THE SOFTWARE PROBLEM

Abstract

The question of making digital computers more useful to technical personnel like engineers and scientists is discussed informally. It is suggested that computing systems should be designed for a type of use described as 'step-display-look.' It is also suggested that once the user has been put on-line, the problem of software becomes critical. In particular, the clerical labor that is usually required in instructing the computer becomes an important obstacle to rapid interaction between man and machine. The requirements for an experimental system intended to put these opinions into practice are sketched, and some of the major decisions that have been made in planning such a system are discussed briefly.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 04, 1964
Accession Number
AD0605824

Entities

People

  • D. B. Yntema

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Air Force
  • Classification
  • Computations
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Debugging
  • Engineers
  • Executives
  • Instructions
  • Language
  • Machines
  • Specifications
  • Standards
  • Typewriters

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Systems Analysis and Design