Metagram Software - A New Perspective on the Art of Computation.
Abstract
The report documents the results of a six-month R&D effort consisting of a critical examination and feasibility test of the metagramming technique to assess its innovative utility in providing an improved access to databases in the COINS network. The introduction briefly describes current problems in software development/management and outlines metagramming principles. The first chapter illustrates state-of-the-art limitations of conventional programming. The second chapter elucidates the conceptual foundation of metagramming (multi-level abstraction, cognitive processes) and describes a three-level computational system based on metagramming. The third chapter discusses a continuous evolutionary growth of cognition to progressively higher strata described as a sequence of cognitive jumps, each of them characterized by a greater control over complexity than its predecessor. The historical evolution of computational technology is described in the fourth chapter, prior to highlighting the role of higher-level abstractions and the 'universal executive' inherent in the metagramming strategy of computation. The fifth chapter envisions the development of metagramming technology as a series of successively easier-to-use machines. The problem of control in metagramming processes is addressed in the sixth chapter.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA110384
Entities
People
- David G. Hays
- William L. Benzon