based on three premises: lhat
all presentations consists of items, short chunks and
questions; lhat the items are arranged into sequences,
though these sequences may branch and vary under
control of the computer; and finally, that these sequen
ces are to be embedded in a framework of dialogue;
with the computer composing sentences and questions
appropriately based on the student's input and the
branching structure of the materials. Let us call such
systems sic (Sequenced-Item Conversational) systems.
These three premises are united. For Ihere to be
dialogue means Ihere musl be an underlying graph
structure of potential sequences around which dialogue
may be generated; for there to be potential sequences
means breakpoints, and hence items.
Let us question each of the premises in turn.
1. Is dialog* pleasant or desirable? Compulsory
interaction, whether with a talking machine or a stereo
typed human, is itself a put-down or condescension.
(Note lhat on superhighways there is often a line of
cars behind the automatic loll booths, even when the
manned ones art open.) Moreover, faked interaction
can be an annoyance. (Consider the green light at the
automatic toll booth thal lights up with a thank you.")
Moreover, dialogue by simple systems tends to have a
fake quality. It is by no means obvious that phony
dialogue with a machine will please the student.
2. Is (be Hem approach necessary? If (he student
were in control, he could move around in areas of
material, leaving each scene when he got what he want
ed, or found il unhelpful.
3- A n sequences necessary? Prearranged sequences
become unnecessary if the student can see whal he has
yet to learn, then pursue il.
T^- s e ns e ot pr est i ge a nd parti cipation
CAI: ttnncccssiii> coin plication
The general belief among practitioners is that ma
terials .for computer-based teaching are extremely dif
ficult to create, or "program." Because of possible
item weakness and the great variety of possible se
quences within the web, extensive experimentation and
debugging are required. Each item must be carefully
proven; and the different sequences open to a student
must all be tested for iheir effectiveness. All possible
misunderstandings by a student need lo be anticipated
and prevented in this web of sequences, which must be
designed for its coverage, correct order, and general
effectiveness.
CAI: general wrongfrinoss
Computers offer us the first real chance to let the
human mind grow to its full potential, as il cannot
within ihe stifling and insulting setting of existing
school systems. Yet most of the systems for computer-
assisted instruction seem to me to be perpetuating and
endorsing much that is wrong, even evil, in our present
educational system, c ai in ils conventional fonn en
larges and extends the faults of the American educa
tional system itself. They are:
Conducivtness to boredom;
The removal of opportunities for initiative;
* Gratuitous concerns, both social and administra
tive ( subject, progress in subject);
Grades, which really reflect commitment level,
anxiety, and willingness to focus on core emphasis;
Stereotyped and condescending treatment of the
student (ihe Now-Johnny box in ihe computer re
placing the one thal sits before the class);
* 4^ ie narrowing of curricula and available materials
for results" at the expense of motivation and general
ized orientation;
Destructive testing of a kind we would nol permit
on delicate machinery; and,
* oven or hidden emphasis on invidious ratings.
(Ungraded schools are nice-but how many units did
you complete today?).
There are of course improvements, for instance in
the effects of testing. In the tell-test, tell-test nattering
or CAI, ihe testing becomes merely an irritant, bul one
certainly not likely lo fosier enthusiasm.
W
Bul isn't CAI scknlific?
Part of Cai' s mystique is based upon the idea that
leaching can bccomc "scicntific in the light of modern
research, especially learning theory, ll is understand
able lhat researchers should promote this view and
lhat oihcrs should fall for il.
Laymen do not understand, nor arc ihcy told. thal
'learning theory" is an extremely technical, mathemat
ically oriented, description of the behavior of abstract
and idealized organisms learning non-unificd things
under specific condiiions of motivation and non-dis
traction.
Let us assume, politely, lhal learning theory is a
full and consisieni body of knowledge. Bccausc of its
name, learning theory has al least whal wc may call
nominal relevancc to teaching: bul real rclcvance is
another matter, ll may he relevant as Newtonian equa
tions are to shooting a good game of pool: implicit but
without practical bearing.
Bccausc of the actual character of learning theory,
and ils general remoteness from non-sicrilc conditions,
actual relevance to any pariicular type of applicuiion
must still be demonstrated. To postulate lhat the theory
still applies in diluted or shifted circumstances is a
leap of faith. Human beings arc not. taken all together,
very like ihc idealized pigeons or rats of learning
theory, and their motivations and other circumstanccs
arc not easily controlled. Studies conccrncd with rate
of repetition and reinforcement are scarcely relevant
if Ihc student hates or docs nol understand whal he is
doing.
I do nol mean li> iiUaek all <ai. or an> leaching
system which is cHcclive ami gialifying. What I doubt
is that sic sysiems for cai will become more and more
wonderful as effort progresses, or lhat Ihe goal of talk
ing tutorial systems is reachable and appropriate. And
what I further suspect is lhat we are building boredom
systems that nol mil* make hie duller bul sap inicllcc-
lual interest in the same old way.
Should systems instructT
Drill-and-praciicc systems arc definitely a good thing
lor the acquisition of skills and response sets, an im
provement over workbtxiks and the like, furnishing
both corrections and adjustment. Ihey are boring, bul
probably levs so than (he usual materials. Itut the cai
enthusiasts seem lo believe ihc same co n wa i MBh ml
chunk techniques can he extcntcd to the realm of ideas,
to systems that will tutor and chide, and that this will
provide the same sort of natural interest provided by
a live tutors instruction.
The conventional poini of view in cai claims thal
because validation is so important, ii is necessary lo
have a standardized formal of item, sequence and dia-
loguc. This jusiifies lurning Ihe endeavor into pkl>-
work within ilcms and sequence complexes, with
attendant curifcular frcc/c. and Modem inanition and
boredom. This is entirely premature. I hc variety ot
alternative systems for compuier leaching have ihM
even begun to be explored. Should s t e r n s instruct
at all?
Rt spondi.* * M . p c fM t d i . -
Al no previous line h. il t a " i
^ r s : r s i K S S K :
Wc can m. CO-T**** rrevrnuimul
wo.HJccli.Hh. - her e
browse and ramble through a v.is v l -
pictures and appaotiom
rich data srriiciuros and lacuiov
These wc may call. Col.cc.ivdy
Responding resources arc of two . ps
hypcr-mcdia.
Ihe y
A futility is something the user may call up to per
form routinely a computation or other act. behaving
in desired ways on demand Thus j o s s (a dever ties'
calculator available at a terminal) and the Culler-Freed
graph-plotting system (which graphs arbitrary func
tions the user types in) are facilities.
Hvprr-mrtUu arc branching or performing presenta
tions which respond to user actions, systems of pre
arranged words and pictures ffor example) which i
he explored freely or queried in styli/ed ways. 1
will not be * programmed." but rather i/rvewi/. "
ilrawn and rdiii'd. by authors, artist', designers and
editors. (To call them programmed" would suggest
spurious technicality. Compuier systems to present
them will be programmed. ) l.ikc ordinary prose and
pictures, ihcy will be media: and because they are in
some sense "mulli-dimcnsional." we may call them
hyper-niedki. following the mathematical use of the
lerm hypcr-.
A modest proposal
The alternative is straightforward. Instead of devis
ing elaborate systems permitting tbe computer or its
instructional contents to control the situation, why
not permit the student to control the system, show him
how to do so intelligently, and make jt easy for him
to find his own way? Discard ihe sequences, items
and conversation, and allow the student to move freely
through materials which he may control. Never mind
optimizing reinforcement or validating teaching se
quences. Motivate the user and let him loose in a
wonderful place.
Let the student control the sequence, pul him in
control of interesting and dear material, and make him
feel goodcomfortable, interested, and autonomous.
Teach him to orient himself: not having the system
answer questions, all typed in, bul allowing the student
to get answers by looking in a fairly obvious place.
(Dialogue is unnecessary even when it does not in
trude.) Such ultra-rich environments allow the student
to choose what he will study, when he will sludy it and
how he will study it, and to what criteria of accomplish
ment he will aim. Let the student pick what he wishes
to study next, decide when he wishes io be tested, and
give him a variety of interesting materials, events and
opporiunilies. Let the student ask to be tested on what
he thinks he knows, when he is ready, selecting the
mosi appropriate form of lesiing available.
This approach has several advantages. First, il cir
cumvents the incredible obstacles created by the
dialoguc-item-scquencc philosophy. It ends the danger
io students of bugs in the material. And last, it does
what education is supposed to dofoster student en
thusiasm, involvement, and self-reliance.
Under such circumstances students will actually be
interested, motivated to achieve far more than they
have ever achieved within the normal instructional
framework; and any lopsidedness which may result
will be far offset by the degree of accomplishment
which will occurit being much better to create lop
sided but enthusiastic genius specialists than listless,
apathetic, or cruelly rebellious mediocrities. If they
start soon enough they may even reach adulthood with
natural minds: driven by enthusiasm and interest,
crippled in no areas, eager to learn more, and far
smarter lhan people ordinarily end up being.
Enthusiasm and involvement are what really count.
This is why the right to explore far outweighs any
administrative advantages of creating and enforcing
subjects" and curriculum sequences. The enhancement
or motivation that will rollow from letiing kids learn
anything they want to learn will far outweigh any
specialization lhat may result. By ihe elimination or
benign replacement of both curriculum and tests in an
ultra-rich environment, we will prevent the attrition of
Ihe natural motivation of children from its initially
enormous levels, and mental development will be the
natural straight diagonal rather than the customary
parabola.
Is It so hanf? sow I dea
c ai is said to be terribly hard. It would seem all the
harder, then, to give students the richer and more
stimulating environments advocated here. This is be
cause of the cramped horizons of computer teaching
today. Modest goals have given us modest visions, far
helow what is now possible and will soon be cheap.
Discrete (Chunk Style) Hyperteits
The nark computer displays now associated with
cai wifl give way to dynamo displays driven from
miDkoniputen. such bs the mnM. i>m 2250 4 or
Imlac ros-l. (The lest erf these costs only S I 0 . 000
mjwi by 1975 such unH will probably cost Si.OOO
tx less.) No* only will computers be much cheaper, but
their inability will i n p o w : a small computer with a
fair amount of uicumj y will be ibie to do much more
this it can now, mduding operite cncifdex display
frrm its owa axnpfc* data base.
ll is generally s u p p w d that systems like Ifaeae
big comrut ers aod n m r m r m o n o n c T h a i s o o t
true if we use tbe ctjurpmciM wefl, organize s t o r a g e
deverty. and integrate dal a and displ ay f u n c t k n s u u f e r
a compact o n y x This ts the goal a# T h e Ne l s o n
Orgamzauon's Project Xanadu, a system m t e i x k d t o
oompotB witb disk aod tape.
Some premises relevant to teaching
1. The human mind is born free, yei everywhere
il is in chains. The educational system serves
mainly to destroy for most people, in varying
degrees, intelligence. curiosity, enthusiasm, and
intellectual initiative and self-confidence. We
are born with these. I hey arc gone or severely
diminished when wc leave school.
2. Everything is interesting, until ruined for us.
Nothing in the universe is intrinsically unin
teresting. Schooling systematically ruins ihings
for us, wiping out these interests; the last ihiog
to be ruined determines your profession.
3. There are no subjects. The division of the
universe into subjects" for teaching is a mat
ter of tradition and administrative convenience.
4. There is no natural or necessary order of
learning. Teaching sequences are arbitrary,
explanatory hierarchies philosophically spuri
ous. "Prerequisites" arc a fiction spawned by
the division of the world into subjects:" and
maintained by not providing summaries, intro
ductions or orientational materials exccpt to
those arriving through a certain door.
5. Anyone retaining his natural mental facilities
can learn anything practically on his own,
given encouragement and resources.
6. Most (caches mean well, but ihey arc so
conccrncd wilh promoting their images, atti
tudes nnd style of order that very little else
can be communicalcd in ihe time remaining,
and almost none of it attractively.
books.' And this all ignores a simple fact: all arc
arbitrary. Instructional sequences aren't needed at all
if the people are motivated and Ihe materials are clear
and available.
Testing as we know it (integrated with walled curric
ula ancf instructional sequences) is a destructive activ
ity, particularly for the orientation which it creates.
The concerns of testing are extraneous: learning to
figure out low-level twists in questions that lead no
where, under pressure.
The system of tensions and defenses il creates in the
student's personality are unrelated to the subjcci or
the way people might rclalc lo the subject. An exploit
ive altitude is foslered. Nol becoming involved with
the subject, the student grabs for roie payoff raihcr
than insight.
All in a condescending circumstance. Condescension
is built into the system at all levels, so pervasive it is
scarcely noticed. Students are subjccicd io a grim
variety of put-downs and denigrations. While many
people evidently believe Ihis to be right, ils productivity
in building confident and sclf-respccting minds may be
doubted.
The problems of Ihc school are not parlicularly the
teachcrs fault. The practice of (caching is principally
involved wilh managing the class, keeping up face, and
projecting the image of ihe subject thal conforms to the
teachers own prcdilcclions. The educational system is
thereby committed to the fussy and prissy, lo the en
force men t of peculiar standards of righteousness and
the elevation of leachcrsa huge irrelevant shell
around ihc small kernel of knowledge transmitted.
TJie usual attacks on computer leaching tend to be
sentimental and emotional picas for the alleged hu
manism ot Ihe existing system. Those who are opposed
to (he use of compuiers lo icach generally believe the
computer to be cold and "inhuman." The leachcr
is considered ''warm" and human." 'I his view is ques
tionable on both sides.
The computer is as inhuman as wc make it. The
computer is no more cold" and inhuman" than a
toaster, bathtub or automobile (all associated with
warm human activities). Living tcachcrs can be as in
human as members of any people-prodding profession,
sometimes more so. Computcrists speak of Irccing
teachers for the creative part of their work;" in many
cases it is not clear what creative tasks they could be
freed for.
At the last, it is to rescue ihc student from the in
human leachcr, and allow him to relate directly and
personally to the intrinsically interesting subject mai
ler, that wc need io use computers in education.
Many successful systems of icachcrlcss learning exist
in our socicly: professional and industrial magazines:
conventions and their display booths and brochures;
technical sales pitches (most remarkably, those of med
ical "detail men) : hobbyist circles, which combine
personal acquaintance with a round of magazines and
gatherings; think-tanks and research institutes, where,
specialists trade fields; and the rcspcctful briefing.
None of these is like (he conventional classroom
with its haughty rcsource-chairman; they arc not run
on condescension: and they get a lot across. Wc tend
to think they arc nol educaiion and thal the methods
cannot be Iransfcrrcd or extended to the regions now
ruled by conventional leaching. Oul why nol?
If everything wc ate were kibbled into uniform dng-
food, and the amount consumed a( each feeding time
tediously watched and tested, we would have little
fondness for eating, But ihis is what the schools do to
our food for thought, and this is whal happens to
peoples minds in primary school, secondary school
and most colleges.
This is the way to produce a nation of sheep or
clerks. If wc are serious about wanting people to have
creative and energetic minds, il is nol whal we ought
io do. Energy and enthusiasm are natural to ihc hunun
spirit; why drown Ihem?
Discrete hyperlexis
Hyp e r t ext " me a n s f or ms of writing whi ch br a n c h
or per form on r e ques t ; t hey ar e best present ed o n c o m
put er di spl ay scr eens.
In or di na r y wr i t i ng t h e aut hor may br eak seque nce
for foot not es o r i nset s, b u t t he use of pri nt on p? pr
makes some bas i c s e q ue nc e essenti al. T h e compuv
display scr een, howe ve r , per mi t s footnotes o n foot not es
on foot not es, a n d p a t hwa y s of any struct ur e t he a u t h o r
wants to cr eate.
Di scret e, o r c h u n k style, hypert ext s consist of s e p a
rate pieces o f t ext c on ne c t e d by links.
Or di nar y pr os e a p p e a r s on t he screen' and ma y be
moved f or war d and b a c k by t hrottle. An ast eri sk or
ot her key in t h e l ext me a ns , not an ordi nary foot not e,
but a jump t o an ent i r e l y new present at i on o n t he
screen. Such j u mp a b l e int erconnecti ons become par t
of t he writing, ent e r i ng i nt o t he prose medi um itself as
a new way t o p r ov i d e expl anat i ons and details t o t he
seeker. The s e l i nks ma y be artfully ar ranged ac cor di ng
to meanings o r r e l at i ons in t he subject, an d possi ble
tangents in t he r e a d e r s mi nd.
The r e ar c a s cr een and t wo t hr ot t l es . The first
t hrot t l e moves t he lext for war d and b a c kwa r d, up and
down o n t he scr ccn. The second ihrot i l c ca us cs changes
in t he wr it i ng it self: t hrot t l ing t owar d you cause* the
text l o bec omc lout; , r by mi nute degr ees. Ga ps appe ar
bet ween phr as es ; nu.v wor ds an d phr a s es pop into the
gaps, an item at a ti me. Push hack on t he throt t l e and
the writing becomes s hor t er and less det ail ed.
T h e st r et c ht e xt is st ored as a text s t r e a m wilh extras,
coded t o po p in and pop oul at t he des i r e d altitudes:
Str et cht ext is a form of writing.
It is read from a screen. The user
cont r ols it with throt t l es. It gets
l onger and shorter on demand.
J
We l c o mi n g n e s s a n d cont r ol
CHOICE POINT
GO ON
I DONT UNDERSTAND
SO FAR IM BORED
EXPLAIN THE BIG PICTURE
DETAILS PLEASE
TIE THIS IN WITH SOMETHING
I KNOW
LET S GO BACK TO LAST CHOICE
POINT
GIVE ME MORE CHOICES
MORE CHOICES
I TEST ME
I DRILL ME
RIDDLE ME
I DRAW ME A DIAGRAM
TELL ME A RELEVANT JOKE
I CHANGE THE SUBJECT
SURPRISE ME
Performing h v p e r g r a ms
A hyper gram is a per formi ng or branchi ng pi ct ure:
for i nst ance, thi s angl e, with the bar -graph of its r e
lated t r i gonomet r i c funct ions. The st udent may t u r n
the angle upo n t he scr een, seizing it with t he light- pen,
and watch t he re l at ed tri gonomet ri c functions, di s
pl ayed as b a r cha r t s , c ha nge correspondingly.
Hyper gr ams may a l s o be progr ammed to show t he
consequences of a u s e r s prod what follows o r a c
companies s ome mo t i o n o f t he pi ct ure t hat he make s
with a poi nt ing t ool , l i ke t he heart beat sequence.
Slr cl chl ext^i l l s in l he det a i l s
Thi s for m of hyper t ext is easy lo use wi t hout gelling
lost. As a f or m o f wr ii i ng. it has special advant ages for
discursive and l oosel y s t r uct ur ed materials for in
stance historical nar rat i ves.
St r et cht ext, a kind of hyper t ext ,
is basically a form of writ ing closely
related to other prose. It is read by
a user or st udent from a comput er
display screen. The user, or st udent ,
cont r ol s it , and causes it to change,
wi t h t hrot t l es connected to the
c omput er . Stret cht ext gets longer,
by adding words and phrases, or
shorter, by subtracting words and
phrases, on demand.
Hype r map zi ps up or down
T h e scr een is a map. A st eeri ng devi ce per mit s the
user l o move t h e ma p ar ound t he wo r l ds surface: a
throt t l e zooms it in. Not by di scret e j ump s , but ani
mat ed in smal l changes, the ma p grows and grows in
scale. Mor e det ail s a ppe a r as the magnification in
creases. The user may request addi t i onal di spl ay modes
or over l ays, such as popul at i on, cl i mat e, and indus
try. Such a ddi t i onal features ma y p op i nt o view on
request
Queri abl e illusl ral ions: a for m of hyper gr am
A hyper gr am is a pi ct ure t hal ca n br a n c h or per
for m on request . In this par t icul ar e xa mpl e , we see
on t he screen a l i ne-drawi ng wilh pr ot r udi ng labels.
When t he st udent points at a label, it bec omes a sliding
descriptive r i bbon, expl aini ng t he thi ng labelled.
Or asterisks in a n illustration may signal j umps to
detail ed di agr ams and expl anat i ons, as i n discrete
hypertexts.
T h e st udent of ana t omy ma y use his light-pen as a
scal pel for a deceased cr e a t ur e on the screen. As he
c u t s , t he tissue parts. He coul d also t urn the light-pen
i n t o hemost at or forceps, a n d fully dissect the cr ea t ur e
o r put it back t oget her agai n. ( Thi s need not be a
compl ex si mulation. Many key rel at i onshi ps ca n be
shown by means of fairly si mple schematic pictures,
nee di ng a dat a struct ur e no t prohibitively compl i caicd. )
I l ypc r - c omi c s sire fun
Hyper-comi cs ar e per haps t he simplest and most
st rai ght for war d hyper -medi um, l h e screen holds a
c omi c strip, bul one whi ch branches on the st udent ' s
r e ques t . For instance, di l ferent charact ers could be used
l o expl a i n things in different ways, with the student abl e
l o choos e which t ype of expl anat i on he wanted ;ii a
speci fi c lime.
Techni cal i t y is not necessary
Pr oponent s of c a i wanl us t o believe that scienti fi c
t ea chi ng requires a ccrt ai n s e t u p and for mat , i ncom
pr ehensi bl e to the layman and lo be left t o experts.
Thi s is simply not true. Te chni ca l i t y" is a myth. The
pr obl e m is not one of t echnical rightness, bul what
.should be.
T h e suggestions l hat hiivc b ee n given ar e things that
s houl d be, they will be br ou ght about .
o n
Di ssecti on on Ihe scrccn
, ' k
KtMDX
It was expl ai ned on the other aide that
computers have no fixed pur pose or style of
operation. but can be set In motion on detailed
and repetitive t a s ks In any realm of human In
t er est as long as those tasks ar e exactly
specifiable In cer t ai n humdrum ways.
Now, i f you had a machine like that
b ur ni ng a hole in the c o me r of your office,
what would you r eal l y wanl to do wilh it?
You c a n ' t dr i ve it on the road.
You c a n ' t make love to i t . (But se e p . * * . )
You c a n ' t cook in i t , o r get the newa
To get it lo control elaborate events in
the real world r e q u i r e s a lot of expensive equip
ment and i nt e r f aces, so croas that out.
Yet s uppose you have an i nqui r i ng Imag
ination which i s not unl i kel y, considering
that you ore r eadi ng this sentence.
And we a r e also supposing (from an e a r
l i e r par agr aph) that you have a computer.
What s or t s of t hing would you do with it?
Things that ar e imaginative and dont
requi r e too much e l s e .
I am h i n t i n g at s ome t h i n g .
v a x rr k m s r t r o t t s
* U w y o u
>t"it**/
and I f t h i s I dea d o e s n ' t t u r n you o o a
t h e r e s t o f t h i s book l a pr o b a b l y n ot f o r you.
The techniques of picture, by
computer e celled con,pUr 07
taclu' 1 > 1 Una* of ne k l m
picturae by computer, t h . m e , ,ha,
pens and pri nt i ng machines.
The technique, of melon, computer,
present thing, lnler.ctl.ely on le
computer dl.pl.y- (Some esy "Inter,,!,, com
puter graphic;" this 1, 0, to. bu,
loo restrictive as mil: lmersctlve ten
re not "graphic" or pictorial. bui'tSy tol.
to be a profoundly import. an,. of computer
display.)
(Incidentally. the sUly word "interaction'
was coined because the previous word "Inter
c our se, - which meant exactly the same thing,
had r acy connotations tor some people. Cf.
"donkey" and "rooster." alao relatively recent.)
You will note that computer diaplay la
what makea possible the computer terminals with
s c r eens lhal we saw on the other side. All
thal a screen-terminal la is some e on of com
put e r display, to which a keyboard haa been
added.
You i
all tha dlffarot ooaputar display urainali .
you would han to andffntaid ail tbe diflcri
* * ly eormr a few han, I
sparely.
S w of th* types of ooapular display **>
CBT. or cafhoda-rey tube, diaplaya;
ihese are sty bnrtu be<ae th*
stuff cm their screens mmf be
aiiaaiad by tbe eaaputar.
Tidao diaplaya. which uee televiaioei
tachnlquas. Theee hare Inwbtaa
deriving b m (he way a TV pidun
panal diaplaya. I.e., Owes hldi i
> a Dal pnel. Theee a going
to be cropping up all over. (Tha
pictures can't aore nuch. but tbe
devices sre fotng U> te chaap-
P\m. too. toe* peopla think lhat's
vary kmpona)l.)
j-D diaplaya, especially c t lha CBT type.
NOTE ihls ter* reiers Mbigxmely
lo two different thlnge: setups which
prasanl O* views of three - dinenskeial
scenes. aid those which prwent
sisreoeo^ic views a i 1-D sctee;
Iheee are much rarer.
laap aynihaala or halftone tochniquee
and systena. Theee are naputer
i which
r phocographllke
pictures. (This happens to be a
favorite topic of mine. m d *> theree
qulla s bli on it here, s lot a i ehidi
la nol widely k m n in tha field.)
i t i L i o c u r n f t * M V l m * f . t * .
S p r e u l l , I n t e r a c t i v e C c u t r C r e p h l o . _
^ HcCrew, 11). Tour b a a l c t e a t o s a l l f o t - M o f | |
^ c < ^ u t r ( r a p h l c * (aad t b u a a s L a a t t o o ) .
Responding conputer displays
come in all sizes and prices. This
little setup (in the under-SlO,000
class) is a PDP-0 minicomputer with
hone-built display circuitry. Gothic
lettering data structure available
from somebody in the nilitary; mes
sage courtesy of R.E.S.I.S.T.O.R.S.
The big display is an IBM 2250 (over
$100,0 0 0 , including minicomputer).
f f i
T H
w-
Me?
t 3 H
s y ] t v
d/wIt
i s t e . y -
rtUff-j
* . W e
i k
K , p ;
4K'6+|THfy
r 1^ '
>
' l ' * ,rS V . - r - v
* t * r ~ ~ -
j i-iir (-t ry*v)
wWW T T * i - U
O u n O T
\ isl f o r
Gh k
r * * *
J W A YI W inf tis
So b s coaputer displays have to be deoply
attached to a conputer and soae don't. Those
latter we call display terminals.
A display terninal is like an ordinary
coaputer terainal (see p ): that is, funda-
aentally a device by which a computer and a
person can type at each other. However, dis
play terainal3 have screens.
Now, soae display terminals only show
te*t, just like ordinary printing terainals
(described on the other side). But manufac
turers are free to add any other features, and
so different manufacturers aake it possible to
do various kinds of pictuTe-aaking with their
particular display terainals, if appropriate
prograas are running in the coaputer that con
trols thea.
Soae dpvices are sold as display terainals
but actually, to further confuse the issue,
contain coaplete minicomputers. (The fact
that the aanufacturer may not stress this is
simply a marketing angle he has chosen.) Siai-
larly, certain terainals contain microprocessors
(see p. V*J), which means they can be prograamed
to behave like various other terminals, but ordi
narily they cannot be prograamed to do much else
by themselves.
Without getting into it deeplv, there are two main
types of display terainal: those that are refreshed and
those that are not. A refreshed display Is one whose
viewing surface fades and must be continually re-illed;
a non-refreshed display somehow stores the presentation
in the viewing surface itself.
T h i a h o n e y i a t h a GT - 4 0
f r o m DSC ( $ 1 2 , 0 0 0 , i n
c l u d i n g o o m p u t e r - - t h e
t h i n g w i t h t e e t h , b a l o u ) .
I t ' s a e u b r o u t i n i n g
d i a p l a y ( a e e p . DM S3 ) .
Man i a p l a y i n g N oo n- m m . m-m mm m
l a n d e r game: c o n t r o l
l i n g a o r e e n a o t i o n u i t h
l i g h t p e n . C o n p u t e r s i m u l a t e s r e a l moon l a n d e r .
R e v e r s e d u h i t e - t o - b l a a k f o r r e a d a b i l i t y h e r e .
Two major types are the storage tube and the panel.
These in turn have separate subtypes, etc.
Refreshed displays have to have some other kind of
of symbolic (digital) memory, whose contents repeated
ly go to the screen:
W l V H o e i ;
The computer diaplay screen la the new
frontier of our lives.
That auch eyutems should (snd will) be
fun goes without saying. Thai they will also
be a place to work may be less obvious from
lhe lone of this publication, so I want to stress
It here.
The Ihing about diaplay screens especial'
ly the high-performance, sub routining Kind
is lhal the screen can become a place from
which lo control events In the outside world,
Example: I believe a town In N.Y. State
has Its electrical system hooked up to an HJIIOM
subroutlning display (made by Information Dis
plays, I nc . . snd coupled to a Vsrlan 820 mini
computer). Instead of having a wail with s big
painted map having swltchee set Into i t , like
many such control c ent er s, the switches are
linked directly lo the minicomputer, and a pro
gram in the minicomputer connects these circuits
to the pictures on the scr een. Thus to throw
a switch In the real world, the operator points
with Ms lightpen al the picture of the switch,
and the minicomputer throws the awltch,
There are oil reflnerlea lhat work the
same way, The operator can control flows
among pipes and tanks by pointing al their
pictures, or at symbols connected with them,
and bingo, it happens Out There.
In another case, a person designing some
thing at a screen can look across the room and
see a machine producing what he Just finished
designing a few minutes ago. I wish 1 could
say more sbout lhat par ticular setup.
The true problem lhat 1 think Is emerging,
though. Is Lhe problem of system response and
st yle. Okay, so you' re controlling widget
sasembly, or traffic light g r i d s , at Lhe CRT
screen. The real queatlon la, how does lhe
screen behave and respond? Thia la not, dam
it, a technical issue. It's psychological and
then aome. The design of acreen activities
which will enjoyebly focus the uaer's mind on
his proper concerns-- no matter how peraonal
these may be Is the new frontier of design,
of ar t . and of architecture. Bul more of that
l at er .
Now, the Xerox Corporation haa said lhal
they Intend to replace paper (or, tha way I
heard it, "Somebody ia going to replace paper
with screens, and It will be either IBM o r ua,
so l e t ' s have It be us,"^
Well and good. Save the trees and stem
lhe grey menace. But the question la: what
will lhe system* be like? How should Ihey pe r
form? What forma will information take? What
conventions, structures, diagrama. animations,
ways to sign things, waya to view things . . .
HOW SHALL IT BE?
I am afraid that aa long as people are be
fuddled with technicalities, or confused by those
Who profess that theae considerations are ihelr
a pec laity by r i ght, we will never get st r a i ght .
lacking dme for the full discussion, I give you
a motto;
IF THE BUTTON IS NOT SHAPED LIKE THE THOUGHT ,
THE THOUGHT WILL END UP SHAPED LIKE THE BUTTON.
SAVING ENERGY WITH COMPUTER DISPLAY
A timely criticism of computer display is
that it needs electricity. But (as mentioned
elsewhere) it saves paper, and, importantly, it
bodes to save energy as well.
IF WE SWITCH TO COMPUTER SCREENS FROM
PAPER, PEOPLE WONT HAVE TO TRAVEL AS MUCH.
Instead of commuting to offices in the center
of town, people can set up their offices in
the suburbs, and share the documentary struc
ture of the work situation through the screens.
This view has been propounded, indeed, by
Peter Goldmark, former director of research for
CBS Labs, the man who brought you the LP record.
Non-refreshed displays simply take the symbols
from the computer, blaa them onto the screen, and that's
it until the screen is erased (by either the computer or
the user).
Student progixumner Alan Mafieil,
an art " ajor, ponders s&m thing
or other. I t may be the program
f o r t ha llova apace-game he and
Pete Rouell are building.
Alan also made a f i l m sharing who*
may have been the nations o f the
continents, shooting strai g h t o f f
the PLATO screen.
Sam PLATO pu r i s t s p o int out that
t his i s not exaatly uhat FUTO
uas originally intended f o r . So7
PLATO p aaal . d i a p l a y ( a a * DM 2 6 - 7 ) .
Maki ng p i c t u r e s u i t h eh GE
h a l f t o n e s y s t e m ( s e e p p . DM 3 2 - 9 ) .
m e w o N h r e ^ o f
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If you have not seen interactive coaputer
display, you have not lived.
Except for a few people who can laagine it--
and I'a trying to help you with that as hard as I
can-- aost people just don't aet it till they see
it. They can't imagine what it's like to manipu
late a picture. To have a diagram respond to you.
To change one part of a picture, and watcIT TKe rest
adapt. These are some of the things that can hap
pen in interactive coaputer display-- all depending,
of course, on the prograa.
For soae reason there are a lot of people who
pooh-pooh coaputer display: they say it's "not
necessary," or "not worth it, or that "you can get
just as good results other ways."
Personally, I wouldnt thing of trying to
Justify coaputer display on "practical" grounds.
So what if it offers you faster access to infor-
aation and pictures and aaps anldiagraas, the
ability to siaulate extreaely complex things by
modifying pictures, the ability to go through
complex transactions with the system in very
little time, the ability to create things in the
world almost instantaneously (say, by creating
fabric patterns which are then automatically
woven, or design 3D objects which are then auto
matically milled by machines), and never mind
that It enables the user, say, to control entire
oil refineries by the flick of a lightpen.
As far as I'm concerned, the matters
aren't very important coapared to changing the
world: aaklng education an exciteaent, rather
than a prison; giving scholars total access to
writings and notes, in new complex fora; allowing
people to play laaginatlvely, and raising human
minds to tne potentials they should have reached
long ago; end helping people think at the deepest
level about very heavy and complex alternatives - -
which confront us more ominously today than ever.
Most refreshed displays use an actual television
screen-- that is, a CRT (see p.ft*t-7) whose entire area
is repeatedly re-painted by the elctron beam.
Since computers send text out to terminals as in
dividual alphabetic and punctuation codes, each terainal
must contain circuitry to change the character code to a
visible alphabetical character on the screen. Such a
piece of circuitry is called a character generator. There
are various kinds, they go at various speeds, some offer
more different characters than others.
Display terminals generally have a little marker, or
cursor, that the user or the computer can move around the
screen. The computer can sense what the user is pointing
at by the motion codes it gets, telling where the user has
moved the cursor.
I had intended here to print a little directory of
display terminal manufacturers, but there simply is not
time. See section on terminals, other side.
Note that the term video terminal is often used, in
correctly, for any display terminal. The term "video"
should only be used when the screen is refreshed by an
actual video raster. (See Lightning in a Bottle," p.***-}.)
Text terminals (also called alphabetic terminals,
character terminals or keyscopes) simply show written text,
put in either by the computer or the user. (Soae terminals,
called transaction terainals, can be divided up into specific
areas that the user may and may not type into-- for banking
and stuff. However, whether that form of terminal is
necessary may also be a matter of taste in the progTan
design.)
Text terminals range in price from, say, $1500 on up
to $6 500. (This last is the price of a remarkable color
text terminal demonstrated by Tec, Inc., at the 19 74 National
Coaputer Conference. Each alphabetic position could con
tain a letter and/or a bright color; altogether the screen
could hold big colorful pictures made up of these bright
spaces. Ostensibly just a text terminal, actually the de
vice could be regarded as an Instant Movie Generator for
television animation. But it may take Tec, Inc. awhile to
realize what they have created.)
Graphic terainals offer some kind of pictures on their
screens. TKese cone in a great variety: line-drawing, some
without, some with levels of grey. Of interest to the be
ginner are:
"The Tektronix." (Also called "the greenie," or
"the green screen.") Tektronix, Inc., makes a
display based on a pale green storage tube they
aake. (So does Computer Displays, Inc.) Such
displays allow you to put more and more text and
pictures on a screen, crowding it all up-- but
you can't take the lines or words off individually.
"The PEP." Excellent (but veTy expensive) display
that comes out to a video screen from a high-re
solution storage tube. Permits grey scales and
selective erase. Princeton Electronic Products.
The IDlgraf (Information Displays, Inc., Mount Kisco,
NY). Allows line pictures with aniaation; interest
ing unit; somewhat less than J10, (fifth
A PLATO-like terminal (see PLATO terainal, nearby, and
p p i s now available for use with STANDARD com
puter interfaces and software. "Less than JS000"
from Applications Group, Inc., P.O. Box 444A, Maumee,
Ohio 43537,
REFRESHED HI Gil-RESOLUTION COLOR SYSTEMS. A number of
companies manufacture computer displays allowing com
plex grey-scale pictures, including color. They are
expensive but very very nice. Indeed, if you buy then
in clusters, these fancy-picture scopes can cost as
little as text terminals. Soae manufacturers are:
Data Disk. (Disk refresh.) Note: I once recommend
ed them to a consulting client of mine, who
later expressed complete satisfaction with
their equipment.
Rantek. (iw&MucV
Adage, Inc. Their model 200 is a video system re
freshed from semiconductor storage.
Costal. (Disk.)
Spaflal Data Systems (Disk.)
DlcomeiT. (Disk.) Extremely high resolution.
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YOUR BASIC TYPES OF COMPUTER DISPLAY
(Note: the term "display" is also used
in this field to refer to numbers and letters
that can be made to light up in fixed positions,
like on your pocket calculators. Those will
not be discussed her e. If you' re interested
see an article on the subject by Alan Sobel ,
Scientific American, earl y 1973 sometime. )
THE FORKED LIGHTNING
" Because t hei r words have
forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good ni ght . "
Dylan Thomas
The most basi c, and yet eventual ly the
most versatile, computer display ie that of the
CRT, or bottled l i ghtning (as 1 like to call i t ) .
It i s , you know: a beam of electrons, just like
li ghtning in a storm, but from the neck of a
very empty bottle to its flat bottom, whose
chemically coated surface we watch. As manip
ulated by the computer, the CRT stabs its beam
to all corners of the faceplate: forked lightning.
Computer display began in the late forties.
Computers themselves were completely n e w,
and so was Mr. Dumont' s magical Cathode Ray
Tube or CRT (see p.**&), developed on a
cr ash basis duri ng the war so we could have
r adar , and as long as it was around after the
war, we gol television.
But the li ghtni ng bottle, or CRT, can be
used in a variety of ways. Its control pl at es,
which move t he ray of electrons around on the
scr een, can be given various different el ec
tronic s i gnal s, causi ng the beam to move around
in different pat t er ns. In normal video, the
signals move the beam in a zi gzag pattern,
where the zigs ar e very close together and the
zags are invisible; the carpel of zigs covers
the screen over and over in a repetitive pat t er n,
and the beam' s changing intensity paints the
picture.
But we can d r i ve the CRT differentl y,
by using different control signals. For instance:
we can apply a measured voltage to the height
or "Y" plates of the CRT, moving the beam
to a given vertical position, and another meas
ured voltage to the sideways or "X" plates,
controll ing it s horizontal position.
1. EARLIEST SYSTEM: A LITTLE PROGRAM
TO MAKE DOTS
The earl i est setup connected a CRT to a
computer by t he simplest possible means, and
made it s pi ct ures with dots on the s cr een a
sort of tattooing p r o c e s s .
It was simple because all the computer
did was fur ni s h to t he connecting ci r cui t ry (or
i nterface) symbols specifying how far u p , and
how far acr oss the scr een, the next dot should
be. These symbols were actual ly coded numbers,
and the i nt erface turned them into voltages which
then moved t he beam cor respondi ngl y. (This
process of making a measured voltage out of a
coded numerical symbol is called digital-to-analog
conversi on, since (as explained on the ot her side)
the main meaning of "analog" t hese days i s "in
a measured vol t age. ")
Now, t hi s has several dr awbacks. One ie
lhat the l i nes ar e dotty; nobody likes t hat . A
more important annoyance, though, i s thal the
computer scarcel y has time for anyt hi ng el s e .
Here ie a fl owchart of what the computer has lo
do in i t s progr am. (Even if you di dn' t look at
the ot her si de of the book, flowcharts ar e nothing
sca r y. Th e y' r e j ust maps of what happe ns . )
2. LINE-DRAWING HARDWARE
The next step in desi gn is to get the com
put er program out of the busi ness of drawing
lines by a succession of do t s . So we build a
piece of hardware that the computer program may
simply instruct to draw a l i ne. As an interface,
il looks to the computer like four separate
devices: registers that tell where on the screen
the li ne must start ("fl rat X" and "fi rst Y") and
regi st ers thal tell it where to stop ("end X" and
"end Y").
O h w r e | o r o o 3
W e jA M K j / e . f t e
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Furt hermor e, and her e was the indignit y
of i t , this system took far too l ong. To draw
a line with t hi rt y dots in it took t hi rt y times
around the loop in the flowchart, and since each
box in the flowchart takes at l east one of the
machine' s rock-bottom i nst ruct i ons-- usually
more-- t hen the main loop of thi s di splay routine
t akes four separat e operations p e r do t , o r 120
operations for a st upi d 30-dot l i ne. Plainly
t here has to be a bet t er way to use an expensive
computer.
Actually it wasn' t just the ignominy of it,
but the fact that il took so l ong, that made this
a poor method. The amount of stuff the compu
t er could draw ln l/ 40th of a second end Ihis
t ur ns out to be how fast the whole pi ct ure has
to be made-- was too lilt le. After l / 40th of a
second t he human eye can see the lines on the
CRT s t ar t to fade, and so the pi ct ure has to be
redrawn to make it bri ght again before that
happens. If your eye sees t he pi ct ure fading,
then when the compuier draws' the pi ct ure again
you will see it get suddenly br i ght again and
it will s t ar t to Dicker. This i s di st racti ng, un
heal thy, and di sagreeable.
Note that the mo6l important computer in
the Malory of computer display used thi s tech
nique1, "o' hi s was the TX-2 at Lincoln Labora
t ori es, a hi ghl y-guar ded installation outside Bos
ton which i s formally par t of MIT. The TX-2
was one of the fi rst transi st ori zed computers--
per haps Mie first; and on it were programmed a
number of milestone s yst ems, i ncl udi ng Suther
l and' s Sket chpad, Johnson' s Sketchpad IV, and
Baecker ' s GENESYS animation system (discussed
somewhere).
This speeds things up considerably, and
allows the computer program to display on the
CRT simply by telling the device what lines it
wants drawn. Moreover, the program i s free
to do other things while each line is being
drawn, though this involves the problem of how
the program is to know when it ' s time to send
out another li ne and we needg' t go into that
here.
(Incidentally, it is a puzzling fact that
such a device is available nowhere, although
lots of people end up bui l ding one for themselves.
There was such a thing on the market a couple
of years ago-- line-dr awi ng hardware with no
interface and no CRT-- but it was withdrawn
because of reliabili ty probl ems. A just price,
if anybody wants to go into t hat , would be five
hundred to a thousand dol ar s this year. )
3. EVOLUTION FROM THIS: TWO OPTIONS
There are basically two ways to go from
this basic st art i ng point. Either we can keep
the display device intimately and integrally con
nected to the computer, or we can say the hell
with it and cut the display device loose as a
separate ent i t y.
Ivan Sutherland has cannily noled that
there Is a cert ain trap involved in these designs:
as we build additional "independent" structures
lo take the burden of display away from the
computer, we ar e tempted to keep adding fea
t ures which make the "independent" structure a
computer in it s own ri ght . This paradoxical
temptation Sutherland calls "the great wheel of
Karma" of computer display architecture.
It is tempting to cut the display loose from
the computer. It means the computer can be
fully occupied with ot her mat ters than refreshing
the scr een- - prepari ng the next displays, per
haps. Many computer people believe this is the
right way to do i t , and it is certainly one valid
approach. But unfortunately it also drastically
reduces the immediacy of the system's reaction,
making interaction with the system less intimate
and wonderful.
Approaches which put display refreshment
and maintenance in a separate device are less
interesting to me, and so that discussion contin
ues separately nearby.
On the other eide of . t he book, I explained
that a computer la basi cal l y a zippy device,
never mind how const r uct ed, which follows a
program somehow st or ed symbolically in a core
memory. Such a device we call here a program
follower. While programs may be In many com
put er languages all of them contrived systems
for expr essi ng the u s e r ' s wi shes, in different
styles and with different general int ent -- under
neath they all translate to an i nner language of
bi nary pa t t er ns, which may Juat be thought of
aa patterns of X and O, o r light bul bs on and off.
The innermost program follower of lhe computer
goes down lists of bi na r y pa t l ems stored in the
core memory, and c a r r i e s them out as specific
instructions. I t also changes its sequences of
operations under conditions that the programmer
haa told it to watch f or .
. The most powerful and responsive com
put er displays ar e those which build a second
program follower which goes down lista of pi c
ture-drawing instructions also stored in the same
core memory.
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We may call this also a "list-of-lines"
syst em, since the commands recognized by the
diaplay program follower a r e typically patterns
that tell it what lines to draw.
Typically also it has i t s own way of Jump
ing around In a program, and may jump to a
specific Hat of Unea, o r aubpl ct ur e, from numer
ous other parta of Its pr ogr am, always ret ur ni ng
each time to the point from which it had Jumped.
Thia -allows the same subpi ct ur e to appear in
numerous places on the scr een al the same time.
(A program that can be Jumped lo by other pr o
grams which then resume operation is called a
subroullne; (hue the r eal , o r most prestigious,
name for auch a device i s a subroutining display )
This design has some extraordinary advan
tages. One la that si nce the computer's program
follower and the diaplay' s program follower both
share the aame core memory, they can work to
gether most Intimately. When the user demands
something new by t ypi ng, s a y, or ^totaling
with a l ight-pen the computer can atep in and
take various actions. Ita program can compose
a new picture for the u s e r , get something from
a dlak or tape memory, o r switch lhe display' s
program follower over to a new picture it has
already prepared.
Moat importantly, the compuier can move
Images on the scr een, allowing interactive ani
mation on the screen un d e r the us e r ' s control.
Each time the display ia about to show the same
picture again, the computer simply supplies i t
with a new starting poi nt . Since the list of lines
1s typically in the form of sequences of lines
relative to one another, the picture is drawn In
a new place each time and t hus seen to move
on the screen.
This design has some extraordinary advan
tages. One Is that since the computer's program
follower and the di spl ay' s program follower both
share the same core memory, they can work to
gether moat intimately. When the u s e r demands
something new by typing, say, or pointing
with a l i ght - pen- - the computer can step In and
take various actions. Its program can compose
a new picture for the us e r , get something from
a disk o r tape memory, or switch the display' s
program follower over to a new picture il ha
already pr epar ed.
Moat importantly, the computer can move
images on the s c r e n , allowing Interactive ani
mation on the scr e e n under the user ' s control.
Each time the displ ay st ar t s to show the same
picture again, t he computer simply supplies it
with a new s t ar t i ng point. Since the list of lines
is typically in the form of sequences of lines
relative to one anot her , the picture la drawn in
a new place each time-- and thus seen to move
on the screen.
Finally, the computer itself is free most
of the ti me-- f r ee, that i s , lo do other things,
which typically i s always desirable. Jusl how
much the computer can or should do in such a
par t ner shi p is a matter of dispute. (Ordinarily
such devlcea a r e spliced onto minicomputers;
and minicomputer fans, such as the author, see
no reason not to perform all services for the d i s
play t her e in the minicomputer and a pox on
the big machines. Ot hers, for various reasons,
aee the s ubr oudnl ng display and its host mini
as needing the t e nde r ministratious of a blg-
computer vi a some sor t of communications line.
There ar e various reasons for holding this en
ti rely legitimate view. People who a r e devoted
to the high number-crunching capacity of big
computers, o r to languages which requi re great
big computers to r u n i n , have a right to t heir
opinion. Moreover, it i s currently feasible lo
store large bodies of data only on bi g computers
- - not because bi g disk and tape memories can' t
be easily attached lo lhe small ones, for they
can, but they usually aren't ; and olher ways to
tie minicomputers lo bi g stores of data aren' t
available y e t . )
Subroutlning displays often have commands
allowing them to display text as well as lines
and dots. In the diaplay of lext they can use
the same t echnique of "moving the picture" by
starting ita diaplay at successively creeping
points: this will c a use, say, whole paragraphs
to elide on the s c r e e n . The importance of
this feature in the displaying of text cannot be
overemphasized. As more and more people have
experience with di spl ays of different ki nds, they
are beginning to realize how confusing and di s
orienting it is for a screen lo clear and be filled
with something new to read. You don't know
where you a r e . On subroulining displays,
moving lhe lexl can give the r eader the same
sense of orientation he gels from turning pages
-- an important t hi ng lo replace.
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It must be a t r essed here that, Juat aa com-
putera themselves have no fixed mode or style
of operation, nei t her do computer displays; and
so the purpose of auch devices is almply
HELPING PEOPLE SEE AND MANIPULATE
PICTURES AMD TEXT
IN ANY STYLE, AND FOR ANY PURPOSE.
Since pi ct ures can be of anything, and text can
be about anyt hi ng, this effectively comprehends
the ent i re mental and working life of mankind.
Many reader s will scoff, supposing thal
computer diaplay systems will always cost Iona
of money. This i s not the case. You can aJ-
ready gel a beauty, wilh its minicomputer, for
ae little aa $13,000; and this price should fall
to three or four thousand within a few ye ar s
aa soon as the minicomputer manufacturers realize
lhal the market f r ont i er Is not in the office or
factoi^, but in Ihe home. But we' re getdng a
bit ahead of oursel ves here.
TYPES OF SUBROUT1NING DISPLAY
Some early subrout l ni ng displays used a
screen-dotting t echni que, but took lhe burden of
il off lhe computer itself: it would extract from
core memory the instructions telling it to draw
individual lines and show text. (I refer here
lo the DEC model 338, introduced about 1965;
this attached lo a PDP-8 computer (see p. *f3)
and cost about $50,000 including the computer.)
Others drew lines as straight zips of light acrosa
the screen; an example is the IBM 2250 di s pl ay,
introduced about 1966. (The model 1 of this
device buckled directly to the 360, and cost, f
believe, something like $75,000; its successor,
lhe model 4, buckled to their 1130 minicomputer,
the package coaling some $150,000, and then
you were supposed to attach It to an IBM 360.)
The 2250 was a good machine, but in perfor-
mance suffers greatly from the restrictions of
the 360 computer itself (see p. Vj ) .
Theee earlier machines are bei ng replaced
by new versions with better-designed instructions
(see "Computer Ar chitecture," p . 32. , for a sense
of what well-designed instructions a r e ) . An e s
pecially One unit is DEC'a GT40, which buckles
on the exceptionally One PDP-11 minicomputer
(see p . *'#1). The GT40 ia i llustrated n e a r by. ( f $ l )
Il goes for some $12,000 including t he computer.
(That' s today, we repeat. Consider not the price
at this i nsi anl . but how Cast i t ' s going down.)
The units mentioned above a r e of the most
baaic type: "two-dimensional." whose pi ct ures
al any given instant correspond to flat drawings
- - but , of course, derive t he i r excitement and
magnificence from t heir capacity to i nt e r a c t ,
change and animate what you are looking at.
H H W ' t . K f . J i f y i o .
Seldom haa an e vent I n a new f i e l d had a uch power and
I n f l u e n c e aa what dour I van Sut her l a nd d i d a a a young man Ythe
pe r i o d 1960-64. *
The SKETCHPAD s yste m, whic h was b a s i c a l l y h i a t h e e l a work ac
HIT. was a t once I n v e n t i v e , pr of ound, over whel mingly i mpr essive
to laymen, and d e e p l y e l e g a n t . Simply f o r t h e u n i v e r s a l I nf l uenc e
I t haa had In t h e c o a p u t e r f i e l d . I t d e s e r v e s o u r c l o s e a t t e n t i o n .
Su t h er l a n d waa one of t h e f l r a t pe opl e t o u n d e r s t an d t he uae
of t h e computer I n h e l p i n g people v i s u a l i z e t h i n g s t h a t we r e n' t
f u l l y c l e a r y e t t h e o p p o s i t e , of c o u r s e , o f t h a c o n vent i onal
n o t i o n of c omput e r s . While compute rs had been made t o do s nl ms t l ons
as e a r l y a s t h e f o r t i e s , and computer g r a p h i c s had been put t o work
aday d u t i e s I n t h e o l d SAGE syst em ( def en d i n g u s a g a l n a t b b t r l o
t h e f i f t i e s remember t h e good ol d d a y s ? ) , S u t h e r l a n d tu r ned com
p u t e r d i a p l a y f rom s n expens i ve c u r i o s i t y i n t o a t r u e d r s s a Machine.
SKETCHPAD r a n on t he 3 6 - b l t TX- 2, a o n e - o f - a - k i n d exper i ment al
machi ne ac Li n c o l n L a b o r a t o r i e s (a m i l i t a r y r e s e a r c h p l a ce nominall y
a p a r t o f MI T). I t had a d i a p l a y s c r e e n , l i g h t pen and l o t a of handy
s wi t c h es .
SKETCHPAD was b a s i c a l l y a dr awing syste m. But r s t h e r than
s i mu l a t i n g p aper ( a s some peopl e might ha ve d o n e ) , i t found s pl endi d
ways t o t a k e a d v an t a g e of t h e c o mput e r ' s s p e c i a l c a p a b i l i t i e s .
I n t h e Sket chpad sys t em, Su t h er l a n d looked f o r ways t h a t a
r es pondi ng c o n p u t e r d i s p l a y s c r e en c oul d h e l p pe o p l e de s i gn t h i n g s .
He p i one er ed methods o f dr swlng on s c r e e n s , w i t h such t e chni ques
a s t h e r u b b e r - b s n d l i n e " ( s s t r a i g h t l i n e on t h e s c r e e n , one snd
o f whic h f a l l o ws your l i g h t p e n wh i l e t he o t h e r r emai ns f i x e d ) , and
t h e " I n s t a n c e " a s u b p i c t u r e s t o r e d I n c o r e memory which coul d
I a l a r g e r p i c t u r e ) .
T h i s p i c t u r e v aguely
a i m u l a t e e t h e " i n s t a n c e 1
f a c i l i t y o f S k e t a h p a d ,
b y uh'ian an o v e r a l l
p i c t u r e may be c r e a t e d
o u t o f r e p e t i t i o n s o f a
s i n g l e m a s t e r p a t t e r n .
S i m u l a t e d u i t h GRASS
language ( a e e p. 31),
The mi nd- bl owi ng t h i n g about Sketc hpad was t h e way you could
move and ma n l p u l s t e t h e p i c t u r e on t h e s c r e e n , wi t h a l l i t s p a r t s .
One o v e r a l l p i c t u r e could be c o n s t r u c t e d out o f s hundred copies
o f a b a s i c p i c t u r e ; t h e n a change t n t he b a a l c p i c t u r e would Im
me di a t el y be shown I n a l l hundr ed p l a c e s . Or you c oul d expand
your p i c t u r e u n t i l I t waa e f f e c t i v e l y t he s i z e o f a f o o t b a l l f i e l d
( wi th you l oo k i n g a t a t i n y vie w I n t h e h a n d k e r c h i e f - s i z e d s c r e e n ) .
Or you could dr sw meshing g e a r s on t h e s c r e e n , and wi t h t he I l g h t -
pen (and th r o u g h t h e " c o n s t r a i n t f a c i l i t y ) siake one gear t u r n by
t u r n i n g t h e o t h e r !
T h i s e l e g a n t t e c h n i q u e , t h e c o n s t r a i n t . d o e s n o t seem t o hsve
been I mi t a t e d e ven now. A " c o n s t r a i n t was a r e s t r i c t i o n pla ced
on soae p a r t o f t h e o v e r a l l s t o r e d p i c t u r e comple x. Tha us e r
could move or ma n i p u l a t e v a r i o u s p a r t a of t h a p i c t u r e on t h s s c r e e n,
b u t t h e p a r t s t h a c had c o n s t r a i n t s coul d o n l y move I n c e r t a i n d i
r e c t i o n s , o r a c c o r d i n g t o c e r t a i n f o r mu l as , o r d r a g g i n g o t he r
p a r e s a l o n g , e t c . , a s s p e c i f i e d .
Th i s waa a pr of ound i d e a , becauae I t meant t h a t any r u l a e f or
t he ma n i p u l a t i o n o f p a r t i c u l a r o b j e c t s on t h e s c r e e n could be added
t o Sketchpad a s n a r t l c u l a r a w i t h i n t h e l a r g e r pr ogr am, r a t h e r than
havi ng t o be p r o g r a me d i n from a c r a t c h .
(One e xt r e me l y I n t e r e s t i n g a s p e c t of S u t h e r l a n d ' s t h e s i s , which
moat p e opl e seem t o have mis s ed, d e a l t wi t h d i s p l a y i n g a a t r u c t u r e
of c o n s t r a i n t s : t h a t 1 s , showing what el emant a depended on what
o t h e r e l e me n t s , i n s h i g h l y s b s t r a c t e d diagram t h a t the syst em could
show you. Thi s f orm o f d i s p l a y has r emar kabl e p o s a l b l l l t l e s .
A f t e r h i s b r i l l i a n t SKETCHPAD work, Su t h e r l a n d was made head
of AHPA' s co n p u t er br anch ( s ee " M i l i t a r y , " p . 8 9 ) Ther e he was
I nvolved I n many o f t h e computer f undi ng d e c i e l o n e of t he l a t e
s L a c i e s , which c o n t r i b u t e d t o t he i mpetus of c * p u t e r d l s p l s y .
( Hi s p r e d e c e s s o r . L l c k l l d e r , had been a p i o n e e r I n t i me - s h a r i n g , and
much o f t h e f or war d *>vement i n t he computer f i e l d i n r e c e n t year s
may J u s t have had t o do wi t h t h e s t r a t e g i c p o s i t i o n of t hos e two men
when t h e y were a t ARPA/IPT.)
Sketchpad went on a s a c o n t i n u i n g r e s e a r c h t r a d i t i o n a t Lin
c o l n Labs. Timothy Johns on, f or i n s t a n c e , made a v e r a l o n of I t t h a t
al l owed t h e dr awing of t h r e e - d i me n s i o n a l o b j e c t s ; t h i a became t he
f o r e r u n n e r of t h e v a r l o u a t h r ee - d i me n s i o n al l i n e s yst ems d e s cr i be d
h e r e a b o u t s .
From ARPA, S u t h e r l s n d went on t o t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Uts h,
whence he s l i p p e d o f f wi t h t he Computer Sc i e n ce de par t me nt c h a i r
man t o found t h e Evane and Su t h er l a n d Computer Co-paoy, maker a ol
t h e t o p - o f - t h e - l i n e computer d i s p l a y ays tema ( ae e p . J K V and p- J A) ?) -
S u t h e r l s n d 1s wor k h s s shown s n e l eg a n ce and I nven t i v ene s s
o u t s t a n d i n g i n t h e f i e l d . ( For I n s t a n c e , I believe one i s s ue of
C o m i n l e a t i o n s of t h e ACM had two unuaual a r t i c l e s by him: one de
s c r i b i n g an e c c e n t r i c ^ i n c s e a u c t i o n " sys t em worked out f or
s c h ed u l i n g use o f a c a s p u t e r , which b e n e f i t e d oc* ch* *y
p r ev i o u s method; and t h e I nfamous "Gr eat Wheel o f Karma a r t i c l e ,
where he compared t h e d e s i g n o f g r a p h i c a l comput er s t o the Hindu
syste m of r e i n c a r n a t i o n I f you keep adding d e s i r a b l e
t h e d e s i g n , soon you hsve a n o t h er p r o g r a a f o l l o w e r and a n ot her com
p u t e r i n t h e same bo* over and o v e r . )
| e y
How do computers make movies?
Well, first of all, computers do not make
movies unless thoroughly provoked.
In fact, only people make movies. But
computers, if sufficiently provoked, will do a
lot of it: enact the movie and photograph it,
frame by frame.
There is no single method.
All forms of computer display and computer
graphics may be used to make computer movies.
"Computer animation" is any method of mak
ing movies in which a computer successively
draws or paints the successive individual frames,
which may be done by any of the methods mention
ed in this book. Now, since there are numerous
methods of making pictures by computer, then any
method of making different individual pictures,
in a succession of changing frames, is computer
animation. So a "computer movie" is any film
made by, or with the picture-making aid of,
computers.
In other words-- it's no one thing.
Now, there already exist hundreds, if not
thousands, of computer movies. So far most of
them have been on technical topics-- the mecha
nics of satellite orbit stabilization, the
mechanics of explosions and so on.
Here are a few stills from some other movies,
more humanistic.
BI ULIOGRAPilY
Newman 5 Sproull, Interactive Computer
Graphics. McGraw, SIS.
This is the textbook. Anyone
interested in computer display
should get this immediately.
An expensive journal, Computer Graphics
and Image Process m g , comes from
Academic Press.
Sherwood Anderson,'' Computer Animation: A Survey.
Journal of Micrographics. Sep 71, 13-20.
Lists nineteen eomputer-animatlon languages
of that time.
Ken Knowlton, "Computer-Made Films," Filmmakers
Newsletter Dec 70, 14-20.
Instructions
for the desired
movie enter the
computer as a
deck of punched'
cards.
Vintage Knowlton, using BEFLIX.
(This language used the COMq u i t e
e f f i c i e n t l y : dots were actually
o u t - o f - f o c u s l e t t e r s . )
JoHh)
t o u r n e y
JOHN WHITNEY
John Whitney is the ancestor of us a l l ,
probably the first computer movie-maker. H e
is also a gripping speaker.
In the forties, he built a special a n i m a
tion stand-- using analo r computers.
Deeply concerned with music, Whitney h a s
in his images emphasized rhythmic and c o n t r a
puntal movement of shapes and lines.
Whitney films available from: P y r a m i d
Films, Box 1040, Santa Monica CA 90406.
John Whitney
J
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John Whitney
L illia n Schwartz
(with Henry Hagruj.akij Be
'onj,
Vanderbeek & Knowlton (using TARPS,
which shows strong influence o f
BEFLIX, which i t grows from).
L i l l i a n Schwartz
A talented artist with a feel for tech
nology, Ms. Schwartz has been working for
several years with Knowlton and others at
Bell Labs. Her films with Knowlton, mention
ed elsewhere, are marvelous. She now works
at a more permanent setup, a minicomputer
that runs successive images on a color TV
screen, employing a modified form of Knowl-
ton's EX PLOR language. The work is immediate
ly viewable. This allows rapid film con
struction,- not previously possible when the
work had to go through a slow animation
camera before she could see the result.
For Knowlton-i-Schwartz films contact: Martin
D u f f y , AT&T, 195 Broadway, NY NY.
SchDartz &Knowlton. Using the EXPLOR language;
they make pictures and p a t t e r n s s c i n t i l l a t e and
grow together. (EXPLOR i n some ways generalizes
Convoy's Game o f L if e ; see p . t y and p. DM 6.)
SOI
Gwsvs
By
n o w there are dozens of computer anima
.0n ^a n guages perhaps hundreds. Each one em-
P oys the techniques of animation which ita de
th wanted to use, tied together in the ways
s e e m e d appropriate to him. (See "Computer
g u a g e 8 > p _ and note Knowlton's various
an tl o n languages, deacribed nearby.)
h t*ie influential animation systems
J b e e n R on Baeckers GENESYS, a 2-dimensional
MTT^a t ^ 0 n 8yBtem Prgra Bed the late sixties at
th k l B h security Lincoln Laboratory. (It used
e T X 2 computer, mentioned elsewhere in this
book.)
Baecker, a cheery and genial fellow, exp re e sec
tereBt as a student in using the TX -2 for anima
tion, a nd w as allowed to. The system he produced
haa a n u m b e r of lessons for us all.
G E N E S Y S is a "Good-Guy system,as discussed
on p. I Meaning, in this case, th4t it is
easy to learn and simple to use. As argued else
where in this book, making computer systems clear
and s i m p l e is often hard for the programmer (and
may go against his grain), but is essential.
P I C T U RE S AND MOTIONS
G E N E S Y S makes the following alnpllficationa
of yo u r movie: all images are made up of dots.
They d o n o t change as you watch; animation con
sists of the images either moving or being re
placed .
T o create an Image, you draw it onto the
screen w i t h a llghtpen or a tablet. (Aa in the
SKETCHPAD system; see p . ^ 2 .J ) Parts of .the
image m a y be changed until you're satisfied.
Now, to create the animation, you do the
same thing. Each image can be made to move on
the screen; and the path of the motion may be
drawn on t he screen, through the picture area.
Not only that, but the timing of the motion is
controlled through the same diagram, by the
apacing of the dots. (Baecker calls hie control
diagrams p curves.)
L as t l y , sections of picture may be re
placed by meana of the control diagram (as
indicated in picture above).
H a v i n g created such an animated sequence,
which is stored in symbolic form in the com
puter ("digitally"), you can view it on the
screen, d e c i d e what you do and don't like
about it, a nd change any part of It.
T he basic elegance of the system la this:
Baecker m a d e everything work the same way,
through control by screen dlagrama. He simpli
fied the animation problem in s clear and simple
way.
Ron n o w teaches in Canada and Is into work
ing w i t h PDP-11- The results should be fun.
LYNtl SniT H
Lynn Smith is a young Boston artist
Yrked exLte?sively with Baecker's
GENESYS (see nearby). One result has been
a movie which should be an example to us
all: "The Wedding Movie for Bob and Judy "
(Her Friends Bob and Judy were getting
married, so she made this movie, a few mi
nutes long and quite clever, to celebrate
xt.)
This is my favorite example of how
computers should be used in the human
world; it says more on the subject than
any dozen articles.
(One question that remains unanswered
is how a system like GENESYS could have
been used for such a purpose, seeing that
most people in the field believe GENESYS
only rum on the heavily-guarded TX -2 com
puter. Regretfully, I can shed no light
on this here.)
are what you use to make ccxnputer movies.
Basically they consist of a CRT and a movie
camera in a box.
Mostly they are used to put text on
microfilm by computer, so generally they
are not connected to a computer but run
off magnetic tape.
This turns out to be very annoying if
you want to hook up the computer directly
to the COM, and make movies that fill the
frames spot-by-spot. For that you really
need your own movie camera and a minicompu
ter. (Movie cameras that can be made to
Start and stop by computer are called "pulse
caiuras" or "instrumentation cameras.")
The society for people who make Movies by
Computer is called UAIDE * (Users of Auto
matic Information Display Equipment an
obsolete title). It used to be a club just
for companies that owned COMa made by
Stromberg Datagraphlx, but evidently it haa
now cut Itself loose and becane a subsidiary
of the National Microfilm Association, 8728
Colesville Road, Silver Spring MD 20910.
(NOTE: for them as want to make color
movies, the two alternatives have been either
to have separate primary negatives combined
at a lab the "old Technicolor" process
or to add a complicated color-filter box to
a COH or other CRT setup. Such things are
available conanercially now, from Dicomed
a whole Color COM.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Coaputer Output Microfilm. $10 from National
Microfilm Assn., above. Lists available
COMs and service centers.
^ f Computer
f Output
f MIlf I ^ Microfilm
d e v i c e s ^
POT
z m
TXt
Mew Wiau<*
or
PLATO
irUm
i V j/C T )
0 0 . J -"i
0 1 & t . 7'
0 % "
P ? . ?* .
^ a i y : i ' ^ r c i / i ' i s . '
Anyuay, the M>rd i t a e l f
goes through changes irr
the G<une o f Life tote
P- I V . go projratmed
f o r the PLATO ay oten by
:>m:ny Slea tor, and phot
Some 500 users, a t ce n Inn 1b around che world
(but nost l y In I l l i n o i s ) , simultaneousl y t i e up to
big coaputer In Urbans. I l l i n o i s and savor i nst an-
tansoua p i c t o r i a l and t e xt deliver l e s on t h e i r bright
orange screens. Diagraas, explanations, t e s t s and
even animation of s o r t , flow a l t os t without i n t e r
rupt i on t o t he bri ght orange scrcens a l l over. The
system i s extremal? responsi ve: depending on what Che
user I s up t o . I t s various prograas can respond to
each presalng of a key. usually within a f ract i on of
a second.
While l i t e r a t u r e on PLATO 1* copious, i t Is
hard to read and s l i g h t l y ssl es- orI cnt ed. Cut a f w
PLATO t e r a i na l mke
t for the Systen anyone an i
PLATO I s the br ainchild of Don Rl czer. a I . of
I l l i n o i s engineer who has devoted ovar a decade to
I t a c r e at i o n. Michael Scrlven, no slouch hl nsel f ,
has cal l ed Bi t t e r "one of the great a n of our t l a . "
Bi tzer l a a l s o cer t ai nl y one of t he worl d's gr eat es t
aaleamen. A crew-cut, huggy-bear s or t of a fell ow,
ha Fl i es areund the world demonstrating, lugging a
great t e r a i na l along. Vhen you algn on che aystea
you aay be Informed that Blccer l a a t t ha t very mo
ment deaonstracing In Pari s o t Tokyo. This "t r av e l
l i n g dog and pony show," as PLATO s t a f f e r s c a l l i t ,
has creaccd awe and excitement wherever I t goes, and
t . :cre you m i l now f ind PL'.TO t c n- l a l s . *
I f you have a PLATO t e r a i na l you' presumably
being a school or ocher favored I n s t i t u t i on you can
ln pr i nci pl e log onco PLATO froa anywhere l n the world,
though aost t er al nal s st ay In one place. There l a one
a l n network, consi st i ng of a big Control Pata c ap u-
t e r In Urbana (the aodel 68 00; aee p. ) with ten
d r i l s extendi ng out i nt o the phone syst ea and the
educational TV cable of the s t a t e of I l l i n o i s . Vhen
t he Urbana syst ea l a "fi nished" and f ul l y losdad, i t
wi l l have 1008 ceral nal a; a l l are already spoken f or.
The PLATO t erai nal l a a cot al l y unique anl aal (see boa),
manufact ured ( al ] t oo slowly) by Magnavox, incorpora
t i ng a t e r r i f i c plasna panel b u i l t by Cornlnp,. (The
plaxna panel wag Invented liy Blczer, and even chough
auch of P1.AT0 was publicly funded, he I s reputedly
r i ch f r oa i t . We sai d he was a gr eat p o l i t i c i a n . )
In t e r m o f high performance f o r t o t s o f users.
Various systems (described hereabouts) offer
"ore pcuer , but a t huge aost.
-
Col
As a f i r s t t a s t e o f i n t e r a c t i o n
a g r a p h i c a l c o u p u t c r s y s t e m, PLATO
i be a t h r i l l i n g n i n d - o p e n e r * * es-
: i a l l y t o p e o p l e wiio t h i n k c o u p J t e r s
i o n l y behave l o u t i s n l y o r t h r o ug h
n t o u t .
monitor p r o l r ^ j * ' * with i t .
running on t hs CDC &B00 t i ng systea (sea p, V5">
does not run on an o t h - r ^ ^ !* *U **. I t
aiaultaneoualy with any 01^ ^ ' " ' ' or
a n i c a t a s only with PLAIO t ! ^ , progT 1 I t c a -
PLATO t ermi nal . , because of t hl i * " th*r *ad
c o a l e s c e m iT wl ^ j
5 E ; , ,
to get on eh, w a l t L ^ i ^ Sac
There wa, . t u . w t e n . t l ; . ^ * " Jau-*n>'-
Int o PLATO, but CId **
S i . p i S J S a
tlon and the aaklng of a a t a t l a l i for 1, 11110
r a 'authoring" Z s l U W s V i A l X
to believe PLATO could di e. Rot n ' rd
Especially cooalderlng t hat two aore
now being pt together: st Lowry Air Pores Base (Cnlo-
wi l l b t n^ t ai rld^ St * Unlw,r ,l ty- Th4t * * thare
wi l l be Whole other coaputers of tha CDC 6000 aeries
running che PLATO Monitor and ehepherdlng PUTT) mater
i a l s to uaara ac PLATO cerminale, unconnected t o Ur
bana, one for Lowry AFB and one In Fl ori da.
And I t won't end there.
Control Data, whose vested i nt er est In the aye-
rea (though they didn'c pay Tor i t a creati on) i s anar-
aous. Is said t o be projecting
ONE MILLION PLATO TEBH1NALS BY 1980.
Another algn in che wind: Houcgaery Ward haa me.
Now, t o 1 1 the PLATOsyst ea a "computer (repti
les systsm aay e e a aaevhac odd co people wtn know
1C ln anochsr guise, ss s aystea f or Caputer-Assletad
Inscruct ion (csl led CAI). But es the suthor does oot
like CAI In general, a t l east as I t ' s bsen going
P *Z-H~ and tscher l i kes PLATO, I pr sfs r t o des-
c t l be lc as I prefer co eea I t .
Nevert heless, t o underscsnd PLATO properly w
had bsccer consider vhac the psople have been doing
in ceras ot whac they think thay have been doing, snd
of fer any amendments or r est st eaent s l a t e r .
"OPTIMIZED FOR CAI"
PLATO stands for Progressed Logic f or Autouted
Teaching Opsraclons," snd hae been bi l l ed (and aold)
as s syst ea for eucaatcd I nst ruct i on.
I t i s , aost PLATO f anci ers wi l l t e l l you, "op-
t l a i r ed for Instructi on." ("Optimized," ln caput er
t a l k , aeans "Just whai aaebody says you need for s
paci f i c purpose/ ') As with any aystea, the leaps of
fat ch between l es basic design prealaea have becaa
l i t by alrporc beacons; clearalnded individuals with
e l t e m s t e views hsve di f f i cu l t y asking theaselves
understood t o soae PLATO ent hual sst s. But ths aest
basic underlying feature of tha ayataa, INSTANT RES
PONSE, cannot be quarrel ed with. PLATOcan respond,
as elready mentioned, co a si ngl e ksy-preialng by a
uaer, alaost inst antl y; t h i s feature l a vi r t ual l y lm-
poaalble, say, on IBM aystaam (but a j ^ b ^ , p. S"V )
This reaponslvnsss Is the system' s greatest beauty.
Becauee of the need f or high rcsponslveneee, i t
wee decided t h s t s l l users had co have Chelr part i c
ular prograas ("lessons") running In core at, tha s ^ h
t i a e . That aeant there would be no swspplng (bringing
in a a[ er i al s frcm disk n a o t y ) , which csn bring a o r t i -
fylng dslays ( l f a l o t of people need i t a t once): but
I t also aesnc leaaona have co ba very s a a l l . Large
bodlea of material, which would have CObe aoved ln
from di sk, are not allowed; thua each leasoe i s bsalc*
a l l y a l i t t l e love-naat that u s e gaaerste I t s own
act i on. Hence there i s so eaphssis on l i t t l e t r m i f s
t o respond vsrlous wsya. r st har than t ext which aay be
read ln quanticy.
Part l y because large amounts of t est cannot be
shipped to che uer, a l l c c l * PKUECTOS Is in the cer-
a l n a l . I t usaa a tiny ai erofl cha, or a l cr o f l l a sheet,
aaal l enough to f i t In the palm of your hand.
I f a PLATOauthor deeaa i t necessary, he requires
for hi s Issson, not Juat tha usa of the keyboard and
plasaa screen, bupi microfiche as well. Tha etudent
aust put t hs ai eroflcha in pl scs whsn he s t a r t s the
lesson; signala fr Urbana (or wherever) then j<^>
the projected iaaga aaong 2Jt di f f er ent iaagea, lo
raaponee t o whet the etudent doea.
Now, PLATO people are not doct ri nai r e ebout how
t h e i r eystem I s to ba used. The pies m screen can be
continuously shyi ng l i t t l e decorati wis along with
Che teaching material. The aieroflcha could be allow
ing I rrel evant works of a r t or t r avel scenes. These
are a l l f a c l l l t l e a a t the option of tha PLATO author;
a t him beck and c a l l . I f he thlnke hie prograa or
lesson needs Chea. (But I t ' s vmry botherscam t o here
the al croflche asds sn Important d i f f i cu l t y . )
Every terai nal haa che ecreen. the keyboard,
and t h s projector. Other options may be added, bow-
1. The touch panel, This Is s trensparent
window that goes over the plssaa eeremo
and reports t o the mein c o *wu r
I t has been touched, and where. (This
allows I l l i t e r a t e s , ampeclelly kiddles,
t o use the systea without typing.)
2. Tha audio dlak. Thle sllowe the termi
nal t o respond with sound, including
csnned words, t o the stodnC- ( I t
noc actually synthsslis the soiaid. as
discussed on p.
M1JI > (^
i ^ j l t h Pershing' t h i s Is a connector
socket that wi l l send snd receive data
froa a i a ocher device provided you
goc the r ight I nterface. Tbla alltwe
a l l kinds of other devices, M b as
i i i n est reael y general sysce-. D#,pU*
convsndon of c sl l l n* -11 * n >T#y
despiC. Ch. odd being told
elcher st udsr t s or aut n o r . ieMral-twrp<e
by PLATO s p o k e n Chat PLATO I s mot a l r . i
syst ea; a et usl l y, *t 1<-
MikM O ' t r i m , a Tol ki m fmaiMr, I m
pwt t t e entilrs IlrCeM alptmbmt certs
FLATV as a sp*rlal akinmit*1 ^ t .
San eJw ew eC m gtemm a ftwnm tamO^
to Cm ob > , both im t e U s t mtd
tltrimh.
i i a aaya i t I s t i e U r t t s amtf s w
poking amimi Ms m it*riat.
ao f e i PLAID lermlmala, l hat m i e f the terminals H t
u ba f ai r l y a t r i ct l y rentroIImd ( T h eight termlMla
ac the University of I l l i a e i * a t Chicago Ci r c l e , a t
Whlcb Ba t of theae p l r t e r m w i e l a t a , g------- J H i t
aa elght-hoer day.) The rims wmm e t e pmmple c a U
Jose Mlk l e , s i t t a n a t a terminal n d do efcat t kar
liked; now. eadly, each M r Met havn ea "accmMt*
Bel tbe rabble l e t a m l l ^ at lha g a i t a y
r - - --------v t to a a I t l e taka r a t e emt srt s af
t r i a l s h i to play I t a r u n | a a i ( h b a ) md
timber with m l a u r a t l i * symCM ef I t s p M l
l a d a a a . M M of ( I m wi l l hmea t e aeU.
r u n ' i eerri cee sre ~frae.* f a r m . That l a ,
i f ymmr school tae PLATO t eimlaala. aed IP I t wi l l pay
for tbe t ^ ^ B l c e i l a a e l i m e , I B t ha a a n u s s ef
tbe cemtrsl c < ^ t e r s n Tr ee - tha M l e e l gel I
PaMdatlta U l a l n l l l i Ita ^ e r a t l a lav cm^l a
of yaera mre. I W . haage, PUIO t r a l n g i l i a bm-
Jwi t e give T m U a . Ua f I LaI lam 1ira
to Orbeea fet Ci rcle ' a a ' a e l ^ s t a n l a a l e i m
t i w 110 .OOP a rmsr i m thamm n a u m | U km -
lag sharply; It la Ua FTIce e / t a l i ^ a fee
wheteeer Ihe PUIO h s i la F l a g l e be. a f a r .
PW'10 (em p < ) - k a I b m ' i a l d e a p a r l a f a
t o gmb a . k r -
Thls la s l l s fas e r r . ad o n e , f r a U t a n ' e
claim a t e ^ e eg> t a t PUTO r n e l a l i m i l <mm
a l t M . b e c a l d a r l a g t a e p a a ' a e r 1. a
meate' t ^ 1 1 a t b a .
Pubaga the rami p a l a La t hl e i n t h a m -
- , - -1 | M ef t hi a p a l T ma a a l f c l e ,
p ^ i s ' s l a m f a ths i | a a mup P l s l a U 1
Tte bar d a IS sma dal gaad by Bltsmr. The e o f t -
mlnd t a r i r ar a~t o he a h a a * ( a i m r ^ r r i t a b l y ca l W
' c l r a n * by M y * a s l a l t l m l l y l a n i m ^
by gi t s er . bmt svat msl l y g r a ' e t a dl r mc cl a of
others. In p a r t i / a l a r , a o - b l a l a g i a t a a d Pmnl
Tewasr ( p r a . ~Teasar ) crashed I t a a d a r l f l a g TVKB
Langnage. (Tot m I nr r odat l na tn n a p r er
eaiat e a ly a PLATO; amd PLATO w h e n may a l y a a
the TVTOk laguage. P a l T a m s c r u t l a .
Tbe l u m Lagnaga cam b a t ba ^ a r s u s d a
offered by I K a I t a u o o laatrmctuimml I t a U s , ^ . , , . . . ,
Coar mar r I t e r ' s a l g l a s l l a r a r a s ^ e l ^
co enable n a - c a p n t a r paopla, ampmrlaHy t a a c k a n ,
CO c r a t e drlll-emd-prsctlca l at r mct l nmal l a s a a a
rtn^bly of tbe tyja
t o , Jntemy. what le 3 * 51
f-ST* 1 10 Bo. 1
- ( i s c***: ]
(%vl oaly. by chewing t t e mabar t end pnablag t t e
kid a t y p a of pr obl aa t e baaa' t meaterad, t t e
c e n t e r can petlanAly bring s t a d a t s tn mastery af
vsrloos s l ^ l e s k i l l s , dLs^nslng e a k a ms s a a d
acrsselng tbe ImdlvUaal e l d a s t ' l p n t l a . Tte
dif f i cul t y Is tbsc s l t a p t l ^ to s i t a d t hi s a t b o d
a t af thm vmry s t a l e has g r a c p i t f a l l s a d a y
a t e v a be e or t t t el l e ( a a p p . J H I f l ) .
t e p a y , C a m a r i t e r a a p t f l i s t e d fay I B
with the IW0 snd t b e a f f e r e d p r ^ a t e r e e t a d a r -
d l a s c l a before cblags bed bam r bn ^ hr out- I B
i s a c Co b i a s for C u a i e a t i c a r ' e dafui macl aa,
they a rm J a c crying t o a t e s t e b ; fast ber a t e s
a lot of a car^ people t e l Leva Cpara arr l t s r ass
the a y i t bed to be, the evmlelinaery l a m a a t
usual for c r a t e r laageagM d l d n' t b a a t i a e to
occur. Aa egTeglas a l u l a : Comreamrlter di d aM
a l i a tba anchor a b t u e u to t a c a p u t e r H a l f .
That I s , prograa w r l e t a f or a a r l c s l cal cul at i on,
u y , cceiid not ba brought la t o last r act i omal a l a r -
Lsls at a aophlatlcated level .
Tanczar'a TUTOg chaged a l l t h a t . I t bee both
the v l r t a a and d*fate of be Lag or i g i n a l . I p p a r a t l y
l a t t a t deai gna l a laguaga of g r a t p a r a d spaed I
la u t t s r l r atrsnse t o c i ^ e t a r t a w l a . of f e r s v a r l o a
b r l l l l a t f u t u r e s , sad la In mmm Tea pec La g a l t e
Irr i t at i ng. It looks wr y eU^l e to t t e o a r bet
beyond a f a decept l al y a l a la t a c t e l g a s . I t haa
to be learned in coaeldereble de t e i l to do anything
Interesting, (lea bo*, ' I , I r t s-A
Thia t a l a haa, of coairsa, b a n elmpilflnd. U t
tar and Tanctar did not a r k a i m , bat r a t t e r a r e
laadera le a aeatblag c ^ a n l t y of dnsana of a r t
people working like blaaeaon t t e p r o j a c . I t tea
taken a a a fifteen yeara of i l c a e r ' a e f f o r t , sad Cams
of ml 11Iona of doLLare, t o gel Cte ayscen where I t ln
now leedy and Working.
Project PLATO sow eatenda f ar beyond I t s or i gi nal
da al n . Originally a f a i r l y clghc a c l e n s a t t t e
C^vucer-kased I ducal l a l e a a r c b Lsborstory (COL")
at tba D. s f t l l l n ol a ln Urbans, t t e c <^na l t y of flAIQ
o a a p ml a out through I l s l l u a to a l arger coast I t -
uency, the PLATO c a nlIT of a a r a .
(Indeed, thia utendnd g^pnbllc of PLATO t t e
a y a t a paopla ( l a p. / S ) U Drbana, the a t b e r a
and local a-ln-cbarga throughout the a ann r k camel*
t ut e o a af the meddat rookerlea of c a a t e r frmaks
In the a r i d . Uhare alaa eould y a find a l*-jwar-cld
ayat as progr^Mr wbo'a ted his Job f or t a ysmrs?
Uhera a l a would you a a p a p l e f a l l In love o a r t t e
Tal kaat t c (a PLATO p r a g r a Vtilch allows y a to have
wri tten c a v e r e a t l o a wltb paopla at ot her t e f m l a l a ,
wbarever they a y be) a l y to claefa wtaa at l aat
they a a t la p e r s a l I t e t a e l a can y a play a a a y
d l f f e r a t g a l with fareway at raagere? (See t e a - )
Where e l a c a a t i d n i a aayvheta ln t t e network elga
Into tamdraa of d l f f a t m t liaaaae In d l f f e r a t a t e -
jecta ( a a t of t ^ a l aodpl ece)! When a Lae arm p a
pla a r kl ng a v arl oa d l f f e r a t p r o gr e a for a l a a -
cary a t a t l a t l c s , s l l to be offered a t t e aaa eye-
t a ! >
be in Ti sivktu an f<*<
o a q u f r U ooneemeti.
PLATO's omOo devioe pomrfta
thm a j i a t a f<j rmspoitd to t t e
user wicA a spots* pfcras,
snatoA o f a a i n , or irVirani
i n a f n a t b m o f a a m <L
Ths my is r i fl disk i s forvOmr
tuntimB; a m a s s e d a i r stoat s
ths r a x ^ a s f to t t e aprfrmrf
^ 1 t t e disk for the rmplff.
F W T ( j h \ * 5
Hoonuar cm a Saturday in Urbana.
It's mm-to-man among tha craters
than a quick kill of tha unknown
adversary.
k hard end they play hard on th might y
When (he Author get s t i r e d of Authoring, or the
Student of Stewing, Jus t around the c or ner , a few
keystrokes away, are di vers i ons and games to boggle
the Imaginati on.
You can go to a program ("l esson r o s e" ) and
look a t "the g r ea t r oses" - - e l abor at e c u r l i c u e s gen
er a t ed by mathematical p a t t e r ns t h a t appealed t o t he
aut hors of t hat program; or f i n d , al s o t ucked In r o s e .
Conway's Game of Li f e (see wri t eup, p. *1> , and p i e r
Cure s e r i e s , nearby).
Then t he r e are gams you can play agai nst the
system, l i ke r acet r ack and bleckl ack. (These games
l e t you win astronomical suns of money play money,
forgot t en when you si gn o f f . ) Remnfcer, of course
t ha t you' r e not r e a l l y playing agai nst a cor-- 1
agai nst a s p e d f t c program, with I t s qui rks
shor t cut s and b l i nd spot s.
but
Then there a r e games you play by your sel f
accuall y respondi ng r esources (see i p. *e, i t - n) , which
e nt i c e you Into t r yi ng things out. Tenczar hi mself
has created, two e l ega nt , gem-1 Ike le ssons, man and
p l c t o . which teach you co<q>uter programming without
ever saying so. These two programs pr es ent the user
wi t h a l i t t l e p i c t ur e o f a man on the s c r e en , and
shfM him k w the l i t t l e man may be roved around and
nude t o pick up pi c t ur es o f b a l l s . From th e r e on
the student may have h i s way and i s ne ver to l d t h a t
h e ' s lear ning t o program a tr ue computer language.
(Though I t Is a q u i t e r e s t r i c t e d one, deal i ng ex
c l us i ve l y with l i t t l e men and t h e i r excur si ons among
b a l l s and f a l l i n g s t i c k v)
Another charming game, I don' t know by wtww, Is
c el l ed candy f ac t o r y . Here too the user may contr ol
the animat ion o f the p l ct or e by what he types. Ha-
chlnes a r e seen t o manufacture candy, box I t and
ship I f - depending on what butt ons you pr es s .
Some gams are played between people who s i t
together befor e a s i ngl e PLATO te rminal , of t en with
te aching I n t e n t . Such gams Incl ude the hop' g a m,
where Bunny (you) and Frog (your f ri end) add t h e i r
way along a board with numbered squares. Older c h i l
dren can dig Hw the West Was (l+2)M 3 . which Involves
grouping the nuxbers you get by chance t o t r y t o get
ahead of the other stagecoach.
THE "BIG BOARD GAMES
S t i l l another category of ga ms , though, M a l t s
the a du l t who craves r eal excit ement. Because PLATO
has so many t er mi n al s , a l l over, t here Is a curi ous
coeAInat i on of anonymity and Intimacy between users
( - - uch l i k e the curious Nonexistent Phone Hub er t
of Pa r i s ; In the French phone s ys t e n, people c al l i ng
the s a m nonexi st ent phone n i xt e r can t a l k t o each
ot h e r ; s t r a n ge bl i ndf ol ded encowuers occur a t the
MiMber o f The Day, spread by wor d- of ^>ut h; t o n t i n e s
these r e s u l t tn people r ea l l y ge t t i ng t o g e t h e r . . . ) . . .
Anyway, Ihe Big Board gams of PLATO have exac
t l y that*, a shared l i s t , or "Big Board," shoeing who
Is playing the s p e c i f i c gam.
But you do n' t have t o use your r i g h t n n e ,
In t h i s Jaunty socie t y of s ha dws , you pi ck your
own noni de g u e r r e , or f i ght i ng nane. This has ni -
erous advantages: the >lt obvious Is t h a t as you Im
prove a t p l a y , you can shed the I dent i t y In which you
have been humil iat ed.
The main gams wi t h Big Boards are t ha t old
standby, spacewar (rocket shlps wheeling and f i r i n g
a t each ot h e r and s l i d i n g aroiaid on the s c r e en ) ;
dogfight (bi pl anes wheeling and f i r i n g a t each ot her
and siTding around on the s c reen) , moonwar (shooting
VtA> fran your Bova spaceship in-
oludes perspective viau of where
you are among billion* of atom
and your various control*.
Tha navigation part o f ____
already working. .To get around
you need instruction; hars ue
are at tha Training Can tar.
Walcane to tha Hop Game.
PLATO often usee animated
opening titles.
Hare it is Bunny's turn. Screen
inatructa you personally:
''Press -NEXT- to Spin, enrrintruda".
a t t he ot he r guy by speci f i ed angl es as you stand
* " ! c r a t e r s ) . In a ddi t i on. PLATO of f e r s (net during
Marking hours) whet lajst be two o f t he K>st baroque
space-war gams anywhere, empir e (ei ght races (the
Vulcanlans, Kllngons, e t c . ) seek t o c a u r o l the g a l
axy) and nova ( s l w l a t e d navi gat i on w n j a l l lions of
d i f f e r e n t M a r t and s o l a r s y s t e a s , a l l of which may
be rcvl si t ed, a l l of rfi lch are d i f f e r e n t . . . )
People who only play PLATO gams occasional ly
have t o sign on. by t yping t h e i r ne ms I nto the big
board. (They of t en get sl aught ered by tha r egul ar s).
The r egul ar s hah. When t h e y ' r e signed Into the
s y s t e a , they have m r c l y to Jix^i t o a s peci f i c gam
f o r t h e i r f l g h t l n 1 nams to be post ed on the big
board. A mighty r o l l c e l l they make, t oo such gr eat
w ar r i o r s as yon Pave, l o t , f r i g h t p i l o t , AL 9000,
Sliq>son, doc, THE RED BARON, The Red Sweater, Tta
Cl am Pud, F od z l l l a, t i g r e s s , e n n a s al ad, Conan,
Si ddhart ha, wonder p l g l ! ! ! ! , and EXORCIST.
(As those Inst ders who hava a ut <Mt l c s l p i - w
t o Big Boards wri t e programs t o do the slgn-tsi , t h e i r
a r r i v a l tn a Big Board gam Is o f t e n an animated
s l gh-on. The cut est t r i c k i s THE RED BARON's: I t l o ^ S
l i k e t h i s .
THE RED BARON|
* ^ *
I t wocks l i ke t h i s . For dogf i ght , the t erai nal a l
ready has st ored In I t s t e ^i o r e r y m n r y , as "char
a c t e r s . " the l i t t l e pi ct ur es a f ai r pl ane s t hat are
going to buzz around the screen. So the Baro^ Just
f o l l w s hi s n a m w l t h the code f or t h a t special char
a c t e r . )
One last poi nt . No longer can you sign on with
an obscenit y: a l i t t l e obscenit y-checking prograa
looks f or t he usual e x p l et i v es . In case v i s i t o r s or
o t h e r pr i ggi sh folk might be looking. But of course
t h l a I s easy t o circumvent by p u t t i n g periods between
t h e l e t t e r s of your nasty wi r d, or something si mi l arl y
decept i ve to the poor progreij.
^itudTD'ee o r f(ATo -3MCF
Tha PLATO keyboard.
Vhat looks odd and arbitrary to you is believed by devout Platonists
to be divinely ordained.
PLATO IV- STANDARD KEYBOARD
mi tin iii ircircirami n m m w
EKMEI00B0000BBBB
S S E 0 0 0 0 0 Q C D B B B B
Hffiffl[S0000[I][D0HBB
TO HOVE BETWEEN LESSONS, the basic action is to hold <k*Jn SHIFT and
press STOP. (For further explications see Ina-And-Outa diagram. >
TO MOVE VITRIN A USSOti, basic actions are BEXT (to go fonaard or
tall the system it's its turn; BACK, which sane times returns you to
earlier points i n the sequence of your lesson; and six step-out-of-llne
options, by whiah tha author may permit the user to sidestep to ex
planations, enrichment notarial, or things oul of sequence.
F U T o j m p u c . t r s n t y c w R e - - m i i t t S I V * ' r - .
* " *' r N 1v*'* ^ ^ " 3 ' j .
The original idea was evidently that there Mould be a basic sequence,
in which NEXT and BACK would be the fonjard and back controls, and
the other six uould represent Help for the Confused, a "Lob" allowing
experiments, and additioml Data the student decides ha needs. Tha
three trttJi Shifts simply provided a second option of each type.
Bou the aut hor might use these, however, was his own affair.
TERN" evidently was for when students wanted things Looked Op: by
pressing TEfft and typing the unknown word, the student would get a
definition. ",ANS" suggested that it might also be used when the
student uza allowed the option of being told the answer.
Bote the arrows over 6,U,E,AJD,Z,X,C. They allow the student to move
cursors, draw, point directions, etc. Unfortunate confusion ensues
with the left-arrow on tha far left, used tn programing (aa in APL;
eee p. 71).)
ERASE allows the student to correct his input; COPT helps edit and
change things. SUP and SUB allow superscripts and subscripts;
FOITT MICRO is like a special shift key, going into whatever special
font is currently stored on the terminal. I have no inkling of what
the little square means.
ts iruem^To Tr?
*A tutor who tooted the flute
Tried to tutor two tutors to toot.
But he asked through his snoot:
is i t better to toot
Or to tutor two tutors to toot?"
Folk thing
The TUTOR language grew out of d r i l l - a n d -
p r a c t i e e , f or which I t hae a ccanand s peci f yi ng
where a s t u d e n t ' answer i e t o appear on tha
ecreen. Thle i a Che 'arrow* comand. The l a n
guage haa a st r ange ecanning s t r u c t u r e b u i l t
around t h i s ' u r i w - command, much ae the TRAC
Language (Bee pp. 18-21) hae a ecanni ng e t r u c -
t ur e b u i l t around parentheses and comae. Be-
ginnere dont need t o underst and Che scan and
the a r m c o n a n d , but Journeymen do.
TENCZARS CONCEPT OF A CONCEPT
Much hae been mads of TUTOR'S f a c i l i t y
for ' a nal yzi ng the content * of what etudant e
type i n . Act ual l y, of couree. t he coqni t er
does not "understand* what the et udent eaye
(see ' A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e / - t l ) ,
bu t r a t h e r o f f e r s c er t ai n e f f i c i e n t t r i cke t o
the person using TUTOR t o pr epare pr eeent a-
t i o na l me t e r l e l s .
Ba s i c al l y, TUTOR'a "concept* f a c i l i t y
reducee every i nput word t o a 60- b l t code.
The t echni que of reduct i on ( cel l ed a 'hashi ng
f unct i on ) supposedly eubet l t ut ee f or any
or d of any language a code of 60 b i t s (aee
Bi nary Pe t t e r n e , " p. 13), which meena the
prograa i n TUTOR can r api dl y t e a t a s t u de nt ' s
input f or numroue d i f f e r e n t poeei bl e thl nga.
(The power o f t h i s techni que wi l l be r eadi l y
recognized by computer people; unf ort unat el y
th er e i e no r o a t o expl ai n i t f ur t her here. )
Thus a TUTOR program may cont ai n ' concept
searches* t h e t t e s t whether a st udent typee
e i t h e r a deei r ed reeponse or n r n r o u s e l t e r -
na t i v e s - While i t may bm etr anga t o c a l l
t h i a a "concept , * I t ie a powerful t echni que.
Paul Tenczar 'e TVTOR language, t he pro
gramming language ineida PLATO, i e l i k e any
ot he r prog reaming language (see pp. 15-31) i
i n t r i c a t e , and unl i ke l ea r e a u l t e . Thet i e ,
a program baara no more resemblance t o what
I t doea t han t h e word "cow" leoke l i k e a c a .
PLATO l e a ays tern f or canned pr esencet i ons
t h a t reepond t o the st udent . St udente need
not know TUTOR. Anyone out t o pr epere such
pr esent at i ons must l ear n i t . howeveri and the
att empt hae diecouraged many.
Tenczar i e a former b i o l o g l e t , and had no
pr econcept l one from computer orthodoxy t o bind
. . . . j - , 0f TUTOR. Thus t he l an-
v. i g l n a l . There l e only rooa
b the fol l owi ng poi nt s :
To l ear n t he f i r e t atape In TUTOR-- how
t o s e t up dr 111-and- pract i ce lessons, f or i n
s t ance i s unusual l y easy.
To do anyt hi ng cof>l ex, however, r equi r es
you co l ear n t he bulk of the TUTOR language.
Thus when people say TUTOR le ' e aa y. " they
men those f i r a t st eps.
TUTOR l e not Ext ensi bl e, l i k e , say. TRAC
Language (eee pp. 18-19) or GRASS (aee p. **^l ) .
That i t , e pr ogr a me r cannot cuauxeiza the
language wit h new ctapound functi one of hie
own aaki ng. St epe are being taken t o cor r ect
t h i e j meanwhil e, i t l a sai d t h a t t he Urbana
people can be persuaded t o put in new c ma n d a
ot hare want f o r , e . g . , chocolate chi p cookies.
You can read t he et endard- el ze l e t t e r i ng off
the screen e t SIX FEET even though I t ' s
NO BIGCER THAN PICA TYPE. Fent ast i c.
The I nt er nal c i r c u i t r y t h a t draws on the screen
l a hi ghl y cepebl e. Receiving a 20- bl t code,
the t er mi nel I t s e l f deciphers i t aa
A LINE ON THE SCREEN, or
TWO STANDARD CHARACTER ON THE SCREEN
from I t a FIRED eher act er memory, or
TWO SPECIAL CHARACTERS OH THE SCREEN
f r oa i t a CHANGEABLE cher ect er memory
(which can be loaded wit h Ruselen,
Armenian, katakana, Cherokee or what
ever even l i t t l e pl ct ur ee e t the
e t e r t of t he l esson) , or
A COMMAND TO THE MICROFICHE PROJECTOR, or
A C0M1AND TO THE AUDIO PLAYER, or
A COHAND TO WHATEVERS IN THE GENERAL JACK.
Note t h s t a l l l i n e s and char act er s for the pl eeae
screen ceo be turned on (orange on bleck) or
of f (bl eck on orange).
PLATO'S HABDY KFTBOAFD is on a
flexible oable, cmn be uom
i n your lap.
tw- arwzi/tfw ---
Oiv e of
T L h T O
> tutf <*fj) ' 1
t iv*T
HftMO OAJ n f e UIHI,
AUTHOR'* ttMO-SHCE M.W, W)
G e f a * * + . < / h, n . i
* 3t r /* f l u.
^0]
And our doughty warrior looks to the
Big Board for more challengers.
Kids love PLATO gaims.
ToT
WllAT THIS I S. I b r i e f l y v i s i t e d A l f r e d B o r k | s CAI s hop a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a
a t I r v i n e on a c o n s u l t i n g b a s i s . Bor k i s a r e a l l y s w e l l g u y , b u t h e s d e v o t e d t o
D i a l o g u e CAI - - t h a t i s , t o t e a c h i n g p r o g r a ms t h a t have p s e u d o - c o n v e r s a t i o n s
w i t h t h e s t u d e n t . (As I ' v e s a i d v a r i o u s l y a l r e a d y , t h e p s e u d o - c o n v e r s a t i o n p a r t s
a r e n o t o n l y e x p e n s i v e and d i f f i c u l t , b u t s ome t i mes i r r i t a t i n g a nd o b j e c t i o n a b l e -
a nd h a p p i e r , z i p p i e r , s i m p l e r t e c h n i q u e s a r e a v a i l a b l e u s i n g v a r i o u s t e c h n i q u e s of
o l d - f a s h i o n e d s ho wma n s h i p - - a s f r o m mo v i e - ma k i n g , w r i t i n g a nd ( h e r e ) t h e comic book.
Th i s i s my r e p l y t o B o r k ' s q u e s t i o n , " n ' e l l , how wo - l d you do i t ? "
Th i s t i e s i n t o B o r k ' s p h y s i c s d i s p l a y s v s t e n T h a t i s i t ' s i n t e n d e d t o be a f r o n t - e n d
pr ogr am ( s ec p. 13) on a T e k t r o n i x ' g r a p h i c s t e r a i n a l ( s e e p . DM7 a nd DM 2 0 - 2 3 ) .
l e a d i n g i n t o a s i m u l a t i o n p r o g r a n ( l e e p. SB) a l l o w i n g t h e \ . s e r t o s e e a l l k i n d s o f
mo t i o ns in p h y s i c a l l aw. The p r o g r a n i t ' s i n t e n d e d t o s u p p l a n t u s e s d i a l o g u e .
WllAT IT CONTAINS: i n t r o d u c t o r y r ema r ks ; s t a t e n e n t t h a t p h v s i c a l law ( a s o f m o t i o n s ) s i m p l y
summar iz es c o n s t a n t c o v a r i a n c c s . Sor r y i f r e a d a b i l i t y i s p o o r ( Xe r o x o f a X e r o x j ^ ^ ^
j>n
You will note the artistic problem of composing cumulative animation for a display screen.
Some people have accused me of trying to be humorous. Obviously nothing of the sort was
intended. Research supported by NSF grant no. GJ296 (but "Mr. Natural" character
property of Robert Crumb).
,Homage to Robert Crumb.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: for comic technique, study the works of Crunb; also, comicbook stands are
currently featuring reprint magazines of Till- SPIRIT, which is some of lhe finest stuff
ever done. Also study Wally Wood in the early MADs.
n
MltC
*
THREE-DIMENSIONAL LINE DISPLAYS
So far we've discussed the two-dimensional
subroutlning displays. However, things do not
by any means stop there. A number of people
in the early days experimented with techniques
for drawing line pictures by program; the e a r
l i est of these uaed pl ot t er s. output devices that
let the program draw with a pen. Bul interest
soon grew in the possibility of Interactive three-
dimensional displays on scr eens. Johnson's
Sketchpad 4 did this entirely by program. But
ab night follows day, people set about putting
t hese techniques Into ha r dwar e, creating devices
that would automatically show t hi ngs in three-
dimensional views allowing the viewer to
rotate views of nonexistent objects aa If they
wer e on unseen t ur nt abl es. ~
The views we ar e t alking about, now, co
si st of br ight lines on a dar k Reid, and so the
"objects" we ar e talking about ar e called "wire
frame1' objects they could effectively be made
of welded wi re. But now we do not have lo
build them phyaically lo Bee them.
Basically a three-dimensional system of
this type st or es the lines as coordinates in threes:
endpoints of lines in a mythical three-dimensional
space. Each points location in Ihe space is told
by Ihree numbers (example showing a house
may be seen on p . ); a line in a space is
r epresented in the data s t r uct ur e by two such
poi nt s, and a code or something tying them to
gether.
The second program follower in such a
device behaves much as it does in the 2D system.
but with certain additions. Like the 2D system,
i l proceeds down its own program one step al
a time. Like the 2D system, it find9 in its
program the coordinates of a line to diaplay and
c r eat es electronic signals representing its end
points. Bul it does not diaplay these directly,
since theae ar e three-dimensional coordinates.
Instead it rouleB these signals lo what we may
call a view calculator, a par t i cul ar piece of hard
ware that has been primed with the angle from
which you want lo view the obj ect . This view
calculator, automatically and by mysterious means
which vary among machines, produces lhe view,
and it9 signals go lo the s cr een.
Let's say we want to display a point. The
displ ay' s program follower pulls three numbers
from i l s display list and notes the code that says
i l ' s a spatial point and nol the end of a line.
These three numbers slide on into the view cal
cul at or, already primed wilh the angle of rota
tion; and the view calculators figgers where on
t he screen that point should be displ ayed. The
coordinates for the screen telling where the
point goes in lhe desired pi ct ure go to the
Bcreen controller, and the point is brightened.
How ar e these coordinates calculated?
Well, some commercial units do it electronically
("in analog") and some do it symbolically ("in
di gi t al "). The result is the same.
(If you wanl the equations for t hi s , they' re
in the Newman and Sproull book. )
Then how does the view calculator handle
a line? Same thing.
The program follower pulls three numbers
from its diaplay list and notes Ihe code lhat says
i t ' s a line, so il takes three more. Then the
view coordinates of both points ar e calculated
and fed lo the screen controller. The screen
controller now he6 two points on ita screen
so it draws a line between them-
The f i r s t de vi ce of t h i s t ype was, I t h i n k ,
t h e s o - c a l l e d Kludge ( pr on. " K l o o j " - - computer sl ang
f o r a r i d i c u l o u s machi ne, but i n t h l a case a ppl i e d
a f f e c t i o n a t e l y ) b u i l t a t MIT'a E l e c t r o n i c Sysceoa
Lab o r a t o r y i n t he e a r l y s i x t i e s . Thi a devi ce was
a o n e - o f - a - k i n d , b u i l t out of DEC c i r c u i t c a r d s and
hooki ng t o a b i gge r machi ne. The ESL Kludge showed
v i v i d l y how good I t was t o have I n s t a n t a n e o u s view
c a l c u l a t i o n under a u s e r ' s cont r ol *
The first of these systems lo be offered
commercially, I believe, was the "Adage Display,"
made by Adage. Inc. of Boston, which used Iheir
unusual Ambilog computer (see p . *f.3> t0 f4* "
objects on the screen. I vaguely recall thal it
cost about $00,000 with computer bul without ac
cessories .
Actually Adage had a tremendous lead in
thia field, but they let it slip for some r eason,
and have now lost it to two firms: Evans and
Sutherland on the high end. Vector General on
the low end. (But of course things keep chan
gi ng. )
The Evans and Sutherland Computer Com
pany was founded In 1966 by Ivan Sutherland,
creator of the masterful Sketchpad system, and
David Evans, chairman of computer science at
the University of Utah. (For a time both held
appointments at U2 at the same t i n e , but now
both have left the university to devote full dme
to t heir dream factory in Salt Lake City. )
Thei r first product was an extraordinary
piece of hardware called the LDS-1, which they
said Innocently stood for Line Drawing System.
(To anybody from Utah, however. LDS means
Latter-Day-Saint, and don'l you forget i t . Evans,
indeed, is a Mormon, but I' ve been told it may
have been Sutherland's sense of humor that
chose the acronym.)
It should be pointed out that a special ad
vantage of digital perspective calculation la that
viewed coordinates can be read back by the com
put er , and serve as new dala, if you go for
that sort of thing.
D / I w i r -
I*. M- h
INTERACTIVE ROTATION
3D s c r e e n s a s i d e f r o a t h e i r f u n and e x c i t e
ment al l ow pe opl e t o u n d e r s t a n d and work wi t h
co up l es 3D e t r u c t u r e s wi t h o u t h a vi ng t o b u i l d them
p h y s i c a l l y .
The u n d e r s t a n d i n g , however , c ones f rom being
a b l e t o t u r n and i n < p n i i r > t h e s t r u c t u r e on the
s c r e e n . I f you c a n t t u r n I t you c a n ' t r e a l l y
pe r c e i ve t he 3D s t r u c t u r e , b e ca us e t h e arr angement
of l i n e s could be a n y t h i n g -
However, s yst ems l i k e t h e Adage and t h e Vector
Gener al and t he Evans and Su t h e r l a n d d e v i c e s all ow
you t o t u r n t h i n g s on t h e s c r e e n a s e a s i l y a s I f
t he y wer e on t u r n t a b l e s be hi nd a pa ne o f g l a s s .
T h a t ' s how you s e e , you e e e .
Thi s I n t e r a c t i o n i s what makes c o a p u t e r d i s
p l a y augur a new e r a f o r mankind, I f we ' r e l ucky.
( I t ' s s l s o why we us e t h e t e r m compute r d i s p l a y
I n t h i s book, r s t h e r t ha n " comput er g r a p h i c * , "
s i n e s people who mske c o a p u t e r s draw wi t h pens a r e
a l e o doi ng " conput e r g r a p h i c s " a r e l a t e d a c t i v i t y ,
b u t no t one t o change t h e wo r l d . )
The Adage Diaplay Is isometric. meaning
that lines dp not get shor t er as ihey get farther
away or longer as they get cl oser . While thia
ia marvelously impressive, most people want
real perspective; and it was this lhat Evans and
Sutherland set sbout to make available in real
lime, i . e . , In direct response to the viewer's
actions.
The LDS-1, weighing in at half a million
dollars or so, buckled to the PDP-10, a big
36-bit computer from DEC (aee p . ^ O ) . Its
view calculator worked symbolically (digitally),
and thu9 could work lo Ihe hi gher precialon
necessary for true perspective calculation.
Among the exciting demonstrations that
you can see altting at an LDS-1 ar e a map of
t he United States you can zoom in on . bringing
you in to a map of New J e r s e y , then Atlantic
City, then a specific intersection, all in one
smooth continuous motion. Also a simulated
landing on the flight deck of an aircraft car r i er
with you flying the airplane, so you can
go over i l , to the side, into the dr i nk or straight
at the c a r r i e r . In all cases the ghostly ship
will move, t urn and change perspective on the
screen as if somehow it were really there.
Several LDS-Is were sold.
Meanwhile a little new firm of young guys
in Southern California, Vector General, came up
with a line of terminals like the Adage line, ex
cept that they could buckle to the 16-bll minicom
put er of your choice. (In practice most of them
have been attached to PDP-Us; see p . VL-)
The Vector General display Is isometric,
and makes its calculations in analog, like the
Adage Display. It has been very successful a-
mong both universities and private corporations.
In addition, a highly interactive and well-
designed language is available for lhe creation
of data st ruct ures representing 3D objects, as
well as for general-purpose programming and the
creation of whole environments. And i t ' s free
to individuals or companies thal have Vector
General displays attached to PDP- l l a. (See
"Coup de GRASS," p.5H3/*)
But wait. Evans and Sutherland has now
dropped the LDS-1 and given u s - - no, not LDS-2,
but something called The Picture System also
built onto the PDP-11, but this one works sym
bolically (digitally) and in full perspective. The
price starts at eighty grand.
Since the Picture System works out of Ihe
PDP-11 core memory, the commands it follows
ar e 16 bits long, since t hat ' s lhe size of a slot
in PDP-11 core. But wait. They' ve designed
the thing to convert to 36 b i t s , so that coordin
ates are moved to a private store o r buffer be
tween the program follower and the display.
Thi s means lhe display can zoom and zip around
in the scene without bothering the computer.
UNFORTUNATELY, just to get through the basics,
there is only room to discuss stick-figure
graphic display here. But curved surfaces
may also be depicted, though usually not inter-
actively. See below, and pp.
Drawing by Ruth Weia a BE VISION program,
done at Bel l L a b o r a t o r i e s , mi d - s i x t i e s .
( W a l t Dia nay Pr o d u c t i o n s . )
Thi s program r e p r e s e n t e d t r u l y curved
s u r f a c e s I n I t s d a t a s t r u c t u r e , aa
" q uad r i c s u r f a c e s " t h a t I s , I nvol
vi n g power s o f two I n t h e math and
c a l c u l a t e d t h e v i s i b l e l i n e s ta ngent t o
t h e edgea from t h e v i e wp o i n t , t h u s draw
i ng t h e e dgea. Removing t h e hidden
p a r t s of t h e c u r v e s l a of c our s e one of
t h a g r e a t e s t pr oblema. (From Ruth A.
Wel a s , ''BE VISIOH." JAQ1 Apr 66, 194-
204, p. 201. *
Another Important feature of The Picture
System: it will do, not j ust ordinary perspective,
out such weird view calculations as wideangle
barrel distortion, pincushion distortion and
similar stuff.
Sutherland Evans
Courtesy
U. of Utah
The rules of perspective have been under
stood since the Renaissance. In olden computer
times (up till about 1B65) people used to do
three-dimensional view calculation by angles
relative to a three-dimensional data structure.
Then Larry Roberta at MIT noted lhat there was
a more appropriate mathematical method, long
molderlng in obscure text s. The idea is this:
If you sdd an extra dimension lo the dat a. It's
easier to program. I t ' s easi er because it be
comes a simple matrix multiplication, which has
no commonaense explanation but la important to
mathemallclana.
SO thal means that to calculate views of
three-dimensional objects, the moat usual way
ie now to add that extra dimension. Instead of
having a point in apace whose position la 36-24-
36 (in some sel of three-dimensional coordinates).
another arbitrary number is added to make it,
say, 36-24-36-1.
It seems that in Lhe mathematics of multiple
dimensions, it comes out simpler that way. in
deed. from a mathematical point of view the new
improved dimension is just like the other t hr e e .
For this reason, such an augmented system of
coordinates la called homogeneous coordinates.
Like homogenised milk, the additional coordinate
Is just stirred In with the r e s t , and out comes
your desired view calculaticm. (The formulas
are to be found In Newman and Sproull, Princi
ples of Interactive Computer Graphics. McGraw.
$15, your basic text on the subj ect .)
At any rate the additional coordinate is
often referred to. incorrectly, as the "homogen
eous coordinate. They' r e aU homogeneous,
which la why It works.
*
S .
m
y
z .
>T_
5
i

z .
y
s
M3t
G up &G R A SS
Impudent and p l u c k y Ten DaFant i was an a s s i s t -
a n t p r o f e s s o r a t 24. T h i s i n p a r t becaus e he has
c r e a t e d or a o f t h e w o r l d s h o t t e s t 3D g r a p h i c s l a n g
ua ges , whi ch h e c a l l s GRASS. (He s a ys i t s t a n d s f e r
GRAphics Symbi osi s S y s t e a a l a o , he Bays, i t Tur ns
You On. )
T e n ' s GRASS l a nguage i s an e x c e l l e n t b e g i n n e r ' s
c o a p u t e r l a n g u ag e f o r two r e a s o n s : f i r s t , i t i s e a s i
l y t a u g h t t o b e g i n n e r s , and second, i t i a a b o u t t h i n g s
o f i n t e r e s t t o b e g i n n e r s , i . e . , p i c t u r e s and g r a p h i c a l
ma n i p u l a t i o n on s c r e e n s . ( But c a v i a r e t h e t h r e e b e
g i n n e r s ' l an g u ag e s p r e s e n t e d b r i e f l y on pp . 1 6 - 2 5 . )
A p r o t o t y p e f o r t h e s y s t e n was devel oped a t Ohi o
s t a t e , en a p r o j e c t d i r e c t e d by a r t i s t C h a r l e s C a u r l .
Too had a f r e e h a n d , t h o u g h , and t he l anguage d e s i g n
i s h i s t b u t much o f t h e s p e c i f i c codi ng was done by
Ger r y t t o e r s d o r f , and t h e g r a p h i c s a l g o r i t h ms and r o
t a t i o n were p r o g r a m e d by Manfr ed Kneaeyer. I n s p i r a
t i o n was f u r n i s h e d by Maynard E. S e ns e nbr e nn er .
GRASS r u n s on t h e PDP-11, a s p l e n d i d mi ni ccanput er
(Ton s i a shewn on p . 36) and i s s p e c i f i c a l l y d e s i g n e d
f o r t he c o n t r o l o f t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l s t i c k - f i g u r e d i s
p l a y s on t h e Vec t o r Ge n e r a l d i s p l a y syst em ( s e e p .
DM \ 0 ) . Gut a l o t o f p e o p l e have w r e s t l e d wi t h t h e a e
m a t t e r s and n o t done a s w e l l - L e t ' s c o n s i d e r :
H. The l a nguage i a e x t e n s i b l e , meani ng t h a t t he
u s e r may c r e a t e new ecmnands i n t h e l a nguage a s pr ogr a ms
These cocxnands, however, may be us e d l n l a t e r pr ograms
as i f t h e y wer e b u i l t i n t o t h e l anguage i t s e l f .
I . The s ys t e m i s c o n p l e t e l y g e n e r a l - p u r p o s e . Many
g r a p h i c s l a n g u a g e s a r e n o t , bei ng r e s t r i c t e d o n l y t o
t h e i r o r i g i n a l pur pos e- Thi s i s more d i f f i c u l t , b u t oh,
ao much more wor t hwhi l e.
3 . ITS DEEP g e n e r a l i t y . Thi ngs shoul d b e v e r s a t i l e ,
and a b l e t o be t i e d t o g e t h e r i n many d i f f e r e n t ways. T h i s l a
what we mean by " g e n e r a l i t y i * and t h i s ki nd o f g e n e r a l i t y can
make a syst em v e r y p o w e r f u l . (The t erm i n ma t h e ma t i c s i 8
" e l e g a n c e . * ) As i s s a i d on t he o t h e r s i d e o f t h e book, c o t -
p l i c a t e d n e s s i s n o t g e n e r a l i t y or goodness o r p o we r , b u t a
s i g n o f t h e d e s i g n e r s s h a l l o wn e s s .
Anyway, GRASS h a s t h i s ki nd o f g e n e r a l i t y . I t h a s a
g r e a t number o f f a c i l i t i e s , growi ng wee kl y, and t h e y a l l t i e
t o g e t h e r i n c l e a r and p r e d i c t a b l e ways, wi t h o u t e x c e p t i o n s .
Ra t he r t ha n c r e a t e s p e c i a l f u n c t i o n s whi ch c a n n o t b e t i e d t o
g e t h e r , Young Doct or DeFant i ha s chosen i n s t e a d t o make t h e
s e p a r a t e d e s i r a b l e f u n c t i o n s p a r t of a si mpl e and c l e a r l a n
guage. (A n o t e t o you e l e g a n t t ype s : GRASS i s f u l l y r e c u r s i v e .
As a n i c e exampl e, Dan Sandi n ( see p. S*| &) wr o t e a pr ogram t o
d i s p l a y Peano l i n e s t h a t was under f o r t y GRASS i n s t r u c t i o n s
l ong, i t i s a l s o a s t o n i s h i n g l y r e v e r s i b l e : you can wat ch i t
u n c r e a t e t he Peano l i n e , s t r a i g h t e n i n g i t s e l f ba c k wa r d . )
I n t he more u s u a l s e n s e , D e F a n t i ' s l a nguage i s not
t he 'mos t a d v a n c e d ' ) t h e r e a r e more power f ul 3D s y s t e ms
th an t h e Vec t or G e n e r a l ( t h e LDS-1, s e e p. J ) * ) , o f f e r s
t r u e p e r s p e c t i v e ) , more e l e g a n t u s e r - l e v e l l a n g u a g e s
(see TRAC Language and APL, O t h e r s i d e ) , t r u e h a l f t o n e
( t ha Wat ki ns Box) i y e t h i s a chi evement on c l o s e exami na
t i o n i s e x t r a o r d i n a r y . Never mind h i s a g e , t h e more e s o -
t e r i c f e a t u r e s o f h i s syst em ( f u l l r e c u r s i v e n e s s , e t c . )
or t he f a c t t h a t h e doe s n o t seem t o have made e n e m i s
t a k e , whi ch i s I n f u r i a t i n g . Cons i der o n l y t h i s : TOM DE
FANTI'S 'GRASS' LANGUAGE IS PERHAPS THE ONLY SYSTEM THAT
CAN BE TAUGOT IN A PEW HOURS TO COMPUTER-NAIVE BEGINNERS
THAT PERMITS FULL THREE-DIMENSIONAL ANIMATED INTERACTIVE
GRAPHICS WITH TREE-STRUCTURED DATA.
1. ITS CLEAR SIMPLICITY. Tom b e l i e v e s co mp ut e r s
a r e f o r ever ybodyi he i e n o t a h i g h p r i e s t b e n t on mak
i n g t h i n g s o b s c u r e ( see Cy b e r cr ud, " p . 8 ) . Thus he
made h i s l anguage as s e n s i b l e , c l e a r and easy t o l e a r n
as p o s s i b l e . Tom l i k e s t o s t r e s s t he c on c e p t o f " h a b i t
a b i l i t y * ( a t er m o f W. C. Wa t t ) , meani ng t h e c o z i n e s s o f a
aye t e a .
2 . ITS GENERALITY. R e f i n i n g and condens i ng t h e
b ^ s . c i d e a s o f a syst em i s t h e h a r d e s t p a r t o f t h e d e
s i g n . DeFant i made s e v e r a l i n t e r e s t i n g d e c i s i o n s .
A. The i n t e . - n a l f orm of t h e l anguage 1b
ASCII code ( s ee p . "* ) . I n o t h e r wor ds , you
r ea d pr ograms i n t h e i r f i n a l GRASS form-
B. Fo r a t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l syst em s uc h
as t h e Vec t or G e n e r a l , t h e main form o f d a t a
s t r u c t u r e i s t h e t h r e e - d i m e n s l o n a 1 o b j e c t a
l i s t o f p o i n t s and l i n e s i n s pa ce . T h i s i s t he
form of d a t a GRASS u s e s f o r most p u r p o s e s .
C. I n t h e d e s i g n e f such a syst em you
want l a r g e r 3D o b j e c t s t o be b u i l d a b l e o u t o f
s ma l l e r o n e s . T h i s l i l i e s a r r a n g i n g d a t a
i n t r e e s t r u c t u r e s ( s e e p . 2.*) ) You a l a o
want t o be a b l e t o make t h i n g s do compound mo
t i o n s on t h e s c r e e n f o r exampl e, showi ng an
a i r p l a n e f l y i n g aro u n d on t h e s c r e e n wi t h i t s
p r o p e l l o r s p i n n i n g ) t h i a t oo i m p l i e s a t r e e s t r u c
t u r e . Ther e a r e s a n e p r o gr a ms e r s who would use
d i f f e r e n t t r e e s t r u c t u r e s l o r bot h o b j e c t s gr oup
ed t o g e t h e r and f o r movements gr ouped t o g e t h e r i
Ton uses ene.
D. O b j e c t s shown on Tcm's syst em can a l s o
appear t o move en c o mp l i c a t e d pa t h s t h r o u g h t h r e e -
d i me ns i ona l s p a c e - I n Tom' s s ys t e m, such a p a t h i a
merely a n o t h e r o b j e c t . I t seems obvi ous when you
say i t , y e t t h i s k i n d o f s i n g l e g a n e r a l i t y i s e x
a c t l y what many pr ogrammers seem t o a v o i d . ( Net e:
t h i s f a c i l i t y i s a g e n e r a l i z a t i o n o f B a e c k e r ' s p -
curver eee p . j u ^ t j ) .
E. I n p u t d e v i c e s a r e c ompl e t el y a r b i t r a r y and
prograBBAbl e. What happens o r t h e s c r e e n can be c on
t r o l l e d b y a n y t h i n g any v a r i a b l e ( see p . \(o ) i n
t he p r o g r a a a i n g l a n g u a g e . I n o t h e r words, DeFant i
has decoupl ed t h e s c r e e n f r a a any p a r t i c u l a r form o f
c o n t r o l , a l l o wi n g u s e r pr ograms t o make t h e c o n n e c t
i o n between c o n t r o l s and c ons equences . T h i s means
t h a t , u s i n g T o n ' s l a n g u a g e , i t i s c c m p a r a t i v e l y e a s y
t o b u i l d c cn p l e x cust om c o n t r o l s f o r any f u n c t i o n .
(Thia i s d i s c u s s e d under " P a n t i e s , " *
F. The l anguage h a s s t r i n g f u n c t i o n s t h a t a l l o w
t e x t h a n d l i n g . S i n ce t h e l anguage may a l s o us e con
v e r s a t i o n a l t e r m i n a l s , i t i a emi ne nt l y s u i t e d f o r
*good-guy" i n t e r a c t i v e s y s t e ms f o r na i ve u s e r s , as
de s cr i b e d on p p . 1 2- 13.
G- Tcm's l a nguage i s i n t e r p r e t i v e , l i k e TRAC
Language ( s ee p . 3 0 ) . T h a t means i t i s sl ow* i n t e r ms
o f t he number e f machi ne c y c l e s r e q u i r e d f o r i t t o de
each o p e r a t i o n . However, DeFant i has added a * c -
p i l e f e a t u r e t o t h e l an g u age , so t h a t f o r l ong macros
( s e c t i o n s o f program) t h a t have t o r un r e p e t i t i v e l y , more
e f f i c i e n t c a a p i l e d v e r s i o n s o f t h e macros may be ge n e
r a t e d .
T m v / M P W M - W i e c t 't &
m ' t 3j>
Tom DeFanti. ShotJs part
o f hemoglobin molecule.
Data structure from
Richard J. Feldmarm, NIH.
Much of t o d a y ' s i m p e t u s f or 3D comput e r
d i s p l a y i s c omi ng f rom t h e f i e l d of c h e m i s t r y .
Un i v e r s i t y c h e mi s t r y d e p a r t m e n t s a r e b u y i n g
e q u i p me n t l i k e t h e Evans I S u t h e r l a n d LDS- 1,
I he Adage a nd t he Vec t or G e n e r a l .
Why?
Because c h e mi s t r y i s i n c r e a s i n g l y i n v o l
v e d wi t h compl ex t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s .
C r y s t a l s , l ong f o l d i n g c h a i n mo l e c u l e s , mi nus
c u l e f or c es a c t i n g on s t r u c t u r e s whos e s h a p e
de t e r mi n e s t he out come. O r g a n i c mol ecul es
t h a t i nvol ve t h o u s a n d s of a t o m s , a n d whose
c ompl e x f ol ded s t r u c t u r e e x p o s e s o n l y c e r t a i n
ke y f e a t u r e s . And so on.
T h e Vect or Ge n e r a l d i s p l a y i l l u s t r a t e d
h e r e a nd t h e r e o n t h e s e p a g e s b e l o n g s t o t h e
Depa r t ment of C h e m i s t r y , U n i v e r s i t y o f I l l i noi s
at Chi ca go Ci r c l e .
^ I coi ned t h e t er m f a n t i c s , f o r t h e a r t and t e c h n o l o g y o f
showing t h i n g s , l o n g b e f o r e I e ver h e ar d o f Tan D e F a n t i ,
a n) I am not a bout t o change i t j u s t because h e i s now my
f r i e n d and t o c B U t a .
i t 111 ! ' c u r r e n t l y v . U b l . .
PDP-11 owners even w i t h o u t V e c t o r Ge n e r a l d i s p l a y s
a y i n q u i r e o f : Ton DeF ant i , Do c t o r o f A r t s Pr ogr am, UICC,
Chi ca go I I 60660. uj.cc.
You may wonder how a young b r o n k l n g buck l i k e DeFant i
ha s managed t o de s uch an e x c e l l e n t j o b , s o e l e g a n t l y , where
s o many have s t i mbl e d and f a i l e d ?
- I j u s t l e a r n f r o e t h e r p e o p l e ' s m i s t a k e s , * h e s a y s
c h e e r i l y .
P r o f . D e F a n t i
on t h e a y e t e m .
MISCELUmY:
Coupl i ng h i a syst em wi t h t h a t o f Dan Sandi n ( p DMff )
h a s c r e a t e d t h e " C i r c l e Gr a phi c s H a b i t a t , " d e s c r i b e d p ,
I hope I ' m around l ong enough t o w r i t e t h e GRASS l a n
guage manual .
( De F a n t i ' s GRASS i s an i d e a l l anguage f o r s o u t h i n g l i k e
t h e 3D Thi nke r t o y , d e s c r i b e d on . However, i t d o e s n ' t
have any p r o v i s i o n f o r t h e s t o r a g e o f l a r g e c o p i e s d a t a
S t r u c t u r e s , s o t h e ha r d p a r t woul d a c t u a l l y b e worki ng o u t an
a d e q u a t e s t o r a g e d a t a s t r u c t u r e a nd s t o r a g e macr os w i t h i n
GRASS'S use of t he DEC f i l e s y s t e m . )
SCREEN CONTROLS
The g r e a t t h i n g a bout CRT d i s p l a y s i a t h a t t hey can be
used t o c o n t r o l t h i n g s b ^ m a n i p u l a t i o n o f p l c t u r e c I n s t e a d
Of moving b u t t o n s e r l e v e r s , you c a n s e i s e p a r t s o f t he p i c
t u r e w i t h t he l i g h t - p e n and move some p a r t o f t h s p i c t u r e .
The c omput e r , s e n s i n g t he c h o i c e o r a d j u s t me n t you have mads,
can t h e n pe r f or m what ever o p e r a t i o n s you ha ve d i r e c t * d .
Ter . *oj TAr
Tout
V*LV6
C0*T<Sl
The de ai gn o f s c r e e n c o n t r o l s - - e a s y - t o - u s e , c l e a r and
si mpl e c o n t r o l s f or e v e r y t h i n g i s one of t he f r o n t i e r s of
c o n p u t e r g r a p h i c s . (See " F a n t i c s , " p. J\*fl^7j
DIMENSIONAL FLIP
3D scopes a r e a bout t he b e s t w e ' v e g o t s o what do
we d e a b o u t mul t i di me ns i ona l phencnena?
One ve r y good s o l u t i o n i s t o shew a s e l e c t i o n o f t h r e e
d i m e n s i o n s a t a t i me, and pr o v i d e f e r eas y f l i p " fr<x one
di me n s i o n t o a n o t h e r - - s o t h a t i n s t e a d o f l o oki ng a t s c n e -
t h i n g on demensi ons A, B and C you a r e l ooki n g a t i t on d i
mensi ons A, B and X.
F o r exampl e, s uppose y o u ' r e a s o c i o l o g i s t l o o k i n g a t
measur ement s o f v a r i o u s t r a i t s among a gr oup e f pe o p l e .
I t ' s a e l e u d o f d o t s I n t h r e e d i m e n s i o n s what ever t h r e e
d i me n s i o n s yo u r e l o o k i n g a t . Soae c oul d be : a ge, h e i g h t ,
we i g h t , s a x , e t h n i c backgr ound, p r e m a r i t a l e x p e r i e n c e , ed
u c a t i o n . . , e t c .
You vi ew t h i s c l oud o f d o t s , s a y , a cc o r d i n g t o a g e ,
w e i g h t and e t h n i c backgr ound. T h a t means you can r e t a t e i t
around and see how many peopl e i n t h e gr oup a r e what -
Us i ng di me ns i ona l f l i p , h w e v e r , you can change t h e
vi ew a s f ol l ows : r o t a t e t he box- f r ame t i l l i t b e c a e i a
s q u a r e t o your e ye. Then you h i t t h e c o n t r e l t h a t makes
t h e uns e en di mensi on " f l i p " t o a n o t h e r di mensi on t h a t i n
t e r e s t s yeu. The c l oud s t i l l l o o k s t h e s a a e u n t i l you
r o t a t e i t , and t h e t h i r d di mensi on i s now " p r e m a r i t a l ex
p e r i e n c e . * So you can q u i c k l y g e t a vi ew o f how p e c u l a
t i o n s a r e r e a l l y d i v i d e d u p . (Not e t o s o c i o l o g i s t * ! t h i s
s a ae o p e r a t i o n , wi t h s t r e t c h i n g and c l i j y i n g , p r o v i d e s a
v i s u a l t e c h n i q u e f o r " p a r t i a l l n g " o p e r a t i o n * of t he
L a z a r s f e l d t y p e . )
171
<1-
THE TWISTED SMILE
You can make a c h a r a c t e r c hange e x p r e s s i o n an a
s c ope b y a s k i n g h i s mouth a t w i s t e d w i r e t h a t can be
r o t a t e d bet ween "frown" and " s mi l e " p o s i t i o n s . The
t r i c k i s t h e shape o f t he wi r e .
NOWGUESS WHAT: De F a n t i ' a GRASS l a n g u a g e i s t h e b e s t l a n
guage I know of f o r d oi ng a l l t he above t h i n g s .
l l
A u t t e r ' e n o t e . These art i cl es we r e
wri t t en for Comput er Dedal one ma g a z i n e , and
ref l ect t he r e s u l t s of a lot of phone cai la t hey
pai d f o r . The f i r s t of these ar t i cl es wee p u b
l i shed In 1071. The ot her s have not ben
previ ousl y p u b l i s h e d , as the e di t or s a n d 1
were n e v e r abl e to get t oget her on q u i t e whai
t hey wanted.
Thi s 1s, to my knowl edge, the o n l y
e xi s t i ng collection and summary of comput er
half-tone s yst ems to dat e, and In some c ases
t he ar t i c l e s r e ve a l more about the syst ems
t han has been publ i shed anywher e. S u r
p r i s i n g l y , even two y e a r s l at er t hey do not
seem out of dal e.
However, due to Ihe editorial a t yl e Of
Computer De c i s i o n s , and my own, t hl a h a a all
come out ext r emel y condensed, and p h r s s e d
i n br eezy and humorous ways not o r d i n a r i l y
consi der ed accept abl e for ser i ous technical
r e vi e ws . Th e hope Is thal they will s u p p l y
orientation to t he b r o ws e r , deeper I n s i g h t s lo
t he t e c hnl c a l l y- ml nde d. and f ur t he r d i r e c t i o n s
for them aa want s to pur sue.
My t ha nks to the publ i s he r s of Comput er
Decisions and Ita e di t or , Robert C. Haavl nd,
for t h e i r encour agement , phone money a nd
permission to r e p r i n t t hi s.
A Series of Review Ar t i cl es for r __
Computer Decisions Magazine. 61
FIRST ARTICLE
General idea of 3-D halftone.
Polygon Systems.
h al f to ne image
sy nth esis
There are more ways than one
to produce shaded pictures with computer,!*.
Here are the methods
of the 'polygon school.
bj T h eo do r H. N el so n
The Nelson Organization
To most people in the compulcr field, "computer
graphics'' means tine drawingsystems and programs
Tor mapmaking, pipe layout, automobile and aircraft
design, or any other acliviiy where a diagram may
help. Using line-drawing programs and equipment,
designers may create line drawings on last-responding
graphic screens, reworking (heir ideas until satisfied;
the system then disgorges polished drawings and speci
fications for the designers real intent, something else
that is to be made or done. But it is possible for a
picture itselfinstructive, interesting or prettyto be
the goal, tn that case wc will often wanl pictures lhal
look like things instead of wires. A picture lhal is nol
all black and white we call "halftone."
With much secrecy and a slow start, compuier
halftone systems are now being built all over. The
methods are extremely different from one another;
only the outputs are similar. Some exist in software,
some have already been built into spccial hardware.
These systems have many potential uses for visualiza
tion, animation and new kinds of photography, in
art, scholarship, motion pictures and TV; for visual
izing worlds lost and imagined, equipment yet unbuilt,
the responsiveness of aircraft. It may not be long
until moviemakers can buy different brands of picture
synthesizer, just as musicians choose today among
Moog, Buchla and ARP music synthesizers. But none
is in production yet, This is an attempt to review the
coming apparatuses of apparilion.
Not only is the field of halftone one of the most
exciting in computing; it is also one of ihe nuttiest and
most secretive. For instance, at one lime a Arm that
was supposedly marketing its halftone system declared
ihe present author persona non grata and not to be
communicated wilh in any way, though information
was freely available to others. I dont think it's
necessarily paranoia," says Rod Rougelot of General
Electric. "A lot of guys started about the same time,
and proceeded in a heads-down manner. It took a
special kind of initiative to head off in lhat direction
wiih no external provocation. All those heavy cals
f ro m a r m and k i t w ere say ing in ih e sixties I c o ul d
never do a M ic key M o use, say s L ee Harriso n m o f
C o mp uter I mage, Bui I 'm no i that kind o f researc h er.
1 tal k to th e L o rd.
T h e sy stems" sto ries art u dif f erent u l h e sy stems
ih emsel vs G eneral E l ec tric s sy stem grew o ut o f
c o c kp il disp l ay s f o r bl ind ( l y ing. T h e sy stem o f P enn
sy l vania R esearc h A sso c iates began w il h terrain and
radar mo del l ing. T h e sy stem o f maci ( M ath ematic al
A p p l ic atio ns G ro up , I nc . ) began w il h th e siudy o f
radiatio n h az ards in battl ef iel d mac h inery . T w o sy stem
f amil ies, th at o f C o mp uier I mage I nc . and my o w n
Faniasm, w ere designed f ro m th e beginning f o r mo vie
making. esp ec ial l y "sp ec ial ef l ec ts" and p up p eieering.
T h e mo ai p o ignant tal e may be th at o f L a Harriso n,
w h o se struggl ing f amil y w as w armed th ro ugh aj J d
w inters by th e tuba o f I h eir anal o g c o mp uter.
Halftone bi two dht nkms
T w o - dimensio nal c o mp uter h al f to ne is no t new .
Hal f to ne p ic tures c o nvened f ro m p h o to grap h s h ave
o f ten been p rimed o ut o r l ine p rinters, eith er f o r f un
General Electric will make taovies and videotapes for you wlt*J s ^ t h a * point 'o f
s y s t e m . T h . . . . . . f r o . . , . ! ( r . . l l y b e a u t i f u l ) J . ' J J . J v l d
the film was to explain to everybody how a proposed spae viewers could under
function. R a t h e r than use d i a g r a m , they enacte_d It in the M .lye . c i d and
stand how the aectiona would be delivered and fit together how *
ao on. For exposition of that kind, nothing beats this kind of
( nudes o f ten turn up at big instal l atio ns) , o r in < m-
I K C tio o w ith so me sc ientif ic p ro bl em, suc h as anal y z ing
c h ro mo so mes. K enneth C . K no w l l o n, l l Bel l l abo ra
to ries, h as exemj tc d so me w el l - kno w n p h o to c o nver
sio ns making p ic tures into h uge grids o f l iny w himsic al
sy mbo l s h aving dif f erent grey - val ues.
V ario us o th er l y il etnj h ave al l o w ed users to c reate
th eir o w n o riginal 2- D p ic tures. But th e natural temp
tatio n is to w ant th e c o mp uter real l y to make p tc nm.
W h y no t h ave th e c o mp uter p ro duc e a p h o to grap h ic
p ic ture direc tl y f ro m th e 3- D rep resentatio n o f o bj ec u?
C o mp uters do n'l do th is by nature, any mo re th an
ih ey do any th ing el se by nature, so how it may bt
do ne by c o mp uter is very interesting. T h e p ro bl em is
al so intersting bec ause o f iis intuitive nature. V isio n*
o f sc enes in sp ac e are aro und us c o nstantl y , and w e
intuitivel y understand th e gro inc l ry o f o utl ines and
l igh t. A s 3- D w o rk p ro gresses l arge p ro bl ems are being
o verc o me. T h e f amed "h idden l ine p ro bl em, f o r ex
amp l e, w as misl eadingl y c o uc h ed, sinc e th e p ro bl em
is no i f inding w h at l ines are h idden, bul w bal Surf ac e*
3 D hatftaMSfta
Todays n** procsdure* a n usa th*
tame dvta to maka a realistic shaded
o r halftone picture. Th* visible part*
ol th* objects are ascertained by
programs or special hardware,
usJng lh* same 3-D coordinates a* hi
tn* ordinary sytfama. Thet* vtsiM*
parti ar* than shaded eeenrdlng
tn th* appropriate color information.
Th* Hri * of shad Inf -points maka th*
picture on an caitput d*vfc*.
Computer graphics tha ordinary way
Tha computer, as penman, draws lines
Inxn a list stored in cora memory. In a
threedimansiooal system, lhe basic
list of 3-D coordinates is converted
to a lilt representing a particular
view: the result looks
line a wire frame.
G e n e r a l E l e c t r i c . S y r a c u s e , L
synthesis llbo n,h 1 **er three-dlaenalonal scene
Job ie custom. it * ' U P,18,!' EV*ry
i;::;*;.";
" l l , h i l i * - 1 1 i n , c o u l d r u n . .
f i o11* " " " ( ' > * <
j Y 1 J 2 0 1 , 1 1 5 / 4 5 6 - 3 5 5 2 . ( C l v . i
c . p u , i t r d , r i - i
" a n S J . \ ! 1 " f " r d , O t t e r . o r . d . t . l l
Mn r . 8 J e n . a n d 80 s t r a i g h t CO f l l n w i t h o u t v i d e o ,
" o r . e , p e . i v . ; p r o b a b l e c o l t , r u t h o u n J . ,
d o l l a r s p e r i , e . A j . l n , e v e r , j o b 1 .
Contact: Nat C. Myera, president
! r ; ! ; ; ; , : , , , U ! n ' ' u - i . . . r . . , . d i
C o m p u t e r I . , e C o r p . , D e n v e r . d H o U y u . o d , . 1 . . | f . s e r v l o .
on t h e i r a a c h i n e s . On o c c a s i o n t h . y h . v . b e e n v l l l l n s
back film-makers, reportedly on a 50-50 baaia. Their
president, Lee llarrieon III, l8 . Swell fella.
WI1EHE TO GET IT.
Conputer 3D halftone systems are now available to moviemakers
from a variety of sources. It tends to cost a lot of money, but
when compared with normal Hollywood production expenses, it turns
out not to be ao bad.
SALES OF MACHINES. 1
Computer Image Corporation, Denver, offers various systems
for sale. See p. DM 39.
Evans and Sutherland Computer Corporation, Salt Lake City,
offers the Matklns Box, a real-time display device '
using the Watkina Method (see next page) and offering
also Gouraud paeudo-curved shading (see p. DM 37).
It costa about $300,000 and attaches to a PDP-10 *
large computer; see p. 40).
W e musl draw o n ibi* undemanding o f sc enes ( o
f igure o ut h o w 10 make p ic tures, ( o r th ere is no
math ematic al l y el egant o r p ref erabl e ap p ro ac h . Sc ene*
are geo metric al l y ric h , and th us many dif f erent tec h
niques may be uaed to extrac t p ic tures from th em.
T h ese tec h niques may l o o k al p l ana/ struc tures, ip atial
interc o nnec tio ns, rel ative edges o f intersec tio ns o r
any th ing el se y o u c an def ine and p n m s . I p ref er to
th ink o f c o mp il er h al f to o e as l ike tric k p h o to grap h y
o l th e kind do ne in Ho l l y w o o d: a variety o f tec h
niques c an be c o mbined in vario us w ay s. A s in tric k
p h o to grap h y , th e number o f l o udies and enh anc e
ments th at y o u add general l y determines h o w go o d
it w il l l o o k, regardl ess o f w h at sy stem y o u begin w il h .
T h e simp l est sy stems are th o se l h at dep ic t o bj ec ts
made o f p o l y go nsth at is. p l anes w il h straigh t edges.
W e w il l disc uss suc h sy stems in th e p resent instal l ment.
The wild polygoa yonder
A t l east tw o c o mp anies are buil ding image sy stems
th at w il l beh ave and resp o nd l ike o nrush ing real ity .
Suc h a sy stem, h o o ked l o c o c kp it- l ike c o ntro l s, c an
sh o w a trainee p il o t ih e del ic ate and p rec ip ito us resul ts
o f w h at h e do c s. R eal istic ac tio n. rath er th an surf ac e
detail , is c ruc ial .
T be tec h niques o f ac tio n p o l y go n h al f to ne w ere
o riginal l y devel o p ed by G eneral E l ec tric , o l Sy rac use,
N . Y. . and are no w al so under devel o p ment al L ink
Divisio n o f Singer C o mp any ( makers o f th e bel o ved
p il o t trainer and its p ro geny ) . Basic al l y suc h sy siems
o p erate up o n th e sc an- l ines th at c rissc ro ss a tel evisio n
sc reen, sw itc h ing th e c o l o r o f ih e running sc an as it
c ro sses f ro m p o l y go n to p o l y go n.
T h e ac tio n p o l y go n sc h o o l G E and L inktakes
a c urio us but ef f ec tive ap p ro ac h to h al f to ne T V : ih eir
"enviro nments" are c o mp o sed entirel y o f c o nvex o bj ec ts
made entirel y o f c o nvex p o l y go ns. T o use o nl y c o nvex
o bj ec ts ( no dents) means l h al o ne o bj ec t may be in
f ro nt o f ano th er o r vic e veraa, but never bo th . ( A n
o bj ec t w ith ap p arent indentatio ns, suc h as an airp l ane,
h as to be made o ul o f a gro up o f c o nvex o bj ec ts f l y ing
to geth c c . ) T o use o nl y c o nvex p o l y go ns ( no tc h l ess)
makes il easy f o r th e sy stem to dec ide, at a given
instant, w h eth er th e sc an ii c ro ssing th e p o l y go n o r no t.
T h e edge- bo x rep o rts summed into th e f ac et bo xes,
eac h o f w h ic h w as set to resp o nd to a p artic ul ar
c o mbinatio n o f l ef t- righ t, abo ve- h el o w rep o rts. A l I h c
instant al l th e f ac et's edge bo xes rep l ied in th e p ro p er
p reset c o mbinatio n, ih e f ac et box signal l ed l h al its
owd f ac et w as being c ro ssed by th e sc an- l ine. W h en
mo re l h an o ne f aec t- bo x resp o nded, th e o ne nearest
th e view p o int h ad its c o l o r gated to tbe sc reen.
N o w R o uge l o t's gro up is rep l ac ing th e o l d na sa
sy stem by a new na sa sy stem, w h ic h w o rks o n entirel y
dif f erent p rinc ip l es, but keep s ih e vec to r c al c ul ato r.
T h e o l d o ne c o ul d sh o w sc enes w ith up to 240 edges;
tbe new h as* sy stem w il l at l east do ubl e l h al . G E s new
meth o d is al ready o p eratio nal o n smal l er researc h f a
c il ities. T h ey do n'l tel l w h at it is, bul basic al l y it in
vo l ves so rting by distanc e. Sup p o sedl y th e so rt meth o d
is go o d eno ugh to make th e o l d edge bo xes o bso l ete.
T h e L ink gro up c l aims c o mp etitive p erf o rmanc e f o r
ih eir sy stem, w h ic h w il l go to bl ac k- and- w h ite ih o u-
sao d- l ine T V . T h ey say th eir sy stem is dif f erent, better,
and sec ret.
Campus o f F o o l e d U. ( CE)
T h e meth o d o f G ary W atkins is th e resuh o f a
p ro f o und searc h at ih e University o f Utah f o r rte
meth o da p o l y go n tec h niqi* f ast eno ugh f o r real
time enac tment, but c h eap er th an th e G E - ty p e sy stems
ao d no t subj ec t to th e c o nvexity restric tio ns. T h ey
to h ave f o und it
E ac h video ic an o f th e seeo e resul ts in a "sl ic e"
th ro ugh surf ac es. in tbe to ne. T h e tw o nearest surf ac es
are c o ntinuo usl y c o mp ared to sec w h ic h is c l c ner, as
if by tw o rul ers. T h e instant a new surf ac e bec o mes ih e
nearer o ne, th e sy stem make it th e visibl e o u . The.
nearest ( urf atx al w ay s sh o w s, do w n to th e p rec ise
instant tw o surf ats c ro ss
I nstantaneo us enac tment: h al f to ne animatio n
| iv s a sanaa o f l aal l y being th ere. ( Bo d R o uael o l ,
G eneral E l ec tric )
T h is w o rk evo l ved in p art f ro m G E 's w o rk in th e
f if ties w ith a "gro und p l ane simul ato r. a sy stem th at
w o ul d sh o w a c o rrec t rep resentatio n o f th e gro und's
p c nitio n, dip p ing and ro uting, l o th e p il o t o f an air
c raf t in f o g o r nigh t. I n 1963 th e G eneral E l ec tric
gro up , under R o d R o ugel o l , w o rked o ut f o r n a sa th e
design o l an "enviro nment simul ato r"a devic e th al
w o ul d simul ate th e ap p earanc e and p erf o rmanc e o f
any equip ment. Thb is no w c al l ed I h e "o l d na sa sy s
tem It p ermitted ih e userseated bef o re a c o l o r TV
sc reenl o w o rk c o ntro l s f o r an imaginary airc raf t o r
sp ac ec raf t, and see ro ugh l y w h at th e p il o t o f th e c raf t
w o ul d sec , f l y ing in real time th ro ugh a breath taking
c o l o r sc ene. Fil ms made o n I h is mac h ine h ave been
stunning. I maginary c il ic s. ro l l er c o asters and aerial
do gf igh ts arc amo ng th e visio ns th at c an be p reen l ed.
G eneral E l ec tric - ! o l d na sa meth o d is f airl y w eird
if no t misc h ievo us. T h e earl ier "gro und p l ane simu
l ato r" h ad sh o w n an edge ( ih e h o riz o n) digital l y dis
p l ay ed o n a c rt: th e sy stem w as extended to many
edges, and th e l o gic al anal y sis o f areas betw een th em.
Wyiie-RooDey: t o o l Ike wuriu
T h e W y l ie- R o mney meth o d, disc l o sed in 1967, w as
ih e f irsi general l y p ubl ic iz ed p ro c edure f o r making
h al f to ne p ic tures. I ndeed, th e 1967 p ubl ic atio n sig
nal l ed th e exp l o sio n o f I h c University o f Uuh into
th e f o ref ro nt o f c o mp uting researc h .
T h e W y l ie- R o mney meth o d w as ac tual l y th e j o int
w o rk o f C h ris W y l ie. G o rdo n R o mney . David C . E vans
and A l an E rdah l : but muc h o f ih e imp etus f o r il s
devel o p ment c ame f ro m E vans, c h airman o f c o mp uter
sc ienc es at Utah , w h o h ad l o ng susp ec ted th e p o ssibil
ity o f 3- D h al f io ne sy nth esis.
Hal f to ne f o r art1* u k i no w l h a iriiti c an c ratte
w o rl ds and p h o to grap h l h am. ( G o rdo n R o mney .
Utah )
( N o t e : n o r t o u t p u t by
v a r i o u s Utah s y s t e m s
a p p e a r o n f o l l o w i n g p a g e s . )
W atkins meth o d: An
instantl y sensed th ro ugh c o ntinuo us c o mp anio n
o f th e c kaesl tw o .
SOU AVAI LABLE! Mach i ne r u n n i n g U a t k i n e
t e c h n i q u e , t h e Wa t k i n s Box, a l l o w s
y ou t o v i e u i ma g i n a r y o b j e c t s t n
c o l o r an d m a n i p u l a t e t hem i n r e a l t
See t o p o f p r e c e d i n g page.
T h e sc enc w as rep resented by a c o l l ec tio n o f edge
bo xes, p h y sic al l y j ump ered into a c o l l ec tio n o f f ac et
bo xes. E ac h edge bo x and f ac et bo x w as l o aded w ith
c ertain numeric al and l o gic val ues, rep resenting edges
and f ac ets in th e sc ene, w h ic h c o ul d c h ange betw een
f rames as required by th e ac tio n.
I n th e p rep ro c ess f o r eac h f rame th e o l d Na sa sy s
tem used a sp ec ial l y buil t digital c o mp uier. I h c "vec
tor c al c ul ato r. " T h is p erf o rmed al great sp eed th e
th ree- p art vec to r c al c ul atio ns nec essary to determine
al l sc ene p o sitio ns, inc l uding th e p o sitio ns and sl ams
o f al l edges. E ac h individual edp generato r, l o aded
w il h il s o w n edge p o sitio n, c o nstantl y 1rep o rted w h eth er
th e running sc an o f th e p ic ture w as to th e l ef t o r righ t
o f its o w n edge. It dutif ul l y guarded th is edge f ro m
bo rder l o bo rder o f th e p ic ture.
OU N A SA " meth o d: E ac h sdg* bo x c o nstantl y
rep o rts w h ic h aida o f Us adga th * sc an is on;
eac h ( sc at bo x sum* l h a adga rep o rt! to sense
w hen th e sc an is c ro ssing M.
T h e W y l ic - R o mnc y meth o d is I h is: f o r eac h p ic ture-
p o int desired in Ihe f inal p ic ture, sh o o t a searc h ing
ray th ro ugh th e sc ene al a c o rresp o nding angl e. Find
w h ere th is searc h ing ray h its every surf ac e in il s w ay .
Sinc e ih e l o c atio ns in sp ac e o f th ese h ii- p o ints are
easil y c al c ul ated, f igure th eir distanc es f ro mth e vantage
p o int. T h e nearest o f I h e intersec tio ns b th e visibl e
o ne. L o o k up th e c o l o r o f th at surf ac e and sh ade th e
o utp ut p o int ac c brdingl y .
T h is may so und inef f ic ient, but il is c o mp arativel y
easy to asc ertain il l ih e p ierc ing- p o inis. sinc e th e sur
f ac es to be h it in a given sc anning ro w c an be l argel y
p redic ted f ro m I h e p revio us ro w .
J o h n W amo c k's meth o d, al so f ro m Utah , is unre
l ated to th e o th er meth o ds, bul h as qual ities math e
matic ians l ike, as w el l as a c ertain w h imsy .
C o nsider a square in th e p ic ture area. ( A t th e start
c o nsider th e w h o l e p ic ture area. ) Now ihen. T est
w h eth er th e p resent square is entirel y f il l ed w ith o ne
c o l o r I f so , o utp ut a c o rresp o nding square al l o f th at
c o l o r. I f th e p resent square is no t al l o ne c o l o r, divide
it into f o ur smal l er squares. T ake ano th er square and
go bac k to Now then. E nd th e p ro c ess w h en eac h o f
ih e squares in ih e bro ken- do w n p ic ture h as been
c o mp l etel y f il l ed w il h o ne c o l o ro r th e unsatisf ied
squares are l o o smaD l o c are abo ul .
Warnock's dic ing math o d: What can bs mad* aH
o na c o l o r is redivided til l I U p iec es c an be.
I h il l agi L at o f I he great h d f M u rt l m
Sup p o se l h at w e h ave so me data struc ture rep resent
ing a th ree- dimensio nal o bj ec t, and a h al f to ne meth o d
l o searc h o ul its visibl e surf ac es. Ho w do w e sh ade th e
o utp ut p o ints? W h at do w e take into ac c o unt: h o w
c o mbine th e basic p c y s o r c o l o n, h o w bl end th em
w ith c o mp utatio ns o f surf ac e angl e, distanc es f ro m th e
vantage p o int, o r any th ing eh e w e c an th ink o f ?
T be answ er: any w ay al al l . T h e c o mbining f unc tio n
is an aesth etic c h o ic e. T h ere are no t many areas l ef t
w h ere y o u c an make up a math ematic al h o dge- p o dge
and get p l easing o r interesting mul ti C o mp uter h al f
to ne is a f el ic ito us exc ep tio n: y o u c an augment by
adding o r mul tip l y ing, diminish by subtrac ting o r divid
ing. and y et al w ay s c o me up w ith an image resembl ing
so meth ing. A ny o ne w h o has w o rked in a darkro o m
w il l rec o gniz e l h al th is is L ike enl arging: p l ay ing w il h
p arameters w o n't o bl iterate th e p ic iure.
T h ere are p urists w h o insist th at h al f to ne c o l o ratio n
sh o ul d exac tl y f o l l o w th e f o rmul as that simul ate th e
beh avio r o f real l igh t. Fo r so me p urp o ses, l ike p il o t
training, th is may o f ten be- true. But insisting o n math e
matic al ac c urac y as a general p rinc ip l e is l ike insbting
o o ul tra- h igh f idel ity an aesth etic j udgment c o uc h ed
as a mec h anic al imp erative.
Until no w I h c o utp ut h ardw are w as no t real l y ready
f o r h al f io ne. Five y ean ago a c o mp uter c o ul d usuaDy
c reate h al f to ne p ic tures o nl y o n a l ine p rinter o r s
4020 mic ro f il m p l o tter. T o day th ere are many dif f erent
p h o to grap h ic p rinters, go ing l o all siz es o f f il m and
p ap er; o ne even uses a l aser. T h ere are vario us disp l ay
terminal s p ermitting grey - sc al e and o o kx h al f to ne o o
T V sc reens.
T h e age o f c o mp uter image sy nth esis h as begun.
P o l y go n sy stems are f ast and simp l e, and w il l c o me
to be used in o ur dail y l ives f o r suc h diverse p urp o ses
as mo tec ul ? nudy , th e memo riz atio n o f del ivery ro utes,
and visual iz atio n o f every kind o f l ay o ut and do ign.
T h ey w il l be f undamental to o ur new w o rl d o f
c o amuter disp l ay .
C OM P UTE R OC C I SI ON S
%
M o vie seta, TV af f ec ts: c o mp uter h aIIto n* is
aady l o c o mp el * . ( G ary W atkins. Utah )
SECOND ARTICLE.
Surface patterns.
Curvature.
Shadow.
THE PLOT SO FAR.
Various computer methods now make it
possible to create artificial photographs of
three-dimensional objects or scenes represented
in the computer's storage. This is done by
coloring or shading points in an output picture
like the points in the scene that can be sighted
through them from the vantage point. What
the methods really boil down to, though, are
searching processes in the data representation
of the three-dimensional scene.
In an earlier article we have considered
some of the techniques being used to depict
simple scenes-- those made up of polygons.
Now we turn to more elaborate scenes which add
shadows, surface patterns and curvature.
One of the most interesting things about
this branch of computer graphics already seen
in the polygon methods discussed earlier is
the variety of techniques that can be employed.
Moreover, these methods, for all their sophisti
cation, can usually be intuitively understood
as thought they were operations performed on
objects in space. The same continues to be true
for the more complex systems.
O F R E A L I T Y
VARIOUS NEW TECHNIQ UES PERMIT US TO ADD CURVES,
SHADOWS AND SURFACE PATTERNS
TO COMPUTER-GENERATED HALFTONE PICTURES
ENHANCED POLYGON SYSTEMS
In the methods discussed so far, we looked
at several computer techniques for photograph
ically depicting scenes and objects made up of
polygons planar facets-- in a represented
three-dimensional Beene. Imaginary houses of
cards, cardboard airplanes and triangular scen
ery take on a compelling vividness when depicted
by the computer. And for visualizing such
things as architectural arrangements, such
systems promise to be of increasing practical
value.
Those of us interested in the artistic
aspects of computer halftone images want more.
This article looks at some ways to add the
appearance of curvature and surface pattern
lo computer-synthesized images.
BOUKNIGHT AND KELLEY:
PICKING THROUGH A CAT'S CRADLE
The method of Bouknight and Kelley, at
the University of Illinois, permits the addition
of shadow to polygon pictures. Their method
uses an intricate system of scanning sweeps
across the 6cene, analyzing the successive edge-
crossings. For each output line, a list of the
edges in the scene is ordered according to which
will be next encountered. To make a specific
output line of shaded points, we step through
successive positions of the scan-line, until an
an edge is crossed. With each edge we cross,
we enter or leave at least one facet. Of all
the current facets we are in after a given edge-
crossing, the system finds out the nearest one,
the visible one, by comparing distances. The
coloration of this facet is then fed out to the
picture, until the next edge-crossing.
Bouknight and Kelley expand their method
to show shadows by an additional step. They
create a new list of edges to be encountered,
this one relative to scans from the light source.
Then, during the regular output picture scan,
they look to this latter data to see about shadow.
As soon as they know two consecutive edgea
of a visible object in the picture, they are able
to search the ahadow-edge list to see if any
shadow-edges impinge between them. The final
list of edges-- visible facet edges and shadow
edges-- goes to the picture output device.
BOUKNIGHT-KELLEY METHOD
MAGNUSKlS PATTERNED CONSTRUCTIONS
A number of contributions have been made
by individuals working alone. For instance,
Henry Magnuski, at M.I.T., created a program
that repeatedly positions patterned facets in
space to make large constructions.
This program did nol calculate "true"
shadow, basing its shading partly on angle of
surfaces. Neither does it show true curves.
Yet it shows the impressive degree to which
such effects may be approximated. The result
ing beach ball picture is reminiscent of Moorish
architecture.
MAGNUSKI' S CONSTRUCTIONS OF REPEATED PATTERNS
( d i f f e r e n t p e r s p e c t i v e c a l c u l a t i o n s )
\ l A /
B a s i c t r i a n g l e p a t t e r n .
i s s t i t c h e d t o g e t h e r
i n a d j a c e n t p o s i t i o n s
a t a p p r o p r i a t e a n g l e s .
A) -
-_<
C o n s i d e r t h e s e r i e s o f e d g e s w h o s e
p r o j e c t i o n s c r o s s t h e c u r r e n t s c a n - l i n e .
E a c h t i m e t h e s c a n - l i n e c r o s s e s a n e d g e ,
f i n d o u t w h a t f a c e t s a r e c u r r e n t l y p i e r c e d
b y a s i g h t - l i n e f r o m t h e v i e w p o i n t . T h e
n e a r e s t o f t h e s e f a c e t s I s t h e v i s i b l e o n e .
To a d d s h a d o w , u s e a n e x t r a l i s t o f
t h e s c e n e ' s e d g e s r e l a t i v e t o t h e l i g h t
r a t h e r t h a n t h e c a m e r a . B e t w e e n v i e w e d
e d g e s , c h e c k f o r s h a d o w - e d g e s a s w e l l .
S i
DON LEE FILLS IN THE GAPS I 3 r
Don L e e , at t he Uni ver s i t y of I l l i n o i s ,
p r o d u c e d hi s f i ne- t oned p i c t u r e s of s p h e r e s i n
1966 s i mpl y b e c a u s e someone b e t him a q u a r t e r
h e c o u l d n ' t p r o g r a m t he method h e ' d s u g g e s t e d
i n t w e n t y - f o u r h o u r s . He almost made i t . He
made h i s p i c t u r e s of s phe r e s a nd p o l y g o n s b y
c a l c u l a t i n g t he b o u n d a r i e s , t hen c h e c k i n g for
o v e r l a p a nd f i l l i n g i n wi t h g r e y s a c c o r d i n g to
v i ewi n g a n g l e . His pr ogram wor ks onl y in
s pe ci a l c a s e s , b u t i s i n t e r e s t i n g for i t s hi s t o r i c a l
posi t i on; i t was one of t he e a r l i e s t ha l f - t one
c u r v a t u r e s y s t e ms .
HAVE A BALL WITH DON LEE.
Th e n fills in
curvaceous
shading.
SIMPLEX CURVATURE SYSTEMS: MAHL & MAGI
A f undamental t y p e of system we may c a l l
t he "simplex" syst em was exempl ifi ed in t he
p r e v i o u s art i cl e b y t he Wylie-Romney p r o g r a m .
A simpl ex t echni que s i mpl y pr oj e c t s si mul at ed
r a y s t oward t he s c en e from t he vant age poi nt
t i l l t hey hi t t he r e p r e s e n t e d o b j ec t s , and f i l l s
c o r r e s p o n d i n g pos i t i ons on t he out put pi c t u r e
wi t h t he col or s e n c o u n t e r e d on t he f r ont s u r f a c e s
of obj ect s i n t he s c ene .
The same p r i n c i p l e ext ends n a t u r a l l y t o
s cene s wi t h c u r v e d and o t her wi s e embel l i shed
o b j e c t s .
Rober t Mahl , at t he Uni versi t y of Ut ah,
h a s r ec e n t l y r e p o r t e d h i s r e s u l t s wi t h si mpl ex
met hods u s i ng q u a d r i c s u r f a c e s t hose c u r v e d
s u r f a c e s gene r a t e d b y mat hemat ical power s of
t wo. His p i c t u r e s - - l i k e t he cup and s a uce r
shown h e r e have a p l e a s i n g 1920s Ba uha us -
l i k e qual i t y.
One probl em wi t h t hi s method i s t hat
comput ati onal compl exi t y i n c r e a s e s r ap i d l y a s
t h e s c en e s grow more compl ex; t he more s u r f a c e s
and p i e r c i n g - p o i n t s , t he more t i me-consumi ng
( a n d e x p e n s i v e ) i t becomes to make t h e p i c t u r e .
His program first works out
the general outlines.
MAHL'S SIMPLEX METHOD
Calculate all intersections of sighting ray
with objects in scene; calculate which
is nearer; shade it according to angle.
\lh
G e k t R t f J l i P r i l t f t f : * ^ T H O D , t e - 0 O r \ | r < - | F i e t > y M | V & | s y j p t ^
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I t s e e ms , however , that Mahl ' s wor k may
only b e a r e d i s c o v e r y of whal one or gani zat i on
wor ked out e a r l i e r and is bei ng s e c r e t i ve about.
A firm de l i ght f ul l y called MAGI (Mathematical
Appl i cat i ons Gr oup, I n c . ) of Elmsford, N . Y . ,
has e xt e nde d t he same idea more e l a bor at el y.
They ha ppe ne d into t he halftone game t hr ough
a mi l i t ar y c ont r a c t .
MAGI's s ys t e m, now thoroughl y developed
u n d e r Rober t Gol dst ei n, began i n 1965 i n a s t udy
of r adi a t i on h a z a r d s i n battlefield equi pment .
They wr ot e a pr ogr am to simulate pa t hs of r adi a -
t i on, s a y , t ha t might r each a lank d r i v e r unde r
va r ous di s a g r e e a b l e ci r cumst ances. Having
wr i t t e n a p r o g r a m thal would a s c e r t a i n t he s u s
c e pt i bi l i t y to r a di at i on of battlefield ma c h i n e r y ,
t hey not ed t hat t he same progr am could be
ada pt ed to maki ng phot ogr aphs. The progam
si mul at ed r a di at i on; l i ght i s radi at i on; ipso
facto, p i c t u r e s . Subst ant i al l y t he same progr am
would make phot ogr a ph- l i ke i ma g e s , by t r e a t i ng
the obj ect s a s opa que , and r ef l e c t i ng di f f er ent
s ha de s a c c or di ng to color and a ngl e of vi ew.
Th e r e s u l t i n g syst em makes nice p i c t ur e s
of obj ect s composed of pl anes a nd q u a d r i c s u r
faces; and i n c l u d e s , as will be se e n from t he
r a c i n g c a r and c h a i r , colored s ur f a c e d e s i g n s ,
shadows a nd s p e c t r a l reflections. Nol only does
MAGI's s of t war e for t hi s pr ocess pr oduce de l i
cately s h a d e d pi c t ur e s ; i f the v i r t u a l p i c t u r e -
pl ane is moved unt i l it i nt e r s e c t s the s u b j e c t ,
it p r oduc e s a c r os s - s e c t i on.
MAGI r u n s t hi s program remotely in
For t r a n on a b i g comput er - - but t hey have t h e i r
own mini comput er s e t up for phot ogr aphi ng the
r e s u l t s as col or movies. They now offer us e of
Ihis syst em commercially for making movies o r
s t i l l s .
HAGI p r o g r a m wa s o r i g i n a l l y d e v e l o p e d
f o r s t u d y o f r a d i a t i o n h a z a r d s I n s i d e
m i l i t a r y a r m o r ; t h e p s e u d o - p h o t o g r a p h i c
t e c h n i q u e s w e r e a s i d e e f f e c t o f t h e
a p p r o a c h c h 0 9 e n . Who know: , t h e s e
t a n & s may b e t h e o n e s s t u d i e d .
w r
MAGI t e c h n i q u e s w e r e u s e d t o s t u d y
a l t e r n a t i v e w a y s o f l i g h t i n g m i n e s .
An e a r l y MAGI c h a r a c t e r
SYNTHEVI SI ON SETUP u s e s r e m o t e t i m e - s h a r i n g c o m p u t e r
r u n n i n g b i g s e c r e t F o r t r a n p r o g r a m a n d c o n t a i n i n g
e n t i r e d a t a s t r u c t u r e o f t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l s c e n e s .
M i n i c o m p u t e r p h o t o g r a p h i c s e t u p I s o n p r e m i s e s a t
C o m p u t e r V i s u a l s , I n c . , MACI s u b s i d i a r y m a r k e t i n g
t h e S y n t h e v l s i o n s e r v i c e .
L o c a l s e t u p u s e s i l o v a m i n i c o m p u t e r c o n t r o l l i n g b o t h
CRT d i s p l a y a n d c a m e r a . I n f o r m e d g u e s s w o u l d s u g
g e s t t h a t t i m e - s h a r i n g s y s t e m d o e s n o t s e n d a l l
s u c c e s s i v e p o i n t s o f o u t p u t l i n e , b u t d i f f e r e n c e
a n d t r a n s i t i o n v a l u e s ; No v a p r o g r a m w o u l d t h e n i n
t e r p o l a t e g r a d a t i o n s i n r e l a t i v e l y q u i e t s e c t i o n s
o f t h e s c a n - l i n e .
MAGI ' s p r e c i s e s y s t e m I s s e c r e t . H o w e v e r , t h e o n l y
r e a l q u e s t i o n s b o l l d own t o : f o r m s o f s u r f a c e r e p
r e s e n t a t i o n ; a y s t e m s o f s c e n e s o r t i n g ; a n d m e t h o d
o f s c e n e s c a n n i n g t o p r o d u c e o u t p u t s c a n .
N o t e t h a t o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p r e s s i v e t h i n g s a b o u t
MAGI w o r k , a t l e a s t f o r s o p h i s t i c a t e s , i s t h e d e
g r e e o f a r t i s t i c c o n t r o l t h a t s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n
r e a l i z e d I n t h e i r i n p u t a n d r e v i s i o n s y s t e m s . I t
s e e m s t h e y o f f e r e x c e l l e n t c o n t r o l o v e r m o t i o n a n d
c o l o r , a n d , o f c o u r s e , r e v i s i o n o f t h e a c t i o n i n
a s c e n e t i l l t h e m a k e r i e s a t i s f i e d .
P o p u l a r S c i e n c e . I t h i n k i t w a s , h a d a s p r e a d o n
S y n t h e v l s i o n i n f a l l o f 7 3 .
E n l a r g e m e n t f r o m MAGI f i l m . I h o p e
t h e r e p r o d u c t i o n s h o w s t h e c o n c e n t r i c
r i n g s , c a l l e d Hac h b a u d s , t h a t d i v i d e
a r e a s o f s h a d i n g ; K n o w l t o n a n d Ha r mo n
( c i t a t i o n p . DM 10) a d v i s e on p s e u d o
r a n d o m t e c h n i q u e s f o r c o r r e c t i n g t h i s .
ROUNDUP
These have been some of t he hi ghl i ght s
of t he halftone game to da t e . The methods d e s
c r i b e d so f ar a r e mainly sof t wa r e - or i e nt e d, and
for t he most pa r t work most efficiently as pr o
gr a ms . In the ne*t ar t i cl e we wi l l look at some
out l andi sh new forms of equi pment , u n d e r con
s t r uct i on o r proposed, for dedi cat ed pr oduct i on
of 3-D' halftone pi ct ur es.
S t.
THIRD ARTI CLE. Sp e c i a l i z e d h a r d w a r e s y s t e m s .
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT IS NOW BEING BUILT
FOR MAKING "REALISTIC" HALFTONE
PICTURES BY COMPUTER. THIS ARTICLE
COVERS SOME OF THE MORE UNUSUAL
HALFTONE HARDWARE SYSTEMS NOW IN
EXISTENCE OR BEING PLANNED.
H A t y o n V f r
ort h c A t n ? T R \ e s
R e s u l t s o f G o u r a u d ' s s w e l l s mo o t h i n g t e c h n i q u e . Mme. Go u r a u d p o s e d
f o r t he da f a s t r u c t u r e on t h e l e f t , a s y s t e m o f i n t e r c o n n e c t e d .flat p o l y g o n s .
T h e G o u r a u d p r o c e s s ( s e e b o x b e l o w) c r e a t e d t h e s mo o t h - l o o k i n g f ace
fr om i t b y an e x t r e m e l y s i mp l e p r o c e s s . (Not e t h a t t h e p o w e r o f t h e
t e c h n i q u e i s i n t h e u s e of a s i mpl e p o l y g o n d a t a s t r u c t u r e , r a t h e r t h a n
t h e mor e d i f f i c u l t t r u l y - c u r v e d s u r f a c e s u s e d , e . g . , b y MAGI.)
(Note a l s o t h a t t h e e d g e s r e ma i n j a g g e d . )
THE WATKINS BOX
T h e U n i v e r s i t y of Utah i s now b u i l d i n g
w h a t w i l b e f o r some time t h e w o r l d ' s moat
s p e c t a c u l a r i n t e r a c t i v e c o mp u t e r d i s p l a y , t he
Wat ki ns B o x . T h i s d e v i c e , i n t e r f a c i n g be t ween
a c o m p u t e r a n d a t e l e v i s i o n s c r e e n , wi l l c a r r y
o u t t h e Wa t ki ns a l g o r i t h m ( d e s c r i b e d i n t he
f i r s t a r t i c l e o f t h i s s e r i e s ) i n r e a l t i me : r i p p i n g
t h r o u g h a p r e d i g e s t e d l i s t of f a c e t i n f o r ma t i o n ,
t h e Wa t ki ns Box wi l l c r e a t e on t h e s c r e e n an
i ma g e of a n o p a q u e o b j e c t wh i c h t h e u a e r can
r o t a t e o r s e e ma n i p u l a t e d b y p r o g r a m .
T h e Wat ki ns Box c a n o p e r a t e i n t wo modest
n o r ma l m o d e , i n wh i c h t h e o b j e c t a p p e a r s f a c e t e d ,
a n d G o u r a u d m o d e , i n w h i c h i l a p p e a r s t o b e
c u r v e d o v e r ( s e e m a s k s , n e a r b y ) .
T h e Go u r a u d a l g o r i t h m , d e v e l o p e d by a
g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t of t h a t na me , i s a r i d i c u l o u s l y
s i mp l e t e c h n i q u e wh i c h m a r r i e s p e r f e c t l y t o t h e
Wat ki ns me t h o d . I n s t e a d of s h a d i n g t h e f ac e t s
u n i f o r m l y , t h i s t e c h n i q u e c a l c u l a t e s a s h a d e of
g r a y f o r e a c h p o i n t . In effect t he met hod I n t e r
p o l a t e s t h e s h a d e of t h e p o i n t f r om t h o s e a r o u n d
i t , a c r o s s f a c e t b o u n d a r i e s . In a c t u a l p r o c e d
u r e , t h e G o u r a u d met hod s h a d e s a p o i n t by
l i n e a r i n t e r p o l a t i o n b e t we e n two e d g e - c o l o r a ;
t h e c o l o r o f t h e l a s t e d g e and t h e n e x t e d g e to
b e e n c o u n t e r e d on t he p r e s e n t s c a n - l i n e .
( T h e s e s h a d e s a r e i n t u r n f o und b y l i n e a r i n t e r
po l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e i r e n d p o i n t s . )
I t w i l l be n o t e d t ha t G o u r a u d ' s met hod
does n o t c u r v e t h e e d g e s . But c o n s i d e r i n g i t s
s i m p l i c i t y as a smal l addi t i on to t h e Wat ki ns b o x .
t h a t ' s n o g r e a t s a c r i f i c e .
N a t u r a l l y , t he Watkins Box w i l l n o t r e a c h
t h e p r i v a t e home f or s e v e r a l y e a r s ; c u r r e n t
l i k e l y p r i c e i s i n 6i x f i g u r e s . But t h a t ' s n ow.
I s u g g e s t e d t h i s c o v e r
f o r t h i s a r t i c l e . The
f o l k s a t Co mp u t e r P e e l s i o n s
r e a c t e d w i t h p u z z l e m e n t
i f n o t d i s m a y . " T h l e c o v e r
d o e s n ' t h a v e p r a c t l c a l
a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e
a v e r a g e u s e r . " I t h i n k
s o m e o n e s a i d .
HAK JTiHe* h'com'-
I n t wo p r e v i o u s a r t i c l e s we h a v e s u m m a r
i z e d s ome o f t h e i m p o r t a n t b a s i c t e c h n i q u e s i n
c o m p u t e r h a l f t o n e - - t h e a r t i f i c i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n b y
c o m p u t e r o f p h o t o g r a p h i c p i c t u r e s o f 3-D s c e n e s ,
s c e n e s w h i c h a r e r e p r e s e n t e d wi t h i n t h e c o m p u t e r
a s c o l o r e d o r s h a d e d s u r f a c e s p l a c e d i n a c o o r
d i n a t e s y s t e m of t h r e e d i me n s i o n s .
T h e t e c h n i q u e s we h a v e l ooke d a t w e r e
al l i n t u i t i v e l y " s p a t i a l " i n c h a r a c t e r , h a v i n g t o
do w i t h t h e a n a l y s i s of s i g h t - l i n e s a n d r e l a t i v e
e d g e p o s i t i o n s , a n d s u i t e d to i m p l e m e n t a t i o n i n
c o mp u t e r s o f t w a r e . Now w e t u r n t o s ome mor e
a d v a n c e d a n d p e c u l i a r t e c h n i q u e s a n d e q u i p m e n t
i n t e n d e d t o m a k e 3-D c o mp u t e r h a l f t o n e f a s t e r
t o u s e , o r mo r e r e a l i s t i c , o r e a s i e r t o w o r k w i t h ,
o r c h e a p e r . T h e s e s y s t e m s r e p r e s e n t a co mi n g
g e n e r a t i o n d f h a l f t o n e h a r d w a r e .
GOURAUD' S TWIST a d d s t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f
c u r v a t u r e to a f a c e t e d o b j e c t s h o w n o p a q u e l y
b y t h e Wa t ki ns me t h o d ( d e s c r i b e d i n f i r s t
a r t i c l e ) .
I n s t e a d o f Bhading e a c h p o i n t w i t h i n a f a c e t
w i t h t h e s a me c o l o r , i n t e r p o l a t e b e t w e e n t h e
v e r t e x - c o l o r s a c c o r d i n g to how f a r do wn t h e
e d g e s y o u v e g o t t e n . Note t h a t t h e j a g g e d
e d g e s a r e r e t a i n e d .
*=>
c y r v a d e ^ i f r s y t f * K h f t { ui0rk M ' ' J '
* f r e n c h i*'. * ?
p l ^ r { _ f w k t . "
P
G w W i s p e c i a l w i s r
}?&
PRA'S WORLD-VIBW
Roger Boyell. of Pennsylvania Research
Associ at es, Phil adelphia, likes to r ef er lo (he
company' s main I nter est mi "modelling Ihe phys
ical worl d. " Thus he and his associ ates have
devel oped systerna for car togr aphy, landscape
model ling, pipe design, and simulation of com
ple x r ada r sysiems.
A r ada r simulat or Ihey are putt i ng to
get her for the Navy will show Ihe resul ts of any
poss ible r ada r syst em moving over any poaaible
te r r a i n. A pilot or navigat or t r ai nee, In a slm-
mulaied cockpi t, will aee the mi ssion' s changi ng
r ad a r pic tur e aa he changes tha planes course
o r the r a d a r ' s tuning. The r adar pic tur e, ap
pear ing on a scr een and changing In r eal time,
will look Just the way ths r adar would look en
a real mis si on- - Qylng In perspect ive among
mountains or vall eys, high or low. at any bear
i ng and speed, and viewed through any type of
r ada r .
Boyell' s appr oach la to tr eat each compo
nent of the pic tor ial /r adar simulation as a
separat e problem, lo be handled In different
ways, and blended In a final buf fe r , a core
memory which la read out to television. Seps-
r ate mechanisms supply components of shs dow,
specula r r ef lect ion. coloration and randomi zing
eff ects. The core buffer conti nuously refreshes
the scanned CRT dlapl ay.
Boyell has put Ihe same techniques lo
work making simulated halfione pic tur es of the
moon (eee cut ) . Both the r adar and moon s ys
tems use Ihe same type of halftone Image synthe
s i s , even though superficially they aeem quite
dif ferent . But r ada r Is radiation, juat like li ght,
a nd Boyell' a te chni ques of thr ee-dimensional
modelling and aearch apply equal ly well to de
pletion by reflected visible light I . e . , half
tone Imagea.
f m i n n or noci to ctmm
k* |7 ,-rr ^ ~ Ae
Air f m m _ ,___ t o a r f
*r Ta W - - - m O n La**. ^
s e t a SIB w > a wf i a i Mtf aaa. to a a r f M
will Or M r i (Me (aa C l t .
ad Ojrtag H T . m U c a at > 1 CWTb
111 b . Artrwm trj m i o a a >i r i y r n y
M A r l w +J a ---- - - I i l n w
The i t a n m M w a a q M ID ha
herd t b M Baa aa < a Ul k a oa
. I t " .
^ I
r ~
T i r r ^ 1 ------; ___J
r ^ - - o
An
[h
t h
o u t f i t c a l l
ay hava a re
a t w i l l knoc
(h | p- | . K*
f >
- f
TV ~A,J
. . a l pa op l a out af t ha
b a l l p a r k - - e s p e c i a l l y t ha CE h a r d v a r a aad
t h e Evana and S u t h e r l a n d Wai kl ni l o a ( e a r l i e r ) .
Tha otw pi l e i i r a l a a r . 111 a . i l a a t a |
and di p In r a a p a . e e t a t h a i t a l f o l a ; aa
a l a | | | ( | C i t s , wi t h o p i l c a 1- f r a a l l h a l
l o r u a l ha aye aa I b I I b I I t aad e n a c t e d
I t h a a i a a a , t he p i l o t n i l a r e e -
doi f I ght l o t a l t h , aed who ................ v l t c h e e T
E v i d e n t l y t hey hava In a l n d t ha uaa n(
dl n e na 1ona1 acenea o r o b j e c t a . T e r r i f i c .
(Mote: c o ap a r e t h a c l a l a of 14, 000 edi ea
on e $150, 000 s y a t e a wi t h t h e 2000 ( ? ) edgaa
al l owed by che o l d HASA a y a t e a b u i l t by CE,
o r t ha V . t k l n t Box 1 d o a ' t know how aany
edp. es- - a t $500, 000 f r o a Evana and S u t h e r l a n d .
I don' t expect you to believe thi s , because
nol even my patent at torney does, bul Ihe system
I call Pantasm Is Intended to make pic tur es that
paaa the Tur ing-l eal: you won' t be able to tell
them from r eal photogr aphs. Pantasm la Inten
ded to allow the u s e r to make reali st ic, Hierony
mus Bosch-l ike phot ographs snd movies, with
real- looking people (and scenery. Imaginary
c har ac t er s , monst er s, et c. ) In scenes of ar bi
tr ar y complexit y. It la expected lhat 1675 eco
nomics will make It s construction feasible.
Fantasm I or iginal ly conceived as a method
of making r ealis ti c photogr aphs and movies, not
knowing at the time thal this was Impossible,
but feel ing ll could be done aimehow If the
problem wer e br oken down suf fi ciently. At
times 11 was not clear which of us would be
br oken down f l r at . 1 or U.
II occur re d lo me sometime In 1960-1 lhal
computer- interpol at ed. Disney-t ype cartooning
methods woul d be feaalble. After some thought
I realized lhat pseudo-photogr aphy would be
poaai ble, and dropped the cart ooning Idea. The
str ange behavior of people whom I told aboul
thi s led me to increas ing secr ecy.
The gener al goal waa to make a system
t hal could do realisti c movies wit hout scenery
o r act or a, and make pictures indis tinguishable
from r eal photo gr aphs of r eal s cenery and
actor s. ("Whal do you mean, Indi st inguis hable
from photogr aphs ? people keep asking. What
do thay mean what do I mean?) The surfaces
are to be pul In by "scul ptors , " animated by
"puppet eer s , " and phot ographed by a "dir ector . "
The object ive Is for moviemaking to be under
ihe ut ter Imaginative control of Ihe creati ve user.
I am indebted to Prof. Charles Strauss
for the formaliaation of my tmoothing-
funation.
f^VlTW\ Utf-PWIY ....
. .. .
10 . s y . t . a . 1 1 d a - a r r a y p a r a l l e l f . a * J t e .
( t h r o u g h D-t o-A l r e u l t r y which e t a a r e aa I M u l r l a g a l l
. t o r ) t o l o t a r r o g a t l B i e l f * f 0, , r . t l o a l a e e p l r l c a l a r r a y
a r ound t h a . i i o w l a g * l o l i a a a o a q u a r l e e e f ve
haa pa r t i t l e l o g i c . I l M i M . l l o v f a . l t l p l e U - t J
a u r f a c e a . Feedback . t e e . r l a * ^ '
th r o u g h a r r a y . U , , t . c b o l q u e a aaaage * * '
a r e a o a l o i and c o o t i V ( , u r | a e . a of o c t . l t . d v o l . . e a b f a e ) .
v i s i b i l i t y uab r a l l a a l . . . r b
................ -
work undarway- ^ p a r a s . t . r Occ aI el ee
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by Us C- p r o e e e s l o B
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Tha ayatea mi l d ln a m v b a r at dlf-
ferwnl t m l a u One of I t Ma w n l r a large
array of LAI r i f i jOng Bodul a (It a d MCba r t eud
under an unuaual Monitor r vn cl a f a a ( e n s n l -
purpoae mon i t o r Tha ctteckeftaard l o m
Machine toUa a p a l epread ef aurfao. dSU.
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to nil IB o t a p m Vtoaal M d k . * a ^ . f d k c -
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FOURTH ARTICLE.
Systems of Computer Image Corporati on.
SO FAR WE HAVE SUMMARIZED AND DISTINGUISHED AMONG
THE MAJOR TECHNIQUES FOR COMPUTER SYNTHESIS OF IMAGES
FROM DIGITALLY STORED REPRESENTATIONS OF SCENES.
WE NOW TAKE THE WRAPS FROM A DIFFERENT BUT RELATED
SET OF TECHNIQUES THE SYSTEMS OF
COMPUTER IMAGE CORPORATION .
L ee Harriso n III go t Die I dee f o r w h at l a
no w C o mp uter I mage C o rp o ratio n I n 1959. A l
ready h aving an art degree, h e w ent o n f o r a
degree in el ec tric al engineering, end th ro ugh
l o ng l ean y ears p ut to geth er th e tec h nic al basic s
aro und w h ic h C l 's sy stems are no w buil t. C o m
p uter I mage C o rp o ratio n l a no w a go ing c o nc ern,
and o utp ut f ro m th eir ay atems. esp ec ial l y Sc an-
imate, l a no w w idel y visi bl e o n tel evisio n.
CAESAR S y s t e m. C h a r a c t e r ! a r e
nade t o move j a ws a nd l i p s by
J o i n t i n g t e c h n i q u e s i m i l a r t e
AnInac I I ( b e l o w ) , b u t i n auch
a way a s t o m a t t e o v e r drawn
a r t w o r k - - me ant i me w i g g l i n g
o t h e r dr awn a r t w o r k t h r o u g h
c a n M a n i p u l a t i o n .
C o mp uier I mage C o rp o ratio n seems l o be
th e f irst A rm to be c o mmerc ial l y suc c essf ul I n
th e h al f to ne f iel d. W h eth er th ey sh o ul d be
I nc l uded w ith th e o th ers I s arguabl e, h o w ever,
T h eir ay atems are no l w idel y understo o d, and
th e rel atio n o f th ese sy atems to th e Oth er sy stems
and p ro grams desc ribed I n th ese artic l es I s
p ro bl ematic al . A mo ng th e Tew w h o understand
th eir tec h niques, so me argue th at th ey do no t
sy nth esl te images al al l , bul ral h ar tw ist p re
existing p ic tures w ith a so rt o f M o o g sy nth esiser,
and th at th eir anal o g tec h niques are real l y J ust
c o mp o und o sc il l ato rs rath er th an true c o mp uting.
I th ink th at th is view I s w ro ng, at l eaat as
regards I h el r mo at ambitio us sy stem, and th at
C l 'a tec h niques deserve review . A l l th e w o rl d
l a no t digital . C l sy stems do Dl l up areas w ith
grey - seal s ( and o th er) p ic tures, end th eir s y s
tems I nvo l ve th ree- dimensio nal c o o rdinates,
o c c ul taikm and c o l o ratio n; th us I th ink l l ap
p ro p riate l o disc uaa th em h ere.
T h e f o l l o w ing disc uss Ton I s th a f irs t, I
bel ieve, to l if t th e vail o l sec rec y th al h aa h ith
erto c o nf o unded o h servers o f th is c o mp any 's
w o rk. I n th e Ugh t o f th e extreme so p h istic atio n
w ith w h ic h th ey h ave p ursued extremel y strange
tec h niques, th ey sh o ul d benef it f ro m th e w ider
understanding. ( N o te l h al th is material , w h ic h
h aa been assembl ed f ro m vario us so urc es and
c aref ul T V w atc h ing, I s p artl y c o nj ec tural . )
C o mp uter I mage's sy stems rep resenl an
ap p arentl y unp ro mising ap p ro ac h bril l iantl y
f o l l o w ed th ro ugh .
AU o f Cl ' s systems are a st range combi n
ation of cl osed- ci rcui t TV and analog components
oul of a music synt hesi zer: osci l l at ors, pot en
tiometers . interconnecti on n el works , The baaj c
mechanisms are the same for all , bul they are
carri ed to dif ferent logical ext remes, with di f
fer i ng accout rement s, i n the four systems.
They all seem lo be based on ihe ext raordi nary
Anlmac I I, nol yel Implemented; it would seem
lhal for busi ness reasons l he company decided
lo rai se money promoti ng simpler syst ems, so
lls bread and but l er now consists of two less
ambitious ayst ems, Scanlmale and Anl mac I;
both of whi ch might be puzzli ng i f nol recog
nised aa part s of a more el egant whole- It
would seem they were desi gned backwar ds as
spinoffs from Anlmac II, as waa CAESAR, t hei r
more recent 2-D ay stem.
T h e extrao rdinary ramif ic atio ns and
varieties o f th is sy stem, w ith al l I ts el ec tro nic
add- o n and c o mp o site meth o ds, stagger th e mo st
j aded tec h nic al I maginaUo n.
A t Uie h eart o f th a C ( sy stems I s th e p rin
c ip l e o f f il l ing areas o f a C R T sc reen w ith an
o sc il l ating trac e. T h ia I s a p rinc ip l e c o mmo n
to bo th L l ssaj o us f igures and tel evisio n; but
C o mp uier I mage h aa el abo rated f t p ec ul iarl y .
By variatio ns th ey p aint tw l ated tel evisio n I mages,
w iggl e eec tio na o f sup erimp o sed draw ings, c reate
mo ving f il igree ef f ec ts, and h o p e to animate
w h o l e gro up s o f o p aque el ec tro nic p up p ets I n
3- ap ac e.
C o nsider an o sc il l ating trac e o n an o sc il l o
sc o p e. T h is l a a tw o - dimensio nal o sc il l atio n,
h aving tw o signal s, x and y . Bul a th ree- dim
ensio nal o sc il l atio n is al so p o ssibl e; any th ird
signal , z , c an be I nterp reted as a th ird dimen-
al o n, meaning th at a "p o int o f l igh t" is w h irl ing
o ut so me p attern I n a th ree- dimensio nal sp ac e
an o sdl l o tank, so to sp eak. L et us c al l th is
p o int mo ving I n th ree dimensio ns a "sp ac e trac e. "
N o w to view th l a trac e w e need to c ul I t
do w n to tw o dimensio ns. By igno ring o ne o f
th e trac es w e c an view th e o sdl l o tank in c ertain
f ixed w ay a; but by c resting a "view c al c ul ato r,
a bo x p erf o rming c ertain p ersp ec tive transf o r
matio ns o n th e th ree signal s o f l h a sp ac e trac e,
w e may o btain a view o f th e o sdl l o tank f ro m a
mo vabl e vantage p o int. T h is is an E - y view
w h ic h w e may p ul o n an o rdinary o sdl l o sc o p e.
L et us no w add o ne mo re signal , b ( f o r
brigh tness) . T h is I s th e brigh tness Bignal f am
il iar I n tel evisio n:
Brigh tness o f th e sp o t I s th us indep endent
o f th e mo vement o f th e sp ac e trac e. Fo r examp l e,
th e ap ac e trac e c o ul d desc ribe s h el ic al p ath , a
so rt o f to rnado mo tio n, and w e c o ul d time I ts
sp inning to p h ase w ith a T V sl gnsl . I f w e no w
brigh ten th e sp ac e trac e o nl y w ith th e brigh t
ness signal o f a T V p ic kup , w e no w w il l see
On o ur view o f th e o sc l l io tank) w h at w o ul d l o o k
l ike a T V p ic ture c url ed aro und itsel f in sp ac e.
T h e dif f erent C l sy stems are bul l l aro und
th is ef f ec t.
Outp ut f ro m al l th ese signal s I s o rdinaril y
p ic ked up by ano th er vidl c o n, w h ic h stabil iz es
i t by c o nverting it I nto c o nventio nal tel evisio n
WHiuif6- oMiVettt Sf CMurei( Cs*pof<TM*i.
1 ' * ^ . * ^ l e c l w , - s M j
a r e r a p i d l y spun i n t h r e e d i m e n s i o n s
t h a t l a . v a r y i n g v o l t a g e s M, y
a nd I . The r e s u l t i n g " t u b e s ' * and
p a c t l v e c a l c u l a t i o n . The c i r c u i t r y
p e r m i t s t h e s e s h a p e a t o f l e a a t
J o i n t s , wa v e , and go t h r o u g h o t h e r
c h a n g e s .
IN SCANIMATE: z i g z a g and
c u r l i n g s h a p e s d e f i n e a
movi ng s c r o l l on whi ch an
i mage i s p a i n t e d .
IN CAESAR: c u r l i n g S h a p e s a r e
t r e a t e d 2 - d I o e n a I o n a l l y ,
as b l o c k i n g c o n t r o l s f e r
a r t w o r k .
IN ANIHAC 1 1: p u p p e t s w i l l be
s c u l p t e d much l i k e r o l l i n g
a c i g a r e t t e .
x / ,
A last Cl te chni que, techni call y minor bul
remarkable i n effect, permi t s this bl ocking and
shadowi ng among separ at e obj ect s. This Is the
use or a st orage CRT t ube on which ever y frame
Is painted (from the viewpoi nt or from the Ught
Source). The pi ct ur e i s pal med on the St onge
CHT, nearest t hi ngs f i r st ; and t he r et ur n atgnal
from the screen tell s whet her t he space t r ace is
c r ossi ng an area al ready pai nt ed dur i ng the
f rame. The t ube' s output si gnal t hen effectively
const it ut es a si l houet t e. Thl a d u e indicates that
the apace tr ace should nol be visi ble; and hence
i s uaed to cul off br i ght ne s s whil e the tr ace la
wi t hi n the alr eady-fil led ar e a. This gates
between two desir ed obj ect s o r pi c t u r es , fore
ground and background. If operaled from Ihe
point of view of the l i g h t . ll gat es shadow: the
signal Is used t o control t he relati ve bri ght ness
of the shadowed and unshadowed features of a
puppet In 3-Space.
A fascinati ng var i et y of embel lishments
has been put i nto these sys t ems by Cl 's ingen
ious engi neers . Col oration of t he final video
si gnal Is added by gat i ng color level s under
control of the br i ght ness s i g n a l , permi tt ing pi c
t ures wit h sever al gr ey- l e vel s to be transformed
10 up lo four rainbow h u e s . Separate shapes
descri bed by the space I rsce may be i ndepen
dentl y moved and Jointed at t he same time:
Harrison pointedly call s s uch separat e shspes
" bones. " Darkeni ng at i he backsi de of a spun
shape, o r br i ght eni ng at edges of a painted p or
t i on, and br i ght eni ng i n proport i on lo c ur l , are
all st r ange capabi l i t i es of I hl s machi ne, Lip-
s ynchroni zed mouthlike moti on can be imparted
to any pa r t of the shape spun by the space tr ace
(whether or nol a mouth i s palnled on I t ) , by sn
audio detector feeding di r ec i l y to the ci rcui t ry
from a li ve mike. And t he limbs of Cls ghostl y
f i gures can be made t o s wi ng by connection of
sensors to the animators themsel ves i n a li vi ng
pant ograph,
SCANIMATE i s a popul ar device now widely
used (at Cl 's st udi os) f or the making of TV com
mercials and s t al i on- br eak emblems. Thi s Is
i hei r simplest syst em, used for the conversi on
and discombobulaiion of Hat art wor k. In Scani -
mate, the space tr ace i s cont rol l ed by hand-
operated potenti ometers. Two separat e oscil lator
set t i ngs are avai l abl e, so t hat the space trace
csn have two separat e oscil lati on patt erns,
spi nni ng oul two ent i r el y di fferent vi r t ual shapea
in 3-space. A hs nd- t hr ot l l c eases from one
oscil lator set t i ng lo t he ol h e r . Thi s permi ts an
image to be moved, s h r u n k o r enl ar ged, or
flipped: to go from whi r l i ng around lo a sort of
hula; and many more eff ect s. The picture
painted on it may be scn t o r ol l on i nvis ible
spi ndl es, bloom into fount ai ns, or undulate aa
pennant s- - all by modulati ng lhe bri ght ness of
t he f lying spol as it t r ac es i t s unseen shape.
Thi s shape. In t u r n , can move between i t s two
forms under cont rol of t he Ihrot tl e.
Animac I (usual ly cal l ed Anlmac) provides
gr eai er flexi bi lit y In cont rol l i ng Ihe apace t race.
The syst em' s oscil lati ons a r e control led by an
i nput vi di oon. which a r t i s t s may quickly modify
wit h past el cheek at ihe pi c kup. Ghostly l obu
l ar le t t eri ng, swarmi ng pendul um- pat t ems and
j i ggl i ng tlllgTeea are among the possible doodlea.
CAESAR, t hei r newest syst em, i s orient ed
toward Yogi Bear - i ypc ani mat i on. The a r t i s t ' s
cartoons are automatically superi mposed on a
backgr ound o r each ot he r . They may be moved,
and made to wiggle under r eal -t i me control by
t he us e r .
But It 1b lo Anlmac II l hat Ihese curiosit ies
lead. What Harrison cal l s t he "Snow White
Capabi li ty" of Animac II wi l l permi t the scul pt ure
of full humanoid puppet s, wit h perhaps thi rt y
art i culated "bones, " opaque t o one another and
cast i ng shadowa, col ored, moving and talking.
Me s s r s . Ru t t and E t r s , a r e o f f e r i n g i
n a c h i n e s i m i l a r t o S c a n i m a t e b u t ouch
at
S c a nt B i t e ' t w i r l , by now f a m i l i a r
t o noaC TV w a t c h e r s . S c a n i m a t e i s
e x t e n s i v e l y us e d on ' ' The E l e c t r i c
g i v e s us a window I n t o a p e c u l i a r s o r t o f w o r l d :
a w o r l d I n whi c h l umi n o u s s h a p e s can u n d u l a t e and
s p i n on I n v i s i b l e s p i n d l e s ( S c a n i m a t e ) , o r w i g g l e
as s e p a r a t e b o n e s (CAESAR.
T u b e l i k e s h a p e s may be r o t a t e d and s h a p e d I n
3D ( An l mac ) , a nd p u p p e t s nay e v e n t u a l l y be r o l l e d
l i k e c i g a r e t t e a (Ani mac I I ) , whi ch may t h e n be
p a i n t e d f rom a TV p i c k u p on t h e s i d e n e a r e s t t he
v i e w p o i n t .
By u s i n g a s t o r a g e t u b e and s p i n n i n g t h e t r a c e
c l o s e t o g e t h e r , l i k e c o t t o n c a n d y , and c u t t i n g o f f
t h e p a i n t i n g s i g n a l w h i l e t h e t r a c e i s w i t h i n t h e
a r e a a l r e a d y f i l l e d , we g e t e l e c t r o n i c ma s k i n g :
i.h i c h b l e n d s a n i m a t e d d r a wi n g s I n 2D (CAESAR)
r i a s k i n g anonn 3D p u p p e t s (Anl mac I I ) .
1 1 1a n o t aa f i n e l y d e t a i l e d t h e I n n e r
s c r e e n r u n e a t 525 l i n e s r a t h e r t h a n
700 b u t I t c o a t , some $ 1 5 , 0 0 0 I n s t e a d
o f $ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 .
The o n l y p i c t u r e I ve be en a b l e t o
f i n d t h a t r e l a t e s t o t h e 3D s c u l p t u r i n g of
Anl a ac I I l a t h i s f r a a e , bl own up f r om a
s h o r t 16mm s e q u e n c e . The f i g u r e i a s c u l p
t u r e d f r om o s c i l l a t i o n s I n t h r e e v a r i a b l e s ,
m o d u l a t e d t o r e p r e s e n t t h l a f i g u r e o f t h l r -
a r e c l e a r l y v i s i b l e I n t h e f i l e ; t h e f i g u r e
WHAT ABOUT REAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL
DISPLAY?
In sci e nce- f i ct i on s t o r i e s you h e a r about
how obj ects a r e made to a p pe a r as if t h e y r e
s t a n di n g in t he mi ddle o f t he room. For i ns t ance ,
1 bel i eve lhal i n Hei nl ei ns S t r a n g e r i n a St r ange
Land t hey watched a " t ank" i n whi ch t hi ngs
a p p e a r e d .
Well, a l ot of peopl e have t hought about
t h i s , and i t ' s not so e a s y a s you might t h i n k .
One i n t e r e s t i n g scheme u s e d a s o r t of
t r a n s l uc e n t p r o p e l l o r , s p i n n i n g r a t h e r f a s t , on
whi ch comput e r - g e n e r a t e d i mages wer e p r o
j e c t e d from bel ow. It waa done by t he dot t i ng
met hod, so t hat a b r i g h t dot of light woul d a p
p e a r hi gh or low i n s p a c e d epe ndi ng on whe
t h e r i t was pr oj e ct ed on a rel at i vel y h i g h o r low
poi nt on t he pr o p e l l o r .
GOl t f G- H K J t h
\ c j r j
Thi s was i n t e r e s t i n g but had numer ous
d i s a dv a n t a g e s - - not t h e l eas t of which was the
d a n g e r of t he t hi n g f l yi ng a p a r t . ( Tr ans l uce nt
mat er i al s l end not to be a s s t r o n g a s , s a y ,
me t a l . ) Anot her b as i c p r ob l e m, t hough, was
t he fact that any g i ven poi nt i n t he s p a c e could
onl y be di s pl ayed at a g i ven t i me, when the
p r o p e l l o r s hei ght i n t hat re gi on was j u s t r i g h t ,
and thal meant that at t hat gi ven i ns t a n t you
coul dnt di s pl ay any of t he o t her poi nt s that
coul d only be di s pl a ye d at t hat i ns t ant . A con
si der a bl e d i s adva nt a ge.
Probabl y the most ast oni shi ng 3D di s pl ay
is Sut h e r l a n d' s I nc r edi bl e Helmet. Thi s cons i s t s
of a helmet wi t h two di nky CRTs mount ed on i t ,
each bei ng d r i v e n i n r e a l time by a p e r s p e c t i v e
syst em (such as t he LDS-1) and set u p with
pr i s ms to the w e a r e r ' s e y e s . Thr ough t he p r i s ms
t he we a r e r ca n eee t he r e a l wor ld in fr ont of him.
Reflected i n t he p r i s ms , howe v e r , and t hus mixed
i nto t he view of t he r e a l wo r l d, is t he gl owi ng
wi re-fr ame b e i n g p r e s e n t e d t o him i n p e r s p e c
t i ve, and wi t h i t s s e p a r a t e vi ews mer gi ng into
an appar ent obj ect i n f r on t of hi m. But he need
not st and sti ll : as h e moves , t he hel met ' s c ha n
gi ng position i s moni tor ed by the pr o g r a m, and
t he di spl ay syst em c ha ng e s t he vi ews accor di ngl y
meaning he can walk a r ound and t hr ough a di s
pl ayed obj ect. Th e i l l us i o n, and t he pos s i b i l i t i es ,
ar e fantastic: i magi nar y a r c h i t e c t u r e , expl anat i ons
a nd di agr ams of t h i n g s in t he room, poet r y that
c ha nges as you walk t h r o u g h i t , . . . we l l , you
wor k on i t . Not avai l abl e commercially.
T h e r e was a lot to be sai d for t ent s. They
coul d be made by t ai l o r s , r a t h e r t han cons t r uc
t ion gangs ; t hey could be t r a n s po r t e d and stored
flat. Th e i r surf ace-t o-vol ume rat i os coul dn' t be
beat .
Noting t hi s , an ar chi t ect named Ron Resch
sai d to himself: what about maki ng l ar ge- s c al e
f oldable s t r u c t u r e s , li keunt o geodesi c domes,
t hat cou_i d be simply manuf act ured in sheet
form and cr ea se d at the f act ory, t hen bolted and
cabl ed and st r ut t ed in t he field?
Re6ch has now for y e a r s been e x p e r i
ment i ng with complex folded s t r u c t u r e s .
T h e r e ' s only one t r oubl e. If you' ve
messed wilh p ape r ai r pl a nes you know that
fol di ng i s an i naccurat e p r o c e s s , and so the
p r os pe ct of di s cover i ng complex geometri c s t r u c
t u r e s b y t he hand- fol di ng of p a p e r i s r a t h e r
slim.
Recognizi ng t hi s, Resch h as cont r ived to
wor k at a comput er d i s p l a y . His wor k the
s ea r ch f or gr e at folding s t r u c t u r e s i s one of
t he f i r s t pract i cal us es of halftone polygon
comput er gr a p h i c s . He i s , n a t u r a l l y , at the
Uni ver sit y of Utah.
Lou Katz, of NYU, put ol d-fafl hi oned e t e r e o p -
t i c o n s up t o t he CRT, and di s p l a y e d two s e p a r a t e
viewe t o t he two eye s . Works f i n e , even wi t h
i s omet r i c d i s p l a y .
Bob Spinr ad of Xerox Data Systems has a
pat ent on di s pl ayi ng 3D fr om a c o mp u t e r t h r o u g h
a n o r d i n a r y color TV. As s umi ng y o u ' r e u s i n g
some s t a n d a r d way of r e f r e s h i n g t he TV d e s
c r i b e d e l s e wher e - - t he i mage f o r one eye i s d i s
p l aye d in gTeen, t he o t her i n r e d , and you look
t h r o u g h r e d and fcreen g l a s s e s . The wo nde r s of
modem s ci e nce. Spi nr ad c h u c k l e s o v e r I t him
sel f.
Anot her scheme gl ued s i l v e r Myl ar to the
fr ont of a l ouds p e a k e r , t hen p l a y e d a soft hum
t h r o u g h t he l ouds pea ker lo p u l s e t he Myl ar bac k
a nd for t h. Then you used t h s t as a mi r r o r to
look at what was goi ng on t he CRT-- whi ch was
showi ng a lot of poi nt s at odd p l ac es that would
a p pe ar to be i n s p a c e . Unf ort unat el y t hi a was
h a r d t o coor di nat e, a nd, l i ke t he propel lor#
often r e q u i r e d you to put dot s in s ev e r a l pl ac es
at once , whi ch don' t wor k.
For a while you coul d g e t maybe you
s t i l l can a t hr ee- di mensi onal comput er out put
d evi c e. Heres what it di d: it c r ea t e d obj ects
showi ng dat a s t r u c t u r e s t hat h a d t h r e e v a r i a b l e s .
(It d i d n t make wi r e - f r ame obj ect s o r t he l i k e . )
Automatically ej ect i ng wi r e t h r o u g h a styrofoam
bl ock, and s ni ppi ng t he done o n e s , it cr ea t e d
l i ttle mountains showi ng t h r e e- di mens i onal dat a.
Very cut e . Since many peopl e have probl ems
wi t h mountainous comput er d a t a , it pr oba bl y
s houl d have caught on.
Then a lot of people mumble t he wor d
" h o l o g r a p h y , as i f that is goi ng to s et t l e some
t h i n g . While holograms a r e t e r r i f i c an d r e ma r k
a bl e . and have been pr od u c e d on c omput er s ,
maki ng them i s not a p r o c e s s t hat can be c a r r i e d
out decendy on s equent ial mac hi ne s let alone
making them in r e a l ti me. So i f a solution to
i nt er a ct i ve t hree-di mensi onal comput er di spl ay
i s goi ng to come t hr ough h o l o g r a p h y, it means
a whole new bat ch of t echnology wi l l have to be
i n v e nt e d.
My fr iend Andr ew J . S i n g e r , who comes
and goes in the comput er field and is one of
t he five o r si x smart est peopl e 1 eve r met , s a y s
he knows how to b ui l d a di s pl ay t ank, and I
bel i eve him. He expl ai ned it qui ckl y to me o n c e
and I asked him to t el l it a g a i n , but he j u s t s a i d
s adl y, "What' s t he u s e - - t h e r e ar e eo many
gr e at t hi ngs that coul d be d o n e . . . "
FOUR DIMENSIONS, EGAD
So much for t h r e e di mensi ons. Now, some
r e a d e r s ar e bound to a s k , "What about f o ur di m
ens i ons ?" because t hey a r e sci ence- fi ct i on fans
o r t r oubl emaker s o r mathematicians o r s omet hi ng.
J u s t as we can make a t wo-di mensi onal
p i c t u r e of a t hree-di mensi onal obj ec t , it i s p os
s i bl e , de a r r e a d e r , to make a t wo-di mensi onal
p i c t u r e of a four -di mensi onal obj ect.
What ia a f our -di mensi onal object?
Why, any object t hat h a s four d i mens i ons ,
(t hanks a l ot , you s a y ) , o r e ve n f our me a s u r a bl e
qu a l i t i e s , such as hei ght , we i ght , age and g r a d e
point ave r a ge. Well, l e t s not get into t h a t , b u t
it t u r n s out that vi ews of Buch mul ti di mensi onal
s t r u c t u r e s may be obt ai ned by t he same homogen
eous mat ri x t echnique^ al r eady ment i oned for
r e g u l a r per spect i ve cal cul at i ons. Rule of t humb:
however many di mensions y o u r dat a has o r i g i n a l l y ,
you add one more di mensi on, homogeneous wi t h
the r e s t , and t her e exi st for mul as ( s o r r y . I d o n t
have them) for view cal cul at i on.
(Note, of c o u r s e , that while a t wo- di men
sional view i a a p i c t u r e , a t h r e e - di mensi onal
view i s a t hree-di mensi onal obj e c t - - you' l l ha v e
to view it on an i nt eract i ve 3D compui er di s pl ay
of some k i n d . )
* 0 * s G f l T H | 9 | $ i n i r
fctsEj^i---
( V t c f a r f r l t t V i l I h P )
i # - n
Dan Sandin5 Image Processor (see p.^Mi
is a system of circuit boxes that allow
video images to be dynamically colored, mat
ted, dissolved and palpitated; Tom DeFanti's
language (see "Coup de GRASS, p.J>^*3l) per
mits the rapid creation, viewing and manip
ulation of three-dimensional objects on the
screen of a particular computer setup.
To combine them, you just point Dan's
system at Tom's system.
Lets say that on the screen of Tom's
system we are viewing an animated bird,
flapping its wings. Since it's being shown
on a three-dimensional refreshed line display
(see pp..VirtXl>*\)0) , it appears only as white
lines on a dark screen.
From v i d e o t a p e j
" The Number C r u n c h e r t
by TDF & DJS.
From the Image Processor, the finished
signal goes out to videotape recorders.
What then have we overall? One of the
world's most flexible facilities for the
rapid production of educational videotapes.
The Circle Graphics Habitat, however,
is something else again. It results from
two intricate, independent technological
developments, each an intricate system care
fully crafted by an exceptionally talented
person, coming together like two hands clap-
ing. Like ham and eggs, like man and woman,
Sandin's Image Processor and DeFanti's GRASS
language conjoin directly and interact per
fectly as if they had been made for each
other, which they were not.
Dan merely points a TV camera at Tom's
screen, and runs the TV signal into his Im
age Processor. Now, in the Image Processor,
he gives it the magic of color. Different
colors, interplaying with gradations and
subtlety.
Fr om v i d e o t a p e 3
" The S p i r a l Ta p e >"
by DJS and TDF.
To explain something, you create a
three-dimensional stick-figure "model" of it,
using DeFanti's GRASS language. Then you
make a videotape of it, showing rotations or
other manipulations, using the Image Proces
sor to give it color.
DeFanti and Sandin have spent much of
the academic year '73-4 getting the kinks out
of this procedure. (Many of the difficulties
stem from the unreliability of videotape re
corders.) Stills from some of the first work
are shown here.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thomas A. DeFanti, Daniel J. Sandin and
Theodor H. Nelson, "Computer Graphics as
a Way of Life." To be presented at U.
of Colorado computer graphics conference,
July 1974; to appear in proceedings pur
portedly to be called Computers and Graphics.
Uj p-d
SdU >h .
f c f w r f ;
1*,
From vi deot ape,
"The Hydrogen Atom
Accordi ng t o
Quantum Mechani cs"
by T. J. O' Donnel l
& David P a r r i s h .
It is usualiy hard to combine things:
especially complicated technical things.
Usually it takes infinite reconsiderations,
finagling, modification, intertwingling.
s 4 - V
VctV
TV
DM 41
TV
------o r e k j z c p j* j. c.
fJHMl
( h t f k o f r )
J>W
* T*syoc o r T H o u w i r
Uneducated people typically think of
education as the learning of a lot of facts
and skills. While facts and skills certainly
have their merits, "higher education" is also
largely concerned with tying ideas together,
and especially alternative structures of such
tying-together: with showing you the vast un
certainties of things.
A wonderful Japanese film of the fifties
was called Rasho-Mon. It depicted a specific
event-- a rape-- as told by five different
people. As the audience watches the five se
parate stories, they must try to judge what
really happened.
The Rasho-Mon Principle: everything is
like that. The complete truth about soaething
is never known.
Nobody tells the complete truth, though
some try. Nobody knows the complete truth.
Nowhere may we find printed the complete truth.
There are only different views, assertions,
supposed facts that support one view or another
but are disputed by disbelievers in the particu
lar views; and so on. There are "agreed-on
facts," but their meaning is often in doubt.
The great compromise of the western world
is that we go by the rule: assume that we never
know the final truth about anything. There are
continuing Issues, Mysteries, Continuing Dia
logues. What about flying saucers, "why Rome
fell," was there a Passover Plot, and Did Roose
velt know Pearl Harbor would be attacked?
Outsiders find the intellectual world pom
pous, vague in its undecided issues, stuffy in
its quotes and citations. But in a way these
are the sounds of battle. The clash of theories
is what many find exhilarating about the intel
lectual world. The Scholarly Arena is simply
a Circus Maximus in which these battles are sche
duled.
Many people think "science" is free from
all this. These are people who do not know much
about science. More and more is scientifically
known, true; but it is repeatedly discovered that
some scientific "knowledge" is untrue, and this
problem is built into the system. The important
thing about science is not that everything will
be known, or that everything unanimously believ
ed by scientists is necessarily true, but that
science contains a system for seeking untruth
and purging it.
This is the great tradition of western
civilization. The Western World is, in an
important sense, a continuing dialogue among
people who have thought different things.
"Scholarship" is the tradition of trying to
improve, collate and resolve uncertainties.
The fundamental ground rules are that no issue
is ever closed, no interconnection is impossible.
It all comes down to what is written, because
the thoughts and minds themselves, of course, do
not last. (The apparatus of citation and foot
note are simply a combination of hat-tipping,
go-look-if-you-dont-believe-me, and you-might-
want-to-read-this-yourself.)
"Knowledge," then-- and indeed most of our
civilization and what remains of those previous--
is a vasty cross-tangle of ideas and evidential
materials, not a pyramid of truth. So that pre
serving its structure, and improving its accessi
bility, is important to us all.
Which is one reasc
thinkertoys.
i we need hypertexts and
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J 1 MV y f U I ) t *jl1 wJI L<
flo w ID l M \I M 'ff lf lK f f r '
* *** ** 1 can t a l l , t h e e e a r e t h a t e d n i o i M e
by b r i g h t paopl a who u n t ea l e a r n s o e e t h t a g o t h e r
by t a k i n g c ou r s e s I n i t . I t a t h a way P h . D . ' p i c k ^
a e c m d f l e l d r i t ' s t h a way j o u r n a l i s t s a a l ------
o p e r a t e ) I t bxlrvj* th a 9 n a r a l u n d e r s t an d i n g s o f a f i e l d
t h a t c h i l d r e n o f i n e n t pa op l a Id t h a t f i e l d g a t aa a
b i r t h r i g h t ) i t t h a way Anybody can l a m * n r t M o g , i f
ha haa t h e nerve.
1- DECIDE WHAT YOU WOT TO LEABI. But you c a n ' t
k n o t e x a c t l y , because o f cou r e e you don t a u c t l y
h w any ( l a i d l a a t r u c t u r e d u n t i l you know a l l a b o u t I t .
MiT
2. READ EVERYTHING TOU CM* e s p e c i a l l y what you
an j o y , t i n e a t h a t way you can r u ^ e e r e ot I t ( u t i .
3. GJlkB FOB OfSIQfTS. R t ^ i r d U i a of [11**** o t h e r s
t r y i n g t o a a k e , whan you r e c o g n i s e an I n s i g h t t h a t h ae
w a ni ng f o r y m , s a k e i t yo ur own. I t My hav* eo d e w i t h
t h * ahapa o f e o l e c u l a a , o r t h a p e r s o n a l i t y o f a s p e c i f i c
^ a r a r , o r t h a qu i r k * o f a G r e a t Han i n t i w F i e l d . Ztm
i ^ o r t e n c e l a n o t how c a n t r a l i t i a , b u t tow c l e a r and i n
t e r e s t i n g and a a a o r a b l a t o you . i t . Than go f o r
a n o t h e r .
4. TIE INSIGHTS TOOTHBt. Soon you w i l l ha ve y ou r
w h a t r i n g of i n s i g h t * i n a f i e l d , l i k e t ha s t r i n g o f l i g h t *
around a C h r l s A a s t r e e .
5. COKZWTRATE ON HAfiAZIHES, MOT BOOKS. Haga al nee
hav* f a r e a r e i n s i g h t * p a r i n c h e f t a z t , and c a n ba n t d
such f a s t e r . But whan a book r a a l l y s peaks t o y o u , l a v i s h
a t t e n t i o n o n j t .
6. riHD JOUR Cm SPECIAL TOPICS, Mm PuftSUS THEH.
7. GO TO COWVENTICMS. Por i m r aa aon , c o n v e n t l m e a r a
a s p l e n d i d e o n e a n t r a t a d way t o l e a r n t h i n g s ) t a l k i n g t o p w ^ l e
h e l p s . Don' t t h i n k you have t o ba anybody s p e c i a l t o go t o a
c onvent i on! j u a t pl unk down your man*y. But you hava t e ha v a
a h a n d l e . C a l l i n g y o u r e e l f a C o n s u l t a n t i * goodt ' S t u d e n t * i a
p e r f e c t l y ho no r abl e .
e . 'FIND YOUR HAN.* SoMwhere i n t h e worl d i a s f e c i r M
who w i l l answer your q u a a t i o n a e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y w e l l . I f y ou
f i n d h i * , dog h i > . He aay be a j a n i t o r o r a t e e n a g e k i d r no
a t t a r . Fol low h i * wi t h your b e g g i n g - b m l , i f t h a t ' * wh at h a
want a. o t t a k e h i * t o e x p e n s i v e r e s t a u r a n t s , o r a f a a t e v e r .
9. KEEP 1KPBOVIMG YOUR gUESTlOHS. P r o ba b l y i n yo ur
head t h e r e a r e q u a a t i o n a t h a t d o n ' t s e e* t o l i n a up w i t h
what y o u ' r e h e a r i n g . D o n ' t a s s t a * t h a t - y o u d o n ' t u n d e r e t e e d i
keep Ml j uat i ng t h e q u a a t i o n a t i l l y n can g a t an answer t h a t
r e l a t e s t o what you want ad.
10. YOUR FIELD IS BOWDED WERE YOU MMT IT TO BB.
J u a t becauae o t h e r a gr oup and a t a r e o t y p e t h i n g * i n c o n v e n t i o n
a l ways does n o t *ean t h e y a r e n e c e a e a r l l y r i g h t . I n t e l l e c t u a l
e u b j e c t a a r e c onnect ed e v e r y whlcbwsyj your f i e l d l a wh et you
t h i n k I t i s . (Again, t h i a l a <n* o f t h * . t hi ng * t h a t w i l l g i v e
you i n a l g h t a and keep you a c t i v a t e d ) b u t i t w i l l g e t you i n t o
t r o u b l e i f you t r y t o go f o r d e g r e e s . )
Ther e a r e l i m i t a t i o n s . Th i a d o e s n ' t gi v e you l a b e x
p e r i e n c e , and you w i l l c o n t i n u a l l y have t o be making op f e r
g a p s . But t o r a l e r t n a a e and t h e a b i l i t y t o uee h i e e l n d ,
g i v e e e t l w aan w t t t ' a l e a r n e d t h i s way, r a t h e r t h a n been
b l i n k e r e d a r t c l i c h e d t o d e a t h w i t h i n t h e e d u c a t i o n a l e y * t * a .
BIBLIOQtAPW
w i l a a r S h l r a a , c h i l d r e n o f t h e A t e .
S c i a n c e - F l c t i c n a b o u t what a s c h oo l c oul d be l i k e wher e
k i d s r a a l l y used t h e i r Ki nd s . I ' v e al ways been e u r e I t
waa p o a a i b l e t t ha R . E . S . l . S . T . O . R . S . (aee p . S7>
Aee
T f U C U t V S P O R i O O J
J t o f o W i S OF
MS
gSSR J SSSo w m s -
Ll
"ON W W G - , "
^ ^ facets
b e i n g a n e x a m i n a t i o n o f s a n e v e r y Compl ex H a t t e r s
w h i c h Nobody Seems t o U n d e r s t a n d ; a n d whose
G e n e r a l i t y o f R e l e v a n c e may be G r a d u a l l y Ap pr e hende d.
( E v e n t u a l l y I hope t o d e v e l o p a 9 o n e v h a t more f o r ma l
t r e a t m e n t o f " i d e a s , " ae d i s t i n c t f r a i p r o p o s i t i o n e ,
s e n t e n c e k e r n e l s , e t c . But t h e r e i s c e r t a i n l y no room
f o r t h a t h e r e . ( L o g i c i a n s ; show me t h e t r u t h - t a b l e o f
"BUT. ")
The p r o c e e s o f w r i t i n g i s p o o r l y u n d e r s t o o d i n n s t q u a r t e r s -
Many w o r k i n g w r i t e r s d e s p a i r o f b e i n g " s y s t e m a t i c , " g e t t i n g
t h i n g s do n e a s b e e t t h e y c a n . On t h e o t h e r h a n d , p e o p l e who t h i n k
t h e y m i g h t b e a b l e t o c o n t r i b u t e - - p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e s y m b o l i c l o g i
c i a n s a nd t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l l i n g u i s t s b e i n g i n me r e e d i n t h e i r own
f o r m a l i s m s , s i m p l y d o n ' t s e e w h a t ' s g o i n g On a t l e a s t , when I ve
t r i e d t o t a l k t o t hem.
w r i t i n g i e n o t s i m p l e . As w i t h v i s i o n o r s p e e c h o r r i d i n g a
b i c y c l e , an i m n e n s e l y compl ex p r o c e s s i s b e i n g u n c o n s c i o u s l y p u r
s u e d .
Sane p e o p l e t h i n k y o u make an o u t l i n e a n d f o l l o w i t , f i l l i n g
o u t t h e d e t a i l s o f t h e o u t l i n e u n t i l t h e p i e c e i s f i n i s h e d . T h i s
i s a b s u r d . ( T r u e , some p e o p l e can do t h i s , b u t t h a t i s s i m p l y a
s h o r t c u t t i n g o f t h e r e a l p r o c e s s . ) B a s i c a l l y w r i t i n g i s 4
THE TRY-AND-TRY-AGAIN INTERPLAY o f PARTS AND DETAILS a g a i n s t
OVERALL AND UNIFYING IDEAS WHICH KEEP CHANGING.
I n f a c t a nu mb e r o f t h i n g s a r e h a p p e n i n g , o f t e n s i m u l t a n e o u s l y .
We c a n s e p a r a t e t hem i n t o t h r e e :
1 . P r o v i s i o n a l de v e l o p me n t o f i d e a s and p o i n t j r
A) f o r m i n g o v e r a l l o r g a n i z i n g i d e a s , B) s e l e c t i n g t e n
t a t i v e p o i n t s ; C) i n d u c t i v e l y f i n d i n g o v e r a l l o r g a n i z a
t i o n among t hem; D) f i n d i n g r e l a t i o n s o f i n t e r e s t b e t we e n
p o i n t s .
2 . Compl ex s i f t i n g and a d j u s t m e n t among c o l l e c t i o n s o f p o i n t s ,
o v e r a l l i d e a s .
3. F i n e s p l i c i n g w i t h i n d e v e l o p e d s e q u e n c e s .
A) t r a n s i t i o n a n d j u x t a p o s i t i o n ma nage me nt s , B) c r o a s -
c i t a t i o n s , C) s mo o t h i n g .
R e g r e t t a b l y , t h e r e ' s no room o r t i m e t o p u r s u e t h i s h e r e .
( The a r t i c l e I h a d i n t e n d e d t o w r i t e woul d t a k e a whol e s p r e a d . )
F o r p e o p l e who r e a l l y c a r e a b o u t t h e m a t t e r , I w i l l make some
p o i n t s i n v e r y a b b r e v i a t e d form.
The i n t e r e s t i n g s t r u c t u r e s i n w r i t t e n m a t e r i a l i n c l u d e :
* P o i n t B " p i e c e s , s e n t e n c e s , p h r a s e s , e x a m p l e s , p l o t e v e n t s ,
a n d e x p o s i t o r y " p o i n t s . "
O r g a n i z i n g p r i n c i p l e s a nd s t r u c t u r e s ( wh i c h we w i l l c a l l h e r e
a r c h e s ) f L n a l i r o n i e s , t h i n g s t o b e l e d up t o , t h e me s ,
p l o t s , c o n c e p t s , p r i n c i p l e s , e x p o s i t o r y s t r u c t u r e s , o r
g a n i z i n g t i t l e s , o v e r c o n c e p t s . T h e s e may b e e i t h e r l o c a l
o r g l o b a l , o v e r t h e e n t i r e wor k. ( No t e ; a r c h e s may n o t
be h e i r a r c h i c a l r e l a t i v e t o one a n o t h e r . )
Now, we may t h i n k o f p o i n t s a n d a r c h e s a s I n d i v i d u a l o b j e c t s
wh i c h h a v e i n d i v i d u a l r e l a t i o n s t o one a n o t h e r . Bet ween t wo p o i n t s
t h e r q may b e a good t r a n s i t i o n ; a s p e c i f i c p o i n t may l i n k w e l l t o a
s p e c i f i c a r c h .
The p r o b l e m i n w r i t i n g , t h e n , i s t h a t o v e r a l l s t r u c t u r e s y o u
c h o o s e ( s y s t e m s o f a r c h e s ) may n o t l i n k w e l l t o t h e p o i n t s t h a t
h a v e t o b e i n c l u d e d among t he m; and t h a t t r a n s i t i o n s b e t w e e n p o i n t s
d o n ' t work o u t t h e way you want t hem t o . Good t r a n s i t i o n s c a n t b e
wo r k e d o u t f o r t h e s e guenc e o f p o i n t s you w a n t t o make, o r , a l t e r
n a t i v e l y , t h e r e a r e t o o many good t r a n s i t i o n s w i t h i n a s p e c i f i c
S t r u c t u r e o f p o i n t s , and p i c k i n g among t hem i n v o l v e s d i f f i c u l t
c h o i c e s - - e s p e c i a l l y when you h a v e t o d e v i s e a p p r o p r i a t e a r c h e s on
t h e - b a s i s o f t h e f i n a l s e q u e n c e o f p o i n t s .
T h e r e a r e a number o f o t h e r i m p o r t a n t s t r u c t u r e s i n w r i t t e n
m a t e r i a l . Th ey i n c l u d e a c c o r d a n c e s , j u x t a p o s i t i o n s , c r o B B - c i t a t i o n s ,
c o n n o t a t i o n s , n u a n c e s and r h y t h ms .
The o n l y o n e s we w i l l d i s c u s s h e r e a r e a c c o r d a n c e s .
The t e r m " a c c o r d a n c e ,* a e I s h a l l u s e i t h e r e , i s s i a q j l y a
v a g u e l y f o r m a l way o f t a l k i n g a b o u t w h e t h e r t h i n g s mat ch o r f i t
t o g e t h e r . Two i t e m s a r e i n a c c o r d i f t h e y ma t c h or f i t w e l l , o r i n
d i s c o r d i f t h e y ma t c h o r f i t b a d l y . Thus a go o d t r a n s i t i o n b e t wee n
p o i n t s ( a s H n t i o n e d e a r l y ) r e p r e s e n t s a n a c c o r d , a nd a good l i n k
b e t w e e n a p o i n t a n d an a r c h i s a l s o a n a c c o r d .
Now, i t h a p p e n s t h a t a g r e a t d e a l o f w r i t i n g i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h
n o t e s t o t h e r e a d e r a b o u t a c c o r d a n c e s i n t h e m a t e r i a l . I n f a c t ,
q u i t e a few wor ds a r e e x c l u s i v e l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h s u b t l y p o i n t i n g o u t
t o t h e r e a d e r t h e a c c o r d s a nd d i s c o r d s w i t h i n t h e e x p o s i t o r y s t r u c t u r e
o f what he i s r e a d i n g . We may c a l l t h e s e a c c o r d a n c e - c o n n e c t i v e s o r
a c c o r d a n c e - n o t e e .
Two o f t h e mo s t b a s i c t e r m s a r e I mi e e d a n d b u t .
The word I n d e e d h a s an i n t e r e s t i n g f u n c t i o n .
The word i n d e e d ( i n I t s mai n u s e , a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a s e n t e n c e )
i n d i c a t e s an a c c o r d be t wee n w h a t h a s j u s t b e e n s a i d a nd what i s t o
f o l l o w . I n o t h e r w o r d s , i t f u n c t i o n s a s a p o s i t i v e t r a n s i t i o n , i i c pe -
t u s o r g a s p e d a l , i n d i c a t i n g a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e f l o w i n t h e d i r e c t i o n
a l r e a d y I n d i c a t e d . So do t h e words t h u s , t h e n , t h e r e f o r e , m o r e o v e r , s o
and f u r t h e r m o r e . T h e s e a r e i n f i x a c c o r d s , t h a t i s , n o t e s o f a c c o r d
t h a t g o b e t we e n t wo i t e m s . We a l s o s e e p r e f i x a c c o r d s , s u c h a s
s i n c e , i n a s mu c h a s , i n s o f a r a s ; t h e s e h a v e t o b e f o l l o w e d by
two c l a u s e s , t h e s e c o n d o f whi c h i s i n a c c o r d w i t h t h e f i r s t .
The word b u t i s e x a c t l y t h e a p p o s i t e . I t I n d i c a t e s a d i s c o r d o r
c o n t r a d i s t i n c t i o n , a n e g a t i v e t r a n s i t i o n , " b r a k e s " i n t h e f l o w . O t h e r
s u c h i n f i x d i s c o r d s i n c l u d e n e v e r t h e l e s s , d e s p i t e t h l a , o n t h e o t h e r
h a n d , e v e n s o , a n d " A c t u a l l y , . . . " S i m i l a r l y , t h e r e a r e p r e f i x d i s
c o r d s : w h i l e , d e s p l t e , t h o u g h . . . , n o t w i t h a t a n d j n g
I f i n d t h i s t o p i c o f i n q u i r y v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g . T h e s e s o r t s o f
t e r m s have b e e n u s e d s i n c e t i m e i nr nemor i al by w r i t e r s a d j u s t i n g t h e i r
t r a n s i t i o n s f o r s moot h f l o w ( n o t e s u c h a n t i q u e y v a r i a n t s a s h a p l y ,
h e w b e l t , w i t h a l , f or a s mu c h a nd h o ws o a e v e r ) , b u t t h e i m p o r t a n c e and
s t r u c t u r e o f t h i a s e r v i c e h a s n o t , I t h i n k , b e e n g e n e r a l l y u n d e r s t o o d .
(Not e a l s o t h a t t h e r e a r e mor e i n t r i c a t e a c c o r d a n c e - c o n n e c t i v e e :
I wish we could go here into the structure of In at least,
. . i f n o t . . . , . . . o t h e r w i s e . . . , Anyway. . J 1 > a n d Now. . . . )
( Not e: t h e t r y - a n d - t r y - a g a i n r e v i s i o n a nd r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n p r o c e e s ,
t i n k e r i n g w i t h s t r u c t u r a l i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n s , i 9 a u n i v e r s a l component
o f t h e c r e a t i v e p r o c e s s i n e v e r y t h i n g f r a n mo v i e e d i t i n g t o machi ne
d e s i g n . T h e r e o u g h t t o b e a name f o r i t . I c a n ' t t h i n k o f a s a t i s f a c
t o r y o n e , a l t h o u g h I woul d commend t o y o u r a t t e n t i o n g r a n d e e l g n i n g ,
p i e c e - w h o l e d i d d l e w o r k , g r a n d f u d d l i n g , m e t a - m o g r l f i c a t i o n , and
t h a t mos t e x a l t e d p o s s i b i l i t y , t a g n e b u l o p s i s ( t h e v i s u a l i z a t i o n o f
s t r u c t u r e i n c l o u d s ) . )
T He HW T * 6e
The p a s t i s l i k e t h e r e c e d i n g vi ew o u t t h e b a ck
o f an a u t o m o b i l e : Che most r e c e n t i s more c o n s p i c u o u s ,
and e v e r y t h i n g seems e v e n t u a l l y t o be l o s t .
We know we c ho u l d s a v e t h i n g s , b u t w h a t t Those
w i t h t h e j o b o f Baving t h i n g s t h e l i b r a r i e s and mu
s e u ms s a v e s o many o f t h e wr ong t h i n g s , t h e f a s h i o n a b l e
and e x p e n s i v e and h i g h - t o n e d t h i n g s e s t e e me d by a g i v e n
t i m e , and mo s t o f t h e r e s t s l i p s p a s t . Each g e n e r a t i o n
s eems t o r i d i c u l e t h e t h i n g s h e l d i n e s t e e m by t i m e * b e
f o r e , b u t o f c o u r s e t h i s c a n n e v e r be a g u i d e t o what
s h o u l d b e s a v e d . And t h e r e i e s o much t o s a v e : m u s i c ,
w r i t i n g , s i n k i n g V e n i c e , v a n i s h i n g s p e c i e s .
But why s h o u l d t h i n g s b e s a v e d ? E v e r y t h i n g i s
d e e p l y i n t e r t w l n g l e d . We s a v e f o r knowl edge and n o s
t a l g i a , b u t what we t h o u g h t was kno wl e d ge o f t e n t u r n s
t o n o s t a l g i a , and n o s t a l g i a o f t e n b r i n g s us d e e p e r i n
s i g h t s t h a t c u t a c r o s s o u r l i v e s and v e r y s e l v e s . *
Co mpu t e r s o f f e r an i n t e r e s t i n g daydr eam: t h a t we
may be a b l e t o S t o r e t h i n g s d i g i t a l l y i n s t e a d o f
p h y s i c a l l y . I n o t h e r wo r d s , t u r n t h e l i b r a r i e s t o d i g i
t a l s t o r a g e ( s e e H y p e r t e x t s , | /. , ' ,<1+-); d i g i t i z e p a i n t i n g s
a nd p h o t o g r a p h s ( s e e " P i c t u r e P r o c e s s i n g * p l o ) ; e v en
d i g i t i z e t h e g e n e t i c c o d e s o f a n i m a l s , s o t h a t s p e c i e s
c a n b e r e s t o r e d a t f u t u r e d a t e s ( s e e "The M i t l e s t Com
p u t e r , " p . (rO).
D i g i t a l s t o r a g e p o s s e s s e s s e v e r a l s p e c i a l a d v a n t a g e s .
D i g i t a l l y s t o r e d m a t e r i a l s may b e c o p i e d by a u t o m a t i c
m e s a s ; c o r r e c t i v e me a s u r e s a r e p o s s i b l e , t o p r e v e n t e r r o r s
f r o m c r e e p i n g i n i . e . , " no d e t e r i o r a t i o n I n p r i n c i p l e ;
a n d t h e y c o u l d b e k e p t I n v a r i o u s p l a c e s , l e s s e n i n g man
k i n d ' s d e p e nd e nc e on i t s e g g s b e i n g a l l i n one b a s k e t ( l i k e
t h e L i b r a r y a t A l e x a n d r i a , wh os e b u r n i n g d u r i n g t h e o c c u p a
t i o n o f J u l i u s Ca e s a r was one o f t h e g r e a t e s t l o s s e s i n
human h i s t o r y ) .
Bu t t h i s would o f c o u r s e r e q u i r e f a r mor e compact
a n d r e l i a b l e f or ms o f d i g i t a l s t o r a g e t h a n e x i s t r i g h t now.
N e v e r t h e l e s s , we b e t t e r s t a r t t h i n k i n g a b o u t I t .
T h o s e who f e a r a c omi ng h o l o c a u s t ( s e e p . Wt ) had b e s t t h i n k
a b o u t p u l l i n g some p a r t o f ma n k i n d t h r o u g h , w i t h some p a r t o f
w h a t h e us e d t o ha v e .
See T. H. N e l s o n , The Sn u n k l n g o f t h H e a r t : On t h e
P s y c h o l og y of. Puna and P r e t e r l s m C a r r o l l and O t h e r s .
I 9 6 0 , u n l e s s a d e c e n t w r i t i n g s y s t e m comes a l o n g .
rCJ^riO^L iVJTCItf---
( W P E ^ E D T f t :
I n r e c e n t y e a r s a v e r y b a s i c c h a n g e h a s o c c u r r c d i n
p r e s e n t a t i o n a l s y s t e m s o f a l l k i n d s . We may s u mma r i z e i t
u n d e r t h e name b r a n c h i n g , s l t h o u g h t h e r e a r e many v a r i a n t s .
E s s e n t i a l l y , t o d a y ' s s y s t e m s f o r p r e s e n t i n g p i c t u r e s , t e x t s
and w h a t n o t c a n b r i n g you d i f f e r e n t t h i n g s a u t o m a t i c a l l y
d e p e n d i n g on w h a t y o u d o . S e l e c t i o n o f t h i s t y p e i s g e n e r
a l l y c a l l e d b r a n c h i n g . ( I h a v e s u g g e s t e d t h e g e n e r i c t e r m
h y p e r m e d i a f o r p r e s e n t a t i o n a l me d i a w h i c h p e r f o r m i n t h i s
( a n d o t h e r ) m u l t i d i m e n s i o n a l ways. )
A n u mb e r o f b r a n c h i n g me d i a e x i s t o r a r e p o s s i b l e .
B r a n c h i n g mo v i e s o r h y p e r f i l m s ( s e e n e a r b y ) .
B r a n c h i n g t e x t s o r h y p e r t e x t s ( s e e n e a r b y ) .
B r a n c h i n g a u d i o , m u s i c , e t c .
B r a n c h i n g s l i d e - s h o w s .
Wi sh we c o u l d g e t i n t o some o f t h a t s t u f f h e r e .
The idea of branching movies is quite exciting.
The possibility of it is another thing entirely.
The only system I know of that worked was at the
1967 Montreal World's Fair (Expo 67). At the Czech
Pavilion you will recall that before the crackdown
they had quite a yeasty culture going in Czechoslovakia
there were some terrific fantic systems going. One was
a wall of cubes with slide projectors inside (that roll
ed toward you and back as they changed their pictures).
And then the Movie.
The Czechoslovakian Branching Movie I forget its
real name-- had the audience vote on what was to happen
next at a number of different junctures. What should
she do now, what will he do next. etc. And lo and behold!
after they had voted, the lights vent down, and that's
what would happen next. People agreed that this gave
the movie a special immediacy.
I never saw the movie-- I waited in line several
hours but the line was too long to get into the last show
ing. So instead I went backstage and talked to Radusz Cin-
cera, who worked out the systen. It turns out that it
didn't work quite the way people supposed. A lot of people
thought that "all the possibilities" had been filmed in ad
vance. Actually, there were always only two possibilities,
and no matter what the audience had chosen, somehow the film
wa6 plotted to come down to the same next choice anyway:
In the actual setup, they simply had two projectors
running side by side, with Film A and Film B, and the
projectionist would drop an opaque slide in front of
whichever wasn't chosen. But Cincera said that aud
iences almost always chose the same alternatives anyway,
so half the movie was hardly ever used...
In the early sixties a movie was making the rounds
in which audiences were supposedly allowed to vote on the
ending "Hr. Sardonicus, I believe it was called. From
the ads it seemed that audiences would be polled as to
which last reel to show. Whether the villain was to get
his comeuppance, or whatever.
Then there was that Panacolor cartridge projector,
mentioned elsewhere, which would have allowed choices by
the user
More recently there's the CMX system, also mentioned
elsewhere. This is a setup, being jointly marketed by
CBS and Memorex, for computer-controlled movie editing.
But actually it could also be used as a branching movie sy
stem. Essentially the movie itself is stored frame-by-
frame (ae video) on big disks, made by Memorexi and, under
computer control, the output can be switched rapidly among
the frames, effectively showing the stored movies. (To my
knowledge, the video networks haven't yet recognized Uie
possibilities of this.)
The only trouble is, its extremely expensive (half a
million?), it has an exact storage capacity limited by the
number of disk tracks (presumably one track per frame)
perhaps five minutes total one one big unit, but you can
buy more-- and it can only give its full performance to
one viewer at a time.) (Or ts f k e _ l * v e - )
It may be that the irost practical branching movie
system would be a cartridge movie viewer and a big stack of
cartridges. When you make your choice, change the cart
ridge. But of course that's not as much fun as having it
happen automatically.
REALITY IS OBSOLETE
The Idea t h a t obj ec t i ve r e a l i t y i s per ceived by our s e n s e s ,
i s an obsolete concept. Old tr uisms l i k e seeing i s b e l i e v i n g - ,
become much l es s bel i evabl e as we become more aware t h a t , the
bi ol ogical machinery of l i f e I t s e l f , transf orms images of the
pnysi cal world bef ore we ar e made consci ous of them. These
oi ol ogical mechanisms shar e many s i mi l a r i t i e s in p r i n c i p l e and
n a p pl i ca t i on, to ot her mechanisms observed in t he nat ur al
environment and those Invent ed f o r our own use. Since we ar e
becoming more aware of the natur e of per cepti on and tbose
mechanisms invol ved, now i s the time t o gain c o n t r o l ' o f our
selves and shar e more di s cr e t i on In the o p e r a t f wr o f our own
Biological machinery. We have ent ered the age of h y p e r - r e a l i t y .
Day-to-day l i vi ng provides only a l i mi t ed v a r i e t y of
physical st imulus, and l i t t l e i ncenti ve t o manipulate the
physi ological and psychologi cal processi ng involved. Han' s
hi s t o r i c a l preoccupati on wit h the need t o maintain c ons t a nt
images of the physi cal wor ld, i s a product of hi s extreme
or i e nt a t i on toward physi cal survival In a h o s t i l e envir onment.
The cur r ent evolving s oci et y of l e i s u r e or i e n t a t i o n s removes
t h i s need for constant images and thereby enhances t he oppo r t u n i t i e s
f or a more complete use of the sensory apparatus and those r e
l at ed brain f unct ions. Many have turned t o drugs or medi t at i on.
More s p e c i f i c a l l y I t Is proposed her e, t h a t modern cor munlcati ons
technology be employed as a vehicle of depar tur e" from t h i s need
f or constant images, to bri ng about a more complete use of t he
human technology i t s e l f . Hyper - r eali ty i s the employment of
technology ot her than the biol ogic al machinery, when used t o
a f f e c t the performance of the biol ogic al machinery beyond i t s
own l i mi t at i ons . This i s almost l i ke making adjust ments on a
t el evi s i on s e t , except you ar e what' s plugged 1n, and t he con
t r o l s ar e out si de your body, being par t of whatever technology
Is Int er f aced t o the body i t s e l f . As p ar t of such a man-
machine i nt e r f a c e you could extend your own mental pr oces s es ,
or i f you should choose, you could j u s t diddle wit h t he d i a l s .
Hyper - r eali ty i s an oppor tunit y t o enhance the var i ous q u a l i t i e s
of the human experi ence. Reali ty i s obsol et e.
A
How Uaahepres8 (see p. DM 6)
COPYRIGHT 1973 AUOITAC, LTD.
! G F K ttC -
Now, i n o u r t i m e , we a r e t u r n i n g G u t e n b e r g
a r o u n d . The t e c h n o l o g y o f movabl e t y p e c r e a t e d
c e r t a i n s t r u c t u r e s and p r a c t i c e s a r o u n d t h e w r i t
t e n wor d. Now t h e t e c h n o l o g y o f c o mp u t e r s c r e e n
d i s p l a y s make p o s s i b l e a l m o s t any s t r u c t u r e s and
p r a c t i c e s you ca n i ma g i n e f o r t h e w r i t t e n wo r d .
So now wha t ?
For new f or ms o f w r i t t e n c o mmu n i c a t i o n am
ong p e o p l e who know e a c h o t h e r , jump t o " E n g e l -
b a r t " p i e c e . , n e a r b y .
To l e a r n a b o u t new f or ms o f m u l t i d i m e n s i o n a l
docume nt s f o r c o mp u t e r s c r e e n s , jump t o " H y p e r
t e x t s
Or j u s t f e e l f r e e t o b r o ws e .
W T W r
By " h y p e r t e x t " I mean n o n - s e q u e n t i a l
w r i t i n g .
O r d i n a r y w r i t i n g i s s e q u e n t i a l f o r t wo
r e a s o n s . F i r s t , i t grew o u t o f s p e e c h and
s p e e c h - m a k i n g , wh i c h h a v e t o b e s e q u e n t i a l ;
and s e c o n d , b e c a u s e b o o k s a r e n o t c o n v e n i e n t
t o r e a d e x c e p t i n a s e q u e n c e .
B u t t h e s t r u c t u r e s o f i d e a s a r e n o t s e
q u e n t i a l " : They t i e t o g e t h e r e v e r y whi chway.
And when we w r i t e , we a r e a l wa y s t r y i n g t o
t i e t h i n g s t o g e t h e r i n n o n - s e q u e n t i a l ways
( s e e p . l ^ H t ) . The f o o t n o t e i s a b r e a k f r om
s e q u e n c e ; b u t i t c a n n o t r e a l l y be e x t e n d e d
( t h o u g h some, l i k e W i l l Cuppy, h a v e t o y e d
w i t h t h e t e c h n i q u e ) .
I h a v e r u n i n t o p e r h a p s a
who u n d e r s t o o d t h i s i n s t a n t l y when I t a l k e d
t o t hem a b o u t i t . Most p e o p l e , ho" ' v >1a ^ e
more b e mu s e d , t h i n k i n g I m t r y i n g o s o o h-
s o m e t h i n g t e c h n i c a l o r i s .
i r a i I t s n o t p o i n t l e s s a t a l l : t h e p o i n t i ,
w r i t e r s do b e t t e r i f t h e y d o n ' t ha v e t o i t e
i n s e q u e n c e ( b u t may c r e a t e ^ ' f r e a d e r s
t u r e s , b r a n c h e s a n d a l t e r n a t i v e s ) . a n d r e a d e r
do b e t t e r i f t h e y d o n t h a v e t o r e a d i n s e q
u e n c e b u t may e s t a b l i s h i m p r e s s i o n s , j P
(The a s t u t e r e a d e r , and a n y b o d y w h o ' s g o t t e n
t o t h i s p o i n t must b e , w i l l h a v e n o t i c e d t h a t
t h i s book i s i n ' ' m a g a z i n e 1' l a y o u t , o r g a o i z e d
v i s u a l l y by i d e a s and m e a n i n g s , f o r t h a t p r e
c i s e r e a s o n . I w i l l b e i n t e r e s t e d t o h e a r
wh e t h e r t h a t h a s w o r k e d . )
And t h e p i t y o f i t i s t h a t ( l i k e t h e man
i n t h e F r e n c h p l a y who was s u r p r i s e d t o l e a r n
t h a t he had b e e n " s p e a k i n g p r o s e a l l h i s l i f e
and n e v e r known i t " ) , w e ' v e b e e n s p e a k i n g
h y p e r t e x t a l l o u r l i v e s a n d n e v e r k n o w n i t .
Now, many w r i t e r s h a v e t r i e d t o b r e a k
away f r o a s e q u e n c e . I t h i n k o f N a b o k o v ' s
P a l e F i r e , o f T r i s t r a m Shandy a n d a n o d d n o v e l
o T T a r a r o C o r t a z a r c a l l e d r f o p s c o t c h . a a d e up
o f s e c t i o n s e n d i n g w i t h n u a b e r s t e l l i n g y o u
whe r e you ca n b r a n c h t o . T h e r e a r e a a n y a o r e ;
and l a r g e books g e n e r a l l y u s e a a n y t r i c k s t o
g e t a r ound t h e p r o b l e a o f i n d e x i n g a n d r e v i e w
i n g what ha s and h a s n ' t b e e n s a i d o r d o n e a l
r e a d y .
However , i n ay v i e w , a new d a y i s d a w n i n g .
Co a p u t e r s t o r a g e and s c r e e n d i s p l a y a e a n t h a t
we no l o n g e r h a v e t o h a v e t h i n g s i n s e q u e n c e ;
t o t a l l y a r b i t r a r y s t r u c t u r e s a r e p o s s i b l e , a n d
I t h i n k t h a t a f t e r w e ' v e t r i e d t h e a e n o u g h
p e o p l e w i l l s e e how d e s i r a b l e t h e y a r e .
TYPES OF HYPERTEX T
Lets assume that you have a high-power
display-- and storage displays won1t do, be
cause you have to see things move in order
to understand where they come from and what
they mean. (Especially text.) So it has to
be a refreshed CRT.
Basic or chunk style hypertext offers
choices, eTther as f ootnote-markeTs (like
asterisks) or labels at the end of a chunk.
Whatever you point at then cwtnes to the screen.
Collateral hypertext means compound an
no tarTons- oFyaraiTel- text (see p.J^yt-).
Stretchtext changes continuously. This
requires very unusual techniques (see p-_5*2_l? )
but exemplifies how "continuous hypertext might
work.
Ideally, chunk and continuous and collateral
hypertext could all be combined (and in turn col
laterally linked; see "Thinkertoys," p.J^S^-)*
A "fresh" or "specific" hypertext-- I don't
have a better term at the moment-- would consist
of material especially written for some purpose.
An anthological hypertext, however, would consist
of materials brought together from all over, like
an anthological book.
A grand hypertext, then, folks, would be
a hypertext consisting of "everything" written
about a subject, or vaguely relevant to it,
tied together by editors (and NOT by "prog
rammers," dammit), in which you may read in
all the directions you wish to pursue. TKere
can be alternative pathways Tor people who
think different ways. People who have to
have one thing explained to them at a time--
many have insisted to me that this is normal,
although I contend that it is a pathological
condition-- may have that; others, learning
like true human beings, may gather and sift im
pressions until the ideas become clear.
And then, of course, you see the real
dream.
The real dream is for "everything" to be
in the hypertext.
.Everything you read, you read from the
screen (and can always get back to right away) ;
everything you write, you write at the screen
(and can cross-link to whatever you read; see
Canons, p. b^lfl ).
Paper moulders. Microfilm is inconvenient.
In the best libraries it takes at least min-'
utes to get a particular thing. But as to
linking them together-- footnoting Aeschylus
with Marcus Aurelius, linking genetic data'
to 15th-century accounts of Indian tribes--
well, you can only do it on paper by writing
something new that ties them together. Isnt
that ridiculous? When you could do it all
electronically in seconds?
Now that we have all these wonderful de
vices, it should be the goal of society to put
them in the service of truth and learning.
And this is the way I propose. Not through
obscure forms of "information retrieval;" not
through newly oppressive forms of "computer-
assisted instruction;" and not through a pur
ported science of "artifical intelligence"
that will create new personalisms to irk us.
All these obstructive oddities, I think, have
developed as separate ideals because of the
grand preposterosity of Professionalism that
has created a world-wide cult of mutual incom
prehensibility and disconnected special goals.
Now we need to get everybody together again.
We want to go back to the roots of our civil
ization-- the ability, which we once had, for
everybody who could read to be able to read
everything. We must once again become a com
munity of common access to a shared heritage.
This was of course what Vannevar flush
said in 1945 (see , in an article every
body cites but nobody reads.
The hypertext solution in many ways ob
viates some of these other approaches, and in
addition retains and puts back together the
great traditions of literature and scholarship,
traditions based on the fact that dividing
things up arbitrarily just generally doesn't
work.
EVERYTHING IS DEEPLY INTERTWINGLED.
(The only way in which my views differ
with those of Engelbart and Pask, I think is
in the matter of structure and hierarchy.
Both men generally assume that whatever
natural hierarchy may exist in particular
subjects needs to be accentuated; I hold that
all structures must be treated as totally ar
bitrary, and any hierarchies we find are inter
esting accidents.)
CAN IT BE DONE?
I dunno,
Licklider, one of computerdoms Great Men,
estimated in 1965 that to handle all text by
computer, and bring it out to screens, would
cost no more than what we pay for all text
handling now. (But of course there is the
problem of what to do with the people whose
lives are built around paper; that cant be
taken up here.)
The people who make big computers say
that to get the big disk storage to hold great
amounts of text, you have to get their biggest
computers. Which is a laugh and a half. One
IBM-style computer person pompously told me
that for large-scale text handling the only
appropriate machine was an IBM 360/67 (a shame
fully large computer). fSuch people seem not
to understand about minicomputers or the po
tential of minicomputer networks-- using, of
course, big disks.
There are of course questions of relia
bility, of "big brother" (see Canons, p. ),
and so on. But I think these, matters can be
handled.
The key is that people will pay for it.
I am sure that if we can bring the cost down
to two dollars an hour-- one for the local
machine (more than a "terminal"), one for the
material (including storage, transmission and
copyrights)-- theres a big, big market. (And
that's what the X anadu network is about; see
p. DM57.) My assumption is that the way to do
this is not through big business (since all
these corporations can see is other corpora
tions); not through government (hypertext is
not committee-oriented, but individualistic--
and grants can only be gotten through sesqui
pedalian and obfuscatory pompizzazz); but
through the byways of the private enterprise
system. I think the same spirit that gave us
McDonald's and kandy kolor hot rod accessories
may pull us through here. (See X anadu Network,
p- >\S7-)
Obviously, putting man's entire heritage
into a hypertext is going to take awhile. But
it can and should be done.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
T h e o d o r 11. N e l s o n , "The H y p e r t e x t . " Proc.
U o r l d D o c u m e n t a t i o n F e d e r a t i o n , 1965.
C V W f T tH S -
IS l e & i x IMTOWH&efi.
In an important sense there are
no "subjects" at all; there is only
all knowledge, since the cross-
connections among the myriad topics
of this world simply cannot be
divided up neatly.
Hypertext at last offers the possibility
of representing and exploring it all
without carving it up destructively.
Arthur C. Clarke wrote a book entitled
The Lost Worlds of 2001 (Signet, 1972),
about the variants and alternatives of
that story that did not find their way
to the screen.
In a hypertext version, we could look
at them all in context, in collateral
views, and see the related variants--
with annotations.
COULDN'T HAVE HYPERTEX T NOVELS, YOU SAY?
Consider the hypertext character o'
Trietram Shandy, by Sterne.
Spoon River Anthology, by Masters.
Hopscotch, by Cortazar.
Pale Fire, by Nabokov.
Remembrance of Things Past, by Proust.
And, surprisingly, hypertext actually
FIGURES IN Giles Goat-Boy, by Barth.
GLINDA'S HAG 1C BOOK
GTlnda the Good, gentle sorceress of the
southern quadrant of the land of 0z not the
flaphead portrayed by Billie Burke In the
Goldwynlzed film has a Magic Book tn which
Everything That Happens Is written.
The question, of course, Is how It's
chosen.
You can only watch news tickers for a
short time before getting very bored.
Mortimer J. Adler, the an who reduced all of
Western Culture to a few Great Books plus an Index
under his own categories, has now Addled the
Encyclopedia Brltannica.
Since 1965 be has been creating Brltannlca 3,
the venturesome and innovative new version, nowon
sale for about half a thou.
Bri tannlca ^ Is basically a 3level hypertext,
made to fit on printed pages by the strictures of
Adler's editing (according to Newsweek, some 200
authors withdrew their work rather than submit to
the kind of restrictions he was Imposing).
The Idea may be basically good, even though
the sesqulpaedallan titles may Impaed the raeder.
THE BURNING BUSH
In fact hypertexts were foreseen very
clearly in 1945 by Vannevar Bush, Roosevelts
science advisor. When the war was in the bag,
he published a little article on various groovy
things that had become possible by that time.
"As We May Think" (Atlantic Monthly, July,
1945) is most notable for its clear description
of various hypertext techniques-- that is, link
ages between documents which may be brought rap
idly to the screen according to their linkages.
(So what if he thought they'd be on microfilm.)
How characteristic of Professionalism.
Bush's article has been taken as the starting
point for the field of Information Retrieval
(see p. )f but its actual contents have been
ignored by acclamation. Information Retrieval
folk have mostly done very different things, yet
thought they were in the tradition.
Now people are "rediscovering" the article.
If there's another edition of this book I hope
I can run it in entirety.
J)WXr C Hf iOW AHj)
*TH A U f i W l W o M
t>F (K)TEU-C6T
Douglas Engelbart is a saintly man at
Stanford Research Institute whose dream has
been to make people smarter and bring them
together. His system, on which millions of
dollars have been spent, is a wonder and a
glory.
He began as an engineer of CRTs (aee
"Lightning in a Bottle," p.DM6); but his
driving thought was, quite correctly, that
these remarkable objects could be used to
expand man's mind and Improve each shining
hour.
Doug Engelbarts vision has never been
restricted to narrow technical issues. From
the beginning his concern was not merely to
plank people down at display consoles, but
ln the most profound sense to expand man's
mind. "The Augmentation of Human Intellect,"
he calls it, by which he means making minds
work better by giving them better tools to
work with.
An obvious example is writing: before
people could write things down, men could
only learn what they experienced or were
told by others ln person; writing changed
all that. Within the computer-screen fra
ternity, the next step is obvious; screens
can double and redouble our Intellectual
capacities. But this is not obvious to every
body. Engelbart, patiently instructing those
outside, came up with a beautiful example.
To show what he meant by the Augmentation of
Intellect, Engelbart tied a pencil to a_ brick.
Then he actually made someone write with It.
The result, which was of course dreadful, En
gelbart solemnly put into a published report.
Not yet being able to demonstrate the aug
mentation of Intellect, since he had as yet
no system to show off, he had masterfully de
monstrated the disaugmentation of intellect:
what happens if you make man's tool9 for work
ing out his thoughts worse instead of better.
As this poor guy was with his brlckifled pen
cil, explained Engelbart, so are we all among
our bothersome*inflexible systems of paper.
Starting small, Engelbart programmed up
a small version of what most fans call "The
Engelbart System" some ten years ago. One
version has it that when it came to looking
for grants, management thought he acted too
kooky, and so assigned a Front Man to make
the presentation. But, as the story goe6,
the man from ARPA (see "Military...", p.
pointed at Engelbart and said, "We want to
back him."
A small but dedicated group at SRI haa
built up a system from scratch. First they
used little CDC 1700 minicomputers; then,
various grants later, they were able to set
up their own PDP-10, in which the system now
resides, and from which it reaches out ac
ross the country.
Doug calls his system NLS, or "oN-Line
System." Basically it is a highly responsive,
deeply-structured text system, feeding out to
display terminals. From a terminal you may
read anything you or others have written, and
write with as-yet-unmatched flexibility.
The display terminals are all over. The
project has gone national, though at great ex
pense: through the ARPA net of computers, you
can in principle become a user of NLS for
something like $50,000 a year.
THE "KNOWLEDGE WORKSHOP
For a lucky fifty or so people, Engelbart's
system is Home. Wherever they are at Stan
ford Research Institute or far away on the
ARPAnet- a whole world of secretarial and
communication services is at their fingertips.
The user has but to call up through his dis
play terminal and log on. At that point all
his written files, and numerous files shared
among the users, are at his fingertips. He
may read, write, annotate the cross-link.
(Engelbart's system has provision for col
lateral structuring: see "Thinkertoys," [X*r2_.)
He may send messages to others in the Workshop.
He may open certain of his files to other
people, and read those that have been opened
to him.
This all has a certain vagueness if you
do not understand how bound you are today by
paper the problems of finding it, sorting
it, looking things up. (If you write, that
Is, write a lot, you know all too veil how
Intractable is paper, what a damned nuisance.)
With a system like Engelbert's, now, whatever
is written i6 Instantly there. Whatever you
want to look up is Instantly there, simultan
eously Interconnected to everything else it
should be connected to source materials,
footnotes, comments and so on. A document is
completed the moment it is written; no human
being has to retype it. (It need not be typed
on paper at all, if it's just for the workshop
members: a printout is only needed if it has
to go to someone outside tbe system.)
In many ways, Engelbart's system is a pro
totype for the world of the future, I hope.
ALL HANDLING OF PAPER IS ELIMINATED. Whatever
you write, you write on the screens with key
board and pointer. (No more backs of envelopes,
yellow pads, file cards, typewriters.) What
ever you transmit to fellow users of the system
you simply 'release' no physical paper changes
hands.
The group has also worked out some remark
able techniques for collaborative endeavor.
Two people say, one ln California and one in
New York can work together through their
screens, plus a phone link; it's as if they
were side-by-side at a magic table. Each sees
on his screen whst the other sees; each controls
a moving dot (or "cursor") that shows where he's
pointing. The effect Is somewhere between a
blackboard and a desk; both may call up docu
ments, point things out in them, change them,
and anything else two people might do when work
ing on something together.
Basically the system is a large-scale setup
for the storage, bringing forth, viewing and
revision of documents and connections among them.
The documents are Btored (of course) in
alphabetical codes. Connections among them,
or other relations within them, are signalled
by the presence of other codes within them;
these are ordinarily not displayed, however,
except as directed by a particular display
program and display programs can of course
vary.
There are various programs for display,
ln large part depending on what sort of
screen system the individual user has.
(NLS is used with everything from hlgh-reso-
lutlon line-drawing screens converted to 1000-
llne television, down to inexpensive Delta
Data terminals a brand, incidentally, that
allows text motion, which most don't^ Engel
bart's system is extremely general, allowing
the creation of files having all kinds of
structures, and display programs in all kinds
of styles. (I hope that this side of the pre
sent book conveys a sense of how mahy styles
that can be.) However, most users are devoted
to certain standardized styles of working that
have been well worked out and permit the easy
sharing of material and of operating practices.
Here, for instance, is standard screen layout:
Two separate panels of text appear, and links
may be shown on them. (Thus it's a thinkertoy-
see p. .) Two little windows at the top re
mind you of what you're seeing and what you're
asking for. We can't get into the rest of it
here
THE COMMAND LANGUAGE
NLS has a comnand language which all
users must learn. While It Is a stream
lined and straightforward coimnand language,
nevertheless It requires the user to type
in a specific sequence of alphabetical
characters every time he wants something
done. (This Is acceptable to computer-
oriented people; 1 suspect It would not
be satisfactory, say, for philosophers
and novelists. For designs oriented to
such users, see JOT (p?*5t> ) and Carmodys
System, nearby. Parallel Textface (p?*93)
and Th3 (p.VtfV).)
Incidentally, NLS users may also employ
a cute little keyboard, something like a
kalimba, that allows you to type with one
hand. You simply type the six significant
ASCII bits (see chart p. % jg ) ln one "chooP
it sounds hard but is easy to learn.
Sample conmands: I (insert), D (delete),
M (move or rearrange). Then you point with
the mouse.
MOUSE?
The Engelbart Folks have built a pointing
device, for telling the system where you're
pointing on the screen, that is considerably
faster and handler than a lightpen. (Unfor
tunately, I don't believe it's conanerdaily
available.) It's called The Mouse.
The Engelbart Mouse is a little box with
hidden wheels underneath and a cable to the
terainal. As you roll It, the wheel's turns
are signalled to the computer and the comput
er moves the cursor on the screen. It's faat
and accurate, and In fact beats a lightpen
hands down in working speed.
Through the comnand language, NLS allows
users to create programa that respond ln all
sorts of ways; thua tbe fact that certain text-
handling styles are atandard (as in above il
lustration of screen layout) results more from
tradition than necessity.
E n g e l b a r t m e e t s u i t n b
f a r a w a y , a s o t h e r s w a t c h .
The sane a p p a r e n t l y l a t r u e of Che data
s t r u c t u r e . I uaed t o be somewhat d i s t u r b e d
a t t he way E n g e l b a r t ' a t e a t s y s t e a s s e n t o
he r l g o r o u a l y h i e r a r c h i c a l - Th i s I n f a c t l a
t h e c a a e , l n t he aens e t h a t having mu l t i p l e
d i s c r e t e l e v e l s l e b u i l t deep I n t o t h e syste m.
But I t t u r n s o u t t o be h a r ml e s s . The s t o r e d
t e a t I s di v i d e d by t h e s t o r a g e te ch n i q u es I n
t o a i l t l p l e l e v e l s , cor r es p o n d i n g t o a Harvard
o u t l i n e . Think o f I t as something l i k e t h i s :
1. HIERARCHICAL FOBMAT
A. STORAGE
B. DISPLAY
C. LANGUAGE
But l e t ' s expand t h i s e x aa p l e a l i t t l e :
1 . HIERARCHICAL FORMAT
A. STORAGE
Al. Ever y t h i n g l n KLS i s s t o r e d
wi t h h i e r a r c h i c a l codes.
A2. Th ei r e f f e e t depends on t he
d i s p l a y .
B. DISPLAY
Bl . The h i e r a r c h i c a l c odes of
NLS have no consequences l n
p a r t i c u l a r .
B2. The h i e r a r c h i c a l codes f o r
KLS can s p l a y t h e ma t e r i a l
out i n t o a v a r i e t y o f d i s
pl a y a r r a n g e me n t s .
B2A. They can be d i s p l a y e d
l n o u t l i n e form.
B2B. They can be d i s p l ay e d
l n nonaal t e n t form.
B2C. Theae d r a t t e d numbers
can even be made t o
d i s a p p e a r .
C. LANGUAGE
Cl . The conmand l anguage d e t e r
mines what t h e d i s p l a y shows
o f t h e h i e r a r c h i c a l s t r u c t u r e .
C2. What I s shown can be d e t e r
mined by a program l n Che
conmand l anguage. (For I n
s t a n c e , "how many l e v e l s
dovn" l c l a be i ng shown) .
C2A. Thi s I s f o u r l e v e l s
down. (The e a r l i e r
example w a s n ' t . )
C3. The d i s p l a y f or nac a l l d e
pends on whac d i s p l a y pr o
g r aa you u s e , l n t h e HLS
cosaand la nguage.
T h a t ' s enough of t h a t . 1 c a n ' t h e l p r e
marki ng t h a t I s t i l l d o n ' c l i k e t h a t s o r t o f
s t r u c t u r i n g , but I t l a deep l n NLS, and i f
you d o n ' t l i k e I t s l t h e r ( poor d e p r i v e d lucky
us e r of NLS) you can p r o g r a a i t t o d i s a p p e a r ,
so i t ' s h a r d l y l n your way.
BY THE BEARD OP THE PROPHET!
En gel bar t l n German means Angel bear d; Doug
Engel bar t I s Indeed on t h e s i d e o f t h e a n g e l s .
I n b u i l d i n g h i s mi ght y syst em he p o i n t s a new
way f o r humanit y. The s ooner t h e b e t t e r . Any
h i s t o r y o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y w i l l c e r t a i n l y
hol d him hi gh . Few g r e a t men a r e a l s o such
n i c e guys.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Douglas C. E n g e l b a r t , Ri cha r d W. Watson & James
C. Nor t on, "The Augmented Knowledge Workshop."
Pr oc NCC 73, 9- 21.
Ch a r l es U. I r b y , " Di s pl a y Techniques f o r I n t e r
a c t i v e Text Ma n i p u l a t i o n . " Pr oc NCC 74,
247- 255.
Ths Augment at i on o f I n t e L i e c t . I nf amous Ape Sequence f r o m my a l i d s - a h o u .
w M SiC
Hyper t ext i s n o n - s e q u e n t i a l w r i t i n g . I t s no good t o us ,
t hough, u n l e s s we can go i n s t a n t l y i n a choi ce o f d i r e c t i o n s
from a g i ve n p o i n t .
Thia o f cour s e can onl y mean on cooput er d i s p l a y s c r e e n s .
E n g e l b a r t ' s s ys t e m, now, was mainly desi gned f o r peopl e who
want ed t o immerse t he ms e l ves i n i t and l e a r n i t s c o n v e n t i o n s .
I ndeed, i t mi ght be s a i d t o have been desi gned f o r a comi unl t y
of peopl e i n c l os e c o n t a c t , a s o r t of syst em o f b l a c k b o a r d s and
c o l l a b o r a t i v e t a l k i n g p a p e r s .
A more e l e m e n t a l s yst em, wi t h a d i f f e r e n t s l a n t , was put
t o g e t h e r a t Brcwn U. on IBM e q u l f n e n t . W e ' l l r e f e r t o i t h e r e
as "Cannody' a Sys t em, " a f t e r t h e young prograjmeer whose name
came f i r s t On t he w r i t e u p .
Cansody's system runs on an IBM 360 with 2250 display,
while the 2250 is a fine piece of equlpaent, the quirks of the
360's operating systAB ( see p. VS" ) often delay the user by
making him wait, e . g . , for soaeone elss's cards to get punched
before it responds to his more lwedlate usast this is like
making ice-akaters wait for oxcarts.
Anyway, t he eyet em e s s e n t i a l l y imposes i
t he m a t e r i a l i i t may c o n s i s t o f t e x t segment s o f a ny l e n g t h
and t i e s and l i n k s bet ween them. An a s t e r i s k a p p e a r i n g any
where i n one p i e c e o f t e x t s i g n a l s a p o s s i b l e jump, b u t t h e
r e a d e r d o e s n ' t n e c e e s a r i l y knew where t c j s a p p i n g t h e a s t e r i s k
wi t h t ha l i g h t p e n t a k e s you t h e r e , however.
Thi s I s s t a r k and s i mp l e . I t coul d a l s o g e t you good
and l o s t . However, a si mpl e t echni que t ook c ar e o f t h a t :
e v e r ^ i a e t h e u s e r jumped, t he a d dr e s s of h i s p r e v i o u s
l o c a t i o n was saved on a St ack [ s ee "The Magic o f t h e S t a c k , "
p. t T-)- The u s e r a l s o had a RETURN but t on- , when he want ed
t o go back t o where he had l a s t jumped from, t he eyet em
would pop t he l a s t a d d r e s s o f f t he t o p o f t he e t a c k , and
t ake him t h e r e . ( Th i s f e a t u r e was adapt ed from my 1967
S t r e t c h t e x t p a p e r , and t u r n e d o u t t o work o u t q u i t e wel l
i n p r a c t i c e . )
The syst em a l s o had handy f e a t u r e s f o r l i g h t - p e n t e x t
e d i t i n g , and v a r i o u s n i c e p r i n t o u t t e chni ques . A l l t o l d ,
i t waa a c l e a n and power f ul d e s i g n . Whil e i t l a c k e d h i g h e r -
l e v e l v i s u a l i z a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s , l i k e E n g e l b a r t ' s d i s p l a y o f
Level s (see " o u t l i n e " i n E n g e l b a r t a r t i c l e ) o r c o l l a t e r a l
d i s p l a y ( s ee " T h l n k e r t o y a , " p. D\ r2), i t was i n some ways s u i t e d
f or nai ve u s e r s i t h a t i s , i t was e v e n t u a l l y f a i r l y s a f e t o us e ,
and coul d i n l a r g e p a r t be t a u g h t t o r ank b e g i n n e r s i n a coupl e
of hour s pr ovi ded t h e y d i d n ' t have t o know a bout JCL c a r d s .
I t i e l e f t f o r t h e r e a d e r t o f i g u r e out i n t e r e s t i n g uses
f o r i t . Haw would you do c o l l a t e r a l s t r u c t u r e s ? How c oul d
you e i g n a l t o a r e a d e r which o f s e v e r a l p i e c e s o f t e x t a jump
was t o 7
(At l e a s t one r e a l h y p e r t e x t was a c t u a l l y w r i t t e n on t h i s
s y s t e a . I t t i e d t o g e t h e r a l o t o f p a t e n t s f o r m u l t i l a y e r e l e c
t r o d e s . Reader s agr e ed t h a t t he y coul d l e a r n more frcxn i t about
m u l t i l a y e r e l e c t r o d e s t ha n t hey had imagined want i ng t o know.)
BIBLIOGHAPHY
St even Carmody, Wal t er Gr os s , Theodor H- Nel s on, Davi d Ri cs
and Andri es van Dam, 'A Hyper t ext E d i t i n g Syst em f o r t he
360. " I n Faiman and Ni e v e r g e l t l e d s . ) . P e r t i n e n t Concept s
i n Computer G r a p h i c s (U. 111. Pr e s s ' 6 9 ) , 291- 330.
Note: Mr. Gross now goes by t he name o f Li ght ni ng Cl e a r wa t e r .
gotpoit
T h i a c o n t i n u e s t h e r e m a r k s on G o r d o n P a e k
b e g u n o n p .
I will npw try to describe Pask's work
as he has explained it to me. Perhaps this
will be of some help to those who may have
been mystified or dumfounded by contact with
this fabulous man.
Gordon Pasks concern is abstraction and
how concepts are formed, whether in a creature
of nature or a robot or a computer program.
Abstraction is of interest primordially (as life
evolved thinking capacity), psychogenetically
(as the mind acquires new facilities, described
most peculiarly by Piaget), and epistemological-
ly (how do we know? Like, how do we know, man?),
and methodologically (how can we most effectively
find out Diore?) .
ilis interest, then, is in teaching by
allowing students to discover exact relations
in a specific subject matter by the very p ro
cess of abstraction that is of so much interest.
r f h a t h e d o e s , t h e n , i s p r e p a r e g i v e n
f i e l d s o f l e a r n i n g s o t h a t t h e y c a n b e s t u d i e d
by s t u d e n t s u s i n g a b s t r a c t i v e , m e t h o d s , w i t h o u t
g u i d a n c e .
This preparation basically has two steps.
First he sets up the whole field. This is
done in collaboration with a "subject matter
expert," who names the important topics in
the field and states what interconnections
they have. The result is a complex graph
Structure (see p. jj, ) which Pask calls a
conversational domain. It comes out to huge
diagrams of labels and lines between them.
Then Pask processes this structure to
make a more usable map of the field that he
calls an entailment structure. The processing
basically involves removing "cycles'* in the
graph, thus making the structure hierarchical
in a slightly artificial way justified by what
the subject-matter-expert has said is the
structure of the field.
(This processing is carried out by a pro
gram called EX TEND.)
The resulting Entailment Structure is
then presented to the student as a great map
of the field which he may explore.
Pask intends that the student's explor
ations, will consist of testing analogies, or
what Pask calls morphisms, to find the exact
structures of knowledge he is supposed to
be acquiring. This knowledge will be in the
Form of isomorphisms. or exact analogies, i.e.
laws .
Pasks overall system, examples of which
he has running in his laboratory in England,
he calls CASTE (Course Assembly Systea and
Tutorial Environment). A further development,
which is to be put on a PDP-11/45 computer
(see p. T t and p. Mi. ) at the Brooklyn Chil
drens Museum, is called THOUGIIT-STICKER.
This program is intended to allow the demon
stration and testing of analogies directly,
by children.
PASK AND HYPERTEXT
Gordon Pasks work is remarkably similar
to my own stuff on hypertext.
Essentially Pask is reducing a field to
an extremely formal structure of relations
which nay then be studied by the student, at
the student's initiative.
(What I don't quite understand is how the
analogies are to be explored and tested.)
Anyway, a principal point is that the
student is in control and may use his initia
tive dynamically; the subject is not artifi
cially processed into a presentational se
quence. Moreover, the arbitrary interconnec
tions of the subject, which are no respecters,
of the printed page, are recognized as the
fundamental structures the student must deal
with and come to understand. On all these
points Pask and 1 are in total agreement..
Indeed, his explorable systems-- (I don't
know if they will be what I elsewhere call
h y p e T g r a m s or r e s p o n d i n g resources)-* will be
f a s c i n a t i n g , fun and t e r r i f i c a l l y e d u c a t i o n a l .
Because he is.
Now it turns out that this exactly com
plements the notion of hypertext as I have been
promulgating it lo these many years.
Hypertent is non-sequential text. If we
write a hypertext on something, it will be
most appropriate iF~we give it the general
interconnective structure of the field. In
other words, the interconnective structures
chosen for the textual parts are likely to have
the same connective structure (in general) as
Pask's Entailment Structure.
For another kind of hypertext, the antho-
logical hypertext built up of lots of other
writings, it is also reasonable to expect the
connective structures to cluster to the same
general form as Pask's entailment structure.
In other words, the very same field of
knowledge Pask is out to represent as an ex-
plorable, formalized whole, I am out to repre
sent as an explotable informalized whole, with
anecdotes, jokes, cartoons, enrichment mater
ials, and anything else people might dig.
In still other words, lets have both
and call it a party.
Hou o a n ' t read t h e sc r ee n hare.
I t sa y s : COGITO ERGO SUH
A c t u a l l y i t needs
t h e ' 2 0 0 1 ' mu s i c .
I t r e a l l y needs t h e rmisio.
fEELCJ>'EFFECT SVSTet\$
THE MCWFRpKTICJt
F A N T I t t
&JT \V i
THtts PfWMOuilT,
KorA^v UCM^lCAU JPGCWtV
Ah, Love I could yoa and I with Him c<uupiie
To grasp this terry Scheme of Thing* entire.
Would not we s hat t e il to biuand then
Re-mould il ne ar s to the Heart 's Desire I
Eduard Fitzgerald.
Al most ev er y o n e seems to a g r e e t h a t Mankind (who?)
I s on t h e b r i n k o f a r e v o l u t i o n I n t h e va y I n f o r ma t i o n
l a h a n d l e d , and t h a t t h i a r e v o l u t i o n l a t o come f r o a
some s o r t o f mergi ng o f e l e c t r o n i c s c r e e n p r e s e n t a t i o n
and a u d i o - v i s u a l t e c h n o l o g y wi t h b r a n c h i n g , i n t e r a c t i v e
comput er s y s t e ms . (The na i ve t h i n k " t h e " me r gi ng i s
i n e v i t a b l e , aa i f " t h e " mergi ng meant a n y t h i n g c l e a r .
I used t o t h i n k t h a t t o o . )
P r o f e s s i o n a l p e o p l e seem t o t h i n k t h i s me r g i ng w i l l
be an i n t r i c a t e mi n g l i n g of t e c h n i c a l s p e c i a l t i e s , t h a t
o ur new s y s t e ms w i l l r e q u i r e vo r k by a l l k i n d s o f commit
t e e s and c o n s u l t a n t s ( addi ng and a d j u a t l n g ) u n t i l t h e Re
s u l t s e i t h e r s p e c i f i c p r o d u c t i o n s o r o v e r a l l Systems-
a r e f i n i s h e d . Then we w i l l have t o Lear n t o Use Them.
More c o n s u l t i n g f e e s .
I t h i n k t h i s i s a d e l u s i o n and a con-game. L t h i n k
t h a t when t h e r e a l media of t he f u t u r e a r r i v e , t h e s m a l l
e s t c h i l d w i l l know i t r i g h t away (and p e r h a p s f i r s t ) .
Th at , i n d e e d , sh o u l d and w i l l be t h e c r i t e r i o n . When you
c a n ' t t e a r a t e e n y k i d away from t h e comput er s c r e e n ,
w e ' l l have g o t t e n t h e r e .
We a r e a p p r o a c h i n g a s c r e e n a p o c a l y p s e . The a u t h o r ' s
b a s i c vi ew i s t h a t RESPONSIVE COMPUTER DISPLAY SYSTEMS
CAN, SHOULD AND WILL RESTRUCTURE AND LIGHT UP THE MENTAL
LIFE OF MANKIND. ( F o r a more c o n v e n t i o n a l o u t l o o k , aee
bo* n e a r b y , " Anot her Vi e wpoi n t . )
I b e l i e v e comput er s c r e e n s can make p e o p l e h a p p i e r ,
s m a r t e r , and b e t t e r a b l e t o cope w i t h t h e c o p i o u s pr ob
lems o f t omor r ow. But o n l y i f we do r i g h t , r i g h t now.
The c o m p u t e r ' s c a p a b i l i t y f o r b r a n c h i n g among
e v e n t s , c o n t r o l l i n g e x t e r i o r d e v i c e s , c o n t r o l l i n g
o u t s i d e e v e n t s , and me d i a t i n g I n a l l o t h e r e v e n t s ,
makes p o s s i b l e a new e r a of medi a.
U n t i l now, t h e me cha ni c al p r o p e r t i e s o f e x t e r
n a l o b j e c t s d e t e r mi n e d what t he y wer e t o u s and how
we used them. But h e n c e f o r t h t h i s i s a r b i t r a r y .
The r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h a t a r b i t r a r i n e s s , a nd r e
c o n s i d e r a t i o n among b r o a d e r and more g e n e r a l a l t e r
n a t i v e s , a w a i t s u s . A l l t h e p r e v i o u s u n i t s and
mechanisms o f l e a r n i n g , s c h o l a r s h i p , a r t s , t r a n s a c
t i o n and c o n f i r m a t i o n , and even s e l f - r e m i n d e r , were
based I n v a r i o u s ways upon p h y s i c a l o b j e c t s t h e
p r o p e r t i e s o f p a p e r , c ar b on p a p e r , f i l e s , books
and b o o k s h e l v e s . To r e a d from p a per you must move
t h e p h y s i c a l o b j e c t i n f r o n t o f you. I t s c o n t e n t s
c an n o t be made t o s l i d e , f o l d , s h r i n k , become t r a n s
p a r e n t , o r g e t l a r g e r .
But a l l t h i s i s now c hangi ng, and s u d d e n l y . The
comput er d i s p l a y s c r e e n does a l l t h e s e t h i n g s i f d e s i r e d ,
t o t h e same ma r k i n g s we have p r e v i o u s l y ha n d l e d on pa per .
The comput er d i s p l a y s c r e e n i s g o i n g t o become u n i v e r s a l
ver y f a s t ; t h i s i s g u a r a n t e e d by t h e s u d d e n l y r i s i n g
c o s t o f p a p e r . And we w i l l use them f o r e v e r y t h i n g .
Thi s a l r e a d y happens wher ever t h e r e a r e r e s p o n d i n g com
p u t e r s c r e e n s y s t e m s . ( I have a f r i e n d wi t h t wo CRTs on
h i s d e s k ; one f o r t h e nor mal f l ow o f work, and one t o
h a ndl e i n t e r r u p t i o n s and s i d e e x c u r s i o n s . ) A l o t o f
f o r e s t s w i l l be s a ved.
Now, t h e r e a r e many peopl e who d o n ' t l i k e t h i s i d e a ,
and h u f f a bout v a r i o u s a p p a r e n t d i s a d v a n t a g e s o f t h e
s c r e e n . But we can impr ove per f or mance u n t i l a l mo s t
ev er y o n e i s s a t i s f i e d . For t h o s e who s a y t h e s c r e e n s a r e
" t o o s m a l l , " we can Improve r e l i a b i l i t y and b a c k u p , and
o f f e r s c r e e n s e ver ywher e ( s o t h a t m a t e r i a l need n o t be
p h y s i c a l l y c a r r i e d bet ween t hem).
The e x h i l a r a t i o n and e x c i t e me n t o f t h e comi ng t i me
i s h a r d Co convey on p a p e r . Our s c r e e n d i s p l a y s w i l l be
a l i v e w i t h a n i ma t i o n i n t h e i r s e p a r a t e segment s of a c t i v
i t y , and w i l l r es p o n d t o o u r a c t i o n s as i f a l i v e p h y s i c
a l l y t o o .
The q u e s t i o n I s , t he n: HOW WILL WE USE THEH? Thus
t h e d e s i g n o f s c r e e n perf ormances snd e n v i r o n m e n t s , snd
o f t r a n s a c t i o n and t r a n s m i s s i o n s y s t e ms , i s o f t h e h i g h
e s t p r i o r i t y .
TILE FRENCH HAVE A WORD FOR IT
In French they use the term V Informatique
to mean, approximately, the presentation of in
formation to people by automatic equipment.
Unfortunately the English equivalent,
informatics, has been preempted. There is a
computer programming firm called Informatics,
Inc., and when I wrote them about this in tjj6 .
early sixties they said they did not want their
name to become a generic term. Trademark law
supports them in this to a certain extent.
(Others, like Wally Feurzeig, want that to be
the word regardless.) But in the meantime
I offer up the term fantics, which is more
general anyhow.
MEDIA
t o - . . - < tll our - i . .
JlS.5 n T tbing l bbi' >u*. ;>,!!?
i ? ! ; r in * rid , *1* ' * .
a J 8 f l l t u a t l o n C he c o r r e c t e d . But t h i s i s
r l ! h t r l ! 8 , Many ,:e l *1>* o r p u f f y , *11
S ' S i - S * l ! ^ nc ? r c t t0 up p o , e th , t tb * u y
a l t e r n a t i v e . Media have evol ved f rom s i mpl er f orms, maA
HTr Si S ru?dld8of our tt >*M 11th*
i y f0CUB t h * d i d e a s t h a t
i n p r e v i o u s e r a s were conveyed by r i t u a l s , p u b l i c g a t h e r
i n g s , d e c r e e s . p a r a d e s , be havi or i n p u b l i c , e r t r o u p -
S l r i ? 11? t u f l l y evetT c u l t u r e I s a wor l d of lmagss. The
c h i e f t a i n I n h i a p s l a n q u l n , t h e shaman wi t h h i s f e a t h e r s
and r a t t l e , a r e t e l l i n g ua something about themse lves snd
a bout t h e c o n t i n u i t y o f t h e s o c i e t y and p o s i t i o n o f t b e
i n d i v i d u a l s i n i t .
Now t h e media , wi t h a l l t h e i r q u i r k s , per f or m t h a
same f u n c t i o n . And i f we do not l i k e t h e way some t h i n e ,
a r e t r e a t e d by t he media , i n p a r t t h i s s t e ms f r o * no t
u n d e r s t a n d i n g how t h e y work. "Medi a, " o r s t r u c t u r e d t r a n s
mi s s i o n mechani sms, cannot h e l p be i ng p e r s o n a l i s e d by
t h o s e who run them. ( Li ke e v e r y t h i n g e l s e . ) The problem
i e t o u nd e r s t an d how media wor k, and t h u s ba l anc e our u n -
d e r s t a n d i n g of the t h i n g s t h a t medi a mi e r e p r e s e n t .
THOUGHTS ABOUT MEDIA:
1. ANYTHING CAN BE SAID IN ANY MEDIUM.
Anything can be s a i d i n any medium. and I n s p i r a t i o n
c o unt s much more than s c i e n c e . But t h e t e c hn i qu e s which
a r e used t o convey something can be q u i t , u n p r e d i c t a b l e .
AHOTH^VlQUDiMf
2. TBANSPOSABILITY
Ther e haa al ways been, but now I s newl y, a
UNITY OF MEDIA OPTIONS. You can g e t your nes s age
a c r o s s i n a p l a y . t r s c t , a b r o a d s i d e , a t e xt book,
a wal ki ng s s ndwl c h- boi r d, a r a d i o pr ogram, a c w l c
book o r f u m e t t l , a movi e, a s l l d e - s h o w, a c a s s e t t e
f o r t h e AudiScan o r t he AVS-IO, or i v m a h y p e r t e x t
( s ea p . j ) M U .
( But t r a n s p o s i n g can r a r e l y p r e . e r v e c < * p l e t e l y
t h e c h a r a c t e r or q u a l i t y o f t he o r i g i n a l . )
3. BIG AND SHALL APPROACHES
What few peopl e r e a l i z e i s t h a t b i g p i c t u r e s can
be conveyed I n j r power f ul ways t ha n t h e y know. Ths
r e a s o n t h e y d o n ' t know i t i s t h a t t he y eee t h e c ont ent
i n t h e me d l s , and n o t how t h e c o n t e n t I s bei ng g o t t e n
a c r o s s t o them t h a t i n f a c t t he y have been g i ve n ver y
b i g p i c t u r e s i nde ed, but don t know i t . ( I t a k e t h i s
p o i n t t o be t h e Ni c k e l - I r o n Core of McUhanl sm. )
Peopl e who want t o t e a c h i n t erms of b u i l d i n g up
from t h e s ma l l t o t h e l a r g e , and o t h e r s who ( l i k e t h .
a u t h o r ) l i k e t o p r e s e n t s whol e p i c t u r e f i r s t , t hen
f i l l i n t h e g a p s , a r e t a k i n g two v a l i d a ppr oa che s .
(We may c a l l t h e s e , r e s p e c t i v e l y , t he Bi g P i c t u r e ap
pr oac h snd t h e Pi ecemeal a p pr oa ch. ) Bi g p i c t u r e s a r e
J uat s s memorable as p i c k y - p i e c e s i f t hey have st r ong
I n s i g h t s a t t h e i r major i n t e r s e c t i o n s .
A. THE WORD-PICTURE CONTINUUM
The a r t s o f w r i t i n g and d i a g r a m i n g a r e b s s l e s l l y
a cont i nuum. I n bot h caa es t h e ment al images and c ogni
t i v e s t r u c t u r e s pr oduced a r e a merger o f what i s t a r
o r r e c e i v e d . Words a r e sl ow and t r i c k y f o r pr e s e n t i n g
a l o t o f c o n n e c t i o n s j di agrams do t h l a w e l l . But d i a
grams g i v e s poor f e e l f o r t h i n g s and words do t h i s
s p l e n d i d l y . The w r i t e r p r e s e n t s e x s c t s t a t e m e n t s , i n
an a c c o r d - s t r u c t u r e of b u t s and l n d e e d e , molded i n a
s t r u c t u r e o f c o n n o t s t l o n s havi ng ( i f t h e w r i t e r i s
good) e x a c t i mp r e c l e e n e s s . Thi s i s h a r d l y s t a r t l i n g :
y o u ' r e al ways s e l e c t i n g what t o s a y , and t h e u s . of
vague words ( o r t h e use o f pr ec i s . - mo u n d i n g words va
guel y) i s si mpl y s f l a g r a n t form of omi s s i on, t c d l a -
L ams t o o , t he c h o l e e o f whet t o l s s v e i n snd o u t , how
t o r e p r e s e n t ovsrweenl ng c o n d i t i o n . a n d f o r c e s * "**-
l a r v d e t s i l s , a r e h i g h l y c o n n o t a t i v e . ( Gr eat di a gr a na
a r 7 t o be i n t he S c i e n t i f i c American and o l d . r
I s s u e s of TIME ma gar i ne . )
Thi s wor d - p l c t u r e cont i nuum i s J u s t s p s r t of t h .
br o a d e r c ont i nuum, which I c a l l F a n t l c s .
[ ( r e - m i
John B. Macdonald
Resear ch L e a de r
Coaput er A p p l i c a t i o n s : G r a p h l
Western E l e c t r i c Company
Engi neer i ng Re s e a r c h C e n t e r
PROBLEMS. PERILS. AHD PROMISES CP COMPETES GRAPH!;
I would begin with b o w d e f i n i t i o n s which may be
obvious but bear r e pe a t i ng.
1. Engineering Is tte application of science for
(*) profit,
2, Computer c r a p h l c e d o e s n o t make p o s s i b l e
a n y t h i n g t h a t was p r e v i o u s l y I m p o s s i b l e : i t
e s n onl y i mpr ove t h e t h r o u g h p u t o r an e i l s t l n g
p r o c e e s ,
3- A s u c c e s s f u l a p p l i c a t i o n o f c o mp u t e r g r a p h i c s
I s when o v e r a p e r i o d o f f i v e y e a r s t h e c o s t
s s v i n g s from i mpr oved p r o c e s s t h r o u g h p u t e x
ceed t he c o s t s o f h a r d w a r e , s o f t w a r e , ma i n
t e n a n c e and i n t e g r a t i o n i n t o a n e i l s t l n g p r o c e s s
f l ow.
FANTICS
By " f a n t l c s " I mean t h a a r t and s c i e n c e o f g e t t i n g
l d e s s a c r o a s , bot h e m o t i o n a l l y and c o g n i t i v e l y . " F r e a e n t s -
t i o n 11 coul d be a g e n e r a l word f o r i t . Tha c h a r a c t e r o f
what g e t s a c r o s s i s al waya d u a l : b o t h t b e e x p l i c i t s t r u c -
t u r e ^ a n d f e e l l n g a t h a t go wi t h t hem. Thes e t wo a s p e c t s ,
e x a c t n e s s and c o n n o t a t i o n , a r e an i n s e p a r a b l e w h o l e ; w h a t
i s conveyed g e n e r a l l y haa b o t h . The r e a d e r o r v i e w e r a l
ways g e t s f e e l i n g s s l o n g wi t h i n f o r m a t i o n , e ven when t h e
c r e a t o r s o f t he i n f o r m a t i o n t h i n k t h a t i t a " c o n t e n t " i a
i c h a o r e r e e t r l c t e d . A b e a u t i f u l e xampl e: p o n d e r o u s
" t e c h n i c a l " msnnsl s which c a r r y Bi c h more c o n n o t a t i v e l y
t ha n t he a ut hor r e a l l t e e . Such v ol ume , may c onv ey t o
s a e r . s d . r . an ( i n t e n d e d ) I mp r e s s l o o o f c i ^ e t e n c e , t o
o t h . r e a s ens e o f t h e a u t h o r s ' o b t u s e n a s s and n o n - I m a g i n a
t i o n - E x p l i c i t d e c l e r s t i v e s t r u c t u r e s n e v e r t h e l e s s h a v e
c o n n o t s t l v e f i e l d s ; pe opl e r e c e i v e n o t o n l y c o g n i t i v e
s t r u c t u r e s , but i m p r e s s i o n s , f e e l i n g e s n d s e n s e s o f t h i n g s .
F s n t i c s i s t h u s c oncer ned v l t h b o t h t h e a r t s o f e f
f e c t w r i t i n g , t h e a t e r and ao ona nd t h e s t r u c t u r e s a n d
mechanisms o f t h o u g h t , i n c l u d i n g t h e v a r i o u s t r a d i t i o n s o f
t h e s c h o l s r l y e vent ( s r t l c l e , bo o k , l e c t u r e , d e b s t e s n d
c l s s s ) . These a r e a l l a f u n d a m e n t a l l y I n s e p a r a b l e w h o l e ,
and t e c h n i c a l l y - o r i e n t e d p e o p l e who t h i n k t h a t e y e t o s a t o
I n t e r a c t w i t h p e o p l e , o r t e e c h , o r b r i n g up i n f o r m a t i o n ,
can f u n c t i o n on some " t e c h n i c a l " b a s l e w i t h no t i e - i n s
t o h ma n f e e l i n g s , p s yc hol ogy, o r t h e l a r g e r e o c l a l a t r u e -
t u r e a r e ki ddi ng t h o a . l v e s . n d / o r e v e r y o n e e l s e . S y s -
tema f o r " t e a c h i n g by c o mp u t e r , " i n f o r m a t i o n r e t r i e v a l , '*
and ao on, have t o be governed i n t h e i r d e s i g n b y l a r g e r
p r i n c i p l e , t ha n most o f t h e a e p e o p l e a r e w i l l i n g t o d e a l
w i t h : t he conveyance o f i m a g e . , I m p r e s s i o n s a nd i d e a s .
Thl a l a what w r i t e r s and e d i t o r s , mov l e - ma k e r s a nd l e c t u r
e r s , r a d i o announcera and l a y o u t p e o p l e and a d v e r t i s i n g
p e o p l e a r e c oncer ned wi t h ; and u n f o r t u n a t e l y c o mp u t e r
pe opl e t end not t o u n de r s t and i t f o r b e a n s .
In f s n t i c s s s a whol e, t he n we a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h :
1. The a r t and s c i e n c e o f p r e s e n t s t l o n . Thus i t n a
t u r a l l y I ncl ude s
2. Techni ques o f p r e s e n t a t i o n : w r i t i n g , s t s g e d i r
e c t i o n , movie maki ng, msgszl ne l a y o u t , sound o v e r l s y ,
e t c . and o f cour se
Lalyaia and d e s i g n ; 3. Medls t h e m s e l v e s , t h e i r i
and u l t i m a t e l y
4 . Tha deai gn of syat sms f o r p r a a e n t a t l o n . T h i s
w i l l of c o u r s e i n v o l v e c omput ers h . r . s f t . r , b o t h c o n c e p t
u a l l y snd t . c h n l c s l l y ; s i n c e i t o b v i o u s l y I n c l u d e s , f o r t h e
f u t u r e , b r anchi ng and i n t r i c a t e l y i n t e r a c t i v e s y s t a a e n
a c t e d by p r o g r s B s b l s mechani sms, i . a . c a s p u t a r e . T h u s
e n p u t e r d i s p l a y , d a t a s t r u c t u r e , ( a n d , t o a n e x t e n t ,
programmi ng l anguagea and t e c h n i q u e . ) a r e a l l a p e r t .
F a n t i c . Mi . t a l . o l n c l u d .
5 . P s y cho l og i ca l a f f e c t and l ^ > a c t o f v a r i o u s p r e s e n
t a t i o n a l t e ch ni qu e bu t n ot p a r t i c u l a r f o r m a l a e e t h e t l c a ,
ae of h ai ku o r m a l c a l c o mp o s i t i o n . Where d i r e c t l y r e l e -
v s n t f a n t l c s s l s o i n c l u d e s
6. S o c i o l o g i c a l t l . - i n a a . p e c i a l l y a u p p o r t l v e a nd
d y . f u n c t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e e , . u e h a s t i e l n a w i t h o c c u p a t i o n a l
e t r u c t u r e ; s p o n s or s hi p and c o M o r c l a l a ; what wor ks i n a c h o a l s
and why. Most p r o f ou nd l y o f s l l , ho wever, f a n t l c e m i s t d e a l
w i t h p s y c h o l o g i c a l c o n a t r u c t s us e d t o o r g s n l e e t h i n g s - .
7 . Tha p a r t a , c on c e p t u a l t h r e a d s , u n i f y i n g c o n c e p t s
and what not t h a t we c r e a t e t o make a a p e c t e o f t h a w o r l d u n
d e r s t a n d a b l e . We pu t t he a i n t o e v e r y t h i n g , b u t s t a n d a r d
i z e t h a i n madia.
Fo r exampl e, t a ka r a d i o . Gi ven i n r a d i o t h a t e c h
n o l o g i c a l fundament i s msr al y t h e c o n t i n u o u s t r a n s m i s s i o n
of sound. P ut i n t o i t have been t h e " p r o g r a m , " t h e a e r
i a l (and t hua t he e p l s o d s ) , t h e a n n o u n c e r , t h e t h e ^ ona
and t h* mu s i ca l b i l d s e c o n v e n t i o n s whi ch a r e u s e f u l p r e -
s e n t s t i o n s l l y .
The a r b i t r a r i n e s s o f auch m e n t a l c o n s t r u c t s s t o u l d
be c l e a r . Thei r u s e f u l n e s s i n m e n t s l o r g a n I c a t 1cm p e r h a p s
i s n o t .
L e t ' s t s k a a e u r p t l s e u a ^ i l a , n o t h i n g e l e c t r o n i c
a bout I t .
Kany "hi gbvaye" a r e whol l y f l c t i t l o u a a t l e a a t t o
begi n wi t h . L e t ' s sa y t h a t a t o u t s 37 l a c r e a t e d a c r o e e
t h e a t s t e : t h a t n i a b e r i s me r e l y a s e r i e s o f s i g n s t h a t
u s e r s can r e f e r t o as t hey l ook a t t h e i r maps a nd t r a v e l
al on g.
Bowever, as ti me goea b y, * l o u t e 37 " t a k e n on a c e r
t a i n r e a l i t y a s a c o n ce p t u al e n t i t y : p e o p l e t h i n k o f i t
aa a t h i n s . P e ^ l e say " J u a t t a k e 37 s t r a i g h t o u t "
(though I t may t wl a t and t u r n ) ; g r o u p s l i k e s Rou t e 37
( tar ch ant s ' A s s o c i a t i o n , or even s C i t i s a n a t o S a v e S c e n i c
. 3 7 , may s p r i n g op.
What waa o r i g i n a l l y s l a * l y s n omi n a l c o n s t r u c t , t h a n ,
b e c o u s q u i t e r e a l as peopl e o r g a n i s e t h e i r l i v m a a r o u n d
i t .
Thl a a l l a a M a r b i t r a r y h o t n e c e s s a r y i n b o t h h i g h
ways snd r s d l o . What, t h a n , d oe s i t ha ve t o do v l t h t h s
new e l e c t r o n i c aedlaT
(After How To Be A Department Store Santa Claua,
produced by the author for CBS Laboratories
and the AVS-10 Instructional device.
Original slide, s t ar r i ng Michelle Dellinger and /
Henry Shr ady. unfortunately mlelaid.)
Voice of Little Girl:
"Santa, ar e you more important than Cod?"
Announcer, plonkingly;
"Your answer i s . . . "
Slaply thle: till now the structures of tudla somehow
sprang naturally from the nature of things. Now they don't
anymore. Radio, books and movies have a natural Inner dy
namic of their own, leading co aueh constructs. While
this may prove to be eo for coaputer aadl as wall ( as 1
argued In "Getting It Out of Our Systen," cited p.fatf),
Chen again it aay not. In other words, WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE
THAT WE ARE INVENT IMG PRESENTATIONAL TECHNIQ UES IN THE NEW
MEDIA, not merely transporting or transposing particular
things Into thea because they eeen right. The psychologi
cal constructs of man-machine systems may turn out to ba
largely arbitrary. Thus bringing co terainal systoas con
ventions like dialogue instruction ("CAI"), or arblcrary
restrictions of how things nay be connected, presented or
written on the coaputer aay be a great alstake.
The hlghway-nuaber analogy continues. The older
highways had nuabere for convenience, and our travels be-
caae organized around them, and particular highways (like
"U.S. 1" and "Route 66") caae to have special character.
BuC now with che Interstates, a highway le a planned.
sealed unlc, no longer Juet a collection of roads gather
ed togecher under a name.
This unit, Che Interstate, Is not merely a psychologi
cal construct, but a planned structure. Knowing whaC works
and what doesn't In che design of fast highways, Che Inter-
scacas were built for speed, strucCured ae closed unlcs.
Designing Chem wlch llalced access hss been a conscious
decision ln the syscea design for well-based ressons, not
a chance scruccure brought in froa horse-and buggy days.
Now, the conscructs of previous media writing, fllas,
othar arts evolved over tine, and In many cases aay have
found their way to a "natural" form. BuC because of the
peculiar way that coaputer media are currently evolving
( under large grants largely granted to professionals who
uee very large words to proaoce the idea that their origi
nal professions are largely applicable ), this sort of
natural evolution aay noC take place. The new constructs
of coapuCer media, especially coaputer screen-edl^ aay not
have a chance Co be choughc out. We need designs for screen
presenCstlons and thslr mixture vignetting, Windows,
screen ttsalcs, transformed and augaented views, and the
rapid and comprehensible control of theae views and windows.
We sre still Just beginning to find clever viewing tech
niques, and have hardly begun to discover highly respon
sive forma of viewsblllty and control (cf. collaCeratlon
ln "Thlnkertoys," p. $*52^, snd Knowlcons button-box
(See T. Nelson, "A Conceptual Framework for
Han-Machine Everything," cited p. , and material on
controls, below.)
THE HIND'S UNIFICATION
One of the reasrkable things abouC the huaan mind
la che way it ties things togecher. Perceptual unity
comes out of nowhere. A bunch of irregular reel*-
dentlal and industrial blocks becomes thought of as "ay
neighborhood." K most remarkable case of mental uni
fication Is afforded by the visage of our good friend
Hickey Mouse. The character is drawn ln a most para
doxical fashion: Cwo globelike protrusions (representing
the sars) are ln different positions on the head, depend
ing on whether we view him from che front or the side.
No one finds this objectionable; few people even notice,
it seems.
THE PARADOXICAL ANATOM1 OF HICKEY MOUSE

MICKBX MOUSE (frontal)

POSSIBLE RECONCILIATIONS;
Diagonal Mounting
What this shows, of course, le che way the alnd can
unify Into a consistent mental whole even things which
are inconsistent by normal rules (ln chls case, the rules
of three-dimensional structure).
Even perceptlone are subject to the same principle
of unification. The fingernail is an excrescence with no
nerves ln lc; yet somehow you csn feel things with your
fingernails eying togecher disparate sensadons inco
a unified senea of soaechlng ln the world (ssy, a coin
youre crying to pick up). In Che ssme way, an experienc
ed driver feels the rosd: ln a very real sense, che car's
wheels aod suspension become his own sensory extensions.
This principle of oencal unification is what aakea
chlngs cooe together, both literally and figuratively,
ln a fantlc field. A viewer sees two consecutive movie
shots of streecs snd unifies chem into one screet; controls,
If you sre used co chem, become a single fused syscem of
options; we csn have a sense of a greater whole, of which
one view on a screen Is a pare.
Tt (3HMT, m k
I S n o t I H o o r ^ i T M y
JtT '4
CONTROLS: THEIR UNIFICATION AND FEEL
Controls sre Intimately related to screen presencs-
don, jusc ae arbitrary, and just ae luporcant.
The artful deaign of control systems le a deeply
Misunderstood area, ln no way deconfused by calling it
"human factors." There are aany functions to be control
led, such as text editing operations, views of Che uni
verse on s screen, the heading of a vehicle, the tile of
an aircraft, the windage and adjustments of artillery,
Che temperature of a etove burner and any ocher control
lable devicee. And nowadays any conceivable devices
could control that pushbuccons, knobs, cranks, wheels,
levers and Joysticks, trigger, dials, aaglc wands, aani-
puladon by llghtpen on CRT screens (see p.9*'T), flicks
of Che finger, the turning of che eves (as in soae ex
perimental gun-alalng devicee), Che huaan voice (but
thac inCroduces probleas see p.^HI3), keyboards, elec
tronic cablete, bgelbart alee and chordwrlters, and so
(lateral)
Ho I ling
Relative
to Camera
The human mind being ae supple as it Is, anything
whatever can be used co control systeas. The problem le
having It be a comprehensible whole.
Aa slresdy remarked, our ability mentally co unify
things Is excrsordlnary. That we somehow tie together
clutch, gear, acceleracor and brake InCo a comprehensible
concrol etructure to make care go and stop should amaze
and inetruct.
Engineers and "human factors" people speak aa though
there were some kind of scientific or determinate way to
deaign control systams. Piffle. We choose a sec of con
trols, much like an artlete Palette, on the baeis of ge
neral approprlateneae; and Chen Cry besc and mosc artistic
ally to fit thea to what needs doing.
The resulc muse be conceptually elear and reCroacdve-
ly "obvious" simply because clarity is che simplest way
co keep the ueer from making mistakes. Clear snd simple
systems are easier co learn, harder to forget, lass likely
to be screwed up by the user, and thus are more economic
al getting more done for Che resources put ln.
There Is a sore of paradox here. The kinds of con
trols are totally arblcrary, buC Chelr unification In a
good syscea is not. Sooochness snd clarity can cooe from
disparate elements. Ic is for chls resaon that I lay par
ticular strees on ay JOT system for che Input and revision
of texC, using a palette of keys available on che simplest
standard computer terainal, the 33 Teletype. I cannot
aake the final judgement on how good this systea Is, but
it pleases me. JOT 1s also an important example becauee
lc suggests that a conceptually unified syscem can be
creaced from Che arcful non-obvlous combination of loose
elements originally having differenc intended purposes.
Mentsl analogy 1 s an important and clear concrol
technique. We tend co forget chat the steering wheel was
invenCed. aeparacely replacing both the boat's tiller and
the automobile's Ciller. We aleo forget thac Che use of
such steering mechanisms must be actually learned by
children. Such continuous analogies, though, require cor
responding continuities in che spscs co be controlled
an important condiClon.
Simplicity and clarity have nothing to do with the
appearance of controls, buC wlch the clarity and unique
locatablllty of individual parte. For thia reaaon I find
deplorable che arrayed controls thac are turning up, e.g.
on Codsy's audio equipment. Designers aeem to think
rowa of things are desirable. On che contrary: Che best
designed controls I ever used are on che Sony TC-50
pocket tap^ recorder
, t a u i
. r e j )
I r i ' F t f V I
I H I T
but of courae cbls Is now phased out; Instead mosc cassette
recorders have five or six stupid buttons ln a row. (Was
lc too good to last?)
Spurious control elegance comes ln many guises. Con
sider Bruce McCall's description of the Tap-A-Toe Futuroi-
die Foodess De-Clutchlngtu systeo. This wae offered on
the fictltloua 1934 Bulgemoblles, and allowed you to drive
the car wlch one pedal, racher than three (see box nearby).
Careless and horrible designs are noc all flccltloua.
One egregious exaaple also Indicates the low level of de
aign currently going Inco some responding systems: comput
er people hsve designed CRT writing systeas for newepspers
which actually have a "kill" button on the console, by
which authors would accidentally kill their stories. In
s recenc magazine article It wae explained thac che event
ual aoluclon wae Co chsnge Che prograa so thac to kill
the atory you had co hit the "kill" button {wice. To ae
this seems like a beautiful exaaple of what happens when
you lec lnsulaced technical people design che system for
you: s "kill" button on the keybosrd is about as intelli
gent ae instslllng knives on the dashboard of a car,
pointing ac che passenger.
There is another poor tendency. When computer pro-
granere or other Cechnlcal people design particular
sysceas wlchout thinking more generally, Chlngs are not
likely to be either simple or coablnable. What aay re
sult la intricate user-level controls for one particular
funcdon, controls chac sre differendy used for anocher
particular function, making the two functions not com-
binable.
But useful wholeneas can be helped along. Jusc as
what I have called che accordance-*tructure of wrltine
(see *Writlng,' p.^ft) aoves It along aooothlv fanM-
deelgn that builds from a well-organized internal dy
namic should confer on a fantlc system the same momentum
and clarlCy chac carefully-organized writing haa.
This contribution of wholeness can only occur, how
ever, lf cbe under-level coapllcatlons of a system have
been carefully streamlined aod emoothed back ac least
as they affect the user. Consider ehe design of the JOT
editing syscea (p **>); while it is simple co the
usT, cooputer people often react co it with Indignation
and anger becauee It hides whac are co chem the signifi
cant features of computer text editing explicit pre-
occupadon wlch storage, especially the calling and re
vision of blocks." Nevertheless, I ssy It la the de
tails at Chls level which muse be smooched back if we
are co make systems for regular people.
The same applies to the Th3 system (see p. DfrfO,
which Is designed to keep the user clear-minded aa he
coopsres Chlngs in multiple dimensions. The oechanlsms
st the computer level muse be hidden to -nVf chls work.
FANTIC SPACE
Pudovkln and Elaeneteln, greac Russian movle-makars
of che tvenelee, talked abouc "filaic space" ths Imagin
ary apace that che action ae*"1" to be ln.
Thl* concept extends Itself naturally co fantlc space
the space and relatlonehlpe sensed by a viewer of sny me- '
dlum, or a user in any presenting or responding environ
ment. The design of computer display ayatema, then la
really che artful crafting of fandc apace. Technicalities
are subservient to effects. (Indeed, I think computer
graphics is really a branch of movle-oaklng.)
FANTIC STRUCTURE
The fantlc structure of anything, then, consists of
les noticeable pares, lneerconnectlona, contents and ef
fects.
I claim that It 1s the fantlc unity the conceptual
and presentational clarity of theee chlngs thsc makes
fantlc systems presentational systems and materiel-
clear and helpful, or not.
for
Lec us cske an lncereetlng example from a syst
computer-assisted Instruction now under implementation.
I will not identify or consent on the aystem because per'
haps I do noc understsnd It sufficiently. Anyway, they
have an array of etudent control-buitona that look like
Chls-.
O t J
MiVICE
K\Ar EA5 IER
RYU
EMMP,
f w c . r
[fncf.cjJ
The genersl thinking ln this system aeems to be
chac the student may gee an overall organizing view of
whac he la supposed to be learning (MAP); Information on
what he la currently supposed to be about (OBJ); csnned
suggestions based on what hes recently done (ADVICE).
Moipver, he can get ehe aystem to present a rule sbout
the subject or give him practice; and for either of
these he may request easier rules or prsctlce, or hsrdsr
rules (i.e., more abstruse generslltles) or harder prsc-
cice.
For the laccer, the student Is supposed co hie
RULE or PW.CT followed by KELP, HARDER or EASIER, vi*.-.
OgJ
e i p
/ 1
ATWe
M*\P
/<
CAW

------- r
EUIE e w \ p fWCT
Whac makes for the best control structures, then?
There Is no simple answer. I would ssy provlslonslly
chac ic is a maccer of unified and conspicuous constructs
in che menCsl view of Che domain to be controlled,
correapondlng to a vell-dletingulshed and clesrly-incer-
related set of controlling mechanisms. But that is hardly
che last word on che subject.
THE ORGANIZ ATION OF WHOLENESS
Ic should be plsin that ln responding screen-
systeas, "what happens on the screen" snd how che
controls respond" sre noc really distinguishable.
Ths screen evenes are pare of the way the controls
respond. The screen functions and control functions
aerge psychologically.
Now, there le a crap here. Just ae the gas
pedal, clutch, gesrshifc and brake aerge peychologi-
cslly, any control structure csn aerge psychologicsl-
ly. Clutch snd gear shift do not have, for aosc of us,
clear psychologicsl relevance Co the problea of con
trolled forward motion. Yet we psychologlcslly Inte
grate tha use of Chese mechanisms as a unified means
for controlling forward ootlon (or, like the author,
get an Automatic). In much the saae way, sny syscem
of conCrols can gradually coae Chrough use co hsve s
psychological organlzadon, even spuriously. The crap
is thac we so easily lose sight of srbltrariness snd
even stupidity of design, and live with It when it
could be so auch better, becauee of chls psychological
melding.
Now regardless of whecher chls Is a well-thougtfrout
way to divide up a subject Ill be interested to see
how it works out chese controls do not s e a eo be well-
arranged for conceptual claricy. It seems eo be Che old
rowe-of-buttons approach.
I have no doubt thac ehe people working on chis sy-
seem are certain this is Che only possible layouC. But
consider chae the student's options might be clearer to
him, for Instance, lf we set It up aa follows:
OB
Or like this:
What I am crying co show here le that merely Che
arrangement of buttons creates different fantlc con
structs. If you see this, you will recognise that
considering all the other options we have, designing
new media le no small matter. The control structures
merge mentally with the presentational structures.
The tempCadon to settle on ahort-slghtsd designs hav
ing ehallow unity le all coo greac.
FANT1C DESIGN
Fantlc design is basically Che planning and selec
tion of effects. (We could also call chese "performance
values" cf. "production values" In movlea.)
Some of these lncended effects are singly the com
munication of information or cognitive structure "in
formation transfer," Co use one of the more obtuse
phrases current. Other desirable effects Include orien
ting the user and often moving him emotionally, including
sometimes overwhelming or entrancing him.
In che design of fantlc eysCeme involving automatic
response, we have a vast choice among Cypee of presenta
tional technlquee, tricks that are Just now becoming
understood. Not Just sereen techniques snd functions,
but aleo reeponee technlquee and functions.
(If "feelle" systems are ever perfected, ae In
Huxley'e Brave New World, it's still the same In prin
ciple. See WacHapteas, p. h*\^-)
In both general areas, chough wlchin media, and
designing media it seems to me that the creation of
organizing constructs is the most profound problem.
In particular, the organizing constructs must not dis
tract, or Cear up contents. An analogy: In writing, the
inventions of the paragraph, chapter and footnote were
inventions in writing technique that helped clarify what
was being expressed. What we need In computer-based
fantlc design ie Inventions which do not artificially
chop up, constrain, or interfere with the subject (see
box, Procrustes, nearby).
I do not feel these principles are everywhere suf
ficiently appreciaced. For Instance, the built-in
structures of PLATO (see "Faniic Space of PLATO," p.
P*^7.T) disturbs me somewhat in its arbitrariness-- and
the way Its control keys are scsttered around.
But there is always something artificial that is,
some form of artifice in presenCadon. So the problem
1s to devise techniques which have elucidating value but
do not cut connections or ties or other relationships
you want to save. (For this reason I suggest the reader
consider "Stretchtext," p. J>h|a| , collateral linkage
(p a,*d the various hypergrams (p j)^i
These structures, while somewhat arbitrary and artifi
cial, nevertheless can be used to handle a subject
gently.)
An important kind of organizing construct is the
map or overall orlendng diagram. This, too, is often
partly "exacc" and partly "artifice:" certain aspects of
the diagram may have unclear import but clear and help
ful connotation. (For lnscance, consider Che "picture
systems" diagram on p. D M o Jusc what does che
vertical dimension mean? Yes, but whac does it really
Responding systems now make it possible for such
orienting structures to be multidimensional and respon
ding (cf. the orienting function of che "dimensional
flip" control llluscrated on p. DM JJI )
Fantic design, Chen, Is the creation either of
things to be shown (writing, movie-making, etc.) at the
lower end, or media to show things In, or environments.
1. The design of things co be shown whether
writing, movie-making, or whatever Is nearly always a
combination of some kind of explicit structure an ex
planation or planned lesson, or plot of a novel and
a feeling thae the author can control in varying degrees.
The two are .deeply intertwined, however.
The author (designer, director, ecc.) muec chink
carefully abouc how to give organization co what le
being preaented. Thia, eoo, hae both aspeccs, cognition
and feelings.
Ac the cognitive end, the author must concern him
self with detailed exposition or argument, or, in fiction,
plot. But almply putting appropriate parte together is
not enough: the author must use organizing eonscruccsco
continually orient the reader's (or viewer's) mind. Re
peated reference to main concepts, repeated shots (in a
movie) of particular locations, serve this function; but
each medium presents its own possible devices for thlB
purpose.
The organization of the feelings of the work
criss-crosses the cognitive; but we can't get Into
it here.
Selection of points and parts contributes to both
a*Pects. I* you are trying to keep the feeling of a
c w g from being ponderous, you ean never include
everything you wanted, but mist select from among the
explicit points and feellngfenerators that you have
thought of.
2. The design of media themaelvea, or of media
subsystems. Is not usually a matter of option. Books,
movies, radio and TV are given. But on occasion, as
for world's fairs or very personal projects, we have
certain option. Which allows things like:
Smellavislon or whacever they called It:
movlea with a smell-track, which went out
Into the theater through odor generatora.
Branching movies (see p . ^ H^).
"Multi-media" (multiple audio tracks and al-
multaueoue elide projectlone on different
screens).
Stereo movlea.
And ao on. The thing about the onea mentioned Is that
they are not viable aa continuing setups for repeated
productions. They do not offer a permanent wide market;
they are not stable; they do not catch on. Which Is in
a way, of course, too bad.
But the great change la Juat abouC now. Currenc
technicalities allow branching iredls especially those
associated with computer screens. And It Is up to us now
to design them.
3. MB4TAL ENVIRONMENTS are working places for struc
tured activity. The saae principles of showmanship apply
to a working environment as to both the contents of media
and the design of media. If media are environments into
which packaged materials are brought, structured environ-
mencs are baalcally environments where you use non-packag-
ed material, or create things yourself. They might also
be called "contentlesa media." The princlplea of whole-
neee In structured environments are the same aa for the
others, and many of our examples refer to them.
The branching computer acreen, together with the
aelfsame computer's ability to turn anything elae on
and off as selected by the user, snd to fetch up in-
formation, ylelde a realm of option In the design of
media and environment that bee never existed before.
Medls we design for screen-bssed computer systems are
going to catch on widely, so we must be far more at
tentive to the options that exlat in order to coomlt
nationally, perhaps to the best.
In tomorrow's systems, properly unified controls
can give us new flexibilities. If deeply well-designed,
these promise magnificent new capabilities. For In
stance, we could allow a Musician to "conduct" the per
formance of hia work by a computer-based music eyntheele
system (see "Audio," p.^il), perhapa controlling the
many qualities of the performance on a ecreen ae he goee,
by means of such techniques aa dimensional flip (see
p.n7j). (The tradition of cumulative audio aynthesls,
as practiced In the flftlea by Lee Paul and Mary Ford,
and more recently by Walter Carlos and Mike Oldfield,
will take on a new fillip as multidimensional control
techniques become coimiion.)
One of the intents of this book haa been to orient
you to some of the possibilities and soae of tbe option**
considered generally. There le not room, unfortunately*
to discuss more than one or two overall possibilities In
detail. The moat successful such systaa so far haa been
PLATO (discussed pp. DM18-19); others
k.T u /,t| W Mr
NEW MEDIA TO LAST
Whet's worse, we are confronted not merely vltb che
job of using computers to present epeclflc things. The
greater cask Is co design overall computer media that
will last us into a more intelligent future. Adrift In
a aea of Ignorance and confusion, it is nevertheless our
duty to try to create a whole transportation s y s t a that
everybody can climb aboard. For the long run, fantlc
ayatems oust be trested not as custom systaa for explicit
purposee, but ae OVERALL GENERAL DESIGNS WHICH VILL HAVE
TO TIE TOGETHER AND CATCH CM, otherwise collapse and
perlab.
FINAL CONSEQ UENCES.
It aeema to me certain thet we ace w i n g coward
a generalized and universal Fantlc syeta; people can
and ahould doand it. Perhaps there will be several;
but if so, being able to tie them together for m o t b
transmission is essential. (Think of what It would be
like If there were two kinds of telephones?) Thle then
Is a great search and crusade: to put together truly
generel media for^ruture, systoas at which we can read*
writs, learn and visualize, year after Tear after year.
The Initiatives are not likely to come from the more
conventional eoaputer people; some of them are part of
the probla. (Be prepared for every poealbla form of
aggressive defensiveness froa prograMere, especially:
"Why would you want that?" The correct answer la
BECAUSE, damlt!)
But thle all means thst Interior coaputer technical
ities have to be SUBSERVIENT, and the prograoers cannot
be allowed to dictate bow it la to behave on tbe basis
of the underlevel structures that are convenient to thea.
Q uite the contrary: from the fullest consideration of che
rlehest upper-level structures we want, we tha usera-to-
be aust dictate what lower-level structures are to be
prepared within.
But this means you, dear reader, muat develop the
fantlc imagination. You auat learn to visualize possible
uses of computer screens, so you can get on down to the
deeper level of how we are going to tie theee things
together.
The deelgner of responding coaputer eyeteas le
cresting unified setups for viewing snd msnlpulstlng
things and the feellnga, Impreeelons end sense of things
thst go with them. Our goal should be nothing less than
REPRESENTING THE TRUE CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF HUMAN
THOUGHT. (Yes, Dream Machlnee Indeed.) But it should
be eomethlng more: enabling the mind to weigh; pursue,
synthesize snd evaluate ideas for a better tomorrow.
Or for any at all.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Theodor H. Nelson, "A Conceptual Framework for
Man-Machine Everything." Proc. NCC 73.
"Computopia and Cybercrud. In Levien (ed.).
Computers in _Ins^ruc_^ion, The Rand Corporation,
O o T T J u ^ l c rO fT e x f ,
Here's hov; simple it is to create and edit text with the JOT system.
Since your typewriter is now a JOT machine, not every key does what it used to.
CREATING TEX T: just type it in.
fa'fjf.: The quick brown fox jumps over the la2y dog.
If f'jpti: The quick brown fox jumps over tho lazy dog.
REVIEWING A SENTENCE YOU JUST TYPED: the back-arrow takes you back, the space bnr steps you
,, through
sp sp sp sp
U (bell) The quick brown fox
DELETIONS AND INSERTIONS: the RUBOUT key rejects words you don't want. To insert , Merely type.
fi* sp sp RUBOUT lithe sp sp sp sp sp sp
Jf (bell) The quick /brown/ lithe fox jumps over the laxy dog.
REARRANGING TEX T: first we make three Cuts in the text, signalled by free-standing exclanation
points.
yi sp I sp ! sp I fox
// 7y4 The l quick J lithe ! fox
TO REARRANGE IT, YOU TYPE: LINE FEED key. This exchanges the two pieces between the cuts.
CHECK THE RESULTS:
sp sp sp Sp
(bell) The lithe quick fox
i f c w mxivif i- Her
--- * SyiftH
H i t U r t t - H t * y - o \ ) u e i h l e w
LSoT*r*\ 1* l*w t <V you i urifttf,
i*sM *f re*l
Another a p p l i c a t i o n o r t h e p r e s e n t Invent i on I s a l s o t a t he arc-a
o f p i c t o r i a l d i s p l a y , b u t o f f e r s a g r e a t v a r i e t y of p o t e n t i a l u s e r c b o l ee s I d
a s i m p l e c i r c u ms t a n c e . I c a l l t h l e t h e "wal ki ng net " s y s t e a because c o n t r o l i s
e f f e c t e d t hr ougo a changi ng network o f c h o i c e s wbleb s t e p , o r "wal k, "
a r o u n d t h e c s r v e n ,
Die p r ob l ea o f I n t r i c a t e c o p u t e r gr aphi cs &iy be p h r as e d
f o l l o v c : g i ve n t h a t a d i g i t a l s y s t e n can bol d a wide v a r i e t y o f g r a p h i c a l
m t e r l a l s r eady t o p r e s e n t , hens nny t h e u s e r s o o t s l a p l y and c o nveni e nt l y
c hoos e t h e n? I ndeed, how m y t be u s e r keep t r a c k of what I s happeni ng, v i a re
he I s a n d v ber e he ha s been?
Tt e e * t * n w l Beehanl aa I have s e l e c t e d f o r t h i s f a c i l i t y l arado*'
1t a l l y e a o b l n e s g r e a t v e r s a t i l i t y f o r s o p h i s t i c a t e d p r e s e n t a t i o n s wi t h . j r ea t
s i m p l i c i t y b e f o r e t h e nai ve u s e r . Ths i d e a I s t h i s : t he u s e r nay c c m t n d a
c o n t i n u i n g s u c ce s s i o n o f changi ng p r e s e n t a t i o n s , n M n g onl y one s l n p l e choi ce
a t a t i a e , y e t r e c e i v i n g I n t r i c a t e a nd r i c h a ni mat i ons v l t h ext remel y c l e a r
c o n t i n u i t y on t be s c r e e n .
The e x t e r i o r s e c h a n l s u I s t h i s : a l ong v l t b a n a r b i t r a r y gr aphi c
p r e s e n t a t l o i en t he s c r e en , t he u s e r I s c on t i n uo us l y pr es e n t e d v l t h t h e l u g s
l>L44
o f a f o r k i n g s e t o f a r m s , j.-.
w**> 6HWd
fr
" i' kTvI
Tbe p i p I s a convent i onal i l ^ h t - p e n c u r s o r . The " c u r r e n t shank" I s a l i n e
whose i m p l i c i t gr a d a t i o n s c o n t r o l f cve l o pce nt c i n the p i c t u r e ; and t h e choLce
o f ar r ows a t t he end o f t he e u r r e n t shank d c t e r a l n s & d i s c r e t e c ho i ce between
a l t e r n a t i v e s t h a t a r e t o t r a n s p i r e .
The u s e r , s e i z i n g t be p i p wi t h the l l g h t p c n , moves I t (through
t h e u s u a l l l g h t p z n t e chni ques ) s l dcvoye a l o n e t be c u r r e n t shank. Moving i t l n
t he "f or war d" d i r e c t i o n eauces p r o g r t 6 d v e developments l n t he p l c t u i ; , Dovlnc
I t "backward" causes a r c v ^ r c a l o f o n i c i t i - . r i : and oi l i er pr evi ous d c v e l o p z s n t s .
Vhen t be p i p r c i c h e s t h e choi ce r ^ i n t i n the f o r ^ r d d i r e c t i o n ,
t he u s e r may d r ag i t (thr ough t he uc u al l i g h t p s n t t c h n l q u a s ) a l on g e i t h e r of
t be be ckoni ng a l t e r n a t i v e s . TMs t h e n causec f u r t h e r d e v el op . n nt s l c t he
p r e s e n t a t i o n consonant v l t h t h e l i n e s e l e c t e d .
"DevelopBents" o f t b e p i c t u r e here I ncl ude e x i a n s l a n , c o n t r u e t l o r
s l i d i n g mo v e n n t s and f nucc-by-Truce a ni ma t i on.
( Qe s e o a t e r l o l s w i l l have been, o f c o u r s e , e x p l i c i t l y I n p u t by
a u t h o r s a nd a r t i s t s . )
I n a sa apl e eapl o yn e nt , c o i s l d e r a p r e s e n t a t i o n <n t h e s u b j e c t
o f Vol canoes. I t t h e f i r s t shank o f t h e c o n t r o l n e t e o n t r o l t h e " r i s e o f a
vol cano f r o a t h e s e a " - - an u n dul a t i ng ocean s u r f a c e p i e r c e d f l r o t by a wi sp of
saoke, t h e n a growing peak, v l t h r i v u l e t s o f l a v a seen t o run down I t s s i d e s
and darken a s t h e y c o i t r l b u t c t o I t s growt h.
- U
A.1.W , . J e - A rt j / . Ll
(r~>lk J I*.
At t h e end o f t he f i r s t slt ank, t he u s e r s a y br ansh t o two <irrc
l a b e l l e d r e s ^ C t l v e l y WORD OHISIR and UTEftlCH, E i t h e r o p t i on c on t i n u e s t!;<*
p r e s e n t a t i o n wi t hout a br ea k , r e t a i n i n g ouch o f t he p i c t u r e on t he s c r e e n .
S e l e c t i o n Of WOJ\D ORIDIII cnufics t b e word V01CAII0 t o change t o VUIAil, and a
p i c t u r e o f t b e god V-jican I s seen t o s e i z e a l i g h t n i n g b o l t r i s i n g f r o a t he
c r a t e r ; t e x t appears t o e x pl ai n t h i s . A l t e r n a t i v e l y , I f t he u s e r chooses
IKTC3IQH, t b e t u be s and duc t s wi t hi n t h e vol cano a p pea r , and e x p l ana t or y t e x t
a l s o .
E i t h e r o f t he ee a l t e r n a t i v e s m y cont i nue v l t h I t s ovr.
developments and a n l a s t l t t i s under c o n t r o l o f i t s own shank.
S e v e r a l f e a t u r e s o f t h i s c o c t r o i a p p l i c a t i o n a r e of s p e e l a l
I n t e r e s t , t e e i s t h a t t he p r e s e n t a t i o n sa y be cont i nuous i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s ,
a i d i n g l n cont i nuous u s s r o r i e n t a t i o n . Another i s t h a t p r e s e n t a t i o n s a r e
r e v e r s i b l e i n v a r i o u s ways, an a i d bot h i n u s e r o r i e n t a t i o n and s e l f - s t u d y .
(NiTt onl y I s a demonst r at i on r e v e r s i b l e wi t h i n a gi ven shank, b u t the us e r eay
back t he p i p thr ai Gh an i n t e r s e c t i o n i n t o t h e a n t ec ede n t shank
which r ea pp ea r s a t t h e Junct ur e a s t h e l l Ght pen t acKs up and the u s e r say
cont i nue t o r eve r s e 't he p r e s e n t a t i o n through t h a t pr eeedl ng shank, or t o r e - c n t e
t b e i n t e r s e c t i o n and nuke a n o t h er c h o i c e , " t h e p i t h not t a k e n . ) These
f e a t u r e s a l l o w t h e u c e r d e a r l y t o r e p e a t d e o o n o t r a t i o ns a s o f t e n a s he l i k e s
and t o e x pl or e numerous a l t e r n a t i v e s .
The di s p l ay e d c o n t r o l n e t I s t h u s t o be u n f er s t oo d a s a l a r g e
network o f c h o i c e s , n o s t l y unseen, whose c u r r e n t l y v i s i b l e p o r t i o n "walks" aroun
the s c r e en a s us e p r o g r e s s e s . Within t h i s s y s t e n , t h e n , nui erous v a r i a n t s a r e
p o s s i b l e . For I n a t a n c e , t b e c u r r e n t l y v i s i b l e p o r t i o n o f t h s M t sa y I t s e l f
be v b l a s l c a l l y I n co r po r a t e d i n a p i c t u r e , v l t . :
V i r t u e
ttptfOSTtS TH* G lWlT
The Greeks t o l d of a gi ant , Pr o c r us t es ( r hy ws with
Rust ys) who was very h o s p i t ab l e t o pa s s i ng t r a v e l e r s .
He would I n v i t e . Indeed ccapal t he a. t o s l e e p I n hi s
bed. l l nf o r t u n a t e l y , because i t was a very odd bed, h
hod t o c u t t h e a up f i r s t . . .
Pr o c r u s t e s has haunted conver sat i ons ever s i n c e; and
any t i n e we a r e f orced t o use c a t e g o r i e s t h a t d o n ' t pro
pe r l y f i t a s u b j e c t , i t s c e u l i k e an i n v i t a t i o n t o t he
Pr ocrust ean bed.
Hyper t ext s y s t e a s a t l a s t o f f e r t o t a l f r e e d f r an
a r b i t r a r y c a t e g o r i z i n g and choppingi b u t i n sy s t e a s
f or s t o r i n g and p r e s e nt i n g I n f o r a a t i o n , I c a n ' t hel p h e ar
i ng t he whlek o t P r o c r u s t e s ' kn i f e
V " V
"Take new Tap-A-Toe Futuroidic Footless
De-Clutching. Instead of old-fashioned gas,
brake and clutch pedals that kept your feet
busier than a dance marathon, Tap-A-Toe
Futuroidic Footless De-Clutching offers the
convenience of Single Pedal Power Control--
combines all foot functions in one single
pedal!
"Think of it: one tap-- you go, aoving
off faster than a barfly after Repeal.
"Two taps-- you change gears, as smooth
and automatic as a mortgage foreclosure.
"Three taps-- you stop quicker than the
U.S. economy.
"And that's all there is to it. Tap-A-
Toe Futuroidic Footless De-Clutching with
Single Pedal Control is as easy and effort
less as the Jap narch on Manchuria!"
Bruce McCall,
"1934 Bulgemobile Brochure,
National Lampoon. May 74, 76-7.
STCIMV1SI0M
A ni ce exasqtl e of a u n i f i e d p r e s e n t a t i o n a l
syBt ea would al l ow you a * f e e l i e " gl ove al ong
wi t h your cooput er d i s p l a y the s o r t of t h i n g
Hike Nol l has been doing a t Be l l Lahs.
Now, suppose you a r e pl ayi ng wi t h a diagram
o f a s t a r on a conput er d i s p l ay sc r e en. I t ' s a l l
very wel l t o se e I t a l a y e r s , flowing arrows r e
pr es e nt i n g c onvect i on c u r r e n t s , p r a o n t o r i e e and
so on b u t s m t hi ngs you ought t o be abl e t o
f e e l . Por exaxipl e, t he nechani cal r esonance-pr op
e r t i e s of s t a r s . I t would be ni ce t o be a b l e to
reach and g r as p t he s t a r , t o aaueet e I t and f e e l
i t s p u l s a t i o n s a s i t r ega i ns i t s shape. Thle
coul d be done i n t he gl ove a t t he saae t i a e t he
U t g t o f t h e gl ove gr asps t he s t a r on t he s e r e e n ,
and t he s t a r i a squi shed.
Of c o ur s e , t o b u i l d such a respondi ng gl o ve ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y one t h a t gave you s ub t l e f e e l i n g s
back l n your f i n g e r s , would probably be very ex
pensi ve. But i t s t h e ki nd of p o s s i b i l i t y people
should s t a r t c on s i d er i n g.
I <*4cJ +
T cW isctjH tef?
SHoMMAK;Nir|0606-Y?
i N T e u f C T f c o * | i a ? [s-h
M e ^ i ^ - T H D ^ i c x ?
'FA M T i C V
First of all, 1 feel that very few
people understand what interactive computer
s/stems are about. It's like the story of the
blind men and the elephant-- each thinks it's
a different thing (based, usually, on his own
technical specialty).
But I think it's all show business.
PENNY ARCADES are the nodel for interactive
computer systems, not classrooas or libraries
or imaginary robot playaates. And coaputer
graphics is an intricate branch of aovie-
naking.
Okay, so I wanted a term that would
connote, in the most general sense, the show-
aanship of ideas and feelings-- whether or not
handled by aaehine.
I derive "fantics" from the Creek words
"phainein" (show) and its derivative "phantas-
tein" (present to the eye or aind).
You will of course recognize its cousins
fantastic, fantasy, phantoa. ("Phantom aeans
what is shown; in medical illustration it refers
to an opaque object drawn as transparent; a
"phantom limb" is an amputee's temporary feeling
that the severed limb has been restored.) And a
fantast is a dreamer.
The word "fantics" would thus include
the showing of anything (and thus writing
and theater), which is more or less what I
intended. The term is also intended to
coveT the tactics of conveying ideas and
impressions, especially with showmanship
and presentational techniques, organizing
constructs, and fundamental structures
underlying presentational systens.
Thus Engelbart's data hierarchy (P.,*<fc-7),
SKETCHPAD'S Constraints (p.,**>), and PLATOS
fantic spaces (pjK2("7* 8re fantic constructions
that need to be understood if we are to under
stand these systens and their potential usages.
Livermore Labs, t hose hydrogen-bomb
desi gn peopl e, will have a "Laborat ory for
Data Anal ys i s , an opul ent f acul t y for ex
peri ment i ng with mul t i di mensi onal visual i sat i on.
One o f your j o l l y i r o n i e s . I have aeen p i c
t u r e s o f b e a u t i f u l a u l t l b u t t o n e on t r o l handles which
were designed f or p r o j e c t SMASH, would you bel i eve
Sout heast [Asia] Hul t l eeneor y Araaaent Sys t M f or
Hel i co pt er s . Aaxgh.)
The beat wi t h Ihe w o n t .
Ever yt hi ng la deepl y I ninrtwingled.
Designing screen systems that focus
the user's thought on his work, with help
ful visualizations and no distractions, is
the great task of fantic design.
In a system I designed for CRT motion-
picture editing, the user could aaipulate
written descriptions on the screen (corres
ponding to the usual yellow-pad notes). To
see the consequences of a particular splice,
for instance, the editor would only have to
draw a line between two annotated lines re
presenting shots. Trim variations could be
seen by moving this cut-line (illustrated).
Not long after, CBS and Memorex did'in
troduce a system for movie-editing by CRT--
but I've heard that in their systea the user
has to actually deal with numbers. If so,
this is missing the whole point.
HoNi Tt n
o r HCKD/^e
dlWE.NVK1*' HM T- DdteK
t H M K f t l o y s *
Our greatest problems involve thinking and the
visualization of complexity.
By "Thinkertoy" I mean, first of all, a system
to help people think. ('Toy' means it should be easy
and fun to use.) This is the same general idea for
which Engelbaxt, for instance/ uses the term "aug
mentation of intellect.
But a Thinkertoy is something quite specific:
I define it as a computer display system that helps
you envision complex alternatives.
The process of envisioning ccsnplex alternatives
is by no means the only important form of human
thought! but it is essential to making decisions, de
signing, planning, writing, weighing alternate theor
ies, considering alternate forms of legislation, doing
scholarly research, and so on. It is also complicated
enough that, in solving it, we may solve simpler prob
lems as well.
We will stress here some of the uses of these sy
stems for handling text, partly because I think these
are rather interesting, and partly because the com
plexity and subtlety of this problem has got to be
better understood: the written word is nothing lees
than the tracks left by the mind, and so we are really
talking about screen systems for handling ideas, in
all their complexity.
Numerous types of complex things have to be inter
compared, and their relatione inter-cemprehended. Here
are a few of the many types:
Alternative
Discrepancies among the testimony of witness)
' V
Successive drafts of the same document.
Pairs of things which have sane parts the
same, some parts different (contracts, holy books,
statutes of different states, draft versions of
legislation...) i
Different theories and their ties to parti
cular examples and evidences.
Under examination these different types of inter-
cooparison seem to be rather different. Now, one ap
proach would be to create a different data structure
and viewing technique for each different type of complex.
There may be reasons for doing that in the future.
For the present, however, it makes sense to try to
find the most general possible viewing technique: one
that will allow complex intercanparisons of all the
types mentioned, and any others we might run across.
One such technique is what 1 now call collatera-
tion, or the linking of materials into collateral struc
tures.* as will be explained. This is fairly straight
forward if you think enough about the problem; Engel-
bart discovered it independently.
Let us call two structures collateral if there are
links between them, connecting a selected part of one
with a selected part of the other. The sequences of
the connected parts may be different. For sin^licitye
sake, suppose each one is a short piece of writing.
(We will also aspume that there is some convenient form
of rapid viewing and following between one end of a link
and another.)
Now, it will be noted first off that this ie an ex
tremely general method. By collateral structuring we
can easily handle the equivalents of: tables of contents!
indexes,- contents and marginalia; explanations, exegesis,
explication? labeling? headings: footnotes; notes by the
writer to himself; contents and questions by the reader
for later reference; and additional details out of se
quence -
alii&SiS..then. i. the cre.tior, of c h
multiple and viewable links BETWEEN ANY TWO DATA
STRUCTURES, in principle, it i, general and powerful
enough to handle a greet variety oj poe.ible ueee in
hunan intellectual endeavor, and deeenree conaider-
able attention from researchers of every stripe.**
The problem then, is how to handle this for
rapid and convenient viewing and whatever other work
the user wants to do writing and splicing, inter-
comparing, annotating and so on. Two solutions ap
pear on this spread: The Parallel Textface*, design
ed as a seminal part of the X anadu system (see p.>jft),
which I hope will be marketed with that system in the
near future, and a more recent design which I've work
ed on at the University of Illinois, the 3D Thinkertoy
or Th3.
CLARITY AMD POWER
We stressed on the other side of the book that
conputer systems must be clear, single and easy to use.
Where things like business uses of computers are con
cerned, which are intrinsically so single in principle,
some of the complications that people have been forced
to deal with in i11-designed computer systems verge on
the criminal. (But sane computer people want others
to think that's the way it has to be. "Your first
duty is to keep your job, right?" one computer person
said to me recently. "It wouldn't do to set up systems
so easy to use that the company wouldn't need you any
more." See Cybercrud," p.6 .)
But if it is desirable that conputer systems for
simple-minded purposes be easy to use, it is absolutely
necessary that computer systems for complicated purposes
be simple to use. If you a n wrangling over complex al
ternatives say, in chess, or in a political simula
tion game (see "Simulation, p. % ), or in the throes
of trying to write a novel, the last thing you will tole
rate ie for your conputer screen to Introduce complica
tions of its cwn. If a system for thinking doesn't
make thinking simpler allowing you to see farther and
more deeply it is uselss, to use only the polite term.
But systems can be both powerful and sinple at
the same time. The myth that things have to be com
plicated to do anything for you is pernicious rubbish.
Well-designed systems can make our mental tasks lighter
and our achievements come faster.
It is for this reason that I contendthe reader
these two designs of mine: as examples of user-level
control and viewing designs fantlc environments, if
you will (see p^)s-tt)-- that are pruned and tuned to
give the user great control over the viewing and cross-
consideration of intricate alternatives, without e x
plication. I like to believe that both of these, in
deed, are ten-minute gya* ' that is, when we get
them running, the fange of uses shown here can be taught
to naive users?in ten minutes or less.
It is because of my heartfelt belief in thia kind
of simplicity that I stress the creation of prefabrica
ted environments, carefully tuned for easy use, rather
than the ereation of ccmputer languages which m u t be
learnt by the user, as do such people as Bngelbart (aee
p.^ 1 6 ) and DeFanti (see p.J)N3i). Now, their approach
hbviously has considerable merit for sophisticated users
who want to tinker repeatedly with variant approaches.
Por people who want to work Incessantly in an environ
ment, and on other things say writers and are ab-
eent-minded and clumsy and nervous and forgetful (like
the present author), then the safe, prefabricated en
vironment, with thoroughly fail-safe functions and ut
terly memorable structural and control interrelation
ships, is the only approach.
* In my 1965 paper (see bibliography) I called collateral
structures zippered lists.
* * a group at Brown University has reportedly worked
along these lines sinee I worked with them, but due
to certain personal animosities I hava not kept up
with their developKnts. It will be interesting to
see what kind of response they ean get out of the
IBM systems they are using.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Theodor H. Nelson, "A File Structure for the complex,
the Changing and the Indeterminate." Proc. ACM 65,
84-100.
-----1 "Simplicity Versus Pover in User Systems."
Unpublished.
DECISION/CREATIVITY SYSTrMS
Theodor H. Nelson
19 July 1970
WE OFTEN WAN T TO SAVE ALTERNATIVES.
Aaitltulj [itirl'j tkprti/J,
[AU 4if i mt mtob hr iwimmaj tjti\
T h l I [wtiU] rttbtr f n l li t * ut
[Hit g n t i B*um riu.]
*9
[AUnm arm, jtrrwt l aw iiataiiknak
[ < / . ............... .
[I*#) t,U Ait bet wit* frUt I
Ati &1m myC amk,
M) (i r i t ] 4- IrrrljJrUi.]
From Co 1 er_id_^e1 s Poems? A Facsimile
Reproduction of the Proofs
and MSS, of some of the P o e m s .
(Folerof t , 19 72.)
It has been recognized fron the davn of computer display that the
grandest and most important use of the conputer display should be to
aid decisions end creative thought. Hie work of Ivan Sutherland (SKETCHPAD)
and Douglas i.'npelbart have really shown how ve may use the display to
visualize and effect our creative decisions swiftly and vividly.
For sone reason, however, the most important aspect of such systems
has been ncglected. We do not make important decisions, we should not
make delicate decisions, serially and irreversibly. Rather, the power of
the conputer display (and its conputing end filing support) must be so
crafted that ve may develop alternatives, spin out their complications
and Interrelationships, and visualize these upon a screen.
No systen could do this for us automatically. What design and
programming can create, hovever, is a facility that will allow us
to list, skctch, link and annotete the complexities ve seek to under^
stand, then present "views" of the complexities in many different forms.
Studying these views, annotating and refining, ve can reach the final
designs and decisions vith much rore in mind than we could otherwise
hold together in the imagination.
Some of the facilities that such systems must have Include the
following:
Annotations to anything, to any remove.
Alternatives of decision, design, writing, theory.
Unlinked or irreru]ar Pieces. hanging as the user wishes.
Hulticou-ling, or complex linkage, between alternatives, annota
tions or whatever.
Histories! filin.- of the users actions, Including each addition
end modification, and possibly the viewing actions that preceded them.
Frozen rpnertts and versions, which the user may hold as m e m r a b l e
for his thinking.
Evolutionary cour Linr, where the correspondences between evolving
We might also think of them as systems for
versions are autcrsatically cair.talned, and their differences or relations
easily annotated.
In addition, designs for screen "views", the motion, appearance
and disappcnrancc of elements, require considerable thought and imagi
nation.
The object is not to burden the user, or make him aware of complex
ities in which he has no Interest. But almost everyone in intellectual
and decision pursuits has at some time an implicit need for soae of
these facilities. If people knew they were possible, they would d a a n d
them. It is time for their creation.
A full-fledged decision/creativity system, embracing both text and
graphics, Is one of the ultieate design goals of Project X AHADU.
LL
This user-level system is intended to aid in
all forms of writing and scholarship, as well as
anywhere else that we need to understand and mani
pulate complex clusterings of text (i.e., thought) .
It will also work with certain animated graphics.
The Parallel Textface, as described here,
furnished the initial impetus for the development
of the X anadutm system (see p.$K$fe). X anadu was
developed, indeed, originally for the purpose of
implementing some of these functions, but the two
split apart. It turned out that the Parallel
Textface required an extremely unusual data struc-
structure and program techniques; these then became
the X anadu system. As developed in the final
X anadu design, they turn out to handle some very
unusual kinds of screen animation and file retrieval.
But this grew out of structuring a system to handle
the functions described here.
Thus the Parallel Textface basically requires
a X anadu system.
It is hoped that this system can be sold com
plete (including minicomputer or microprocessor--
no connection to a large computer is required) for
a few thousand-dollars by 1976 or 1977. See p.
(Since "business people" are extremely skeptical
as to whether anybody would want such a thing, I
would be interested in hearing expressions of in
terest, if any.)
PARALLEL TEX TFACE (1971)
;
' . < . ..Ml-. Ml
1 . dl . - , . - I kJ l . i . . M l ) M l - vk. '
I <*.*. ..Ult LdJ I.
.JU-fl U..lk> .JJ> l.ti V.
I R Jl < J.u- JU i.L h (| 1
ZmII.*. hill l -l .ak. t
- .......................... f
Real person sits at
cardboard X anadu mockup.
"Nice keyboard. But
what happened to
your typewriter?
QHTZ- T
As shown here, the screen presents two panels
text; more are allowed. Each contains a seg
ment of a longer document. ("Page" would be an im
proper term, since the boundary of the text viewed
may be changed instantly.)
The other odds and ends on the screen are hid
den keys to control elements which have been made
to fade (in this illustration), just to lessen the
distraction.
Panel boundaries and control graphics may b?
made to appear by touching them w1U fU.
Two panels are about
right for a 10 x 10
screen.
U ; t '
Independent text pulls
dependent text along.
Painted streaks simulate
motion, not icicles.
<g)H72. T. MtLioH
ROVING FUNCTIONS
The text moves on the screen! (Essential.)
The lower right hand corner of each text panel
contains an inconspicuous control diagram. The
slight horizontal extension is a movable control
pip. The user, with his light pen, may move the
pip up or down. "Up*causes the text to move
smoothly upward (forward in the material), at a
rate proportional to how far you push the pip;
"down" causes it to move back. (Note that we do
not refer here to jerky line-by-line jumps, but
to smooth screen motion, which is essential in
a high-performance system. If the text does not
move, you can't tell where it came from.)
DERIVATIVE MOTION: when links run sequential
ly, connecting one-after-the-other on both sides,
the contents of the second panel are pulled along
directly: the smooth motion in one panel is match
ed in. the other. This may be called derivative
motion, between independent text (being handled
directly with the lightpen) and dependent text
(being pulled along). The relationship may be re
versed immediately, however, simply by moving the
lightpen to the control pip of the other panel,
whose contents then become the independent text.
Irregularities in the links will cause the
independent text to move at varying speeds or jump,
according to an average of the links1 connectivity.
L
If no links are shown, the dependent text just
u l t .
Collateral links between material! in the
two panels are displayed as movable lines bet
ween the panels. (Text omitted in this diagram;
panel boundary has been made to appear.)
Some links may not have both their endpoints
displayed at once. In this case we show the in
complete link as a broken arrow, pointing in the
direction of the link's completion.
The broken arrow serves not merely as a vi
sual pointer, but as a jump-marker leading to the
linked material. By zapping the broken arrow with
the lightpen, the user summons the linked material-
as shown by the completion of the link t0 'he other
panel. (Since there has been a jump in the second
panel, we see that in this case the other link
been broken.)
< g) H72. T - u e l s o *
When such links lead to different places, both
of these destinations may nevertheless be seen at
once. This is. done by pointing at both broken links
in succession; the system then allows both links to
be completed, breaking the second panel ^
two destinations (as shown by dotted line across
panel).
9 L
i m r j J c U f f i
FAIL-SAFE AND HISTORICAL FEATURES.
In systems for naive users, it is essential
to safeguard the user from his own mistakes. Thus
in text systems, commands given in error must be
reversible. For instance, Cannody's system (see
p. DM'iJ) requires confirmation of deletions.
Another highly desirable feature would allow
the user to view previous versions, to see them col
laterally with the corresponding parts of current
versions, and even go back to the way particular
things were and resume work from the previous
version.
In the Parallel Textface this is all com
prised in the same extremely simple facility. (Ex
tremely simple from the user's point of view, that
is. Inside it is, of course, hairy.)
In an egregious touch of narcissistic humor,
we use the very trademark on the screen as a control
device (expanded from the "JC" shown in the first
panel '
Actually the X in "X anadutm," as it appears
on the screen, is an hourglass, with a softly fall*
ing trickle of animated dots in the lower half, and
Sands of Time seen as heaps above and below. These
have a control, as well as a representative, func
tion.
TO UNDO SOMETHING, YOU MERELY STEP "BACKWARD
IN TIME" by dagging the upper part of the hourglass
with the lightpen. One poke, one editing operation
undone. Two pokes, two operations.
You may then continue to view and nake changes
'as if the last two operations had never taken place.
This effectively creates an alternative time-line.*
ilowever, if you decide that a previously undone edit
operation~fhould be kept after all, you may step
forward-- stepping onto the previous time-line--
by- using the lower half of the hourglass.
Em "free
0 1 1 1 *
We see this clarified in a master time diagram
o* Revision Tree which may be summoned to the screen,
never mind how. In this example we see that three
versions are still "current," various other starts
and variations having been abandoned. (The shaggy
fronds correspond to short-lived variations, result
ing from operations which were then reversed. In
other words, "excised" time-lines, to use Gerrold's
term-- see footnote.)
The user-- lets say he is a thoughtful writer-
may define various Versions or Drafts, here marked
on the Revision Tree.
Materials may be copied between versions. (Note
that in the copying operation of the Parallel Text
face, you actually see the moved text moved bodily
as- a block. 1
GETTING AROUND
The user may have a number of standby layouts,
with different numbers of panels, and jump among
them by stabs of the lightpen.
Importantly, the panels of each can be full,
each having whatever tne contents wereJJhen you last
left it.
->jf
T-NCLIeS
The File Webtm is a map Indicating what
(labelled) files are present in the system, and
which are collaterated.
r.le SUr'-
The File Star** is a quick index into the con
tents of a file. It expands as long as you hold
the lightpen to the dot in the center, with various
levels of headings appearing as it expands. Natur
ally, you may jump to what you point at.
EDITING
Rather than giving the user anything coaplicat-
Rosetn. Vit.:
@72.
He may, indeed, define collateral linkages between
different versions defined at various Times in the
Tree...
l l t f t t t
M e t *
t ' t ' f
L.nfc
I- I u r u
( c *l tac *. f
W 7 2 , r .
Separate portions of the Edit Rose invoke
various edit operations. (You must also point with
the lightpen to the necessary points in the text:
once for insert, twice for Delete, thTee or four
times for Rearrange, three times for C o w >
GENERALITY.
71,6 system may be used for comaents on things,
M i l . t . h u j m !
, W . -
7 t T. Uc i j pm
and as a Thinkertoy, organizing complex alternatives.
(The labels say: "Conflicting versions," New account
of conflicts, "Exposition of how different accounts
deal with objections," "Improved, synthesizing account.'
In other words. In this approach ve annotate and
label discrepancies, and verbally comment on differen
ced in separate files or documents.
In ways this may seem somewhat obtuse. Yet above
all it is orderly, and the complex of collateral files
has a clarity that could be all-too-easily lost in sy
stems which were programmed more specifically to each
problem.
<72.
The fundamental strength of collateration,
seen here, is of course that any new structure
collateral to another may be used as a table of
contents or an outline, taking the user instantly
to parts which are of interest in some new context.
* Oddly, this has the saae logical structure as
time-travel in science-fiction.
There are basically three alternate premises of
of time-travel: 1) that the past cannot be changed,
all events having preceded the backstep; 2 ) that the
past can be changed; and 3) that while time-travelers
may be deluded into thinking (2 ), that (1 ) is really
the case leading to various appointaeat-in-S&aarra
plots.
Only possibility (2) is of interest here, but
there are various alternative logics of mutability and
time-line stepping. One of the best I have seen is in
The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold (Popular
riFrary, 1973): logic expounded pp. 64-8. I aa be
mused by the parallel between GerTold's time-controls
and these, worked out independently.
S i
X ANADU
... and see them displayed collaterally: and revise
them further.
for organizing by multiple outlines or tables
of contents;
f f l l * 1EW WVANH0 (t)
1 I , | T O r r N m w .
I h t J
4 t GKUft-fr*klr ok| >| .
This design, TfO (Thlnkercoy ln
3 dimensions), Is one 1 have been work
ing at while on che faculty of che Univ
ersity of Illinois. Ic Is designed spe
cifically for Implementation using De
mand's GRASS language (eee p O V3\)>
and che Vector General 3D display (see
P-*V)- Whether It will ever be actually
programed depends, of course, on nuaer-
ous factors.
It Is aeant to be a very hiah-
power Chlnkertoy, suitable for experlaen-
CaClon with creative processes, especially
writing and three-dlnenalonal deaign.
(There le no rooa Co discuss Che latter
here.) It Is suited especially Co the visual
ization of tenCatlve structures ln amorphous
clusters. In some of Its features It goes
considerably beyond che nore "coonerclal"
chlnkertoy systen, the Parallel Texcface
(elsewhere ln this spread).
Nevertheless, the same design criteria
spply: a well-designed coaputer environment
for any purpose should be learnable in ten
minutes; otherwise the designer hae not been
doing hla Job. (I mean it would be learnable
ln ten minutes If you and 1 had lc in front
of ue, working. This description will have
to be weird and abatruse, Im sorry to aay.)
This systea Is designed around a three-
dlnenslonal display screen (che Vector Gener
al display, ae aanlpulable by th^RASS lan
guage) .
Now, moat people do not think of text
as Chree-dlaenslonal. Laymen think of It as
two-dlmenelonal, since Its usually printed
on rectangular pages. Conputer people or
dinarily think of lc as one-dlmenslonal, as
a long string of characters and apacea
easendally what you'd get If you printed
thlnge ln one line on a long, long ribbon.
Well, frankly, I don't think of text as
thre-dlmenelonal eleher; but like anything
else, lc has numerous qualities or dimen-
alons, sny three of which It's nice to be
able to view at once (aee "Dlaenalonal Flip,")
p.k^V)* And that's essentially the idea:
the Chree dimensions we'll look at at any
one tiae will be a particular view of a larger
Now, the basic to rm of storage will be
one of those Nelaon-structurea that drives
computer people batty. Specifically, the
basic data structure will be clusters of
Puns sometimes reflect a higher reality.
Now lc turns out that this structure In fact
reflects a great Folk Truth: written discourse
does in fact consist of "points" which you
Intend to get across. That we here Intend to
have them rotate as dots upon a screen reflects
this structure.
Writing le, in fact, a projection from
the Intended "points" Co a finished exposition
which embraces then. Now, Chla Is very like
the view of language held in modern linguistics,
nanely, that a finished sentence 1s a "surface
structure" constructed out of basic sentence
kernels chewed up by certain transformations.
Well, I aa juat pointing out here that writing
Is a surface structure of "points" which have
been embedded and spliced In a structure of
transitions, accordance-notes and so forth (aee
p - * * 1 3 ) *
The general idea of the Th3 eyetem, then,
la that the user may view the "poincs" he
wishes to make, variously upon the 3D viewing
surface. Successive drafts, then, will sll be
projections. geometrically, from this interior
structure of points.
Finally, the unifying Idea that gives the
systea simplicity Is this: all views will be on
faces of a cube.
(FURTHER TECHNICALITIES OF THESE 'POINTS':
Each point aay have a value (numerical pa
rameter) in any of a number of dimensions
(which nuaber may itself change). Such
values aay be null, as distinct from zero,
showing chac the point has no poelCion on
chac particular ecale.
Associated with each point may be one
or more plecee and scrape or written mater
ial. Such scraps may be Just phrases or
single words. (Indeed, such scraps may be
associated not JusC with a point, but with
several specific vslues of a point.) Each
scrap may also contain keywords.
Discrete reladons between points may
alao be defined. There may be a variety
of types of relation, which either exlat
between two points of don't.)
The crucial point here is cnac it's unified
Co che ueer: every version appears on a aide of
a boa; and a typeset version le slaply a magni
fied two-dimensional view I d which the two dlaen-
elone are "poaltlon in overall text" (vertical)
and "poaltlon on line" (horizontal).
Each aide of a box aay have a different
view projected to It. This meane that as many
as three viewa of a specific cluster may be
seen at once. However, for conslecency these
uat hsve appropriately comon dimensions.
By rotation and zooming the uaer aay focus
on the original pieces, and work with thea, writ
ing and revising.
Moreover, by using a combination of soon
and hardware clipping (aa available on chls
equipment), the uaer may restrict his work to
a specific range of material on particular di
mensions .
GALAX Y AND BOX
There are baalcally two views of whac
you are working with: the Galaxy and the Box.
They appear ln various manifestations, allow
ing you to study discrete relations and struc
tures ln the material; various "dimensions" of
the material; alternate versions and drafts to
be made from che maCerlal; and the complex col-
lateratlon (see under "Thlnkertoys") of differ
ent structures.
In what follows we will discuss the screen
functions but not the control structures, which
have not firmed up particularly.
1. GALAX Y VIEWS.
The poin.ts are seen aa a cloud of dots on
the screen. If no view coordlnstes are supplied,
the dote will be randomly positioned.
A. "Star Trek" effect.
Under a user's zooa control, the docs
fly apart as if he ie hurtling through
spsce.
B. MAGNIFICATION. The user may "magnify"
the dots, making each show les keywords,
further text, and on up to the full
Piece.
C. ROTATION. The 3D structure of the dote
ln epace may be eeen by the user at
any time through short rotatlone.
D. Any relations that exist among the
Points, Insofar as they have been logg-
Z. The user may sort the points by moving
them with a lightpen.
F. The user may write within the individ
ual pieces and splice them together,
combining lightpen and keyboard oper-
2. BOX VIEWS
In the Galaxy Vlewe, the Individual Points
simply ewann about wlch no definable position.
'Box Views" allow you to order che points on any
dlmenelone that have meaning to you, ln an ar
bitrary coordlnate-space.
The box is more than a mere measureaent-
frame. On request the user may see Che points
projected on a specific face of the box (ortho-
graphlcally); and on request he may alao eee pro
jection lines between a box-face and Its cor
responding point in the point cluster.
"Magnifying^' as before, will create a view
of the text: but in Che box mode of viewing, the
text appears on the side of the box. That Is,
the Inner view will project to the ouCslde,
yielding a draft. Naturally, thle Is the current
assembly of your pieces; lf certain coordinates
are selected 1C la even s "typeset" version.
(Note: Vector General hardware does not al
low character rotation; only keyword and headline
rotation Is possible, through software characcer
generation. Thus text pieces on the side of a
box ehow certain freaky movements lf the elde 1s
not viewed square-on.)
& At the 1971 Spring Joint Conputer Conference, I think It waa,
I wae heckled by a linguist who accused ae of being "uniiiaglnadve,"
Insisting further that writing Is merely an extension of speech
and thue "merely" the application of further transformations; and
he claimed further that what the uaer therefore needs la sn input
language to specify theae transformations. This view, while Inter
esting, Is wrong.
A buc/lndeed concrol language eight be Intereating, however.
[Appended by t h e
h o we v e r - o p e r a t l o n , a p o s t f i x " b u t . " See ' W r i t i n g , " p . DM*0>]
| * i
COLLATERAL GALAX IES AND BOX ES.
Viewing of collateral etructurea works
through the eaae mechanism. Galaxies and
boxes aay be collateraced:
COMPLICATED NOTE: The extension of chese
aeehanlsms to pictorial graphics 1t two
and three dlmenslona Is scralghcforward,
and to conceptual substructures (such aa
may exlat) behind theee graphice. The
ssae goes for collateratlon and annocadon -
of multidimensional cluster materials, e.g.
in sociology: the eyetem would allow, for
Instance, che viewing, annotation and col
lateratlon of aoclometrlc clusterings.)
BOX FISSION. (The Beauty Part.)
For paired views of projections from
the saae cluster which do not share a com
mon coordinate, a marvelous Crick la poa
aible: BOX FISSION. Starting with one box
containing a galaxy, we pull it apart,
making two boxes and two galaxies whose
Polnta are linked.
Now both boxes csn be rotated indepen
dently, and any view coneldered; equlvalence-
llnkages may now be viewed between any Cwo
views. (The eye must, however, cum two
corners.)
(It Is Interesting to note inat the llnka In
Box Fission are handled automatically, co an
extent, by the hardware.)
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE. HUH?
Thle has euaaarlzed the development of
some Ideas for the viewing and manipulation
of complex stuff. I offer thle design, Inso
far as I have been able to present It
ss sn example of fantic deaign (eee p. 5 0 )-
There le.no logical necessity to It; It cor
responds to the tradleional sCructure of no
technical systea; It arises froa no Intrinsic
or traditional data etrucCures used for coa
puter repreeencatlon of these things.
But none of theee considerations la co
the point. This design has a certain stark
logical alapllclty; it extends Itself plaua-
Ibly from Its basic outlook (or starting
Idess, If you can ieolate them) into a tool
for truly intricate cross-consideration,
without adding unneceaeary and hard-to-
reiwaber "technicalltlea." At leaat that a
how I think of 1C.
Obviously the aeathedcs of ic are la-
portant to the designer. But a more final
criterion of Its goodneas les uaefulnesa
may depend on the same parsimony and organi
zational clarity.
JJ1*
mm
I
p**OUS(<l - < > )
RL'BLA KHAN : OH, A VISION IN A DREAiL
A PHA(iUK.NT.
Is t l aurs trier of 'he year 17W. tbe Author, thea Id III health had
retired to a lonely farm hounti between Porlock u d Liston, on the
Lhhodt nnllnff ol Hnmtnet Hn<l Uvi'oojhlre. lit ei>nieQUMce of a
ol^hhiehd|icTrH1uJcvn Jj"*1 prwcrlhnl. from lh* effect
Ml*follow* wolanc*. ur u uni. uf th* jaiiwtutoUOiIi! I * *fZnfi!u*
n J f n m i n : Here tn* Khun NutU itinniundnl a lAlace to be
S ' 5n<T* "*nl., l r I**1?1*'11 ll,[e!i,.,w tf mfleaof fertile
8our?n,*rl!foimdrt* V*!ea !lf Jlie'eiT c' ,e(mu' ' 1^ortboutthm
leslhan from two lo tbr* liun-ln-l line* ; if tint Indeedc u be oiled
romP0",10" *n which all til* Imace* roae up before himaatblon. with
parallel production of the rorropofitlent (ipnai lnoi vllhout u y
eoiailoa nr n>nKlouaa<Mof effort. On awaklui a*appeared to hlmatft
nave t JlMlnct recollection of th* xvtaol*. nil taking hia pea. Ink. aad
paprr. Intianrly and euerly wrote down th* llnm that are here pre
served. At thin jnoinent he via uofonunatrlj' oiled out by a pareoa
on builoru from PorlM'k. and detained by himabove ao hour, aad on
that though he mill retained Mm* vague and dim recollection of tbe
enrral purport of the Titian, yet. ti lth the excretion of tome el* hi or
tea icatlered llnre and Imafte*. aJI the rent had pautd away like tha
lmanontbe surface of a atrean Into which a itooe had aaao a i t .
but alas : without the after restoration of the latter :
Then all the charm
1 brokenall lhat phantom-world ao fair,
Vaalahea and a thoutud circlet*tpread.
And each mia-nhape the olher. Stay awhile.
Poor youth ' who aearcely da r n lift up tblne ey
Til* it ream will won renewll a amoothnen. aooa
The vlalona will return : And lo ! he ataya,
And coon ihe frumenta dimof lovely fortaf
Come trembling back, unite, and nowonce more
The pool become* a mirror.
Aaacontraatlothle vialon. I hare annexed ifrijrtmBt of a varvdlf*
fereet^charuter, describing vlth equal Adelliy the draam of p ' " aad
KUBLA KHAN.
In*Xanadu did Kubl& Khan
A (lately pleasure-doinc decree :
Where Alpli, tlic sucrcd river, no
Through caverns measureless toman
Down to a sunless son.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and lowers were girdled round :
And there were gardens bright with slnuoua rill*
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing dee:
And berc were forests unrient as tbe hills,
Enfolding sunny spow of greenery.
But ob ! that devp romantic cliaamwhich slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedars cover I
A savage place I as holy and enchanted
As e'er oeaeath a waning moon was luiuntcd
By woman walling for her demou-lover !
And from this chum, with reaaclcss turmoil eee thing,
Aa If tbls earth lo fast thick p uuis were breaLhiog,
A mighty fountalu momently was forced :
Amid whose swift lialf-iniemiiited bunt
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hall,
Or chofly grain beneath lhe thresher's flail :
And 'mid these dunclog rocks al oncc and evif
I l flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wool aad dale the sacred river mo,
Then reached the caverns measureless u>mao.
And sank In tumult to a lifeless ocean ;
Aad 'mid this tumult Kubla beard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war !
The shadow of lhe dome of pleasure
Floated mid way on Ibe waves ;
Where was beard the mingled measure
From the fountain nod the caves.
I t was a miracle of rare device,
A eunnv pleasurc-doine wilh caves of icc 1
A damsel wilh a dulcimer
In a vision oucc I saw ;
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive wiiblo me
Her symphony and song,
To suck a deep delight twould win me
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome In nir.
That sunny dome ! those eaves of Ice !
And all who heard should see them there.
And all should cry, Beware ' Beware !
His flashing eyes, his flooiiug hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with lioly dread.
For be on Louey-dew hath fed.
And drunk Lhe milk of Paradise.
"Is that the r i v e r that runs down to the sea?"
James Stevart
in
"The FBI S t o r y . "
P a t e n t w o r X on X a n a d u is in p r o g r e s s .
X anadu, friend, is dream.
The name comes from the poem (nearby);
Coleridge's little story of the artistic trance
(and the Person from PoTlock) make it an appro
priate name' for the Pleasure Dome of the crea
tive writer. The Citizen Kane connotations,
and any other connotations you may find in the
poem, are side benefits.
1 have been working on X anadu, under this
and other names, for fourteen years now.
Originally it was going to be a super sys
tem for handling text by computer (see p. \%
and ) But it grew: as I realized, level
by level, how deep the problem was.
And the concept of what it was' to be kept
changing, as 1 saw more and more clearly that
it had to be on a minicomputer for the home.
(You can have one in your office too, if you
want, but that's not what its about.)
Now the idea is this:
To give you a screen in your home from
which you can see into the world's hypertext
libraries.
(The fact that the world doesnt have
any hypertext libraries-- yet-- is a minor
point.)
To give you a screen system that will
offer high-performance computer graphics and
text services at a price anyone can afford.
To allow you to send and receive written mes
sages at the Engelbart level (see p.J)r'It/6) To
allow you to explore diagrams (see p. DM19 and
P. 1)11.51) . To eliminate the absurd distinction
between "teacher" and "pupil."
To make you a part of a new electronic
literature and art, where you can get all your
questions answered and nobody will put you
down.
Originally X anadu was programmed around
the Parallel Textface (see p. DH^)* But as
the requirements of the Parallel Textface were
better and better understood, X anadu became
a more general underlying system for all forms
of interactive graphic environments. Its data
structure has Virtual Blocklessness and is
thus well related to the smooth motions needed
by screen users. Thus in its final form, now
being debugged, it will support not only the
Parallel Textface (see p. 5^) ) the Walking Net
(see p. W5| ), Stretchtext (see p. DMl9), Z oom
Maps (see p. Dtfl3) and so on, but indeed any
data structure that needs to combine complex
linkages with fast access and rapid chances.
Because the data structure is recursively
extensible, it will permit hypertext (see\p.DHTi)
of any depth and complexity, and the collateral
linkage (see p. ^ 5 2 ) of any objects of contemp
lation.
X anadu is under private development and
should be available, if the economy holds, in
1976. Regrettably, first prices will not be at
the $3000 level necessary for the true Home
System. Exact equipment for the production ver
sion has not been selected. A number of micro
processors (see p. 4 H ) are in serious conten
tion, notably the Lockheed SUE, but theres
something to be said for a regular mini. The
PDP-11 is of interest (see p.^12 ); (so espe
cially is its Cai Data lookalike-- unless DEC
would like to build us a PDP-11X with seven modes
of indirect display addressing. Are you reading
this, Ken Olsen?) And heres a laugh: a com
pany called IBM may in fact make a suitable com
puter, except that they call it the "3740 Work
Station." So for those customers who want IBM
equipment, maintenance and prices, with X anadu
software, its a definite possibility.
So, fans, that about wraps it up. Ill be
interested in hearing from people who want this
system; many hardheaded business people have
told me nobody will. Prove em wrong, America!
Of course, if hyper-media arent the great
est thing since the printing press, this whole
project falls flat on its face. But it is hard
for me to conceive that they will not be.
J > V 7
WT IT ISi tha b a n t of tha Bmnada s y a t m , now
being datsjgged, a w l i t i of a highly Integra
progrm (a uaa m m l n l a^ j u t a rs ( ' s o f t w a r e '
aaa p. M) or aicroprocaaaora ( * f t m a * sea
p. 44). I t l a an a e r a t i n g syatm with two pro-
F " ! a bJ.qhJ.if generalised data ~~njaanr ys-
f a r handling a i t i M l y a z a l e a d ata in huge
f i l e s , aad a generalised display l y t t a , marrlml
to tha othar, (or handling branching enlmatlcei
and r e t r i e v a l aad canned displ ay program*. Thaaa
ordain r et r i e v al s by tha data a y s t m . Tha Paxal-
l a l i w t f i a (aaa p.MCJ) and tha Walking Hat
(see p.fcVll ara t n inch cannad pr eg c aa .
Thaaa i n u m l q r a ara intended t o Im sold
with ctaiaolaa of varloua types, aa i l l u s t r a t e d
nearby, far stenl-el ane turnkey uaa (aaa p. (3 ) .
Xanadu l l self-networking two oc tha pTazna u t a
a network. aad acra can join.
LMOlMZSi lanadu p r o g ra a Hill net ha la avai l
able Ln any hlghar languagea, mainly bacauai of t h a l r
proprl atary character, but alao hacauaa tha diaplay
routines (and n a of tha r a t r l a v a l routines) a u t
ba pi 11ai i l In machine languaga.
Tha l y i t a haa I t a own under-level languaga, HAP
(Xanadu Aaaaably Prograa). Mtlla twohlgh ar- law 1
dl i pl ay languaga#, DINGO (Diaplay Lingo) and Xu l t
(tha ultimate?) ara c on t avl at e d, thaaa w i l l not or
din a ri ly ba accaaaLbla t o tha uaar. Tba purpoaa ot
Xanadu l a t a furnish tha uaar with uncoaputerish
good-gvy ayitaaa for a pacif ic purposes, not a chance
t o do h i s own programing.
Isgmrtant f a a t u r n of tha data syatm ara huga sd-
draaaahlllt y (ln tha t r i l l i o n ! of i l a a n u ) and Vir
tual Block lea staess. ror advantages o f t h i a l a t t e r ,
aaa i a Nap, p. dm IV
COMPATIBILITY, baeauaa of I t a highly cc^iectad and
unctnvantlcaial structure,' I t i a not n ^ a e t i b l i with
othar oparating syatsm (Including time-sharing).
Anyway, to put I t on a Larger aa china l i l ika hav
ing your Kaida dr Ivan around In a tr uck. Baeauaa
I t uaaa a linedrawinq diaplay (aaa p. DN||-)) and
tharafora draws Individual a rb i t r a r y l i n a a on tha
craan rapaatadly, i t i a not n ^ a t l b l a with t e l s -
viaicn a i t h a r imlaaa you point a TV caaara a t I t ,
or tha equivalent. Sorry.
STAN&APDIZATICM. taking a l s a aa t f r a tha integrsted
n i t of varloua paopla whoa* work haa baan described
in t h i a book, wa aaa t h a t I f you want a thing d m
r i g h t , you hava to do I t y w r s e i f . (Great Idaaa of
Meatarra Mena <*< of a a a r l a i . ) My good f r i i n d Calvin
Nooare with hla TMC Languaga (aaa pp. 18-21) haa d i s
covered t hat trsdmark l a ana way to n a i l t h i a aa a
r ight.
Several lava l a of atandardlaation ara i j ^ o r t a n t with
lanadu. ona, a l l lanadu ay a t o # a i a t ba a b l i t o work
with a l l Ranadu f l l a a (eacapt f or poaaibl i variation!
in craan performance and alaa of loc al a w r y ) . Moa,
t h ari ara thoaa who would not ba concerned (or thia
a r t of univaraal ity, and who Might van tr y to aaki
aura system wara l n c a a a t l h l s , ao t h a t you had to buy
accessories and conversion k l t a up and down tha li n a .
That ia cna of t h l thing a t h a t m a t ba avoided: par
t i a l * cea pat l bl l i t y, subject t o sspensivs optloni and
conditions, a will-known technique i n tha ( l ai d .
By s t a b i l i s i n g tha 'Xanadu* t r a d a a i k , 1 hope t o p re-
vant auch ahananigana. Thua avary accredited Xanadu
system w i l l offer f u l l c t ^ s t i b i l i t y with the data
atructura, and a ithar f u l l parfonanca or a ubati tutei
aa necessitated by tha hardware. Tha *Kanadu* trsdmark
can thua ln princi ple ba aada a vail able to manufacturers
abiding by a l l daalgn faaturaa of tha a f i t a a .
Second, a l l Xanadu ayataaa ehould ba abla to work with
outaida ayataaa a ithar through or o f f tha ne t , I f they
conform to tha unuaual data r ul es required by tha un-
uiual daalgn of tha a y a t a . Thia aaaurea t h a t Xanadu
y i t a a w i l l ba c o ^ a t i b l a with any othar peculiar nat-
worka. I t alao aaauraa othar a who want t a of fe r xan-
sdu-clsss aervlcaa to aystea wnara (through, e . g . ,
m v u i t l v a l tlaa-aharing) t hat l f thay adhere to tha
rule! (aee *Cans,~ p.P^?I) they can play the game
on a c a r t i d a d baala.
AVAILABILITY. I t l l hoped t h a t Xanadu w i l l ba av ai l
able ln 197S for a t l e a s t ona machine (guaaa which).
Aa a progrm i t w i l l ba avail able aaly i n abaoluta
form, without aourca or coManta.
A m . There l a a l o t t o talk about, but a l o t of time
can ba waated talking. I t i s auggaatBl t h a t thoiajht-
ful coaputer flrma, interacted ln i o h for* of p a r t i c i
pation, itudy t h l l book c ara f u l l y a t l e a a t enough io
no oae'a time need be waatad.
BIBLIOOAFIfT
"Heleoe's tha l a m. and What Ha Proposes Could Outdo
t a s s l t e r t . " El i ct r oal ca. 2* Hov 69, 97.
A recent report by Arthur D. L i t t l e , a Boa I an f i n
that mikai l e i mossy by a aiming t o b i e w l i c l m i ,
c o m t e d on tha coosldarable market potential
fat on-lloe data supply lyitama. Tha report
coat 1400 or B4000, I forgat which. Bij-tlms ln-
tareet s a n sprowl.
/ ? * /
f i y l P * k
Porta-Ian. (Hookup by Tam Barnard.)
Footplate r e f l e c t s C/C to user vhiIs
h a ' i abroad In th* uarid. Ona-Hand
typeuri ting and print ing dMirice f r m
tha other. Can be b u i l t trtch ouotl-
able ruggaditud ca^xmmte.
0. I f y o u p ubl iih y o ur l daaa I l ka th ia, ana' t
y o u af raid i H o r n w i l l eiaal th aaT
A . Ho.
( T h a L aw o ( I ntel l ec tual P ro p erty l ! abo ut
th a i t r a n i i l l bac kl n* th e individual h aa l n
t h l i ao c l ety . )
Baal daa w h ic h , th are l e h ere o o r i v i l i t l o n o f
th i Xinadu Sniaknts.
Q. W o n't i m b[ | c o mp any iw eap y o ur l anadu
under i f th ay l al tata i t l
A . L et 1a . I f th ey c n up w ith a ay ataw h aving
qul vil mc ic o p i, w h ic h aaami unl l kal y ( aaa
C ano na, 1 migh t evao ( aal I had
ac h ieved ino ugb. But I n th l niantl w e, l ike
th a to rto l aa, and il ka DE C , 1 aa | o l o g to
c o ntinue to try to do I t righ t.
Q. A ren't y o u af raid th at w riting f l ip p ant bo o k
w il l kaip p ao p l a f ro m c aking y o u aarl o ual y l
A . 1 de no t w ant to ba taken earl o uil y in aome
quarter! u n t i l l t ' i C o o l ata.
I hivi baard rumori t hat aaaoga alaa in tha
c i l l i a c a p ut a r product "Xanadu."
I tend to doubt t hi a; and even i f thay did,
uaaga goaa back to 1966.
I would l i k e t o t hank f i n o h r onoleaioai
E l l i o t Klugman. Wat CK u b l a " ) AuSn, Clenn
B a b eo k i, Cal Da n ie ls and John V.E. Ridgvay
f o r o o n t i d e r a b l e t ime and i n v o lv emen t
t hey gave t o the Xanadu program d e ei g n e e t e i o n t ;
thank* a l e o t o v a r i o u t o t h e r s uho s a t i n from _
ciaj* t o t i m e . For the f i n a l t e l e o t i o n o f
a l g o r i t h m e , houeuer, no one i e t o blame but me.
I am g r a t e f u l t o the good o f f i o e e o f Suarthmore
C o l l eg e f o r t h e uee o f t h e i r equipment i n the
c o n t i n u i n g e f f o r t s t o debug t h e lanadu programs.
Fl rat o f a l l , bear I n th at l anadu l * a
unif ied ay i t a f o r c r^ tl ei data a au| aw at ^
diap l ay . T h ia baal c al l y mina th at tte { a sy -
( w ith o ut th e dl ap L ay i) c an nrve aa a f amder
f h l na f o r th a data nitw o rk l t a a l f .
So f i r , ao go o d. T h at maia th at w a c an h ava
a ml nl c ^ nj to r netw o rk h andl ing tba antl ra I true-
tura: aending o ut l ibrary matarl al a to uaara
c a l l , aad ato rl ng any aatarl al a th ay w ant aavad.
T h ia aavaa a l l kl nda o f h aaal aa w ith big c ^ mtera
and big- c c ap utar- ety l e p ro graming.
But w h o w i l l p ay f o r I tT T e buil d th a n- <
o f c ap ac ity w a'ra tal king abo ut a l l th o aa dl aka,
a l l t h o u Bl a l c ^ u t i r a I n a netw o rk w ra't I t
taka imanaa aao usta o f c ap ital ? How , p ao p l a aak
a , w i l l any A aarl c an c ^ ap any aver bac k auc h a
Uto p ian i c h aal
A h a.
Ooa aatbo d o f f inanc ing p c o rac l tael f in
th e p o etw ar auburbaa ara. th ia t l m o f drl ve- ina
and h aaburgar atanda.
f ranc h ial ng.
W hat 1 p ro p o aa, th en. 1a th a N ma d P o p l anadu
Sh o p . Or, mo il p ro p erl y , th a l aaadu atand. I k a aad
P o p - a n tbe an>ara at th e individual itend. Bait t b
c uato mera c an be f aml l l aa, to o .
P r< a f ar aw ay th a c h il dren aee t te t a l l go l dab
Z'a. "Ob, Daddy , c n ' t w a it o p l I w aat to p l ay
Sp ic aw ar. " say a l i t t l e J o bmy . Big tl a adda, Tou
kno w . I h ava ta c h ec k emeth ing ( o r ay p ap er on
Biaan p o l itic ! . " Aad Ha aay a, "l ay , th at w o ul d te a
go o d p l ac i f o r l unc h . "
So th ey turn i s p aat th a al go ttet aay a "Om
2 BIL L ION s u m BOW S. and p ul l into tte l o t . The]
p ath th e c ar, and Dad ibo w a th a c l erk h l a l anadu era
i t eard, and th a kid a run to ac reaaa. Dad and l h a
a i l f o r a big h o ric iatal C TT, th o ugh , bac auae th ere
are aaaa memo riae ttey 'd l ika te abate to geth er. . .
Sl i ' a p ap er, o f c o urie, go aa to bar teac h er
th ro ugh bl a l anadu c o neo l a.
THE PLAN. tS IT A CRAZY AS IT 3EDCJ
Deep I nal da, th e p ubl ic w anta I t . but p eo p l e
w hn th ink o f c o ^ utera l n c l l c h ^ e c an't c o ntraband
I t . T h il M aani ''tba p ubl ic " muat staabo w c riata i t .
Ona w ay to go l l to m r t a new c o rp o ratio n,
ri g l l t er i t w ith th e SE C and try to T l L l I a l o t o f
Bo ar by ael l l ng ato c k p ubl ic l y . Unl o rtinetal y
th ara are e l l kind! of o batac l aa ( o r th at, ( "l ag
A" l a abo ut at f ar aa I t w i l l go . )
T h ro ugh tte- mirac l a o f I ranc h iil ng, no w , a l o t
o f t te di f f i c ul t i e s o f c o nventio nal bac king c an be
by p aaiad. Tha f ranc h iiei h a! to p ut up th i money
f o r th a c c ^ u t a n , th * ec o p ea, t te ado rabl e p urp l a
enamel buil ding, th a j o h na and ao o n; aa a Xanadu
( ranc h l iaa h a g i t i th e w h o l e turnkey l y atsa and
c ertain raap o nal bl l l tl aa I n tba OV E BAL L 1ABAIHI HI -
U0B1 o f w h ic h h e l e a member. Ha l a aeal gnad
p ermanent sto res* o ( c ertain c l aaiaa o f materl il i,
o n c al l f ro M al asw h are in tba net. ( Baturel l y ,
every th ing l a ato rad Id mo re th en o na p l ac e) .
T be l aaadu aubac riber. o f c o urn, gata w h at be
requaiti at th e ac raan a* gul ekl y as p o ssibl e o r
ta p rio rity l f h s w anta to p sy f o r I t and may
to re h l a ow n t i l e s , inc l uding l inkages aao ng o tter
satarl al e and marginal no tatl o o e c o o th er th ings
C h at c an b* c al l ed. ( Sea c o l l ateral struc tures,
P - Df l f t: th ese c en suttastl c al l y bring f o rth any
th ing th ey 're l inked to . ( See Hel enaa C anaia, "
P - * uaar'a bl ato rl c al rec o rd w il l ba
sto red to w h stever degree h a desires, but ao t ( I f
h a c bo o aaa) in w ay s th at c an bs identif ied w ith
bl a.
Borne usef s need o nl y dial a l o c al p h o ne ma
t er th al r nearest l anadu atand to c o nnec t w ith
th a entire l anadu netw o rk. ( T h a c o st o f ual ng
so aeth ing sto red o n l h a netw o rk h aa nsth ing to do
w ith w h ere i t I s sto rsd. )
( Sp sc l sl h igh - c ap ac ity l inaa need no t be I n
stal l ed betw een ato rags stati o ns, as sp p ro p rl ata
di gital tranml aal o o sarvl c ee are bec king avail
abl e c aaarc l al l y . )
V arl o ua aac url ty tac h sl guaa p revent o th are
f ro m reading a subsc riber's f l l s s , svaa I f th ay
sign o n f al aal y ; tba Darc anitb tec h nique ot
ac rambl l ag o o no n- ato red kay vo rds l a a go o d o na.
T h a l aaadu atand al so h aa p rl vsta ro aa w ith
ai l t i p l a ac raana, w h ic h c an bs rso tsd f o r p srtiss,
business matings, daal p ] sessio ns, brl sf l ngs,
l egal c o aaaul tat I o na, l ac turea, aeaac as, aisl c al ea,
and so o n.
T h a c teic a l o c atio ns ( o r th a L anadu aiao da
ara ao mw h at didarent f rm bmburgar sp o t a. But
th at's p ro babl y no t any th ing to go into h are.
W ith in th e l anadu netw o rk, th an, p eo p l a my
read, w rits, sand aaaasgea, etudy and. p l ay .
lot
I W
- r - ' T
tVEL KiOCL-foU
k/tu f/t /"Kt >r?
"L isten, * ' M r. W o nka uid. I 'm an o l d man. I 'm niurh
o l ito i th an y u ih ink. I c an'l go o n f urc vc r. I 've go t no
rh il itrc n o f my o w n. no f amil y al al l . So w h o is go ing to
run th e f ac to ry w h en I get l no o kl io do it my ic l f ? Saw rsnr'j
p o t tn keep ii j 'i'tiigif o nl y f o r th e ukr o f th e Oo mp a-
L o nnip aa. M ind y o u. il ic rc are ih o uundt o f el c vc r men w h o
w o ul d give any th ing f o r l l ic f l ianc c to eo nic in and take
o ver f io in me. I nn I do nt HMI th at to rt of j teno n. I do nt
w anl a gro w n- up p ertnn at al l . A gro w nup w o nt l inen
l o me: h e w o nt l earn. He w il l try to do th ings h iso w n w ay
and no t mine. So I h ave to h ave a c h il d. I w anl a go o d
sensibl e I nviii" c h il d, o ne to w h o m I c an tel l al l my mo st
p rec io us c andy - making serreis - w h il e I am itil l al ive. "
Roald Dahl, Charlie and tha Q m m i m r accnt ^
p. 137.
I am sorry I hava not been abla
to reply to all Umm who haw* written
to me saying they wish tlwy could
work tor Tha Mtlaon Organisation
at a r m a low t al arr-
8o do I, my frtands. k i do 1.
How a r e w going t o s e l l t h a Hone Computer?
Well i f you want t o s e l l c o a p u t e r s , l e t ae t e l l you whgt t o do:
You' ve go t t o t a l k t o t he ho u s e wi v es , and t h e c h i l d r e n , t o o ;
No one want s t o p r o g r a a , t hey want s o a e t h i n g they caji v i e w . . .
I t ' s g o t t e o f f e r f un, and i t ! s s o t t o o f f e r t r u t h ;
I t ' s g ot t o g i v e you s o a e t h i n g t h a t ' l l l i f t you f r o a t h e b o o t h ;
I t ' s g ot t o be u p l i f t i n g t o t h e Lady f r o a Duluth,
Youve g o t t o have a v i s i o n ; you ve g ot t s have an a n g l e ;
You s houl d maybe s i n g a J i n g l e ( i n a way t h a t d o e s n t j a n g l e ) ;
I t ' s g o t t o have a t i n g l e , m a way t h e i r a i n d s c a n ' t t a n g l e - -
So c o n t i n u i n g under our gui da nce i n e r t i a l .
L e t ' s have the ^ K K f H ? ^ L .
[ e l - 0
( U - f w . . * . ]
\u.u-vil
f w t s m v ' J
[WflU>wjJ
THE-- WORLD-- OF- - Youuuu/
l a l anadu wort h w a i t i n g f o r ?
That depanda, d o e s n ' t i t ,
Op t h a v s l u a o f t h o haod-tnt ah
d i f f e r e n t i a l b i r d u t i l i t y r a t i o .
a m if/e* fox
< 11

Vieu f r a a t>ie Snook ba loony o f a laiye lanadu inst allati on,

overlooking the internal greenery. Hexagonal architecture
permits phytioal expansion v ithout i n t w m ^ t i o n o f servioee.
(The sollveka hov* been t e l l i n g us scsssthing about expansion, i
I t ' s g o t e v e r y t h i n g t o g i v e .
I t ' l l g e t you where you l i v e .
Real a s o f a i n d t h a t you a ay r oaa :
Gr asp t h e a a l l w i t h i n yo u r hoae.
The g r e a t e s t t h i n g s y o u ' v e e v e r s e en
Dance y o u r wis hes on t h e s c r e e n .
Al l t h e t h i n g s t h a t aan has known
Co a i n on the t e l e p h o n e - -
Po e a s , books and p i c t u r e s t oo
COMIN ON THE XANADU --
XAN-A-DU. 00- -
Thanks a l o t , Saa Co l e r i d g e ,
f o r t h o s e two s y o b o l s .
And t h e Al b a t r o s s .
The Golden l ' s ualoow
the wind-hungry tra v el l er .
W HA T m
I S R E M L V S t f l k l f r -
/ / * / & fl4ii
v * 4 e r j f + * j 'f ~
-1 W)U >.. J|,.
From "Sarnun-Tronlcs"
( c i t a t i o n p . DM 2 . )
1) Knowledge, understanding uul
freedom <an all be advanced by Ihe
promotion and deployment ol com
puter display conioles (wilh the
right programs behind (hem).
2) Computer presentational media,
coming soon, will nol be technically
determined but ralhcr will be new
realms for human artUtry. This point
of view radially aflocO* how wv
design man machinc systems of any
kind, especially lhe for mlomw
lion retrieval. leaching, and general
writing and reading. Some practi
tioners see such systems as narrowly
technical, with the computer howling
up little piece* o( writing on some
"scientific basis and showing them
to you one grunt at a time. A Metre-
o l banquet. I disagree. The system*
should be opulent.
3) The problem in presentational
systems of ony kind i lo make
things look good, feel right.and come
across clearly. The things that mai
ler arc Iho feci of the system, the
users state of mind, his possible con
fusion, boredom or enthusiasm, the
problems of communicating concf/it-'.
and the very nature of concepts nnd
their interconnection There will
never I t a "sciencc" of presentation,
eiccpl as il relates lo these things
4i Nol lhe nature of machines,
but the nature of ideas, is what
matters. Il is incredibly hard to de
velop. organize nnd transmit idea<,
and il always wiU U-. Bui at least
trapped by the nature of tKiprr We
o n design nugic |xi|*r
Il is lime to start using computers
to hold information for the mind
much as books have held this infor
mation in Ihc past. Now information
for the mind is very different from
"information for the computer" as
we have thought of il, hacked up
and compressed into blocks. Instead
we can slrclch the computer.
I sm proposing a cur ions kind of
subversion. "Let us design. ] say;
and when people sec the eyviems,
everybody will wanl one. All I wanl
lo do is put Rcnai&ancr humanism
in a multidimensional responsive con
sole. And I am trying lo work oul
Ihc forrre of writing of Ihc future.
Hypcrtrits.
Hypcrlcilx: new forms of writing,
appearing on computer saeens, that
will branch or (Erform at Ihc reader's
OHnmand. A hypertext is a non
sequential piece of writing; only the
computer display nuikes it practical.
Somewhere between a book, a TV
show and n penny nraide. ihe hyper-
text can be a vnsl lopeslry of infor
mation, all in plain English ispienl
wilh a few magic tricks on Ihe
screen >, which ihe reader may attack
nnd play for the things he wants,
branching nnd jumping on the scrccn,
uting simple controls as if he were
driving :\ car Tliere ain be special
ized ub|KirlN for K|jccializcd in
terests. instant .availabilily of role-
voncies in all directions, footnotes
that are books Ihemsclvcs. Hyper-
lexis will be so much belter Ihan
ordinary writing that the printed
word will wilher away. Frol writing
by i>eopte. make no mistake, not
data banks, robot summaries or olher
clank. A |*rson Ls writing to olher
people, just as before, but on magial
paper he can cut up and tie in knols
and fly around on.
I b e l i e v e i n c a l l i n g a s p a d e a s p a d e
- - n o t a p e r s o n a l i z e d e a r t h - m o v i n g e q u i p
me n t m o d u l e ; a n d a m u l t i - d i m e n s i o n a l s p a d e ,
by gum, a h y p e r s p a d e - - n o t a p e r s o n a l i z e d
e a r t h - m o v i n g e q u i p m e n t mo d u l e w i t h a u g men
t e d d i r t a c c e s s , r e t r i e v a l and d i s p l a y c a p
a b i l i t y u n d e r i n d i v i d u l a i z e d c o n t r o l .
f eS! >N '5C ano iJ j
Il i s e s s en t i al lo sl at e t he s e firmly and
p ub l i c l y , be ca us e you a r e goi ng lo see a lot
of s yst ems in t he n e ar f u t ur e that p u r p o r t to
be Ihe l a s l - wor d c at ' s - p a j a ms sys t e ms lo br i n g
you "al l the i nformat i on you n e ed , anyt i me,
a n y wh e r e . " Unl ess you ha ve thought about il
you may be s nowed by sys t e ms whi ch a r e i n
h e r e n t l y and deepl y l i mi t i ng. Here a r e some
of Ihe t hi ngs whi ch I t hi nk we wi l l all wanl .
(The sal esman f or t h e o l h e r syst em will say
(hey a r e i mpos si bl e, or "We do n' t know how
to do t hat y e t , " t he s t a nd ar d pul down. But
t h e s e t hi ngs a r e p os s i bl e. If we de s i g n them
i n from Ihe bottom up; and t h e r e a r e many
di f f er ent val i d a p pr o a che s whi ch could b r i n g
t h e s e t hi ngs i nt o b e i n g ,)
Th es e a r e r u l e s , d e r i v e d from common
s e ns e a nd uncommon c o n c e r n , about what people
can a nd shoul d have in g e n er al s c r e e n sys t e ms ,
sys t e ms lo r ea d f r om.
1. EASY AND ARBITRARY FRONT e Vj DS.
The "fr ont e n d " of a s y s t e m- - t hat i s ,
t he pr ogram t ha t c r e a t e s Ihe pr es e n t a t i o ns for
t h e u s e r and i n t e r a c t s wi t h hi m must be cl ear
a n d simple for peopl e to uee a nd u n d e r s t a n d .
THE TEN-MINUTE RULE. Any syst em
whi ch cannot be wel l l augh! lo a l ayman in
t e n mi n ut es , by a l ul or i n t h e p r es e nce of a
r e s po nd i n g s e l u p , i s loo compl i cat ed. T hi s may
s ou nd f ar loo s t r i n g e n t ; I t h i n k nol . Ri ch and
power f ul syst ems may be g i v e n front e n ds which
a r e nonet hel ess r i di c ul ous l y c l e a r ; t h i s Is a
de s i g n probl em of the f oremost i mpor t ance.
TEXT MUST MOVE, t h a t i s , sl i de on Ihe
s c r e e n when t h e u s e r s t e p s f or wa r d or backwar d
wi t hi n (he text he is r e e d i n g . The al t e r na t i ve ,
to c l ea r the s c r e e n and lay out a new p r e s e n t a
t i o n. i s baffl i ng to the e ye a nd t hor oughl y di s
o r i e n t i n g . even wi t h p r ac t i c e.
Many c omput er peopl e do not y e t u nd e r
st a nd Ihe nece s s i t y of I hi s. The probl em is that
if t he s c r e en i s c l e a r e d , a nd somet hi ng new
t hen a pp ea r s on i t . ( h er e ia no vi s ua l way lo
tel l wher e Ihe new t hi ng came from: sequence
and s t r u c t u r e become balTling. Havi ng it sl i de
on (he s c r e en al l ows you lo u n d e r s t and wher e
yo u ' v e been a nd wher e y o u ' r e goi ng; a feeling
you al so gel from t u r n i n g p a ges of a book.
(Some cl ose s ub s t i t u t e s may be possi bl e on
some t y pe s of s c r e e n . )
On front e n d s su pp l i ed for normal u s e r s ,
t h e r e must be no expl i ci t c omput er languages
r e q u i r i n g i nput cont rol s t r i n g s , no vi si bl e eso
t e r i c symbol s. Gr a phi c al cont rol s t r u c t u r e s
havi ng c l ar i t y a nd saf e t y , o r v e r y c l ea r t ask-
o r i en l ed ke y b o a r d s , a r e among t he pr i me a l t e r
na t i v e s .
All o per at i ons must be f ai l -saf e.
Ar bi t r ar y f ront e nd s must be attachable:
si n c e we a r c t a l k i n g about r e a d i n g from t ext ,
o r t e x l - a n d - p i c l u r e c o mpl exes, s t o r e d on a
l a r g e dat a s ys t e m, Ihe pr es e nt a t i on a l front end
must be s e par abl e from t he dat a s e r v i ce s p r o
v i de d f ur t h er down in t he s ys t e m, so Ihe user
may at t ach his own f r on t - e nd s y s t e m, havi ng
hi s own st yl e of ope r s l i on a nd hi s own pr i vat e
conveni ences f or r o v i n g , e di t i ng and ol h e r forms
of work o r pl ay al t he s c r e e n .
2. SMOOTH AND RAPID DATA ACCESS.
The syst em must be b ui l t lo make possibl e
fast a nd a r b i t r a r y a ccess (o a pot entially huge
dat a b a s e , all owi ng ext remel y l a r ge f i l es (at
l east into Ihe b i l l i on s of c h a r a c t e r s ) . However,
Ihe syst em shoul d be c ont r i ved to allow you to
r ea d f or wa r d, ba ck o r a c r o s s l i nk s without s u b
st ant i al hesi t at i on. Such a cc es s must be impl i
c i t , nol r e q u i r i n g knowledge of wher e t h i n gs a r e
physi cal l y st or ed o r what t he i nt e r n al f ile names
may . h ap pe n to b e . Pile di vi s i on s must be i n
vi s i bl e lo Ihe u 6e r in all hi s r o vi ng operat i ons
(FREEDOM OF ROVING): bo un da r i e s must be
i nvi ai bl e in the f inal p r e s e nt a t i o ns , a nd t he u s e r
must not need lo know about them.
3. RICH DATA FACILITIES.
Ar b i t r ar y l i nkages must be p ossi bl e b e
t ween por t i ons of t e x t , o r t e xt a nd pi ct ur es :
annot at i on of a n y t h i n g must be pr ovi ded for;
c ol l at er ai i on ( s ee p . *Tjo) sho ul d be a st andar d
f ac i l i t y, between any p a i r of wel l -def i ned ob
j ect s; PLACEMARK faci l i t i es must be allowed
to dr op anchor a t , o r i n . a n yt h i ng . Thes e
f ea t ur es imply p r i v a t e a nnot at i ons lo publ i cl y-
acc es s i b l e mat eri al s as a s t a n d a r d automatic
a e r v i c e mode.
I want a world where wo can read the world's lit erature from screen? rnllwr
than personally searching out the physical books. A world without routine i.-ipcr-
work. because ;ill copying operations '.nix ptaco automatically and lyrinaliicd trail*
acti ons occur through formalized ceremonies at consoles. A world whcic can
learn, study, croato. a^id share our creations without having nrivatelv toschlopp aud
physically safeguard thi-m. There is a familiar. all-embracing motto, the jingle we
all know from the day school lets oul. which I lai.o quite seriously: " So more pencils;
d o more books: no more teachers' di it y looks The Fntilic Age.
f r o n " C o n p u t o p l a a nd C y b e r c r u d . "
( C i t a t i o n n e a r b y . )
W f e s r o
My work i s c o nce r ne d p r i n c i p a l l y wi l h Ihe
t h e o r y a nd execut i on of s y s t e ms u s e f ul lo t h e mind
a n d t he c r e a t i v e i ma gi nat i on. T h i s h a s polemical
an d p r ac t i c al aspect s: I clai m t ha t Ihe p r e c e p t s of
d e s i g n i n g sys t e ms lhal t ouch p e o p l e ' s mi nd s , or
co nt en t s to be shown i n t hem, a r e si mpl e a nd u n i
v e r s a l : maki ng t hi ngs look good, f eel r i g h t and
come a c r o s s c l e a r l y . 1 clai m t hat to d e s i g n syst ems
t h a t i nvol ve bot h machi nes a nd p e o p l e ' s mi nds is
a r t f i r s t , technol ogy s e c o n d , a n d i n no way a d e r i
v a t i v e speci al t y off in some b r a n c h of comput er
s c i e n c e .
However, pr es e nt a t i ona l s y s t e ms wi l l c e r
t a i nl y i nvol ve comput ers from now o n.
Si nce h un d r e d s of s uc h s y s t e ms a r e now
b e i ng b u i l t , many of t hem all w r o n g , we must
(each d e s i g n e r s (end c er t a i n o t h e r s ) t h e b a s i cs
of co mp ut e r s , and gi ve them some good exampl es
lo emul at e ( s uch as S u t h e r l a n d ' s Ske t c hp ad ,
Bitzer's PLATO, and, I hope, some or my own
designs).
F u r t h e r , t he p op ul a r s u p e r s t i t i o n s about
c o mpu t e r s muat be f ou gh t - - the myt hs t ha t they
a r e me cha ni s t i c, s c i ent i f i c, o bj e ct i ve o r i n de p en
d e nt of human intent and c ont empl at i ve i nvol ve
ment .
Th e AI p e o p l e d o n ' t u n d e r s t a n d ,
t h e Ift p e o p l e d o n ' t u n d e r s t a n d ,
t h e CAI p e o p l e d o n t u n d e r s t a n d ,
a nd f o r C o d ' s s a k e d o n ' t t e l l IBM.
I believe t h a t an i n t r o d u c t i o n t o any
s u b j ec t can be huaorous, o c c a s i o n a l l y pro
found, ex c i t i n g , v i v i d , and app e a l i n g even
to experts on t h e i r - s e p a r a t e l e v e l s .
Perhaps someday I can prove i t .
9 ------------- (fc
4. RICH DATA SERVICES BASED ON
THESE STRUCTURES.
T h e u s e r must b e al l owed mu l t i p l e r o v e r s
(movabl e pl acemarke a l po i nt s of c u r r e n t a c t i v i t y ) ;
maki ng p o s s i b l e, e s p e c i a l l y , mu l t i p l e wi ndows
(lo t he l ocat ion of e ac h r o v e r ) w i t h d i s p l a y s of
co l l a t er al l i n ks .
Th e syst em s h ou l d al so h a v e p r o v i s i o n
f or h i gh - l e v el mooti ng fnya p - a n d t he aut o
matic k e epi ng of h i s t o r i c a l t r a i l s .
T h e n , a complex of c e r t a i n v e r y n e c e s s a r y
a nd v e r y power f ul f aci l i t i es b a a e d o n t h e s e t h i n g s ,
v i z . :
A. ANTHOLOGICAL FREEDOM: t he u s e r muel
be abl e lo combine e as i l y a n y t h i n g he f i n d s i nt o
a n " ant hol ogy, " a r o v ab l e c ol l e ct i on of t h e s e
mat eri al s havi ng t he s t r u c t u r e h e w a n t s . T he
l i nka ge informat ion f or s u c h a n t h o l o g i e s mu s t be
s e p ar at el y t r a n s p o r t a b l e a nd p a s s a b l e be t wee n
u s e r s .
B. STEP-OUT WINDOWING: f rom a pl a ce
i n s uc h a n ant hol ogy, t h e u s e r m u s t b e abl e
to s t e p oul of the ant hol ogy a n d I nt o t he p r e v i o u s
cont ext of t he mat eri al . Por i n s t a n c e , i f h e ha s
j u s t r ea d a quot at i on, he s h ou l d b e a bl e t o ha ve
the p r e s e n t ant hol ogi cal cont ext d i s s o l v e a r o u n d
t h e quot at i on (whi le i t s t a y s on t h e s c r e e n ) , a n d
t he or i gi na l cont ext r e a p p e a r a r o u n d i l . T he
need of t hi s i n s c ho l ar s h i p s h o u l d b e o b v i o u s .
C. D1SANTHOLOGICAL FREEDOM; t he
u s e r must be able to s t e p oul of a n a nt hol ogy
in s u c h a way and not r e t u r n i f h e c h oo s es .
( Th i s ha s i mpor t ant i mpl i cat i ons f o r what muat
r ea l l y be h appeni ng i n t he f ile s t r u c t u r e . )
E ar l i er v e r s i o n s of p u bl i c d o c u men t s must
be r e t a i n e d , a s u s e r a wi l l ha ve l i n k e d to t hem.
However, wher e p o s s i b l e , l i n k a g e s must
al so be abl e lo a ur v i v e r e v i a l o n s o f o ne o r bot h
obj ect s.
5. "FREEDOM FROM
SPYING AND SABOTAGE."
The assumpt i on must be made a l t he
out s e t of a wicked and mal evol ent g o ve r n me nt a l
a u t h o r i t y . If such a si t uat i on d oe s not d e v e l o p ,
wel l a nd good; if i t do e s , t h e s y s t e m wi l l have
a few mini mal s a f e gu ar ds b ui l t In.
FREEDOM FROM BEING MONITORED. The
us e of pseudonyms and dummy a c c o u n t s by i n d i
v i d u a l s , a s wel l as t he omi s si on of c e r t a i n r e c o r d
k e ep i ng by t he syst em p r o g r a m , a i ' e n e c e s s a r y
h e r e . Fi le r et ent i on u n d e r dummy a c c ou nt s Is
alao r e q u i r e d .
Because of Ihe d a n g e r of f i l e s a b o t a g e , a nd
t he p r i v at e at-home r et ent i on by i n d i v i d u a l s of
f i l es l hal al so exi st on p u bl i c s y s t e m s , i t is
n e ce s s ar y to have FIDUCIAL SYSTEMS POR TELLING
WHICH VERSION IS AUTHENTIC. T h e d oc t or i n g
of on - l i n e document s, t h e r e w r i t i n g of h i s t o r y
c f . bot h Winston Smi t h' s c ont i nuous r e v i s i o n of
the e ncycl opedi a In Ni net een E i g h t y - F o u r and
H. L. Hun t ' s forgi ng of h i s t or i c a l t e l e g r a ms f or
"The White Houae" ia a c ons t ant d a n g e r . Th u s
o u r sys t e ms must ha v e a n umbe r of compl ex
p r o vi s i o ns for ve ri f i cat i on of f al s i f i c a t i o n . e s p e
ci al l y t he creat i on of mul t i l evel f i d u ci al s ( p a r i t y
s y s t e m s ) , a nd t hei r s t o r a g e In a v a r i e t y of
p l a ce s . Th es e f i duci al s must b e l oc al l za bl e a nd
s e p a r a t e to small p a r t s of f i l es.
7. COPYRIGHT.
Copyr i ght must of c o u r s e be r e t a i n e d , but
a u n i ve r s al f lexi ble r u l e h a s lo b e wor k e d o u l ,
per mi t t i ng mat eri al to be t r ans mi t t e d a nd copi ed
u n d e r speci fi c ci rcumst ances f o r t he pa ymen t of
a r oyal t y f ee. s u r c h a r g e d on l op of y o u r o t h e r
e x p e n s e s In u s i n g t he sysl em.
For any i ndi vi dual sect i on of ma t e r i a l ,
auch royal t y shoul d ha ve a maximum: I . e . , nby
now y ou' ve boughl I t . "
Var yi ng r oyal t y r a t e a , h o w e v e r , s h ou l d
be t he a r b i t r a r y choice of t he c o p y r i g h t ho l d e r ;
except t hat r oyal t i es shoul d nol v a r y s h a r p l y
local l y wl l hl n a t i s s ue of mat e r i a l . On p u bl i c
s c r e e n s , moving between a r e a s of d i f f e r e n t r o y
al t y cost must be s h a r pl y ma r ke d.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
T h e o d o r H. N e l s o n . " C o a p u t o p l a a n d C y b e r c r u d .
I n Ro ge r L e v l e o ( e d . ) . C o m p u t e r s
I n I n s t r u c t i o n ( Rand C o r p o r a t i o n , 1 9 7 1 ) .
T h e o d o r H. N e l s o n , "A C o n c e p t u a l F r a me wo r k
f o r Man-Machi ne E v e r y t h i n g . " P r o c . NCC 7 3.
* i 7 W t i g e
OH TV'
l i
f L i r o i T -
dream, patl the vlt of man lo tar what drum
pound Ihi* d m u . Mcllioughl I wa sthere it
Do Bin can lell nlnl. Metlmght I war,and
methouphl ] had,lut man it blit a patched
loo), if he Will offer lo ar vhat melhcniffiil I hid.
The rvc of wan lialli not heard, the ear of man
halh not vrn. man'- Innj it nol ibte lo latle,
vhat my uri-.mi j-.
Bottom the Weaver
Now you see why I brought you here.
This Gem-maniacal book has, obviously, been
created as a crossroad of several cross pur
poses: to furnish a needed, grabby layman's
Introduction to two vast but rather inaccessible
realms; to present a coherent, if contentious,
point of view, and unroll a particular sort of
apocalyptic vision after preparing the vocabulary
for it; to make bright friends and informed sup
porters for m y outlook and projects; to get home
lo some of my friends the fact lhal what 1 am
doing is at bottom not technical; and finally, if
nothing else, to set forth some principles about
the'way things should be. which others will
have-to answer if they propose to do less.
Thus, overall, this book is a message in a Klein
bottle, waiting to see whos thirsty.
I suppose it all started in college. Swarth-
roore left me with an exaggerated notion of (he
extent to which i deas ar e valued in the academic
world; it took two graduat e schools to clear this
up. After t hal . as f ar as 1 was concerned.
Ph.D. stood for Poophead. But I still cared
about ideas, and the deep necessity of finding
their true structure and organization. From
writing 1 knew the grueling difficulty of trying
to make ideas get in order. 1 believed in the
pure, white light of inspiration and the power of
the naive but clever mind to figure out anything,
if not obstructed bul dumb dogmas and obtuse
mental schemata foslered by the educational system.
When 1 Anally got the idea of what compu
ters were aboul, sometime in 1960, 1 look endless
walks at night trying to hash these things out and
see where they led. The text systems came clear
to me, at least in ihelr beginnings; in a few weeks;
the realisation that 3D halftone was possible came
to me as a 6hock the following spring. I believe
as I was walking across Radcliffe Common. Since
then trying to build these systems for creation and
the true ordering of intricale thought has been my
driving dream.
My own life among these dream machines
haa been a nightmare, thoroughly unpleasant,
and if people are right in telling me thal nobody
wants systems like the ones I am designing.
Ill get the heck out of this and be a disk jockey
or a toy salesman or something.
1first got into this as a writer; all 1
wanted was a decent writing system that would
run on a compuier. Little did I realize the Im
mensity of what that entailed, or that for some
reason my work and approach would engender
indignation and anger wherever 1 wenl. There
is a Action that everybody In theee fields is
doing something fundamentally scientific and
technical, and this Action is usually upheld in
carefully enacted mutual playlets. Trying to
cut through that and say, "Let's build a home for
mankind that will al last be shaped lo At man's
mind, does nol seem to-generate immediate
warmth and welcome.
But I'm glad for the friends I've made in
this Aeld, and of course there have been a lol
of laughs. (I'd really have haled to miss being
in this field, just for the thrilling madness of
it all.) All in all m y adventures have been a
sort of participatory journalism, which I'd like
to wrile up properly some time. Some highlights:
The days of madness in ' 66, t r yi ng to
start an honesl corporation to do all this stuff,
and suffering endless l unches with Wall Street
hangers-on who were looking for a vehicle to
take public. They wanted another chicken-
franchise type company, though, and certainly
not ideas.
Being briefed by four different corporations,
most of lhem major, on Ihe fantastic powers iheir
inleractive'movie system was going to have. One
of these briefings was in the board room of a
famous skyscraper. And now, only one of those
systems is left-- Kodak's.
Then there was the courtly gentleman who
was going to be my Noah Dietrich, my Colonel
Parker. He assured me that through his business
connections all was going lo go marvelously.
and then later intimated thet as e special favor
he was going lo put me In touch with other
universes and the flying saucer people. I just
didn't have time for other universes.
Then there was the suppression of my first
book (this i6 my second). You might say it wa6
a misunderstanding, at least on my part. My
boss's understanding was evidently (hat the ad
vancement of my ideas would be detrimental to
his. If it had been a question of free speech in
Yugoslavia it might have been different. Well,
it takes a long lime to get a book together, but
here we go again.
Then there was the time I was called in
as a consultant on a vast federal system, never
mind what. Numerous computer programs were
lo be coordinated by a hypertext system they
had created and Ihey wanted to know if they'd
designed it right. It took months lo find out
from Ihe programmers exactly what the system
waa, so I ended up writing the manual; after
which I explained what was wrong with the pro
ject and the whole hypertext system was scrapped.
And my job with it. I never quite got lhe swing
of consulting.
Flying coasl-to-coast with the preaident
of a large corporation, he and I planned the
whole X anadu budget for the following year at
something like half a million dollars. Two years
later, reduced In circumstances and driving a
yellow cab in New York, the miserable vehicle
breaks down in front of (hose same corporate
headquarters. And Ihe reason I had thal bad
taxi was that I was out of favor with the taxi
dispatcher, on account of having been absent
the previous week-- I had had to fly to California
to give a banquet address at the Rand Corporation.
Then there were my adventures with the
CIA.
Thai did It. They couldn't read either.
Who turns oul to be in charge of computer stuff
in the heart of the CIA. the Inner sanctum, the
nesl of vipers, but the same old poopy Ph.Ds.
I decided to reauscitate my virtue.
As far as I know, there is still not a
Decent Writing Syatem anywhere in the world,
although several things now come close. It
seems a shame that grown men and women have
to rustle around in piles of paper, like squirrels
looking for acorns, in search of the phrases
and ideas Ihey themselves have generated.
The decent writing 9yslem, as I see i t . will
^dual l y be much more: it will help ua create
belter things in a fraction of the time, but also
keep track of everything in better and more
subtle waya than we ever could before.
But nobody sees this I suppose it's only
writers and editors that know they're trying to
"keep track of Ideas"-- and I have been unable
to gel thia across to anybody. (The profeaeional
writers, of course, won't talk to me either.)
So here I am after fourteen years with
exactly two systems to show for it: the main one.
X anadu, the lext-and-animated-piclure network
system, and Fantasm (1 shouldn't have apent
the time bul it was a labor of love), the simu-
laled-photography system. Actually, 1 don'l
have either of them to show, it's all just flow
charts, but it turns out lhat if I work on either
of (hem with university equipment, my work of
fourteen years gets conAscated. So much for
thal; the outside expedients for debugging con
tinue .
I was sitting in my office at Vassar,
sagely advising a student, when the phone rang
and the caller identified himself as John W.
Kuipers. head of compuier research at the CIA.
He told me I had been noticed as a new bright
young man in the Aeld, and would I like to
work for them?
Now, there is something about being a
cynic and a romantic. (They go together: the
cynic deAates ideas, the romantic falls in love
with them.) It is not impossible for the cynical
romantic to surmise that because everything he
has seen personally turned oul to be so lousy,
thal the true hope may lie at the heart of the
vortex, just where everybody thinks is impossible.
Also Ihe Kennedy aftermath, when sophisticated
people had learned to laugh at simple idealism
as a facade for the reel wheel-and-deallng,
slap-and-tickle, may have had something to do
wilh il; anyway, I waa enchanted. Thus began
the Kuipers Caper.
YES. THERE IS A McLEAN. VIRGINIA
I was given a handler named Bob, a jolly
fellow, who kept assuring me that much money
was just around (he corner. I was regaled wilh
success s(ories of other people in the computer
Aeld who really, undercover Worked for Them.
(They weren't doing anything very exciting.)
I got to show my slides in the CIA office building
in Arlington, and to eee there very fancy display
equipment behind shielded (!) double-doors in
a shielded (!!) computer room-- shielded lo keep
any planted bugs from transmitting oul the con
tents of the computers' working registers. I even
got to visit the main CIA "campus" in McLean,
Virginia, where the sign says Agricultural
Research Station. It is an incredible feeling to
walk across lhat big eagle in lhe lerrazzo,
and to be given the visitor's badge thal says
"United Slates Government" all in wiggly lines.
They told me that they would be glad to
set me up in business as s hypertext company,
bul I would have to have a corporation, because
that was Ihe way they always did things. And so.
it came lo pass that The Nelson Organization, Inc.
was founded al the express request of the United
Stales Central Intelligence Agency. I wouldn't have
had it any other way. If life can't be pleasant it
can et least be surrealistic.
... BUT NO SANTA CLAUS
I was encouraged to write proposals for them,
and write proposals I did. (1 happened to finish
typing the first one dufing a lightning slorm,
and lightning crashed jusl as I was signing the
page; 1 felt like Faust.) I explained how hyper
text might have prevented the Bay of Pigs. After
due consideration, I did not say what hypertexts
might have done for Ihe Warren Report. Numerous
Jolly phone calls assured me lhat my firsl $25,000
was just around the corper.
The break came when Bob called me and
asked me to rewrite a proposal one more lime.
He had circulated it, he aaid, among various
people "at the shop," who he reminded me were
holders of advanced degrees, and it had been
remarked that they found my proposal meaning
less: "Every place you say 'hypertext' you
could jusl aa well put 'gobbledygook' instead;
you'll have lo clear lhat up a little."
And, to lighlen Ihe burden. I've finally
given up on trying lo reach professionals, who
evidently need a Ihick gravy of lechnicalism to
make the obvious palatable; with this bookity
1am taking my case to The People. It is there,
anyway, out in Consumerdom. lhal the real ac
tion is going to occur. So the important thing
is for everybody to know whal's really possible,
and what (hey could have. Thai Is why I have
shol off my big canons (and ihi6 epistol).
To me. you see. this is really a holy
crusade, whereas I know guys to whom il's
jusl a living. It's no less than a question
of freedom in our lime. The cases of Solzhenitsyn
and Ellsberg remind us that freedom is slill
not what it should be, anywhere. Computer
display and storage can bring us a whole new
literature, the uniting and the apotheosis of the
old end the new; but (here are many who would
not necessarily wanl to see this come about.
Deep and widespread compuier systems would be
tempting to two dangerous parties, "organized ,
crime" and the Executive branch of Ihe Federal
government (assuming there ia still a difference
between the two). If we are lo have the freedoms
of information we deserve as a free people, the
safeguards have to be built in al the bottom. now.
And the opulence which is possible must be made
clear to everyone before we settle on an inferior
system-* as we did with television.
Some people have called my Ideas and
systems "Orwellian." This is annoying In two
ways. In the first place It suggests the night
mare of Orwell's book Nineteen Eighty-Four,
which obviously I want no part of. (Bul hey,
do you remember what that world of 1984 was
actually like? The cryptic wars against unseen
enemies that kept shifting? The government
spying? The use of language lo twist end
manipulate? To paraphrase Huey Long: "Of
course we'll have 1984 in America. Only we'll
cell it 1972.")
The second reason the term "Orwellian'1
is offensive is that it somehow reduces (he life
of Orwell, the man. to the world of "1984."
This is a shallow and shabby thing to do to a
man who apent his life unmasking oppressiveness
in human institutions everywhere.
In the larger sense, then In homage to
thal simple, honest, angry man, who cared about
nothing more lhan human freedom-- I would be
proud indeed if my systems could be called
Orwellian.
That reminds me. Nowhere in the book
hsve 1 defined the phrase "computer lib." By
Compuier Lib I mean simply: making people
freer through computers. Thal'a all.
Fantically or fanatically
Yours for a bet t er world,
Before we have to settle for Any--