Technical b r Report - International Military Testing Association

5. Query subsystem. The query subsystem provides flexible access
to the various files to select, retrieve, and report
information for evaluation and management.
The majority of problems experienced during development of the ADP
support systecs were cormnonplace; the normal qrowinq pains, problems
with formats and record contents, and so on. Pertaps t2.e most
interesting (and frdstrating) set of problems occurred in connection
with transmission of test data from the test sites to the computer
faci'ity. Our cquiFnent provides Wrrrcte access via “BTFJlI”, Basic
Teleprocessing Access Method. Ice prcscmed, zs did the vendors with
whom we worked, that the remote access would be the least af our
problems: you hook the pieces togethet, write a Little program, and
everything works. Uifortunately, it did not fall together that easily.
If you have been in u similar situation , you probsb1.y have experienced
the problems, sometimes hunerous but more often maddening, that we ran
into trying to obtain information, and to purchase and coordinate
hookup of equl;:-ent from the telephone company, the vendors for the
mark-sense reader and the data setst and the computer manufacturer. It
appeared that we xere reinventing the wheel. The system finally jelled,
and today we have a fairly smooth remote access capability.
Most of the PTE? ADP scpport programs ale fairly typical COBOL appli-
caticns. One, however, is not: and I will describe it briefly. As
data tecji4.r. LO acc~i~ulhitl, +oyir,naiuraiiy began wanting to use it.
We had planned to create a xbspstem similar to the Management
Information systems so much talked about in the past four or five years.
204
:
.‘* ‘.
- :