Trends in Computers and Computing: The Information Utility
Abstract
Demands for more effective information management, coupled with advances in computer hardware and software technology, have resulted in the emergence of the information utility concept, whereby computers specialized for information storage and processing serve as information nodes. The information nodes, which may be interconnected, can provide information management services to both conventional and personal computers. In this article the key hardware and software components of classical information systems are described to provide background on the requirements for an information utility. Four approaches to the development of specialized information nodes, drawing on various advances in technology, are presented: (i) firmware enhancement, (ii) intelligent controllers, (iii) minicomputer back-end processors, and (iv) highly modular database machines. The benefits of these advances will be systems that are more efficient, reliable, and easy to use.
References
AHEARN, G.R., DESIGN INNOVATIONS OF IBM 3830 AND 2835 STORAGE CONTROL UNITS, IBM JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 16: 11 (1972).
ARMENTI, A, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SOCIETIES CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 36: 313 (1970).
BACHMAN, C, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SOCIETIES CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 44: 569 (1975).
BAUM, R.I., DATABASE COMPUTERS - STEP TOWARDS DATA UTILITIES, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTERS 25: 1254 (1976).
CANADAY, R.H., BACK-END COMPUTER FOR DATA BASE MANAGEMENT, COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM 17: 575 (1974).
CONWAY, J, EDN 21: 95 (1976).
DENNING, P.J., COMPUT SURV 2: 153 (1970).
DONOVAN, J.J., ACM T DATABASE SYST 4: 344 (1976).
DONOVAN, J, DATA BASE 8: 79 (1977).
ECKERT, J.P., THOUGHTS ON HISTORY OF COMPUTING, COMPUTER 9: 58 (1976).
EDELSON, B.I., SATELLITE-COMMUNICATIONS, SCIENCE 195: 1125 (1977).
FARBER, D, CONVERGENCE OF COMPUTING AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS, SCIENCE 195: 1166 (1977).
FORRESTER, J.W., D22301 MIT SYST DYN (1975).
FULLER, S.H., EFFECTS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND EMULATION REQUIREMENTS ON MICROPROGRAMMING, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTERS 25: 1000 (1976).
HASSITT, A, APL EMULATOR ON SYSTEM-370, IBM SYSTEMS JOURNAL 15: 358 (1976).
HEACOX, H.C., P INT C VERY LARGE D: 511 (1975).
HOLLOMON, H, TECHNOL REV 77: 57 (1975).
IRWIN, M.R., INFORMATION ECONOMY AND PUBLIC-POLICY, SCIENCE 195: 1170 (1977).
JOHNSON, C, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SOCIETIES CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 44: 509 (1975).
LIN, S.C., ACM T DATABASE SYSTE 1: 53 (1976).
MADNICK, S.E., AMERICAN FEDERATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SOCIETIES CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 44: 581 (1975).
MADNICK, S.E., IEEE INTERCON C REC (1975).
MADNICK, S.E., OPERATING SYSTEMS (1974).
MADNICK, S.E., TECHNOL REV 75: 8 (1973).
MARILL, T, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SOCIETIES CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 44: 389 (1975).
MARTIN, R.R., COMPUTER 8 2 (1975).
MATTSON, R.L., EVALUATION TECHNIQUES FOR STORAGE HIERARCHIES, IBM SYSTEMS JOURNAL 9: 78 (1970).
MEADE, R.M., AMERICAN FEDERATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SOCIETIES CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 37: 33 (1970).
MILLER, S.E., PHOTONS IN FIBERS FOR TELECOMMUNICATION, SCIENCE 195: 1211 (1977).
MILLS, H.D., SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, SCIENCE 195: 1199 (1977).
MUELLER, G, COMPUTER 9: 100 (1976).
MYERS, W, KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY - SURVEY, COMPUTER 9: 48 (1976).
NOYCE, R.N., LARGE-SCALE INTEGRATION - WHAT IS YET TO COME, SCIENCE 195: 1102 (1977).
ORNSTEIN, S.M., AMERICAN FEDERATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SOCIETIES CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 44: 551 (1975).
OZKARAHAN, E.A., AFIPS P NATIONAL COM 44: 379 (1975).
POTTER, R.J., ELECTRONIC MAIL, SCIENCE 195: 1160 (1977).
RAJCHMAN, J, NEW MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES, SCIENCE 195: 1223 (1977).
SU, SYW, P INT C VLDB: 456 (1975).
TOONG, H.D., AMERICAN FEDERATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SOCIETIES CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 44: 567 (1975).
VERITY, J, ELECTRONICS NEWS: 28 (3 1 1977).
WENSLEY, J.H., COMPUTER 8 2: 30 (1975).
WITHINGTON, F. G., DATAMATION 21: 54 (1975).
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Already a Subscriber?Sign In
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Science
Volume 195 | Issue 4283
18 March 1977
18 March 1977
Copyright
1977 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Published in print: 18 March 1977
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Article Usage
Altmetrics
Citations
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citation of this publication.
View Options
Get Access
Log in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS Members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
- Become a AAAS Member
- Activate your AAAS ID
- Purchase Access to Other Journals in the Science Family
- Account Help
Log in via OpenAthens.
Log in via Shibboleth.
More options
Purchase digital access to this article
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
View options
PDF format
Download this article as a PDF file
Download PDF