We have a very interesting combination of articles in this issue of The Debugger. Of special interest is a tribute to Jim Maple who is retiring next month. I know many of you find that hard to believe; Jim is one of the founders of the department and has been a fixture in CO 300 for 25 years. But, now he is ready to set aside the keyboard and take it easy. We all wish him well. Charley Shubra writes the tribute to Jim and gives us an inkling of the man behind all those mnemonics and hexadecimal numbers.
In this issue: Gary reports on a variety of departmental issues. Carol discovers that she has been contacted by a great many alumni since August. Don Rosenberger brings us up-to-date on developments in the Tompkins' Lab. Steve Deemer from ISCC describes a new system to provide students a great deal more information in the future and computerized class registration now. John Sweeney reports on the status of FORTRAN in industry and academia. Greg Hoffman gives a freshman's point of view on the introduction of computers into the teaching of calculus at IUP. Rob Cameron and George Soares give us some insight into the internship experience. And, Chuck Hinson provides the only alumni contribution in a condensation of a letter sent to me. Incidentally Chuck, I forgive you for referring to me as "an old professor."
Alas, there is no cartoon in this issue and some contributed material had to be left out due to space limitations. Some of it may be used in the next issue. We try to use EVERYTHING received - hint, hint. We will be looking for some alumni articles and a cartoon for the Spring issue.
Finally, a thank you to Greg Hoffman, the new student newsletter editor, for helping with this issue. Greg wrote one article and helped me with pestering the contributors to get their articles written on time.
Jim Wolfe, Editor
Gary Buterbaugh
Greetings. Hope all is going well for each of you. It does not seem possible that the fall semester is already over half over. The semesters and years fly by, don't they? I would like to cover a potpourri of subjects.
We had a very successful "High School Day" here in the department on Friday, October 8. We had almost 80 students from four different high schools: Forest Hills, Johnstown, Marion Center, and Plum Area. They were accompanied by their computer teachers, all of whom serve on our department's Educational Advisory Board. Five faculty (Dr. Cross, Dr. McKelvey, Mr. Micco, Dr. Shubra and me) presented sessions on e-mail on the mainframe, the NeXT workstations, group-ware on the PC network, careers in computing featuring interns and campus tours. The day was very much of a success and the department hopes to duplicate the day in the near future. We need to build a database of the names and addresses of high school teachers. If you could let me know the names of any high school computer teachers that you might know (maybe, like the one you had), that would be very helpful.
Each of the faculty, Carol, and the lab manager recently received new Dell 433/MX computers with graphics and sound capabilities. These were given to us through the university's Educational Services Fee fund since it was believed that if the university was purchasing computers for faculty that our department should receive the newest equipment. Our old computers will be moved to the Tompkins' Computer Lab and computers that are in there will be given away or surplused.
As you can see our list of alumni joining the "Century Club" is growing. We appreciate the financial support of all our alumni to both the Computer Science account and the Howard E. Tompkins' scholarship account. Those who have given $100 or more in 1993 will soon be receiving a gift from the department. If you wish to give $100 or more to the Computer Science or Howard E. Tompkins' Scholarship funds and did not send in a Century Club form and are not on the list, please contact me.
Thanks to the 100 of our alumni who returned the surveys that were a part of the last Debugger. I have not begun the processing of the information yet and probably will not do so until semester break. So if you have been planning to return yours, but have not gotten around to doing so yet, you can still return it. JUST DO IT!!
The department has recently again received major grants from DuPont and PPG Industries. The DuPont grant was for a total of $15,000 with $5,000 to be used for minority recruitment and $10,000 which is unrestricted. The PPG grant was for $4,000 and is to be used for student related activities. We greatly appreciate these funds and our newly created Gift Money Committee will be deciding how this money will be spent.
We have one of our best ever December graduating classes, with 25 students graduating, fifteen of whom have had internships. For the first time in a very long time, the university will be having a December graduation ceremony. The department is planning a reception for the grads and their families immediately following this ceremony.
Our seniors have again put together a Resume Book. It was sent to about a hundred companies. If you are an alumnus and your company did not receive a copy, please let us know and we will send you one. We have about 30 or 40 left.
Well I think this will do it for now. We appreciate those of you who keep in touch, both students and alumni.
Carol Miller
Hi All You Alumni Type People:
In case you haven't noticed, it's winter!!!! As witnessed by the snowfall we had this week. In October yet! In case those of you who live in the South don't know what I'm talking about, we got six inches snow for Halloween! What a waste of green grass.
We're getting ready to party hardy for Jim Maple's retirement dinner. He's been keeping track of the days (or should I say, days left) on the blackboard here in the office. He still doesn't know where he's going or what he's going to do, but we'll give him time to make up his mind.
Things here seem to be progressing nicely through the semester. Just busier than usual for some reason. I know you've been busy, too, cause my email and mail have been overflowing. Makes me feel important.
Homecoming was really nice this year. This is the first year in about 10, that I have actually made it to the parade. Well, part of the parade. Well, a little of the parade. Well, I followed the ambulances, etc. that were following the parade. Actually, they were a couple blocks ahead, but I did get to see the band members while they still had on their uniforms. It was a nice parade.
Deb Kinneer (12/85) stopped in Friday afternoon. Deb has really deserted the computer field. She is living in Downingtown, PA and is a realtor for RE/MAX. Other than a career change, she is doing well and looks great - just like she did in 85. I know before too long she'll have the real estate world turned on to computers. When you want to buy a house, just pull up your computer and you can even see how many square inches you've got. Did someone already do that?
And Peggy Mogush (5/87) was in town for homecoming. I didn't get to see her, though, but I guess I just missed her on a couple of occasions. Peggy is still in Upland Indiana working at Taylor University, but we're hoping to get her back to PA before too much longer.
A few other people were in town for Homecoming that I didn't see, too. Like Larry Moon (5/92) and Sean Clugston (5/92). I heard these guys really partied along with Larry's brother Scott who graduated as an accounting major this past May. I don't know what happened, but it must have been pretty good.
I heard from Adam Beck (5/92) also. Adam is working in the DC area at a place called Personal Computer Learning Centers. He's teaching for them and really loves it. I'm glad you found something to keep you out of trouble, Adam. We hope to see Adam at IUP at some point giving a colloquium.
I received a big long letter from someone who I thought had vanished. I got bits and pieces of news, but nothing concrete. Now, I finally got the scoop. It's Christopher Munson (5/87)! Chris went to US Steel when he graduated and then relocated to Charlotte, NC. Can't blame him for that. He worked for four and a half years for Ernst & Young as a consultant, and is now working as a DBZ and IMS Database Administrator for First Union Bank in Charlotte. Chris is still single but has two children (4 legs and bark). Their names are Barney & Toby, and they all just moved into a brand new home. Sounds exciting. Not only that but he water skis on Lake Norman! Chris, I can't believe you thought I wouldn't remember you. You, of all people. How could I forget!!
Mike Bigrigg (5/91) has finished his masters at Pitt and is working on his PhD. He is also working full time for Tartan Labs where they develop compilers/debuggers for embedded systems, real time systems and digital signal processors. He really enjoys the work which started out as a summer internship.
Last issue I told you about Brad Moyer (5/88) probably having baby number three by then. Well, baby number three was a little girl, 8 lbs., 6 oz, 21 inches born July 26. Her name is Ashley Coy Moyer. Congratulations, Brad! Bring all three down to see us (and your wife, too, of course).
Brian Pennington (5/92) sent me e-mail. Brian is in Tampa, Florida (lucky dog) and working for Computer Task Group which is a consulting firm headquartered in Buffalo NY. He is an associate software engineer. I was glad to hear from you, Brian. Several people asked me about you.
J. C. Caler (5/90) called the other day. She is now working at Mellon Bank and likes her work real well. J. C. has made a few changes in her life, interesting changes, I might add. (Now, doesn't that titillate you people reading this?) J. C. and a group of alums from the Pittsburgh area had a reunion lunch with Charley Shubra this summer while Charley was doing summer teaching at the big corporations (the ones that pay a lot of money). She said they had a really great time. I don't know everybody that was there, so I won't mention names.
I do know that Wendy Cauffman (8/89) and Jeff Scott (5/90) were there. I know that because Wendy was here. She's a member of the Computer Science Corporate Advisory Board and was here for a meeting on October 19. Not only that, but they are engaged!! You should see the big rock Wendy is wearing. They're getting married in April. Oh, by the way, I think I mentioned some time ago that Jeff was working in Texas for PPG. Well, he's back!!
We had some other alums who are members of the Corporate Advisory Board, too -- Dave Berlien who is with DuPont in Wilmington, John Paladino at System Automation, Steve Brehm who is with PHICO Insurance in Mechanicsburg, Deb (Greene) Fritz at ARMCO in Butler, Debbie Luckasevic with Mellon in Pittsburgh, Steve Getz with Vortex Systems in Pittsburgh. So we get to see a few people every now and then.
And, speaking of DuPont, Walt Walls (5/89) called one day. He's still there and really likes the work and everybody will be happy to know that Walt has not changed one bit. Not that anyone would expect him to. It would just be a sad day. Hear me, Walt?
I heard through Brian Lawton (5/93) that Tawann Simmons (8/93) is working at System Automation. I hear from Brian and Mindi frequently and just got the most beautiful basket of flowers (yellow and white) with a Teddy Bear in them from Briana, their daughter. Brian just got a promotion at System Automation. Congratulations, Brian!
And, Fred Bauer (5/87) was here this Fall to talk with Gary Buterbaugh's seminar class. I'm not sure what he talked about and I'm not sure I want to know. Anyone who knows Fred hears what I'm saying. But, it's always nice to see Fred. He was also here for the internship presentations in July as he usually is. I don't think he'll be here in January, though, Westinghouse doesn't have an intern this semester.
I ran into Marty Speranza (12/92) the other day. He's at Union Switch and Signal in Pittsburgh and really likes the work. They are going to be moving into a new building one of these days and they're looking forward to that. I can't help but mention Marty along with Fred Bauer. You see, it's like this. Marty was an intern under Fred (and Ron Maxin) at Westinghouse. Marty does a lot of carpentry work (he built a house for his parents). So, it seems that these Westinghouse people lined Marty up to have decks built and additions put onto their houses and all kinds of things. Then, Marty never showed up. Or, he just showed up in time for the food. This is the story I got. I don't know how accurate it is. But, I thought there must be some accuracy to it until Westinghouse called for another intern. I talked with Ron Maxin and he indicated that they didn't care how much computer science this person had as long as he or she did carpentry work. What do you think?
Dan Emig (5/84) visited in the office a couple weeks ago. He was here recruiting for Shared Medical Systems and came in to visit during a break. He also talked with Gary's seminar class. It was really nice to see you Dan. You haven't changed a bit!
We heard from Ross Pavlik (12/80) who worked for AT&T in Atlanta, but who is now in Roswell, GA and owns the PUMPIN' IRON PRO SHOP which specializes in workout apparel & accessories, vitamins and supplements. Hope everything is going well for you, Ross, and if anyone is in that area, stop in the see him.
And, speaking of Atlanta, Chris Eberly (5/81) sent me email. My but you computer science majors do lead interesting lives. Chris started work as a programmer/analyst for AMP in Harrisburg for two years, then moved on to Hewlett-Packard as a Systems Engineer, supporting the HP3000. Then moved into data communications and network support for six years. He also met and married his wife at Hewlett-Packard (well, maybe it was in a church). Then they moved to Atlanta to work in one of the national support centers for HP and, while there, started looking at graduate schools in 1990, and this is where it gets interesting. He entered the School of Forest Resources at the University of Georgia with a professor who was starting a program in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) where he could utilize computer skills and his interest in wildlife. He's finding that there are wide open job possibilities in this area. He sent me some information on schools, so if anyone is interested, give me a call. Thanks for all the information, Chris. I really enjoyed reading about your life (and, no, it wasn't too wordy).
Oh, I heard an interesting story one day. This had to do with Andy Weiss (5/93). I heard that Andy was an elf and sat on santa's lap at PHICO while he was interning there. Is there any truth to that, Andy? I saw the pictures Jamie took this summer of you and your girlfriend, Andy. Bring her up to meet us.
Dave Freas (5/92) sent me a note to catch me up on his life these days. Dave is still with Prudential, AARP in the Philadelphia area. And, congratulations, Dave, on your recent marriage to Lisa. Dave and Lisa Swinehart were married on August 14 and honeymooned in England, Scotland and Wales. Sounds exciting!!! That's the kind of honeymoon you'll never regret. And, sometimes it turns out to be the only opportunity to do that while you can still stand unaided.
Julie Roxby (5/92) wrote me in September. She's still at Mellon in Pittsburgh. She's also planning to start her master's degree soon. She's working with Sharon (Godshall) Myers (12/83).
Tim Graham (5/93) stopped in before leaving for Uzbekistan to do missionary work for the Campus Crusade for Christ. In case you don't know where Uzbekistan is, it is near Afghanistan. Tim was really getting excited about his trip and missions work. Hope all goes well for you, Tim!
Jim Giles (82) called one day. I don't think he thought we would remember him, but we did. Jim is working in Greensburg at Stuart Medical. Keep in touch, Jim!
Deb (Wolfe) Ryan (5/88) was in touch, too. And, she gave a little history about what she has been doing since she left IUP. She has been working at American Management Systems in Arlington, first as a programmer/analyst for two and a half years, then (and now) as a technical lead/team leader on an ORACLE application in UNIX and DOS environments. She married Thomas Ryan in September, 90, and had a son, Thomas Jordon (called Jordon) in December of 91. Thanks, Deb, for giving us an update on what you've been up to.
Matt Arezina (5/86) took time to FAX me a letter before leaving for a 10-day trip to London, Hamburg, and Berlin for a vacation (makes you want to lose your breakfast, doesn't it? Matt just got his masters at PSU and has enrolled for more graduate classes for this fall (he wants us to be able to call him Dr. Matt). He's also coaching women's volleyball. Sounds like work to me, Matt! Meanwhile, he is still at DuPont consulting/managing a global capital investment system for Keane, Inc.
Jen Baldwin (5/91) sent me an update on her life. Actually, she was sending me her new address. Somehow, she is no longer getting The Debugger. She says it had something to do with donating money to the department. I don't know about that. What you don't realize Jen is that when you donate money, we use that money for the postage to send out your Debugger, so what happened was that your postage money ran out just as you decided to send more. Just a little joke there. We changed your address, hopefully it will be effective with this issue, and I will send you the last issue. Oh, and in case I forget, one year IUP had a catalog (sort of) of clothing and such available through the bookstore, but that's the only time I have ever seen it. I'll check in the bookstore and see if they have a pamphlet or anything and, if so, I'll pick it up and mail it to you. Keep in touch, Jen!
Well, believe it or not, that's about it for now. Please keep those cards and letters coming and you will hear from me next issue. Please take care and have a great holiday season!!!
Don Rosenberger
With Thanksgiving approaching, we have a few changes happening.
On the Novell LAN, we have installed Turbo Pascal 7.0, Microsoft ACCESS for Windows, Visual Basic for Windows, Wordperfect for Windows, and Harvard Graphics for Windows. For lab PCs, we have tried to standardize on DOS version 5.0 and Windows version 3.1. Faculty have gotten new DELL 486's with 8MB of RAM. The Zenith 386's have moved from faculty offices to the lab. The original Novell server (from 1989) was reactivated with Novell version 2.1 in the lab to support CO345. We are also using the server to provide a platform for Novell training for the lab staff. We will be surplussing the AT&T 6300 XTs, the Zenith XT model 158s, the IBM PC model 5160, and the Macintosh 512Ks with the 400KB drives in the near future.
The NeXT network is an active training environment. We are still trying to configure an HP Laserjet series II printer for use with the NeXTs. Starting this semester, we are trying to provide NeXT accounts to members of the Computer Science Club, hoping to increase student literacy in the workstation environment. The Macintoshes have undergone no significant upgrades since the last newsletter.
New equipment continues to be configured. The TEKTRONIX Phaser 200e color printer has been added to the Novell network. We are still experimenting with techniques to increase access to students, while keeping the printer secure, and minimizing the waste of resources. A WANGTEK 525MB tape backup system has been connected to my PC to backup the Novell network. We have recently moved the HP Scanjet IIc scanner from the Macintoshes to the Windows environment. This will make it easier to take scanned images into Wordperfect, or send them to the Tektronics color printer.
ISCC is re-wiring Stright Hall currently. Twisted-pair ethernet hookups will be available to all faculty. Since our current coaxial cable segment for the third floor is twice the length recommended for ethernet segments, I have recommended that all PCs on that floor convert to the twisted-pair cabling. The network cards currently on the third floor (3COM Etherlink III combo) will work with either the coax or twisted pair cabling, so we are ready for the conversion to begin. ISCC will also provide asynchronous hookups to communications servers, permitting faculty to get rid of their DOV boxes, and communicate at much higher speeds. The ethernet/communications drops can also be installed in classrooms, permitting faculty to login to Novell/Pathworks from the classroom computers on carts. This should enable the faculty to perform demonstrations of applications which are the same as the performance in the labs, not merely similar. We are presently converting the classroom computers to the 3COM Etherlink III network cards.
This paragraph is a result of E-mail from one of my former lab assistants, Mike Bigrigg, who is a constant reader of the Debugger. Mike and I have exchanged E-mail regarding the possibility of running freeware telnet software on the Novell LAN, thereby eliminating the need for serial cables and/or communications servers in the lab. Recent tests indicate that we cannot implement the freeware telnet, because of the way our Novell shells are structured. (Lack of sufficient conventional memory.) As we start to investigate the ODI models in more detail, we will hopefully find a way to combine the Novell, Pathworks, and TCP/IP protocols into a more effective communications package for the network. If any of our readers have done this already, I would appreciate a note (or two) as to how it was accomplished.
As always, the lab staff and I are striving to provide the best support possible to our curriculum. If you find yourself in the neighborhood, please drop in.
Charles Shubra
Mr. Maple, as most of you know him, or Jim, as I've known him for close to 30 years, is retiring in December 1993. Jim arrived at Indiana, at that time Indiana State College, before Indiana had computers or a computer science department. (Yes, we did have electricity, but not in all the buildings.) He was hired by the mathematics department in September, 1964, during the time when the baby boomers were impacting the college enrollments.
Jim had prepared for his career in teaching by attending Purdue University (ask him about his exploits as an brother), serving as an instructor in radio operations while a corporal in the Army, earning a B.S. degree in Mathematics Education at California State Teachers College, PA and by being awarded two NSF academic year institutes at Bowling Green University during which he earned his M.A. in Mathematics. I asked Jim why he had earned a B.S. undergraduate degree and then a M.A. at the master's level instead of an M.S. In a typical Jim Maple answer, he said, "When it came time to graduate they (Bowling Green) asked me if I wanted a M.A. or M.S. I chose the M.A. because I liked the colors in the M.A. hood better than those in the M.S. hood".
Jim has taught mathematics at the high school and junior high school level in Lorain, Ohio, Euclid, Ohio and Norwalk, Connecticut. During his tenure at Euclid, Jim met George Wiley and Don Eisen, both of whom have enjoyed teaching careers at Indiana. About the time Jim was completing his second NSF academic institute year, Nancy, Jim's lovely wife and the good woman behind the man, convinced Jim he could teach at the college level. This resulted in teaching offers to Indiana State College and Central Connecticut University. Luckily, the Maples decided on Indiana.
During his seven years with the math department, Jim taught numerous computer courses including a 1 credit hour FORTRAN course (FORTRAN was simpler then) which later became a 3 credit hour FORTRAN course, a numerical analysis course and, in 1968, his first section of assembler. That first assembler course was attended by Charley Shubra, a bright, up-and-coming student interested in computers. Jim also taught Gary Buterbaugh a section of Geometry.
With his interests in computers growing and my interests in attending graduate school, both Jim and I attended a talk given by Dr. Jones of the Penn State computer science department. That summer, we both enrolled in a masters program at PSU in computer science. I grew close to the Maple family during those years at Penn State. We shared a beer or two, played golf, studied and became close friends.
In 1971, Jim, along with Mr. and Mrs. Tompson, were given the task of forming a computer science department at IUP. In May of 1971, the Tompson's left IUP; and that summer Jim attended PSU for his final term. When he returned to Indiana, Dr. Howard Tompkins had been hired and the initial structure of the department had been laid. While we all know Jim for his thirty years of teaching CO 300 (during which time he only missed teaching assembler for 2 semesters), he also introduced CO 110 FORTRAN, CO 310 Data structures, CO 430 Systems Programming and, a little known and well hidden fact, that Mr. Maple taught CO 220 COBOL. To show how the field has evolved, Jim has taught CO 300 on the following platforms - IBM 360/30, Microdata 1600, Xerox Sigma 6, Intel 8080 and Dec VAX.
While Jim has worked hard and always cared for and enjoyed the interaction with students, he also was able to enjoy life. During his only sabbatical, he and Nancy made their first tour of the West in their 24-foot motor home. Several years later, they made the trip again to see other areas. The Maples also enjoyed numerous others trips in their motor home including several trips to Florida. In 1982, they toured Europe while their daughter, Kathy, was stationed in Germany with the Air Force. The faculty can fondly recall the warm hospitality of the Maple home during the holiday and end of semester parties.
Jim and Nancy own land in Asheville, North Carolina and are considering buying in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. I personally would like to thank Jim and Nancy for their friendship and love. If you would like to drop a line to Jim and Nancy, you'll have to use the US Mail because Jim said, "Don't plan on reaching me by E-Mail, because 30 years of computers is enough."
Steve Deemer, ISCC
As a student at IUP, did you ever think, "I wish I could get all of the information I need without running from office to office?" With a new system called STAR, that thought will hopefully disappear from the minds of IUP students.
STAR (Student Terminal Access of Records) is a series of programs developed by the Information Systems and Communication Center (ISCC) at IUP. It was created in response to a request from the Office of the Registrar to give the students an alternative to telephone registration. This request was expanded to include paths into other areas of the student data base so that students may, in the future, access a variety of information that IUP has in its files.
To access the STAR system, students log on to a generic user name (STUDENT) and then are taken immediately to the STAR introduc-tion and security screen. Initially, the students would enter their ID number and their birth date for verification. When this check is complete, they are asked to input a permanent security code for future access. Once the students have successfully completed the security checks they are put in the main menu.
The main menu shows the students the general areas that they may access. These areas are: Academic Information, Financial Information, Personal Information and Miscellaneous Information. Subsequent menus will take students to application programs where they may do such things as look at their grades, major/degree information, financial aid, loans, housing status, addresses and more. The students may even be able to change some of this information themselves. However, all of the items discussed above are the future of STAR; the only application presently accessible via STAR is registration.
IUP's current Telephone Registration, while doing away with standing in lines and allowing students to register from any touch-tone phone is restricted in the amount of information it can give to the student. This can lead to frustration as the available seats become scarce. With the new terminal-based registration available through STAR, more information can be provided to students allowing greater flexibility in registering. The most important piece of new information provided is an on-line listing of all open sections showing the number of seats remaining in the section. This list is maintained in real time so it will give students an accurate picture of available courses. Another new capability for students is the ability to print their schedule or display it on their screen.
Even though the new registration is not quite as accessible as the nearest telephone, it can be reached by anyone with a PC and a modem or through a machine in one of IUP's public data centers. Students get a clearer picture of their registration through the terminal than through the phone. All of the desired courses can be entered individually or collectively and the program will enroll them in any of the courses that it possibly can. When the program cannot enroll students in a desired course, it reports what problems were encountered. Alternative courses can then be located by the on-line open section listing and entered into the program for addition to the student's schedule.
The new registration was pilot tested in the summer of 1993 by a select group of students. It is being made available to all students, in conjunction with Telephone Registration, to register for the spring semester of 1993-94. It is hoped that by giving students more information, they can build schedules better suited to their needs, reduce the number of drop/adds and make selecting courses at IUP a pleasant experience.
Dr. John J. Sweeney, Jr.
For over thirty-five years the lingua franca of the world of scientific computing, where indeed is FORTRAN headed today? Is it still robust and healthy out there in the real world? Or is it mortally wounded, doomed to a steady descent into linguistic oblivion? Or instead, has the advent of FORTRAN-90 given our "formula translator" a new lease on life, presaging an even more glorious future?
To gain new insight into these questions, I chatted with three of our (IUP) Math professors, George Mitchell, Charley Bertness and Ed Donley, as well as three exceptionally well-placed (I think) observers of FORTRAN in industry: Tim Leity, FORTRAN program manager with IMSL (now merged with Precision Visuals and known as "Visual Numerics") in Houston; Dewey E. "Buddy" Kennedy, project manager for mainframe computer services with FMC, at their main computer center in Dallas; and Guy Ceragioli, v.p. of marketing with Lahey Computer Systems, a leading developer and purveyor of FORTRAN compilers to the PC world, in Incline Village (Lake Tahoe), Nev.
Drs. Mitchell et al. give us the viewpoint of very active computer users, especially in the teaching of mathematics, an area they are deeply exploring today. As "stand-alone" researchers armed with Macs and PCs, they and their confreres are very partial to C++ as a readily compilable, currently available and economical PC language, and to the use of versatile packaged systems like Derive or MathCad, or better still, Mathematica and Maple V, which latter are roughly equal in utility and pedagogical power, and usable by math students relatively unskilled in computer programming.
Once we move from PCs to larger computers, FORTRAN is still the preferred language for mathematical work (though C is increasing in popularity). Dr. Donley is of course much involved in supercomputing, and is very interested in FORTRAN-90's new and unexplored capabilities in parallel processing, for example. Now that Lahey has a "personal" FORTRAN-77 PC compiler (full ANSI standard) retailing for around $99, and a full FORTRAN-90 compiler due the 2nd quarter of '94, we may see even greater FORTRAN interest among individual scientists and engineers - especially if they are on networks with access to subroutine libraries (IMSL has one for the Lahey compiler for around $500/$600 per copy).
IMSL's Leity also notes a new trend toward PC's with FORTRAN, though in general their customer base is migrating from mainframes to networks of workstations. IMSL has for some time been the world standard in Mathematical and Statistical subroutine libraries, available both in compiled and source code (FORTRAN) versions, the latter permitting (cautious!) user modifications where needed. Mr. Leity advises they also provide a smaller library subset in C, which is slowly growing in use, though FORTRAN dominates the field. He feels that while C is especially good for string manipulation, and of course is the language of choice for writing compilers, system programming, etc., C is "not close" to FORTRAN-77 in scientific computing, numerical analysis, etc., and that FORTRAN compilers are better at optimizing code. He speaks highly of the Lahey FORTRAN-77 compiler as well, as a better performer than Microsoft's and lower priced ($795/retail, $485/educational). Lahey compiles and links full ANSI standard plus most popular "extensions" like double precision complex data type, bit-shifting and logical integer operations. It is highly optimized for Intel 386/486 and Pentium processors, including 64-bit arithmetic on the latter, and uses the PHAR-LAP extender for full memory access above 640 Kb.
Of course the physicist, mathematician or engineer probing the unknown with his clicking rodent and arsenal of FORTRAN routines does not need a computer science graduate at his side to offer comfort and encouragement. Where then might our fresh-minted FORTRAN-speaker find a productive niche in today's world? FMC's Buddy Kennedy offers some ideas. FMC is a very large nationwide operation, with main office in Chicago, large manufacturing plants in San Jose, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Dallas, and dozens of small, roughly 200-man plants scattered throughout the country - including one at nearby Homer City.
Kennedy breaks down his company's computer activity into four segments (which no doubt have parallels elsewhere), of which the first, FMC's large plants, employs large IBM mainframes running big manufacturing systems, and where COBOL reigns supreme (though C is a still distant second). Also at the large sites and using mainly IBM equipment is the second category, engineering and scientific applications. Here FORTRAN, C and PL/1 (!) are about dead even, with C growing and threatening FORTRAN and PL/1 even more than COBOL. Since larger FORTRAN systems exist here, so will the need for FORTRAN-trained system analysts and programmers for some time to come. Engineering activity also uses packages and FORTRAN on Sun workstations, and employs some PCs using packages (but not FORTRAN).
The third activity segment, which Kennedy calls the "mid-range world", embraces RISC workstations (IBM R-6000 at Dallas) using FORTRAN, though some system developers there are tending toward C. Finally, the fourth category, the small plants like Homer City, are using a manufacturing resource planning package called "Manman", whose systems are written (and supported!) entirely in FORTRAN.
Looking at industry in general as well as his own company, Kennedy sees some change in the use of "proprietary" platforms, with increasing resort to Unix as a business application environment. He also sees growth in "object-oriented" programming. On the other hand, Kennedy feels APL is a slowly-dying language, and that in the real world Pascal is "lost in the shuffle". Lahey's Ceragioli also sees little future for Pascal, noting that Borland has stopped new Pascal development, its customer base moving to C. Lahey's customers use C for user interface development (menus, etc.), but stay with FORTRAN in most other applications. I myself have always regarded Pascal the illegitimate offspring of ALGOL, its grotesque I/O behavior and prissy didacticism appealing chiefly to cultists and those H.L. Mencken once termed "schoolmarms of both sexes"; I shall not mourn its demise.
As for Computer Science graduates, Kennedy feels they should be especially well grounded in three areas of activity: business applications, local area (preferably Novell) networks, and data communications. For languages, they should know well AT LEAST FORTRAN, COBOL, and C. This is where the "action" is.
If all the above is correct, our departmental program is generally in pretty good shape. A few thoughts come to mind: exposure to C is marginal; it should be in the core - perhaps replacing Pascal in the data structures course. Some use of PC packages (i.e. Mathematica) could be employed in the numerical analysis courses, along with FORTRAN, perhaps replacing APL in the advanced course, thus allowing more attention to those algorithms now perforce omitted. An introduction to Mathematica or Maple V could be employed for dynamic realization of algorithms in CO105, the introductory course, without introducing programming or putting at a competitive disadvantage students in other majors requiring CO110. Tentative murmurs rumbling in our department about replacing FORTRAN with Pascal in CO110 may best be discreetly abandoned (we can pretend we never heard them).
We are fortunate in having in our own departmental micro-lab the only Novell network on campus! This should probably be given greater emphasis in our core program, along with more work in data communications. (Bill Oblitey already has some new thoughts along these lines.) I passed this summary by Ed Donley as well, since Math majors would be particularly affected, and he concurs enthusiastically.
How does all this square with the experience of our alumni out there? We need to know, especially as to FORTRAN, its present state of health and its ultimate destiny as you and your companies see it. If you think you can help, take a moment and drop us a line - send your comments to Jim Wolfe for possible inclusion in a later issue (or heated discussion in faculty meetings). Happy FORTRAN*ing!
Greg Hoffman, Freshman
During this semester, Calculus I for Chemistry and Physics, MA123, is being taught completely on a computer. The computers being used are Macintosh with the software package called Mathematica. Is this a step forward for the education process or just an expensive toy for the Math department? The answer you get depends on who you ask.
As a student, I think that Mathematica is a powerful tool that, properly implemented, could speed the learning process radically. However, since this is the first semester the class is being taught, the curriculum still has quite a few bugs in it. As it is, the computer is responsible for doing all of the teaching with a professor there to answer individual questions. No lectures, no examples or explanations made by the professor; just you and the computer going head to head. For the early and simpler topics of the course this technique seemed to be working, but as the topics became more and more complex it became necessary for the instructor to begin providing lectures covering the topic.
By using lectures to reinforce what is being taught by the computer, the more complex mathematical operations of calculus are made more understandable and less intimidating. However, This technique does have its drawbacks. The work load for this class is very heavy. With homework to be done on the computer and by hand being assigned, this class can get to be very time consuming. A student with an already heavy work load should seriously consider if he or she can handle the amount of time this class requires.
Students should also consider how well they interact with computers before taking this class. A person could be mathematical genius, but if the student doesn't understand the computer and its commands, then he or she will not pass this class.
I'm Ready to Start My Internship -- What Now?
Robert J. Cameron, Intern
So you've been through the internship interview process, been placed at a site, and are about to start your first day of work. (O.K., maybe you're not, but for the sake of this article, let's say you are.) You're probably wondering, "Am I as prepared as I can possibly be to start my internship?"
The answer, of course, is no. That would be impossible. The good news is, if you've cleared the department guidelines, you're as prepared as you need to be, and perhaps more importantly, you're as prepared as your site will expect you to be.
The first weeks of an internship are crucial, and set a tone for the entire experience. Since beginning my internship at Latrobe Steel, I think I've determined some things that can help an intern weather those first few tumultuous weeks. The following are a few recommendations I would make to interns getting ready to start off.
1) Get to know those you work with. Learn their areas of expertise, so you know who to approach with which questions. You will probably tend to lean on your immediate supervisor for help early on, but I think it helps immensely to try to gain help from others, and thereby widen your sources of knowledge. (Plus, that immediate supervisor won't be pulling his hair out when you walk in his office every five minutes with a question.)
2) Set up your work area to facilitate faster, more convenient working conditions throughout the internship. This includes not only your desk and its surroundings but your computer directories, editor(s), etc. A neat and organized desk not only makes work easier but reflects a professional attitude. Extra time taken to set up your work area properly in the early weeks will pay back a hundredfold over the months.
3) For Pete's sake, don't be afraid to ask questions. I think most computing professionals would agree that in this field, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. They won't expect you to know everything, and will actually expect a good deal of questions. Just make a point to learn from each question so you don't have to ask it again.
4) Take advantage of social opportunities with your co-workers. Not only will this help with #1, but it teaches the intern how professionals interact outside the office, and may perhaps lead to new contacts. Who knows, you may find the people you work with are actually a lot of fun!
Remember, your site has probably had interns before, and they know what to expect. They don't expect an all-knowing whiz kid, just a motivated person who will keep on trying. Hopefully, following the advice above will help ease a little bit of that inevitable internship stress. Good luck!
Internship is a Great Experience
George Soares, Intern
Most students don't know if they are prepared to assume a full time job after graduation in their respective careers. There is only one way to find this out. By doing a internship before graduation.
There is nothing to lose by doing an internship, but there are a lot of things to gain from it. For instance, you are able to gain job experience, professional communication skills, self-confidence, and money. Such things cannot be gained in a classroom.
With today's highly competitive job market, having an internship after graduation may be an edge over someone else. Most employees look for some kind of job experience, and an internship will fill out that spot on the resume.
Myself, I started doing an internship last summer in the IS department of SmithKline Beecham Consumer Health Care, a multi-national corporation located in Pittsburgh. I have been able to put into practice what I have learned at school, and to learn a whole lot more. I cannot be more pleased with my experience so far. Now, I feel that I'm definitely ready to assume a full time job in the data processing field after graduation.
Chuck Hinson, '87
The other day, I happened across a couple of old copies of the The Debugger. As I leafed through them, I saw the list of e-mail addresses in the back and figured that since I have Internet access now, it might not be a bad idea to drop an old professor of mine a hello note and let him know whatever happened to one of his students.
Well, as you might guess by the classes I took, I ended up with a job doing operating systems work. The company I work for is Robec and we're based just outside of Philadelphia. We've been developing a scalable multicomputer system for use as a dedicated LAN server (among other things). We use PC clones as the computing elements and we developed our own OS and file system. Although the system is a little more tightly coupled than most, you could probably get away with calling it a distributed system (both the OS and the file system have many of the major attributes of a distributed system). I've done work on both the OS and the file system - I even wrote a new debugger for the system.
I've really enjoyed the work here, and there have been many times when I've thought back about college and been really glad that I was able to take the OS and System Programming classes - without those, I would never have gotten this job (a few of the questions at the interview sounded like they came straight off of one of the tests).
At any rate, after about four years of work, I decided that my undergraduate experience wasn't quite enough to keep me going in this field so I decided that it was time to go to grad school. With a little help from my employer, I'm currently attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts.
As you would expect, most of my work is directed towards distributed systems and the like. I'm hoping to do my thesis on some aspect of distributed file systems.
You can become a charter member of the IUP Computer Science Department's Century Club. Membership in the Century Club is obtained by pledging at least $100 through the Foundation for IUP for the Computer Science Department.
1993 Century Club Members
Gerald Maguire 1975 Dayle Hodge 1984 Beverly (Green) Landry 1985 Mark Landry 1985 John Paladino 1985 Matt Arezina 1986 Alvin Rearick 1988 Jennifer Baldwin 1991
A pledge of $100 is less than $10 per month. Please consider this opportunity. To join cut off the form in the next column, complete it and commit yourself to giving $100 for 1993 or 1994.