Using induction to design algorithms
An analogy between proving mathematical theorems and designing computer algorithms provides an elegant methodology for designing algorithms, explaining their behavior, and understanding their key ideas.
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Random number generators: good ones are hard to find
Practical and theoretical issues are presented concerning the design, implementation, and use of a good, minimal standard random number generator that will port to virtually all systems.
Along the twists and turns of this year's presidential campaign trails, computers act as strategic tools that exert a decisive impact on capturing voters' attention. But a National Bureau of Standards study claims that system implementations are dangerously inadequate at the finish line, where carefully gleaned votes are less carefully counted.
Accuracy, integrity and security in computerized vote-tallying
The following excerpts have been gleaned from a 130-page report of potential inaccuracies and fraud in computerized voting systems. Recent difficulties in automated vote-tallying, including specific legal cases, are detailed along with a summary of conclusions and recommendations.
Comparison of analysis techniques for information requirement determination
A comparison of systems analysis techniques, the Data Flow Diagram (DFD) and part of the Integrated Definition Method (IDEFo), is done using a new developmental framework.
Benchmarks for LAN performance evaluation
A technique for quickly benchmarking the performance of local area networks (LANs) is presented. Programs which model both intermittent and constant network activity are given.
The Computing Research Board's 1986-87 Taulbee Survey includes the latest statistics on production and employment of Ph.D.'s and faculty in computer science and engineering. For the first time, departments offering Ph.D.'s in computer engineering are also included.
An empirical study of computer capacity planning in Japan
Capacity planners in Japan rely heavily on intuitive and judgmental approaches in their computer capacity planning functions, even more so than their U.S. counterparts, according to the following survey. The emphasis in large Japanese firms on job rotations, lifetime employment, and extensive social and informal interaction among employees helps contribute to the effectiveness of these judgmental methods.
Computer science education in the People’s Republic of China in the late 1980s
Last year a delegation of international computer professionals with interests in computer science education participated in an information exchange with colleagues in the People's Republic of China. The delegation's experiences suggest that the Chinese have made substantial progress in some aspects of computer science education since late 1982, but that difficult problems remain to be solved.
HAM: a general purpose hypertext abstract machine
The HAM is a transaction-based server for a hyper text storage system. The server is designed to handle multiple users in a networked environment. The storage system consists of a collection of contexts, nodes, links, and attributes that make up a hypertext graph. The versatility of the HAM can be illustrated by showing how Guide buttons, intermedia webs, and NoteCard FileBoxes can be implemented using its storage model.
Retraining teachers to teach high school computer science
The national trends regarding the retraining of secondary school teachers in a computer science discipline are examined. Recommendations and guidelines are offered in this ACM/IEEE Task Force report.
KMS: a distributed hypermedia system for managing knowledge in organizations
Developers of hypermedia systems face many design issues. The design for KMS, a large-scale hypermedia system for collaborative work, seeks improved user productivity through simplicity of the conceptual data model.
Fourth annual UCLA survey of business school computer usage
The Fourth Survey is based upon data from 128 AACSB-accredited business schools. It provides a wide variety of information to deans and others involved in making computer related strategic decisions, resource allocations, and program plans.
The growth of software testing
We can trace the evolution of software test engineering by examining changes in the testing process model and the level of professionalism over the years. The current definition of a good software testing practice involves some preventive methodology.
Graphics and managerial decision making: research-based guidelines
Graphical charts are generally thought to be a superior reporting technique compared to more traditional tabular representations in organizational decision making. The experimental literature, however, demonstrates only partial support for this hypothesis. To identify the characteristics of the situations that have been shown to benefit from the use of graphics, existing studies are reviewed in terms of the type of task used, the format employed, and the user experience. The examination of the literature reveals a set of empirically based—though preliminary—guidelines as to when and how to use business graphics.
Tablet: personal computer of the year 2000
A design represents a compromise between conflicting goals, and the design of the personal computer of the year 2000 is no exception. We seek something that will fit comfortably into people's lives while dramatically changing them. This may appear to be a contradiction that cannot be reconciled. But if the technology does not fit easily into the habits and lifestyles of its human users, it will be discarded by those it was meant to help. And if this new tool does not change the life of its owner, it is only because we have been too shortsighted to imagine the possibilities.
Our way out of this dilemma is to base the design upon something which is already integrated into everyone's life, to take a vital tool and give it more life. We have chosen to improve something that most people use everyday, the humble paper notebook.
We have all heard the computer revolution was supposed to eliminate paper from the workplace. Instead, it has lead to desktop publishing; now we can not only write papers but typeset them ourselves. Paper notebooks have many properties that make them particularly friendly. They are light and portable. No one thinks twice about taking a pad anywhere. They are easy and natural to use, as accessible to the toddler as to the octogenarian and as relevant to the artist as the engineer. They can be used to communicate with other people. They are the ideal medium for integrating text and graphics, and perfect for creative doodling. Moreover, notebooks are forgiving of mistakes, simply peel off the page and start anew.
It is natural to revise and edit written documents. There is something satisfying about crossing out an offending sentence from a written draft, a feeling that word processors have not captured. We aim for a computer that will provide all of these benefits and more.
Thus, the personal computer of the year 2000 will be a portable machine the size of a notebook. We will write and draw with a stylus on a screen which mimics a physical writing surface. Enhancing this with the powers of computation and communication, we create a tool that will improve the way we live and work.
This report provides a more concrete depiction of the machine we have in mind, namely TABLET.
The category-partition method for specifying and generating fuctional tests
A method for creating functional test suites has been developed in which a test engineer analyzes the system specification, writes a series of formal test specifications, and then uses a generator tool to produce test descriptions from which test scripts are written. The advantages of this method are that the tester can easily modify the test specification when necessary, and can control the complexity and number of the tests by annotating the tests specification with constraints.
Self-timing programs and the quantum scheduler
Using an internally generated program clock in conjunction with a quantum scheduler creates self-timing programs that are useful in building deterministic computer systems.
MIS careers—a theoretical perspective
MIS personnel historically have exhibited a disturbingly high rate of turnover, and the job of the MIS manager is increasingly oriented to personnel and staffing problems. The MIS careers literature consistently suggests that what is needed to improve this situation is (1) more attention to formal career planning, and (2) the implementation of a dual career ladder system within the DP/IS organization. A look at the broader literature on organizational careers suggests that these suggestions may not in fact make sense. By considering only a subset of the relevant concepts about careers, we have reached conclusions that are quite possibly erroneous, and have made suggestions that will not likely help. Until further research on MIS personnel and their career needs is accomplished, we will have no valid basis for prescribing solutions to MIS careers problems. Suggestions for needed research are outlined.
Factors of success for end-user computing
A two-phase study concerned with the factors of success associated with the development of computer applications by end users was conducted in 10 large organizations. During the first phase, in-depth interviews were used to refine a preliminary model of the factors of success for user development of computer applications (UDA). In the second phase, a questionnaire was administered to 272 end users experienced in developing applications. Statistical tests of the relationships in the model indicated that all but one of the derived hypotheses were substantiated. The result of this study is a field-verified model of the factors of success of UDA that provides a basis for implementation of UDA practices and policies in organizations, as well as for further research in end-user computing.
Information technology and dataveillance
Data surveillance is now supplanting conventional surveillance techniques. With this trend come new monitoring methods such as personal dataveillance and mass dataveillance that require more effective safeguards and a formal policy framework.
Growth stages of end user computing
The stages of growth and interconnectedness of the applications of end user computing are described in a model that is directed toward management and planning.
An astronomer-turned-sleuth traces a German trespasser on our military networks, who slipped through operating system security holes and browsed through sensitive databases. Was it espionage?
Shape the Future of Computing
ACM encourages its members to take a direct hand in shaping the future of the association. There are more ways than ever to get involved.
Get InvolvedCommunications of the ACM (CACM) is now a fully Open Access publication.
By opening CACM to the world, we hope to increase engagement among the broader computer science community and encourage non-members to discover the rich resources ACM has to offer.
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