PILOT: A STEP TOWARD MAN-COMPUTER SYMBIOSIS
Abstract
PILOT is a programming system constructed in LISP. It is designed to facilitate the development of programs by easing the familiar sequence: write some code, run the program, make some changes, write some more code, run the program again, etc. As a program becomes more complex, making these changes becomes harder and harder because the implications of changes are harder to anticipate. In the PILOT system, the computer plays an active role in this evolutionary process by providing the means whereby changes can be effected immediately, and in ways that seem natural to the user. The user of PILOT feels that he is giving advice, or making suggestions, to the computer about the operation of his programs, and that the system then performs the work necessary. The PILOT system is thus an interface between the user and his program, monitoring both the requests of the user and the operation of his program. The user may easily modify the PILOT system itself by giving it advice about its own operation. This allows him to develop his own language and to shift gradually onto PILOT the burden of performing routine but increasingly complicated tasks.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0638446
Entities
People
- Warren Teitelman
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology