Control of and communication with data‐handling machines

William Orchard‐Hays

Naval Research Logistics Quarterly, 1960, vol. 7, issue 4, 357-363

Abstract: Change and reworking of systems has become a way of life in the computing or data‐processing field, with nearly a decade of major advances. Both the hardware and the applications of the last few years can elicit only admiration. But mingled with this is a tinge of anxiety that hardware is getting ahead of techniques for utilizing it. Logistics research is a field which offers an extreme technical challenge here. If the equipment is not a responsive “member” of the team, it may be as much of an impediment as a help. Ever larger programming groups as a means of getting the increasingly complex problems “on the air” are becoming more ineffective. There is a definite limit to the availability of expert programmers but, even when they are found, they can solve only one or two of many classes of problems involved. A few basic principles can be set forth to clarify this. Pre‐eminent among these is the fact that the handling of information generates more information which must in turn be handled. This can continue ad infinitum unless restraints are imposed in the nature of policies which reflect the purpose at hand. The over‐all problem seems to be one of communication between people. A particular technical problem that arises is making the hardware responsive to the user's needs without an overburdening programming load. A scheme for accomplishing this is outlined. It will be demanding of the users but hopefully rewarding. Responsibility is a necessary counterpart of responsiveness. As to the supposed dissimilarity between hardware for scientific and for data‐processing applications, it is observed that the really hard problems for both are identical. As always, the primary problem is the proper organization and distribution of human effort.

Date: 1960
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