Research and Advances

This paper describes a general-purpose program that will handle those incomplete block designs known as square and rectangular lattices. Flow diagrams are given so that the method of calculation may be programmed for any digital computer.

A list processing system in which each list cell contains both a forward and a backward link as well as a datum is described. This system is intended for imbedding in higher level languages capable of calling functions and subroutines coded in machine language. The presentation is in the form of FORTRAN programs depending on only a limited set of “primitive” machine language subroutines which are also defined. Finally, a set of field, particularly character, manipulation primitives are given to round out the system.

A formula for numerical integration is prepared, which involves an exponential term. This formula is compared to two standard integration methods, and it is shown that for a large class of differential equations, the exponential formula has superior stability properties for large step sizes. Thus this formula may be used with a large step size to decrease the total computing time for a solution significantly, particularly in those engineering problems where high accuracy is not needed.

To meet the need for improved documentation of written computer programs, a simple system for effective communication is presented, which has shown great promise. The programmer describes his program in a simple format, and the computer prepares flow charts and other cross-referenced listings from this input. The description can be kept up-to-date easily, and the final output clearly explains the original program. The system has also proved to be a valuable debugging and coding aid.

Engelbart1 has reported on some demonstrations in which a group functions as various parts of a digital computer. These demonstrations are concerned with binary operations including addition. However, there are occasions when it is desirable to have a group participate in a simulation which is not at this detailed level of computer operation. This note suggests a demonstration which allows a group to simulate the execution of a computer routine itself.