Spooler (software)
Encyclopedia
The Spooler was a systems software operating system
package that provided spooling
facilities for the IBM/370 running DOS/VS, DOS/VSE environment, and IBM/360 running DOS
or retrofitted with modified DOS
, such as TCSC's EDOS
. Other venders offering The Spooler as part of their OS were Amdahl
, Fujitsu
, Hitachi
, Magnuson
, and RCA
.
It 'spooled
' (queued) printer and card data, freeing programs from being dependent upon the speed of printers or punched card equipment.
The Spooler competed with IBM's Power
and SDI's Grasp
. Like Grasp, The Spooler could reside in an independent 'Fx' partition.
Several other venders either offered The Spooler as part of their OS or certified compatibility:
For overseas sales, DataCorp engaged in both mail order and local vendors. The product was also embedded in third party operating system packages.
by Don Stoneman, with the assistance of Harry Parrish and Charlie Rice. The program went into production in 1975.
Upon commercialization in 1976, development moved to DataCorp of Virginia, in Harrisonburg, Virginia
, under the direction of Leigh Lundin.
DataCorp, already in talks with independent developer, Leigh Lundin, for his Fx package, contracted with him to take over The Spooler. Three weeks later, after receiving the supposed source code, Lundin reported it had been encrypted and stripped of references and internal notes.
DataCorp attempted negotiations with the original developer and pursued legal avenues, without fruition. Computer Associates stepped into the struggle, but failed to exploit it. The result was that DataCorp legally owned the rights to the package and had a growing customer base, but they also had bug reports and no viable source code.
Their independent developer had vested time decoding and decrypting the original package to build a legal case. When DataCorp realized they were in an untenable position, Lundin proposed building decryption tools to reconstruct the packages. Within months, he had re-engineered the package and begun development of new versions.
DataCorp, fighting off a second takeover attempt by CA, felt less comfortable than ever and, by the early 1980s, discontinued development.
Leigh Lundin designed Fx, a pseudo-partition that relieved the user from relinquishing a working partition. Fx appeared in the DOS/VS version of SDI's Grasp as F0.
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
package that provided spooling
Spooling
In computer science, spool refers to the process of placing data in a temporary working area for another program to process. The most common use is in writing files on a magnetic tape or disk and entering them in the work queue for another process. Spooling is useful because devices access data at...
facilities for the IBM/370 running DOS/VS, DOS/VSE environment, and IBM/360 running DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
or retrofitted with modified DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, such as TCSC's EDOS
EDOS
EDOS was an operating system based upon IBM's original DOS. The name stood for extended disk operating system.-EDOS:In 1970, IBM announced the IBM/370 product line along with new peripherals, software products, and operating systems, including DOS/VS that supplanted DOS...
. Other venders offering The Spooler as part of their OS were Amdahl
Amdahl Corporation
Amdahl Corporation is an information technology company which specializes in IBM mainframe-compatible computer products. Founded in 1970 by Dr. Gene Amdahl, a former IBM employee, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu since 1997...
, Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
, Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
, Magnuson
Magnuson Computer Systems
Magnuson Computer Systems was a manufacturer of IBM-compatible mainframes. The Magnuson M80 range was available from the late 1970s and enjoyed limited success at a time when IBM struggled to ship machines. The company declared bankruptcy in early 1982 after IBM fixed its production problems,...
, and RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
.
The product
The Spooler was an operating system enhancement available for DOS, DOS/VS, DOS/VSE, and came packaged with some third party DOS-based operating systems.It 'spooled
Spooling
In computer science, spool refers to the process of placing data in a temporary working area for another program to process. The most common use is in writing files on a magnetic tape or disk and entering them in the work queue for another process. Spooling is useful because devices access data at...
' (queued) printer and card data, freeing programs from being dependent upon the speed of printers or punched card equipment.
The Spooler competed with IBM's Power
Power (software)
Power was an IBM systems software operating system enhancement package that provided spooling facilities for the IBM/370 running DOS/VS, DOS/VSE environment, and IBM/360 running DOS or retrofitted with modified DOS...
and SDI's Grasp
Grasp (software)
GRASP was a systems software package that provided spooling facilities for the IBM/370 running DOS/VS or DOS/VSE environment, and IBM/360 running DOS or retrofitted with modified DOS.- The product :...
. Like Grasp, The Spooler could reside in an independent 'Fx' partition.
Software
The product ran under several DOS-related platforms:- DOS/VS
- DOS/VSE
- DOSDOSDOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
- DOSDOSDOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
clones, 3rd party or modified
Hardware
Hardware platforms included:- IBM/360 which ran Spooler
- IBM/370 which ran Spooler/VS
Several other venders either offered The Spooler as part of their OS or certified compatibility:
- AmdahlAmdahl CorporationAmdahl Corporation is an information technology company which specializes in IBM mainframe-compatible computer products. Founded in 1970 by Dr. Gene Amdahl, a former IBM employee, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu since 1997...
- FujitsuFujitsuis a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
- HitachiHitachiHitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
- MagnusonMagnuson Computer SystemsMagnuson Computer Systems was a manufacturer of IBM-compatible mainframes. The Magnuson M80 range was available from the late 1970s and enjoyed limited success at a time when IBM struggled to ship machines. The company declared bankruptcy in early 1982 after IBM fixed its production problems,...
- RCARCARCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
- SiemensSiemensSiemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
Marketing
The Spooler was sold by DataCorp of Virginia, in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The marketing manager and chief salesman was Chaz Frank. Although their target audience was North America, initial sales were in the American South.For overseas sales, DataCorp engaged in both mail order and local vendors. The product was also embedded in third party operating system packages.
Development
The Spooler was originally developed at Carolina Steel in Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
by Don Stoneman, with the assistance of Harry Parrish and Charlie Rice. The program went into production in 1975.
Upon commercialization in 1976, development moved to DataCorp of Virginia, in Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
, under the direction of Leigh Lundin.
Source of controversy
DataCorp's original intention had been to continue development at a major banking data center they owned in Harrisonburg. However, their application programmers reported they did not have the expertise in-house.DataCorp, already in talks with independent developer, Leigh Lundin, for his Fx package, contracted with him to take over The Spooler. Three weeks later, after receiving the supposed source code, Lundin reported it had been encrypted and stripped of references and internal notes.
DataCorp attempted negotiations with the original developer and pursued legal avenues, without fruition. Computer Associates stepped into the struggle, but failed to exploit it. The result was that DataCorp legally owned the rights to the package and had a growing customer base, but they also had bug reports and no viable source code.
Their independent developer had vested time decoding and decrypting the original package to build a legal case. When DataCorp realized they were in an untenable position, Lundin proposed building decryption tools to reconstruct the packages. Within months, he had re-engineered the package and begun development of new versions.
DataCorp, fighting off a second takeover attempt by CA, felt less comfortable than ever and, by the early 1980s, discontinued development.
Fx
The Spooler required a dedicated partition. With DOS having only three partitions and DOS/VS seven, giving up a partition to The Spooler placed a crimp in practicability.Leigh Lundin designed Fx, a pseudo-partition that relieved the user from relinquishing a working partition. Fx appeared in the DOS/VS version of SDI's Grasp as F0.