Search

Everyone, today, is familiar with the use of machines to ease physical burdens. Since the dawn of civilization, man's progress in gaining control over his environment has been largely determined by the power and sophistication of the machines that he has been able to command. Furthermore, since simple machines can be used to construct more complicated ones, this process, once begun, tends to advance at an accelerating rate.

MacAIMS (MAC Advanced Interactive Management System) is a relatively small research project that was initiated in the summer of 1968 to investigate the feasibility of using some of the then existing computer facilities at M.I.T. to aid in the management of Project MAC. Several interesting and useful interactive programs were developed and are currently in use.

The paper discusses an on-going research project aimed at developing computer facilities capable of providing substantive aid to a human decision maker concerned with complex, unstructured problems. The rationale for such systems is discussed, followed by an outline of the approach used. Some results of preliminary experiments are also discussed, as well as plans for future activities. (Author), Sponsored in part by Advanced Research Projects Agency, Washington, D. C.

The paper describes the MacAIMS Data Management System (MADAM). It begins with a brief discussion of the overall goals of the project, its operating environment (Multics), and its data management requirements. The MADAM system is based on a relational model of data, and employs set-theoretic primitive operations for manipulating data. The basic philosophy of the system and some issues involved in its implementation are described. (Author), Presented at the 1970 ACM SICFIDET Workshop on Data Description and Access, Rice Univ., Houston, Tex., 15-16 Nov 70.