Comment on a paper on parallel processing
Computing Profession
The article by Lynn Yarbrough on Parallel Processing in the October Communications is interesting since it attracts attention to a subject which needs to be given increased consideration. His indictment of manufacturers for failing to provide what he feels is minimal to realizing the advantages of multi-programming is not applicable to STRETCH, however. It may be recalled that his specific complaint concerns the lack of protection of any program or monitor from the unpredictable actions of any other program. On page 15 of the STRETCH Data Processing System Reference Manual, we read: Address monitoring facilities are provided … The upper and lower boundaries of the storage area to be defined are placed in two address boundary registers. An alarm will be given when an address falls either inside or outside the defined area, whichever is desired. Storing in protected areas is normally suppressed.
The BKS system for the Philco-2000
The BKS System is a program sequencing system designed for the Philco-2000 computer to meet operational requirements of the Bettis and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratories. The Philco-2000 on which this system is being used has a 32,768-word memory, 16 tape transports on-line, and an electric typewriter on-line. The card-to-tape, card-to-printer, tape-to-card, tape-to-printer, and routine tape-to-tape operations are performed with off-line equipment.
Statistical programs at the University of North Carolina
The Research Computation Center at the University of North Carolina has access to a UNIVAC 1105 general purpose digital computer for use in connection with data processing problems, theoretical studies, and computer research. With respect to data processing problems, three major statistical programs have been written:
General Contingency Table Analysis for Questionnaire Data
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
Multiple Regression and Correlation
Some of the concepts and ideas in these programs are new and may be of interest to other computation centers. Hence they are described below. The programs were written in the Remington Rand UNICODE language. Thus it would not be difficult to translate them into any other algebraic language, such as ALGOL, FORTRAN, or IT.
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