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Cover Quote: December 1974

Not so very many years ago there was quite a bit of discussion as to whether general purpose operating systems should be designed and supplied by the manufacturers. Some users felt that the very great difference in the job mix and operating philosophy at the various installations called for specially designed and tailored system programs. For a time the argument seem to be settled by the almost universal assumption that operating systems, and computer software in general were as much an obligation of the manufacturer as was the building of the computers themselves. I wonder if this assumption will be able to stand up in face of the rapid developments in the large computer field that will lead to computing systems that are very much more diverse, and very much more complex than those that are in general use today. In the large computer field multiprocessing and multiprogramming systems will soon become the rule rather than the exception. Another feature that is being stressed more and more is modularity, which permits an almost unlimited variety in system configurations. It is very difficult to design a single operating system that is appropriate for a computing system based on disc storage, and also for one based on tapes or drums, and also for any combination of auxiliary devices. The problem will get more complicated when high speed storage at different levels is available in various quantities. It is quite reasonable to anticipate a system in the next few years that will have a very high speed film memory, backed up by a fast core memory, backed up by a large and somewhat slower core memory, backed up by high speed drums, then discs and tapes. It will be a real challenge to design programming systems that are valid for all combinations in such systems.



- Saul Rosen
Programming Systems and Languages: A Historical Survey, 1964
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