Re: Bob Bemer, Computer Pioneer Passes away.... Father of ASCII, Inventor of the Esc Sequence and more....,

From: camdeboo (Kalaharikid_at_KleinKarroo.co.za)
Date: 06/27/04 

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:56:09 +0200

  Thanks for posting. I now see why we have an 8 bit byte instead of a 6 bit
byte.

"ed sharpe" <esharpe@uswest.net> wrote in message
news:ZgtDc.797$AL2.46375@news.uswest.net...
> Bob Bemer, Computer Pioneer,
> Passed Away This Week at Age 84.
>
>
>
> See links:
>
> Posted on the home page of
>
> www.smecc.org
>
>
>
> a.. At Lockheed, he devised the first computerized 3-D dynamic
> perspective, prelude to today's computer animation.
>
> b.. At IBM, he developed
> a.. PRINT I (the first load-and-go computer method),
> b.. FORTRANSIT (the first major proof of intercomputer portability,
and
> the second FORTRAN compiler),
> c.. Commercial Translator (a COBOL input), and
> d.. XTRAN (an ALGOL predecessor).
>
> c.. In 1957 March he was the first to describe commercial timesharing
> publicly, which evolved into the Worldwide Web.
>
> d.. In 1959 his internal IBM memo proposed word processing.
>
> e.. The Identification and Environment Divisions of COBOL are due to
him,
> as is the Picture Clause, which could have avoided the Year 2000 problem
if
> used correctly.
>
> f.. He coined the terms "COBOL", "CODASYL", and "Software Factory".
>
> g.. He was the major force in developing ASCII (contributing 10
> characters -- ESCape (see that key), FS, GS, RS, US, {, }, [, ], and the
> backslash).
> He invented the escape sequence and registry concept, and is called the
> "Father of ASCII".
>
> h.. He wrote the original scope and program of work for international
and
> national computer standards, and chaired the international committee for
> programming language standards for eleven years.
>
> i.. As editor of the Honeywell Computer Journal (the first A4-size
> publication
> [1971] in the U.S.) he innovated fiche-of-the-issue and multimedia
> publishing.
>
> j.. He is recognized as the first person in the world to publish
warnings
> of the Year 2000 problem -- first in 1971, and again in 1979.
>
> k.. And..... more! go to his site to learn more.....
>
> --
> Thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC
>
> Please check our web site at
> http://www.smecc.org
> to see other engineering fields, communications and computation stuff we
> buy, and by all means when in Arizona drop in and see us.
>
> address:
>
> coury house / smecc
> 5802 w palmaire ave
> glendale az 85301
>
>
> --
> Thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC
>
> Please check our web site at
> http://www.smecc.org
> to see other engineering fields, communications and computation stuff we
> buy, and by all means when in Arizona drop in and see us.
>
> address:
>
> coury house / smecc
> 5802 w palmaire ave
> glendale az 85301
>
>
>
>

Relevant Pages