Maestro I
Maestro I from Softlab in Munich was a platform for computer-aided software development and the first integrated development environment for software. It was originally marketed under the name PET / X1150 . This designation is made up of the use of program development terminal system and the underlying Philips X1150 data collection system. The Maestro I system was installed 22,000 times worldwide, 6,000 of which (until 1989) in the Federal Republic of Germany. Maestro I was a leader in this field in the 1970s and 1980s. Bank of America became the largest customer in the USA . A preserved Maestro-I system is on display at the Museum of Information Technology in Arlington, Texas .
Historical role
Maestro I or PET / X1150 is part of the history of technology and was a key factor in the development of
- Software engineering
- Integrated development environments
- Human-computer interaction , ergonomics
- Methods and procedural models for software development
prehistory
Before 1975, the working day for a programmer often looked like he would type in a program at a teleprinter or card punch and take it to the computer. There he read in his punched tape or punch card and, after starting the program, also the data on this data carrier.
The spread of the IBM 3270 video terminal, together with IBM ISPF ( Interactive System Productivity Facility ), was a major relief in comparison. The development after about 1972 until the beginning of the 1980s was very slow, also for reasons of cost.
The text editor integrated in the ISPF makes it possible to create source texts for programs in the participant company . This editor is operated using control commands, line commands and function keys. Disadvantage: the programmer's reactions to his inputs are delayed after filling out a page, so the application appears to the user as sluggish and not very intuitive.
Recency in programming
If the answer is delayed in dialog operation, breaks inevitably arise in the work. Short-term memory is important (cf. literature Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968, the “discoverers” of short-term memory). When Rezenzeffekt (Engl. Recency effect ) is a psychological phenomenon. It says that information arriving later has a greater influence on a person's memory performance than information arriving earlier. In a narrower sense, the rezen effect is a phenomenon that affects short-term memory. In a broader sense, it occurs when the information last perceived is given greater weight than previous information due to its better ability to remember. Conclusion: If there are delays, the programmer loses the thread.
Maestro I was a real innovation at that time. According to the economist Joseph Schumpeter , innovation is the implementation of a technical or organizational innovation, not just its invention. The "invention" of short-term memory was made technically usable. With Maestro I, every keystroke was sent directly to the central unit and the responses to the inputs were immediate, without delay. This was achieved through the very special hardware properties of the basic machine.
A comparison with other innovations such as B. Ajax is entitled here. In 2005 the term Ajax was increasingly present in the media. Google used the asynchronous communication paradigm in interactive applications such as Google Maps . Traditionally, web applications submitted forms that were previously filled out by the user. IBM 3270 display terminals also work with filling out forms, with delays, disruptive breaks in work. Maestro I has overcome these delays through technological innovation , similar to Ajax later, the previously disruptive breaks in work.
Milestones
Harald Wieler, co-partner of Softlab, has developed a first prototype of the PET based on the Philips X 1150 data collection system (originally a Four Phase system ) since 1974. Wieler was previously the architect of operating systems development for mainframes for Radio Corporation of America and Siemens . The development of Maestro I was funded with BMFT funds with the aim of creating an interactive programming station for 1,000 D-Marks per month. The system was first presented in October 1975 at the Systems in Munich.
At the beginning of 1977, Softlab approved remote data transfer procedures with which the PET basic computer Philips X 1150 could be sent to IBM systems of the type S / 360/370 or Siemens 4004/7000 program data and compiled on these mainframes in batch mode . This made it possible to combine interactive programming and the computing power of systems that were used via time-sharing .
The system was sold outside Europe, primarily in the USA, through Itel Corp. under the name Maestro. By 1978, 1200 programming workstation installations were marketed in this way.
After Boeing carried out an investigation in 1979 by comparing its self-developed, similar system with the PET / X1150 and abandoning the in-house development in favor of PET, the American aircraft manufacturer ordered seven more systems from Softlab. This major order made it possible to gain a lasting foothold in the US market. Bank of America became the largest customer in the USA. For its data center in San Francisco, the bank acquired 24 PET computers with 576 screen stations. After Softlab founded a branch in San Francisco as a result of this success, a total of around 100 systems with 2000 connected screen workstations were sold in America through this alone.
From 1980, multi-day courses for the operation of the Maestro system were offered by Softlab.
The EDI capability of the PET / X1150 was expanded in 1982 so that the Maestro IBM 3270 emulation could be shifted to dedicated processors for reasons of efficiency .
“The system now offers expanded interactive support for design, documentation and testing as well as for project management and administration. The DFU skills have also been built up. In addition to the 3270-BSC dialog, the SDLC / SNA dialog is now also available. Parallel connections with TSO, IMS, CICS are possible. "
After the production of the Philips X 1150 ended in the late 1980s and the procurement of spare parts became increasingly difficult in the following years, Softlab developed the successor Maestro II .
technology
The basic machine was a key-to-disk data collection system. Historical predecessors were key-to-tape systems in the early 1970s, such as Olympia Multiplex 80 .
Possible configuration:
- System with 96 KB main memory,
- six screens,
- a 68 MB disk storage,
- a 200-line printer and
- Dial-up connection
literature
- RC Atkinson, RM Shiffrin: Human Memory: A Proposed System and Its Control Processes . In: KW Spence, JT Spence (eds.): The Psychology of Learning and Motivation . Vol 2. 1968. New York: Acad. Press.
- Peter Schnupp: How real is the software technology? IT specialist reports; Vol. 73 archive GI - 13th annual meeting 1983. Springer-Verlag London.
- Ernst Denert: The project library - a tool for software development . September 1979. Proceedings of the 4th international conference on software engineering . IEEE Press
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heidrun Haug: CASE Tools: Development aids for software engineers are very popular. Despite the growing range, many wishes remain open. In: Computerwoche. December 8, 1989. Retrieved October 17, 2016 .
- ↑ The X1150 platform in the Arlington Museum of Information Technology
- ↑ a b Der Spiegel: files at the push of a button . In: Der Spiegel . No. 3 , 1983, p. 71 ( Online - Jan. 17, 1983 ).
- ↑ Computerwoche : Interactive programming as a system hit ( memento of the original from December 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , November 21, 1975
- ↑ Computerwoche : Programming under Distributed Processing ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 1, 1977
- ↑ Computerwoche : Softlab exports program producers ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , November 17, 1978
- ↑ Computerwoche: In dialogue with the system and developers ( memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , August 8, 1980
- ↑ Computerwoche: EDI-enabled by Pet / Maestro ( memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 30, 1982
Web links
- IEEE History Center: Ernst Denert Interview , June 29, 1993 (PDF, English)
- Arlington Museum of Information Technology Four phase (English)