16 November 1966

Quarterly Technical Letter Report 3

Covering the Period 8 August through 7 November 1966

Stanford Research Institute Project 5890

STUDY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT

OF

HUMAN INTELLECT AUGMENTATION TECHNIQUES

by

D. C. Engelbart

Contract NASI5904

Prepared for

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Langley Research Center, Langley Station

Langley, Virginia 23365, Mail Stop 126

Copy No. 19

1

0 (qpr3) Quarterly Progress report No. 3, ARNAS Project, covering period 8 August to 7 November, 1966

I Accomplishments During the Past Quarter

1a Additions to NLTS (On-Line Text-Manipulation System)

1a1 All of the features described in QPR2 were implemented and are now operational:

1a1a Statement Freezing

1a1b Indirect Referencing, or "Marking"

1a1c Automatic Renumbering

1a1d Disk-File, Semiautomatic Rewrite

1a2 A technique for quick level-truncation specification (LTSPEC) was added.

1a2a A special set of singlecharacter codes is used just before the final CA (CommandAccept) action in any of the commands which can establish a new display position, to specify a change in either the level or the truncation parameter, or both.

1a2b The current state of each of these parameters is shown on the Command Feedback Line.

1a2c In moving to a new viewing place, several quick key strokes (often just one) added to the command specification, serve to set up the new "viewing" parameters (i.e., level and truncation parameters).

1a3 A "pattern-match," compiler-interpreter statement filter was also added.

1a3a This provides the user with the ability to specify a content requirement which will be used by the computer to decide which statements are to be displayed.

1a3b The user specifies this requirement in the form of a formalized expression, in a special contentspecification language, as part of a regular text statement in his file.

1a3b1 The language is quite flexible, and not only allows for combinatorial (AND, OR, NOT) requirements on the existence of specified character strings, but also can specify that one expression must occur within so many occurrences of a secondto allow, for instance, requiring

2

"memory" to appear in the statement within four words following "computer."

1a3c The user then executes a "Compile Pattern" command, with this statement as a selected operand.

1a3c1 The compiler processes the expression, and produces a contentanalysis process which can examine any statement and decide whether or not it meets the specified content requirement.

1a3d He can then execute a control command which uses this process to decide, from any subsequent viewing point, which of the statements following that point will be shown on the display.

1a4 The user documentation for this expanded NLTS is being brought up to date but is not quite in suitable shape for inclusion as an Appendix to this report (as has been our custom for new system additions).

1b General Printout Processor

1b1 A general process was developed for handling the printout of text files from both NLTS and FLTS.

1b2 A brief description on this was given in QPR2.

1c Additions to FLTS (the Off-Line Text-Manipulation System).

1c1 Besides cleaning up the few bugs that have been discovered, the principle change was to incorporate the new, generalpurpose printout processor as the standard output means for FLTS.

1c2 It was also made possible for a file contained in a user's disk pack to be accessed by FLTS, instead of having to be read in from paper tape, for addition to or modification by a new offline paper tape.

1d Planning for the new multiconsole system.

1d1 This has occupied most of our attention for the last seven or eight weeks of this Quarter.

1d2 Hardware

1d2a We have ordered materials for building a special channel interfaceto provide the direct memory access and priority features which will allow us to efficiently refresh our highperformance displays directly from core.

1d2b We have not yet ordered the display equipment, mainly

3

because we do not yet have the necessary money.

1d2c The SDS 940 has been ordered, with a "cancellation clause" in case Government funding is not provided at least ninety days before delivery.

1d2c1 The scheduled delivery date is I March, which makes I December the deadline for arrival of funds if no delivery delay is to be incurred.

1d2c2 It seems reasonably sure that our order will "mark time" rather than be returned to the end of the line, if funding does not arrive in timei.e., that delivery will be delayed past 1 March by roughly the amount of time that funding is delayed past 1 December.

1d3 Software

1d3a Our chief software task will be developing the new online operating system.

1d3b To help bring this task into focus, we have set out to make a trial designaiming at having this completed about the middle of December.

1e Trips, Visits, and Presentations

1e1 D. Engelbart, W. English, and .J. Rulifson visited Langley Research Center on 21 and 22 September, giving the first semi-annual oral report of the project, and discussing the plans and possibilities for the expanded SRI research system.

1e2 On that same trip (19 September), W. English and J. Rulifson visited Computer Research Corporation (Lewis Clapp) and Bolt Baranek and Newman (Jerome Elkind), both in the Boston area, and both having SDS 940's on order.

1e3 Also (20 September), D. Engelbart and J. Rulifson attended an organizational meeting of an ad hoc committee which organized a Workshop for OnLine Debugging, to be held in January.

1e4 Also (23 September), D. Engelbart and J. Rulifson visited with a research group of the CIA, giving a movie presentation.

1e5 Also (23 September), D. Engelbart visited NASA Headquarters (in Washington, DC.), giving a movie presentation to Mr. Roger Winblade and three associates.

1e6 On 6 October, D. Engelbart gave an hour-long movie presentation as part of an evening workshop at the Annual Meeting of the American Documentation Institute, in Santa Monica, California.

4

1e7 On 10 November, D. Engelbart participated as a panelist in a session at the Fall Joint Computer Conference, entitled Computer oriented Data Analysis.

1f Demonstrations and Explanations

1f1 A mass demonstration (an invitational open house) was held on the evening of 10 November, in our laboratory, to give a chance for attendees of the FJCC to visit us. We felt it to be a very successful and rewarding affair, with the people listed below signing our guest register:

1f1a James Gay, Aero Commander

1f1b Norman Taylor, A. D. Little Company

1f1c Lloyd Watson, Sharp and Oughton, Inc.

1f1d Michael Stone, National Center of Atmospheric Research

Ifle Harold Benjamin

1f1f Frank LaRue, Barbara Dunmore, Monique Romer, Gordon Syms, T. A. Marscand, R.Stubblefield, D. Todd, and K. M. Barry, University of Washington

1f1g Patricia Watkins, National Geographic Society

1f1h R. M. Salzman, Adams Associates

1f1i James Forgie, MIT

1f1j Douglas Ross, MIT

1f1k C. E. Helm, Ernest Anastasio, and Carl Kuehne, Educational Testing Services

1f1l R. Shahbender, RCA

1f1m Jan Rajchman, RCA

1f1n L. Lutzker, Lutzker Associates

1f1o Paul Case, IBM

1f1p C. S. Carr, University of Utah

1f1q Richard McQuillin, Inforonics, Inc.

1f1r E. Cohler, Sylvania

5

1f1s N. R. Cohler, Stanford University

1f1t W. Lewis, San Francisco State Collegc

1f1u A. Raphael, Programming Systems, Inc.

1f1v E. Schomer, USAF, AFOSR

1f1w S. Mason, NASA Ames Research Center

1f2 During the quarter, we had a number of visitors to whom demonstrations were given:

1f2a Treadwell Ruml and Paul Davies, Encyclopedia Britannica

1f2b Mr. McGee, IBM

1f2c Charles W. Rhynard, NSA

1f2d Mr. Stark, ARPA

1f2e Dr. Ling, General Electric

1f2f T. Glaser, MIT

1f2g A. Beriot, l'Information Rationnelle, Paris

1f2h Dr. Cooper, Haskins Laboratories

1f2i Mr. Dennis, Bell Laboratories

1f2j Dr. W. Poduska and D. Kipping, NASA

1f2k Messrs. J. Lancor, W. Pietenpol and E. Wagner, Bell and Howell

1f2l Messrs. W. Jovanovich and T. Nelson, Harcourt, Brace Inc.

1f2m P. Fischer, TimeLife Inc.

1f3 And also:

1f3a Messrs. J. Eliason and P. Moody, General Electric

1f3b C. Schultz, Institute for Advancement of Medical Communication

1f3c Messrs. J. Todds and D. McDonald, Northern Electric Co., Ltd. Montreal

1f3d J. Wallace, National Provincial Bank, London

6

1f3e B. Badenoch, SperryRand

1f3f D. Pollock, ONR

1f3g Messrs. P. Fuhrmeister and D. Hoefler, NASA

1f3h Group of 16 representatives of Gulf Oil Company

1f3i SRI Industrial Chemistry Labs

1f3j M. Watson

1f3k F. Luccio, MIT

1f3l D. Younger, General Electric

1f3m P. Bryant and G. Bland, IBM

1f3n Donald Booth, NASA

1f3o V. Lillard, Marshall Space Flight Center

1f3p L. Ransdell, Office of Education

2 Plans for the Next Quarter

2a Document the user systems, producing a unified User's Guide

2b Hire more system-programming help-- something like the equivalent of three or four full-time people (probably using some part-time help from Stanford students).

2c Specify in relatively detailed fashion a trial design for the 940 software system, and then evaluate it and proceed with the next phase of design.

2d Design the interface hardware for coupling our display systems to the 940, order the necessary parts, and begin construction (if funds become available during the Quarter).

2e Develop familiarity with the 940 system features, both for the time-sharing system and for the programming-debugging systems.

2e1 We are ordering extra Teletype-interface equipment to attach to the SDS 940 which is already at SRI (in the Applied Physics Laboratory), and we plan to have up to eight of our own Teletypes coupled into their time-sharing system.

2e2 This will not only facilitate our becoming familiar with the systems, but will be very important to our programming effort in implementing our own system.

7

2e3 In connection with becoming familiar with the 940, we are contemplating mapping over FLTS, and may use this as an exercise in becoming acquainted with the new machine. (Whether or not we do this hinges mainly upon finding more programming help.)

2f Produce a draft of the first year's Interim Technical Report.

Submitted by:

[personal signature of]

D.C. Engelbart

Program Head

Approved by:

[personal signature of]

Torben Meisling, Manager

Systems Engineering Laboratory