[Elecraft] IBM's resources (OT)

[Jim Campbell]

I heard the same story about JOVIAL being an acronym for "Jules' Own ...
". Also heard that Jules designed it while walking the beach (forgot
which beach). Santa Monica, perhaps?

I did some programming in JOVIAL while working on some software for the
central computer on the AWACS aircraft. IBM's Federal Systems Division
had the contract for the central processor and its operating system. Got
to fly many hours on the first AWACS. Got my IBM Flight Test Wings award
for flying more than 50 hours flight testing IBM hardware/software. Also
got flight (hazardous duty) pay.

The most peculiar thing to me about JOVIAL was there was no provision
for I/O. You had to use the DIRECT function which dropped you into
Assembler Language. You performed the I/O in assembler and returned to
JOVIAL until the next need for I/O.

73,

Jim - W4BQP
K2 #2268, KX3 #2875
First licensed in 1953

On 4/4/2014 5:39 PM, Fred Jensen wrote:
> Hmmm ... In the days of "Big Blue Iron," I don't think I ever saw a
> computer room that didn't have some card boxes on top of a file
> cabinet near the doors with a sign, "FOR 1401 EMULATION ON MIDS."
>
> Regarding JOVIAL, said to be an acronym from, "Jules' Own Version of
> the International Algorithmic Language," its syntax is rampant with
> dollar sign characters.  "Jules" was Dr. Jules Schwartz.  Statements
> end with them, subscripts are surrounded by them, they're everywhere.
>
> JOVIAL was for many years the official USAF language for operational
> software [may still be for all I know, Ada never seemed to get enough
> airspeed for takeoff].  It was a good definition of "cash cow" for him
> and his company. I met Dr. Schwartz at a conference once, and asked
> him if there was any significance to the prevalence of the dollar sign
> in JOVIAL syntax.  He just grinned at me.
>
> I've occasionally wondered if Eric and Jules were related, however
> it's a pretty common name.
>
> 73,
>
> Fred K6DGW
> - Northern California Contest Club
> - CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
> - www.cqp.org
>