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Research and Advances Nov 1 1964

An executive system implemented as a finite-state automaton

The 473L command and control system used by the Air Force permits many operators to access large data files through the use of a computer. The man-machine interface is satisfied by several communication consoles from which operators may enter queries and view replies. A data link permits remote stations to send messages, status reports and inventories directly to the computer. The information received over the online data link is used to update the data files which are stored on disk. The 473L programming system is divided into an Executive Control Program and five components with different processing priorities. These priorities permit the system to be most sensitive to the console inputs and permit the operators at all the consoles to time share the central processor. The Executive Control Program provides for the orderly transitions of control among the programming system components. The major emphasis of the paper is on the technique of using the definition of a finite-state automaton for organizing the Executive Control Program.
Research and Advances Jul 1 1964

Autosate

An automated data system analysis technique is described. The technique is designed to alleviate some of the principal problems that beset current analysis—large data workloads, long span of time between project inception and system operational date, the lack of explicit directions for conducting data system analysis and using the results, and the lack of a technique to control data system changes throughout its lifetime. The analysis is geared to determining workload, relationships and storage characteristics of documents in the information network automatically.
Research and Advances Jul 1 1964

Experimental personalized array translator system

A system designed for intimate man-machine interaction in a general-purpose problem-solving environment is experimentally operational. The system utilizes an array-oriented symbolic source language containing powerful statement types. These include numeric, Boolean, relational and selection operators on operands which can be entire arrays. The system also permits simple specification of test and argument arrays in single statements. The completely symbolic operating system includes display and entry of program and data. Sequence control is aided by an interrupt switch which allows the user to interact with the program during execution. In addition to normal stored program sequencing, the system provides trace options and the ability to enter any statement for immediate execution. Present implementation of the system is with an interpretive translator on an IBM 1620 computer.
Research and Advances May 1 1964

An experiment in a user-oriented computer system

A version of a software-hardware system for the purpose of facilitating the programming and analysis of well-formulated problems is described. A modified Flexowriter is used to generate computer-acceptable input when equations or computable requests are typed in much the same manner as they would appear in conventional mathematical texts. The typing and language rules are quite flexible and unrestrictive. While the compiler part is efficient, the system as a whole has much broader aspects as a tool for the study of problem solving and self-teaching systems.
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Research and Advances Mar 1 1964

A technique for computer detection and correction of spelling errors

The method described assumes that a word which cannot be found in a dictionary has at most one error, which might be a wrong, missing or extra letter or a single transposition. The unidentified input word is compared to the dictionary again, testing each time to see if the words match—assuming one of these errors occurred. During a test run on garbled text, correct identifications were made for over 95 percent of these error types.
Research and Advances Mar 1 1964

Computer-made perspective movies as a scientific and communication tool

It is easy to program the basic transformation required for a perspective drawing. This fact plus the advent of high speed microfilm printers such as the General Dynamics Electronics S-C 4020 makes possible perspective movies as the direct output from a computer. The programming of such a movie is briefly described for studying the angular motions of a satellite containing an attitude control system. In the movie, a domino-shaped box represents the satellite and a sphere with circles of latitude and longitude represents the earth. The cost was approximately three to eight minutes of IBM 7090 time per one minute of movie.
Research and Advances Feb 1 1964

A general business-oriented language based on decision expressions

The structure of a digital computer programming language which covers a wide class of business and file processing applications is presented. Such a structure, based on identifying and incorporating into a compiler the aspects common to all processes of such class, permits writing extremely compact programs, even for comparatively complex applications, in terms of tables of control expressions which express only information characteristic of the particular application. Furthermore, local changes of a process (e.g. changes affecting only one of the output files involved) can be effected by local modifications in the program (e.g. modification of only one entry of the tables). This structure also allows for inexpensive preparation of loading-speed compilers which translate the source programs into efficient machine codes. The approach adopted here departs from conventional mechanical language design philosophies. It stresses the structural analysis of the class of processes to be represented in the languages, as opposed to emphasizing formal (i.e., contents-independent) syntactical definitions. It relies exclusively on nonprocedural representation of processes as sets (tables) of relations between data and results (there are no control statements such as GO TO, etc.), instead of using procedure descriptions (which are one-to-one translations of flowcharts). Here an invariant pattern of procedure is identified as characteristic of the class of all batch file processes.
Research and Advances Oct 1 1963

An automatic data acquisition and inquiry system using disk files

Lockheed Missiles and Space Company has installed a large-scale Automatic Data Acquisition (ADA) system which ties together the Company's manufacturing facilities located in Van Nuys and Sunnyvale, California. The system includes over 200 Remote Input Stations which collect and transmit Company operating data to a central Data Processing Center. Two RCA 301 EDP Systems are used to record and control the flow of data transmitted to the Data Processing Center. A large capacity RCA 366 Data Disc File is used to store information required to provide up-to-date information in response to inquiries received from remotely located Inquiry Stations. In addition to storage of data on the disk files, the system automatically records all incoming and outgoing data on magnetic tape to be used as input to the Company's conventional off-line business data processing applications.
Research and Advances Oct 1 1961

Dynamic storage allocation for an information retrieval system

This paper presents an information retrieval problem whose programming solution included dynamic storage allocation. Allocatable machine code is defined, and an assembly program to produce allocatable machine code is described. The work reported on was done as part of Project ACSI-MATIC1 which is concerned with the application of computer techniques to the activities of certain headquarters military intelligence operations of the U.S. Army [1, 2].

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