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The article discusses multi-agent systems, which are gaining acceptance in the computer industry and academia as a paradigm for designing and developing software systems. The author suggests that there is a need for a conceptual framework that defines the abstractions of different agent-based systems, which can be very confusing for software engineers. The authors stress the fact that successful multi-agent system deployment requires modeling languages to explore the use of agent-related abstractions. Methods to reduce risk with the system are examined.

The article discusses benefits of managing risk in offshore computer software systems development. While outsourcing computer engineers provides benefits in terms of low-cost labor, these benefits can often be outweighed by missed deadlines, dissatisfied users, and a failure to reduce development costs. To manage these risks, organizations can create standardized documentation, deliver clear goals to the outsourced workers, establish trust between organizations, and use a subsidiary to manage the company.

The article discusses machine systems that generate musical accompaniment that follows live human performances by relating musical sound to musical notation. The prevalence of computer-accessible music, including sampled audio files found on compact discs and the Internet, is contrasted by symbolic music representations, which lists notes with pitch, onset time, and duration, though both are difficult for current computer systems to understand. The article focuses on music score matching, which automatically generates music to accompany an existing arrangement.

This article focuses on the quest to build a quantum computer. This machine would exploit the weird properties of quantum mechanics to perform tasks millions of times faster than today's most powerful supercomputers. Such a device would revolutionize the computer industry. David Deutsch, a University of Oxford physicist, drew up the first blueprint for a quantum computer in 1985. That was when theorist Simon Benjamin, also at Oxford, told him about cluster states. The concept redefines how a quantum computer processes information. It should also scale up much more easily than previous designs, allowing researchers to perform larger computations. Deutsch now sees a practical quantum computer arriving within 10 years. INSETS: Quantum contenders;What's the payoff?.

Discusses the future of computers. Roz Picard's support for affective computing; Suggestion that computers should be able to customize itself to the user's likings; Ability for computer's to read emotional signs; Example of facial imaging systems; Vocal identification systems; Need for a cognitive element, which could reason about emotions and make allowances; Possible uses of such machines. INSET: Antidote to Frustration.

The article focuses on the millennium bug problem in interactive services which is due to occur at the year-end of 2000. The article illustrates that there are several practical examples showing that interactive services like banking or airline reservations cannot inherently be realized by non-interactive or Turing machine systems. In dealing with the Y2K problem computer users take each system report of a correct date as a confirming instance of the hypothesis that the system's reported date is always correct. What the Y2K problem shows is that correct time observations were not confirming instances of this hypothesis at all, but rather one where "date" terms were unknowingly temporally qualified. The result of the computing community's byte parsimony is a multitude of computing systems that will not, in the normal course of things, roll over to 2000 at the end of this century. The genesis of the Y2K problem is seen to be an instance of the "new riddle of induction." It results from the mistaken belief that a computer date stamp is projectable, that is the confirmation of a hypothesis. The root cause of the present malady is byte conservation. In retrospect, a viable solution to the Y2K problems was to have been found in geochronology all along, which has been presented in the article.

National Industrial Information Infrastructure Protocols (NIIIP) was developed by a consortium of 15 organizations in a multiyear project that began in September 1994. NIIIP's technical vision is to integrate the technology from four communities to enable the proliferation of virtual enterprises (VEs) all across the U.S. The protocols provide an infrastructure for the inter-operation of commercial-off-the-shelf products in the industrial domain. VEs impose previously unencountered constraints upon a computing infrastructure. The VE member organizations must pool resources, such as word processors, computer aided design tools, local processes and procedures, and local knowledge and terminologies in support of common VE goals, which must be computable and amenable to global optimization. VE member resources must be treated with confidentiality in a shared environment, both inside and outside local "firewalls," implying authentication, authorization, certification, and logging controls. In the NIIIP domain, secure transactions are more complicated. Negotiation between VE agents over resource cost, time of delivery, and quality may employ cover strategies designed to gain a business advantage for the use of a locally owned resource.

The article analyzes the broader issue of the relation between user preferences and performances across a wide range of computer systems and usage situations, in which the exact measures used as proxies for preference and performance varied according to whatever was most appropriate for specific circumstances of each study. Besides the theoretical interest in how users' subjective experiential feelings reflect their actual performance, the relation between these two usability variables is also of interest from the practical discount usability-engineering perspective. Simply asking users how they like an interface must be one of the cheapest usability-engineering methods available, and it would thus be beneficial if one could expect the users' answers to also reflect their performance, which is normally more expensive to measure. Because of data availability constraints, the present metaanalysis only considers the relation between the average subjective satisfaction of a group of users and the average performance of the same group. It is thus most appropriate for usability-engineering scenarios in which a single choice has to be made for all intended users of a certain group.

This article discusses the key outcomes of Fifth Generation Computer Systems (FGCS) project. The decade-long FGCS project ended in June 1992 with mixed feelings about its outcome. On the one hand, the results do not measure up to the high expectations and fears the project's announcement generated. Furthermore, the results do not seem to generate much interest within the computer industry at this time. On the other hand, those who participated in the project, as well as those who followed closely its development through the years, do have a sense of achievement. The Fifth Generation project was unique and "a first" in many ways. It was the first national research project in Japan to embrace international collaboration and exchange. It was unique in making such an expensive and long-term commitment for specific basic research goals and for pursuing them consistently for the entire period. And it was the first project to make such a profound and large-scale commitment to logic programming as its conceptual and technical foundation.

Describes job responsibilities of Unix systems administrators. Maintaining operating systems and network software; Coordinating communications with outside software and hardware maintenance vendors; Installing software and arranging for installation of hardware; Balancing data distribution among file servers; Evaluating software and system problems and potential solutions.

This article presents information related to Phoenix that contains two timestamped versions of the in-memory file system allowing for a reserve version. The Phoenix in-memory file system is motivated by a safe, continuous-processing model and by a number of specialized applications. In this, small diskless computing systems are used in portable laboratory instruments such as logic analyzers and digital oscilloscopes. Phoenix starts with a timestamped and write-protected version of the file system and evolves it through a copy on write strategy while leaving the original version undisturbed. The Phoenix logical disk is represented as the leaves of a tree that has a root node and a layer of interior nodes. The contents of the root node are pointers to memory locations where the interior nodes are found and the contents of the interior nodes are pointers to memory locations where data is found. The tree version pointed to by a timestamp is garbage collected after the succeeding timestamp. The existing timestamp represents the fallback state of the file system and must be preserved until after the next checkpoint.

The article outlines the professional activities of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). The ACM SIGUCCS Users Conference XII is planned for November 11-14, 1984 in Reno, Nevada. ACM SIGMETRICS Conference on Measurement and Modeling of Computer Systems will be held in Boston, Massachusetts on August 2-24, 1984. The 13th Annual Conference on Parallel Processing will be held on August 21-24, 1984 in Bellaire, Michigan. The Third International Conference on Systems Documentation will be held on May 16-18, 1984 in Mexico City.

The performance of most small computer systems is determined, to a large extent, by the characteristics of their mass storage devices. Data compression can expand the storage capacity of such devices and also slightly increase their speed. Here, a summary of one method of data compression using Huffman variable length coding is presented, along with statistics of effectiveness for various file types and practical techniques for integrating such methods into a small computer system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an efficient garbage compaction algorithm. Usage of garbage compaction algorithm; Comparison between Morris's and Fisher method; Combination of marking and compaction into two-step algorithm.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to the article "Price and Performance Patterns of U.S. Computer Systems," by E. G. Cale, L. L. Gremillion and G. L. McKenney.

There are several aspects of user-computer performance that system designers should systematically consider. This article proposes a simple model, the Keystroke-Level Model, for predicting one aspect of performance: the time it takes an expert user to perform a given task on a given computer system. The model is based on counting keystrokes and other low-level operations, including the user's mental preparations and the system's responses. Performance is coded in terms of these operations and operator times summed to give predictions. Heuristic rules are given for predicting where mental preparations occur. When tested against data on 10 different systems, the model's prediction error is 21 percent for individual tasks. An example is given to illustrate how the model can be used to produce parametric predictions and how sensitivity analysis can be used to redeem conclusions in the face of uncertain assumptions. Finally, the model is compared to several simpler versions. The potential role for the Keystroke-Level Model in system design is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common tool for proving the termination of programs is the well-founded set, a set ordered in such a way as to admit no infinite descending sequences. The basic approach is to find a termination function that maps the values of the program variables into some well-founded set, such that the value of the termination function is repeatedly reduced throughout the computation. All too often, the termination functions required are difficult to find and are of a complexity out of proportion to the program under consideration. Multisets (bags) over a given well-founded set S are sets that admit multiple occurrences of elements taken fróm S. The given ordering on S induces an ordering on the finite multisets over S. This multiset ordering is shown to be well-founded. The multiset ordering enables the use of relatively simple and intuitive termination functions in otherwise difficult termination proofs. In particular, the multiset ordering is used to prove the termination of production systems, programs defined in terms of sets of rewriting rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Econometric models of the U.S. computer market have been developed to study the relationships between system price and hardware performance. Single measures of price/performance such as "Crosch's Law" are shown to be so oversimplified as to be meaningless Multiple-regression models predicting system cost as a function of several hardware characteristics do however, reveal a market dichotomy. On one hand there exists a stable, price predictable market for larger, general purpose computer systems. The other market is the developing one for small business computer systems, a market which is relatively unstable with low price predictability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method is presented for evaluating computer system performance in terms of a cost utilization factor and a measure of imbalance. These coefficients indicate the extent to which the total system cost is effectively utilized. The method includes a technique for the visual representation of system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A security kernel is a software and hardware mechanism that enforces access controls within a computer system. The correctness of a security kernel on a PDP-11/45 is being proved. This paper describes the technique used to carry out the first step of the proof: validating a formal specification of the program with respect to axioms for a secure system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates mechanisms that guarantee secure information flow in a computer system. These mechanisms are examined within a mathematical framework suitable for formulating the requirements of secure information flow among security classes. The central component of the model is a lattice structure derived from the security classes and justified by the semantics of information flow. The lattice properties permit concise formulations of the security requirements of different existing systems and facilitate the construction of mechanisms that enforce security. The model provides a unifying view of all systems that restrict information flow, enables a classification of them according to security objectives, and suggests some new approaches. It also leads to the construction of automatic program certification mechanisms for verifying the secure flow of information through a program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data are presented which show the execution characteristics of two types of commonly used programs in a large-scale, time-shared computer system. A software monitoring facility built into the supervisor was used for data collection during normal system operation. These data were analyzed, and results of this analysis are presented for a Fortran compiler and an interactive line file editor. Probability distribution functions and other data are given for such things as CPU intervals, I/O intervals, and the number of such intervals during execution. Empirical distributions are compared with simple theoretical distributions (exponential, hyperexponential, and geometric). Other data show paging characteristics of tasks as a function of the number of pages those tasks have in core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A virtual memory computer system with a fast buffer (cache) memory between primary memory and the central processing unit is considered. The optimal distribution it a program between the buffer and primary memory is studied using the program's lifetime function. Expression for the distribution of a program which maximizes the useful fraction of the cost-time integral of primary and fast buffer storage are obtained for swapping and nonswapping buffer management policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microscopic level Job stream data obtained in a production environment by an event-driven software probe is used to drive a model of a multiprogramming computer system. The CPU scheduling algorithm of the model is systematically varied. This technique, called trace-driven modeling, provides an accurate replica of a production environment for the testing of variations in the system. At the same time alterations in scheduling methods can be easily carried out in a controlled way with cause and effects relationships being isolated. The scheduling methods tested included the best possible and worst possible methods, the traditional methods of multiprogramming theory, round-robin, first-come- first-served, etc., and dynamic predictors. The relative and absolute performances of these scheduling methods are given. It is concluded that a successful CPU scheduling method must be preemptive and must prevent a given job from holding the CPU for too long a period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview of the current and future positions with respect to operating system performance is given. While a great deal of information and a large number of models for subsystems have been developed, gaps still exist in our knowledge. Because of the severe interactions between the various subsystems of an operating system, an overall model of the total system must be developed to be able to analyze and design the performance aspects of an operating system. Although such total system designs are exceptional today, it is projected that they will become increasingly more common and necessary in the near future. Such a design philosophy will clearly have a severe impact on the way we go about modularizing operating and computer systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses some of the thinking and philosophy behind changes in the communications of the journal of "Association for Computing Machines." Logistical and administrative reasons for the intended changes; Purposes and goals of the periodical; Technical papers relevant to the computer industry that are sought by the periodical.

Some of the problems of simulating discrete event systems, particularly computer systems, on a conventional digital computer are dealt with. The systems are assumed to be described as a network of interconnected sequential processes. Briefly reviewed are the common techniques used to handle such simulations when simultaneous events do not occur, can be ignored, or can be handled by simple priority rules. Following this, the problem of dealing with simultaneous events in separate processes is introduced. An abstraction of this problem is developed which admits solution for a majority of commonly encountered problems. The technique will either find a method of simulating the parallel events or report that none can be found. In some of the latter cases it is shown to be possible to find a solution by extending the information available to the solution technique, but in many cases the technique becomes computationally unfeasible when the additional information is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive system for transformational grammar has been designed and implemented on the IBM 360/67 computer. The system deals with the transformational model of syntax, along the lines of Chomsky's Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. The major innovations include a full, formal description of the syntax of a transformational grammar, a directed random phrase structure generator, a lexical insertion algorithm, an extended definition of analysis, and simple problem-oriented programming language in which the algorithm for application of transformations can be expressed. In this paper we present the system as a whole, first discussing the general attitudes underlying the development of the system, then outlining the system and discussing its more important special features. References are given to papers which consider some particular aspect of the system in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on recent developments in the field of information technology. Hebrew University in Jerusalem has decided to install a Control Data 6400 Computer System in July 1968 for use in teaching, administrative planning, and a variety of scientific research applications. Hebrew University has an enrollment of over 10,000 students, and its schools of medicine, law, and the humanities are well known. The computer system, to be installed in the University's Computer Department, will include a Control Data 6638 Disk File, 604 Magnetic Tape Transports, and a Control Data 512 High-Speed Line Printer. A new technique which could provide instant and unique identification of human tissue types and microbes with little or no laboratory preparation is now under development at Optics Technology Inc., California. The identification methods now in use require hours and sometimes days before positive results can be obtained. The new technique employs a laser light source and a small digital computer to accomplish the same result in minutes, saving both valuable diagnostic time and the extensive laboratory facilities required.

In many recent computer system designs, hardware facilities have been provided for easing the problems of storage allocation. A method of characterizing dynamic storage allocation systems—according to the functional capabilities provided and the underlying techniques used—is presented. The basic purpose of the paper is to provide o useful perspective from which the utility of various hardware facilities may be assessed. A brief survey of storage allocation facilities in several representative computer systems is included as an appendix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the development of the computer industry in the country. It is stated that the FCC is paying special attention to the development of various communication carrier facilities as they are the source of imparting computer knowledge on a massive scale. The FCC will also introduce amendments in the Communication Act. Surveys and inquiries will also be conducted by the FCC to get feedback on the computer industry and implement various measures.

This article presents information on new products introduced in the computer industry in the U.S., as of June 1, 1966. Clary Corp. has added a new computer, the DE-GOO, to its line of desk sized machines. The computer is the successor to Clary's DE-60, providing three times the speed of the older unit. It uses solid-state arithmetic unit and programmer, plug-in program panels, requires no special cooling and plugs into a standard electrical outlet. Control Data Corp. has announced the development of the Digigraphic 270 series developed for use with the CDC 3300 computer system. The 270 series was demonstrated at the company's Digigraphic Laboratories in Burlington, Massachusetts, in conjunction with the SJCC. Digital Equipment Corp. has demonstrated its Type 338 Display System for the first time. Built for the PDP-8 computer, the display was first announced at the FJCC in Las Vegas. The Type 338 can be used online as a satellite to a large computer system and offline as self-contained, self-generating display.

The article offers news briefs related to the computer industry. The computer, built by Burroughs Corp. under contract to the U.S. Air Force, that guided the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile in 1958 is on display in Washington D.C. A directory of member firms located in the U.S. and Canada has been released by the Association of Data Processing Service Organizations. The American Mathematics Society has taken the responsibility for publishing the journal "Mathematics of Computation."

The article discusses computer software development, particularly the addition of features to an existing product. Research shows that feature models can be reduced to propositional formulas to make an analysis of their efficacy easier. When analyzing the benefits and drawbacks of feature addition, programmers should examine their impact on model consistency and performance scalability. The use of model-driven development and artificial intelligence configurators by programmers is detailed.

The article discusses the new features of the Anniversary Update to the Windows 10 operating system (OS) launched by Microsoft in 2016. Topics covered include the integration of Bash shell from Linux into Windows 10, the ability to pin an open application to all virtual desktops, and some improvements in the Edge browser of Windows 10. Other features of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update are Windows Hello biometric authentication support, and upgrades to the personal digital assistant Cortana.

This article discusses developments in the field of computer application. The personal computer industry has designed computer power into smaller, mobile, consumer products. Sharp, Casio, and Nintendo have built major businesses around personal electronic organizers and hand-held games. A new set of players has just entered the race with new ideas about small computers. New devices promise to reach beyond calendars, telephone books and games. Soon personal digital assistants will provide consumers with a form of "smart paper." Not only will these devices recognize handwritten characters, but also it will interpret and perform the operations symbolized by handwritten mathematical formulas. Such small general purpose devices will deliver computer power to new situations anytime, anywhere. To support an extension from desktop to ubiquitous computing, pens and associated writing recognition software will allow non computer users to access computing power in situations that do not accommodate keyboards.

The article presents news related to the field of computer industry. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Member-Officer Forum has been scheduled for Wednesday evening, December 6, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. This forum is an opportunity for members and the officers to have a face-to-face question and answer session. The main emphasis is on questions and comments from members, although the officers are prepared to present specific items for information and feedback. In June, Charles Kerpelman resigned as editor of the Communications Standards Department. A subsequent assessment of the place of the Standards Department in the periodical has led to a decision to discontinue it. What was the main purpose for having the department--to serve as a vehicle for accurate presentation to the information processing community of proposed national standards for comment and discussion prior to ballots on their adoption--no longer exists because of a revised dissemination policy of the American National Standards Institute.

The article presents information on new products in the computer industry. Ray W. Macdonald, president of Burrough Corp. has announced two new series of advanced electronic computer systems in the low to medium price range. These are the B2500 and B3500 data processing systems, newest members of the Burrough 500 Systems. A new International Business Machines Corp. 1500 instructional system initially has been made available for lease or purchase to a limited number of educators for research, development and operational use. It will present lesson material at student "stations." A station may consist of a viewing screen, an image projector and an audio system. A new low-cost random-access storage system for use with the UNIVAC 1004 family bas been announced by Sperry Rand's Univac Division. The new UNIVAC Unidisc System stores data on two interchangeable disk cartridges. The General Electric Co. (GE) publicly demonstrated its smallest scale computer, the GE-115, for the first time at the Spring Joint Computer Conference in Boston in April 1966. The new low-cost electronic system operates as a remote terminal to a distant GE computer.