BLESSED(ID:6588/ble001)Burroughs assemblerfor Bell Little ElectroData Symbolic System for the ElectroData 220 assembler for BURROUGHS 220 References: Burroughs Corp., ElectroData Division, Pasadena, Calif. Computer manufacturer, user and consultant have combined talents to produce a new automatic programming assembly system. Called "BLESSED 220", the new assembly system was produced by the cooperative efforts of Michigan Bell Telephone Company; Arthur D. Little, Inc.; and Burroughs/ElectroData. Thus the title: Bell Little ElectroData Symbolic System for the ElectroData 220 computer. This is a comprehensive system of program assembly, complete with maintenance and debugging aids; it was designed specifically for large business and scientific data processing programs of great logical complexity. It has: great program flexibility; unlimited symbolic correction facilities; error-catching features; and the ability to process large programs. It is comprised of four components ? an assembly program with some compiler features; two tape-editing routines, one symbolic, one absolute; and a symbolic debugging routine. The minimum system requirement for operating this automatic programming system is a 5,000-word memory Burroughs 220 computer ? including a one-input, two-output Cardatron subsystem, and four magnetic tape storage units. Burroughs 220 users already making use of this assembly system include Stanford Hesearch Institute, U. S. Naval Ordnance Supply Office, Stanford University, and of course, Michigan Bell. employ new methods in many areas of research. Performance of 1 million multiplications on a desk calculator is estimated to require about five vears and to cost $25,000. On an early scientific computer, a million multiplications required eight minutes and cost (exclusive of programing and input preparation) about $10. With the recent LARC computer, 1 million multiplications require eight seconds and cost about 50 cents (Householder, 1956). Obviously it is imperative that researchers examine their methods in light of the abilities of the computer. It should be noted that much of the information published on computers and their use has not appeared in educational or psychological literature but rather in publications specifically concerned with computers. mathematics, engineering, and business. The following selective survey is intended to guide the beginner into this broad and sometimes confusing area. It is not an exhaustive survey. It is presumed that the reader has access to the excellent Wrigley (29571 article; so the major purpose of this review is to note additions since 1957. The following topics are discussed: equipment availabilitv, knowledge needed to use computers, general references, programing the computer, numerical analysis, statistical techniques, operations research, and mechanization of thought processes. Extract: Compiler Systems Compiler Systems A compiler is a translating program written for a particular computer which accepts a form of mathematical or logical statement as input and produces as output a machine-language program to obtain the results. Since the translation must be made only once, the time required to repeatedly run a program is less for a compiler than for an interpretive system. And since the full power of the computer can be devoted to the translating process, the compiler can use a language that closely resembles mathematics or English, whereas the interpretive languages must resemble computer instructions. The first compiling program required about 20 man-years to create, but use of compilers is so widely accepted today that major computer manufacturers feel obligated to supply such a system with their new computers on installation. Compilers, like the interpretive systems, reflect the needs of various types of users. For example, the IBM computers use "FORTRAN" for scientific programing and "9 PAC" and "ComTran" for commercial data processing; the Sperry Rand computers use "Math-Matic" for scientific programing and "Flow-Matic" for commercial data processing; Burroughs provides "FORTOCOM" for scientific programming and "BLESSED 220" for commercial data processing. There is some interest in the use of "COBOL" as a translation system common to all computers. in [ACM] CACM 6(03) (Mar 1963) view details |