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The article offers information on several meetings related to management sciences. An International Symposium on Long Range Planning for Management will be held in Paris, France, September 20-24, 1965. The Third Annual Conference of the Computer Personnel Research Group will be held in Saint Louis, Missouri on June 17-18, 1695. The first International Conference on Programming and Control will be held in Colorado, April 15-16, 1965.

The purpose of this paper is to indicate something of the nature of "good programming." In this context, programming is taken to mean the entire process of communication between humans and computers. The programming process is sub- divided into nine tasks, and an elementary discussion of each of these tasks is presented. Although the paper is primarily directed to the student or novice programmer, more experienced people may find it a worthwhile aid in codifying or reinforcing their experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BASED on one of mankind's most significant technological developments, the electronic computer, data processing is a rapidly growing and already important occupation. Because it is so new, data processing is not a well-known field and has not acquired the popular stereotype that many other occupations have. Although such popular conceptions of occupations are frequently inadequate as grounds for vocational choice, the data-processing field lacks even this much reality for many people. Consequently, a measure that can be used to direct the attention of qualified persons to the data-processing field should be especially valuable in counseling, guidance, and recruiting. During 1964 and 1965, therefore, a project was conducted for the purposes of describing the vocational interests of computer programmers and developing a scoring key to measure those interests (Perry & Cannon, 1967). This paper describes the relationships of scores on the new programmer interest key and other Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) keys to measures of satisfaction and achievement among programmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer programs can be written many different ways and still achieve the same effect. Until recently, programmers have had little reason to favor one method of expressing code over another. We have come to learn, however, that functionally equivalent programs can have extremely important stylistic differences. Good programming style cuts across application areas, technique and language. Programs written with good style are easier to read and understand, and often smaller and more efficient, than those written badly. Yet few programmers have ever been taught what style is, as we can see from even cursory inspection of their code. Even the techniques of structured programming do not ensure that code will be good; "structured" programs can be just as bad as their unstructured counterparts. This paper is a survey of some aspects of programming style, primarily expression and structure, showing by example what happens when principles of style are violated, and what can be done to improve programs. To add the ring of truth to our discussion, the examples are all taken verbatim from programming textbooks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New direction in Artificial Intelligence research have led to the need for certain novel features to be embedded in programming languages. This paper gives an overview of the nature of these features, and their implementation in four principal families of AI languages: SAIL; PLANNER/CONNIVER; QLISP/INTERLISP; AND POPLER/POP-2. The programming features described include: new data types and accessing mechanisms for stored expressions; more flexible control structures, including multiple processes and backtracking; pattern matching to allow comparison of data item with a template, and extraction of labeled subexpressions; and deductive mechanisms which allow the programming system to carry out certain activities including modifying the data base and deciding which subroutines to run next using only constraints and guidelines set up by the programmer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the orientations towards work found among computer programmers, a group that has received relatively little attention compared to that shown in clerks and others affected by automation. The range of orientations found among programmers in the study of a computer service bureau is presented, examining the nature and implications of this range, and the way it underlies the descriptive categories used in the bureau. At the same time, the advantages of looking at emergent explanatory dimensions are contrasted with the limitations of applying previously utilized theoretical frameworks in the study of technical specialists working in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to point out the significant quantity of work in progress on techniques that will enable programmers to prove their programs correct. This work has included: investigations in the theory of program schemas or abstract programs; development of the art of the informal or manual proof of correctness; and development of mechanical or semi-mechanical approaches to proving correctness. At present, these mechanical approaches rely upon the availability of powerful theorem-provers, development of which is being actively pursued. All of these technical areas are here surveyed in detail, and recommendations are made concerning the direction of future research toward producing a semi mechanical program verifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a review of published and unpublished test validity studies on the training and on-the-job performance of computer programmers. It mentions the cognitive tests explored in the studies including Programmer Aptitude Test, Logical Analysis Device, and the Thurstone Primary Mental Ability Test. It states that the studies also features personality tests including Thurstone Temperament Schedule, Gordon Personal Profile, and Edwards Personal Preference Schedule. It suggests that the findings of the studies were consistent.