Browsing by Subject "Programming languages (Electronic computers) -- Research"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with Calvin N. Mooers and Charlotte D. Mooers
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1993-06-22) Mooers, Charlotte Davis, 1924-; Mooers, Calvin N., 1919-
    Calvin and Charlotte Mooers discuss their association with information retrieval and programming language research from World War II through the early 1990s. Calvin Mooers describes his work in the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) computer project and his decision to leave NOL for graduate school at MIT. He discusses his development of Zatocoding, an information retrieval system, after discussions with J. W. Perry in 1948. Mooers recalls the formation of the Zator Company in 1949 and his attempts to patent and market his system. He discusses how his frustration in the field of information retrieval led him to explore other interests and the shift in Zator's focus to research with the addition of Raymond J. Solomonoff in 1957. Mooers discusses the research advantages gained through the organization of the Rockford Research Institute, Inc. He describes Solomonoff's continued research in inductive inference (artificial intelligence), his development and attempts to market the TRAC programming language, and his work with Eugene Stuart Fergusson on ASCII standards. Mooers discusses his involvement with Data Concepts in the late 1970s to use TRAC to develop a software package that printed insurance policies. He recalls the company's dissolution in 1983 although the software, SIMPL!E, had been completed. Mooers describes his redefinition of TRAC into TRAC-2 and attempts to market TRAC-2 following his work with Data Concepts. The Mooers conclude the interview with a brief discussion of his current projects related to TRAC and writing vignettes on the history of computing.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with Douglas T. Ross
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1989-11-01) Ross, Douglas T.
    Ross begins with a discussion of his early involvement with John Ward on the Cape Cod project and his early experimentation in gestalt programming with Air Force and Emerson Electric Company programmers on the 1103 at Eglin Air Force Base. He then talks about the work he directed for the Air Force under Frank Reintjes at the MIT laboratories. He discusses the APT (Automatically Programmed Tools) and AED (Automated Engineering Design) projects which were early precursors of the languages and systems of modern CAD and CAM systems. Although these projects were not supported directly by DARPA, they were run in close connection with the WHIRLWIND, TX-0, TX-2, Project MAC, and CTSS projects that were running simultaneously at MIT. Ross discusses his use of programmers from industry in these projects. He also mentions the distribution of APT through the Fortran Monitor System and discusses the relationship between AED and PL-1.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with Keith W. Uncapher
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1989-07-10) Uncapher, Keith W.
    The interview begins with a review of projects at RAND when Uncapher was hired in 1950. He discusses some of the projects he was involved in or had managerial responsibility for through the early 1970s, such as JOHNNIAC, JOSS, a survivable national network, GRAIL (GRAphical Interactive Language), and some work related to the ARPANET. The formation of Information Sciences Institute (ISI), funded by DARPA, is described, as well as some of the work ISI did for DARPA/IPTO. The interview ends with Uncapher's general observations on how DARPA and IPTO have changed over his years as a contractor. This interview was recorded as part of a research project on the influence of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on the development of computer science in the United States.