Messaging in the Early SDC Time-Sharing System

Author

Hemmendinger, David

Volume

36

Issue

1

fYear

2014

fDate

Jan.-Mar. 2014

Firstpage

52

Lastpage

57

Abstract

In the early 1960s, the time-sharing computer at the System Development Corporation had several messaging commands through which remotely logged in users communicated with one another and with the system operator. These commands were used for system operation and for sending information to remote users. They also permitted collaborative work such as joint debugging of multi-author programs, an activity now associated with the Internet. These capabilities appear to be the earliest documented implementation of text messaging and were in use before electronic mail was developed for time-sharing systems.

Keywords

program debugging; time-sharing programs; Internet; System Development Corporation; collaborative work; early SDC time-sharing system; electronic mail; joint debugging; messaging commands; multiauthor program debugging; text messaging; time-sharing computer; Collaboration; Collaborative work; Computers; Electronic mail; Internet; Joints; System Development Corporation; Time sharing computer systems; SDC; System Development Corporation; collaborative work; communications applications; history of computing; messaging; time-sharing systems;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1058-6180

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MAHC.2013.44

Filename

6671579