Well, the Spring issue is finally together. Generally, I am the one to blame for the lateness of The Debugger this time. The contributors were much better about getting their material to me (except for the president of the Computer Science Club); I simply couldn't find the time to get everything edited.
Did anyone notice the error in the notice for the Computer Science Awards Banquet in the Fall issue? I did get the day and month for the event correct; however, I must have still been thinking it was 1991. I hope no one was confused by the error or thought I was living in the past.
In this issue, you will find that a couple of the standard features are not so standard. Gary has provided an overview of the new curriculum which we hope to have in place for the Fall in "From the Chair." I asked Don to provide a discussion of viruses and how we have been affected by them; see "News from Tompkins' Lab." We have two articles from interns in this issue; both were interns during Summer/Fall 1991. I think you will find the contrasts in these experiences interesting. There is a letter from Jerome Sparks (Sparky, '83) who has been out in the real world for a while. We have an article about Mark Strawcutter's ('76) election to the board of trustees of the governing organization for BITNET. Finally, there is a two part article from Charley Shubra. So, once again, there is quite a variety.
I have not yet been successful in getting anyone from the Computer Science Club to write something for The Debugger; however, I intend to keep trying. If you have any comments, or would like to make a written contribution to the next issue of The Debugger, send it in; articles are always welcome.
Jim Wolfe, Editor
Gary Buterbaugh
It's a not-so-quiet, wintery, spring Friday afternoon and time for me to write my article for the Spring issue of The Debugger. I think I will do so by telling you some of the things that are happening in the department.
First of all we received a $15,000 grant from E. I. duPont. Ten thousand of it is for the department to spend as it wants (probably on equipment). The other five thousand is for us to use in recruiting minority students. I am not sure how we will use this. If you have any suggestions, please let me know - particularly if you are a minority student or grad.
Second, after ten years of hard work, our department will have a new curriculum approved this semester (it is right now before the University Senate). Ever since the beginning of the department we have had two degrees. A Bachelor of Arts that essentially meant that the student did not take a minor and a Bachelor of Science that meant that students either took a minor or extra Computer Science courses. Most students choose the BS and most within the BS degree track took a series of courses that prepared them for the "real" working world. However a few who choose the BS choose to take courses that mainly concentrated on languages and systems and prepared them for graduate school. With the new curriculum there will still be the distinction between the BA and the BS and the BA degree will remain much the same (except that CO 250 will not be required). However within the BS there will be two tracks. The first will be the track that most of our students have taken in the past and will be called the Applied Computer Science track. Students within it will not take CO 250, but will take CO 319 (Software Engineering), CO 441 (Database), and either an internship of CO 320 (a course that will involve on-campus projects). They will also have to select a minor in either the College of Natural Science & Mathematics, Business, Economics or Geography.
The second track is for students who want to go on to graduate school and will be called the Languages and Systems track. These students also will not have to take CO 250, but will have to take CO 319 (Software Engineering), CO 410 (Processor Architecture and Microprogramming), CO 420 (Modern Programming Languages), and CO 432 (Introduction to Operating Systems). In addition they will be required to take a minor in Mathematics). How does that all sound?
Third, we are reevaluating how we handle our internship program. The primary reason is that in the past several years the faculty has approved more and more students who did not meet the current requirements for applications. Although all of these interns, who were placed, did well, some of the faculty feel as if we should revise our evaluation procedures. In order to determine this and some other things, we will be sending out a questionnaire to our participating internship companies. If any of you students or alumni have any input, you can provide it to Dr. Shubra who is chair of the department's Curriculum Committee.
Well it is now Friday evening (yes, I am working on a Friday evening) and I think this is probably long enough. Let us hear from you on your reactions to this and anything else on which you might have an opinion.
Carol Miller, Secretary
Hi everyone -
Hope you are beginning to emerge from winter with your sanity intact. It only takes a couple nice sunny (??) days in February to let us know that there is hope.
It seems that Christmas was just a few weeks ago, and here we are almost at midterm already. We're all looking forward to a little break. Does it bring back thoughts and memories of Ft. Lauderdale or somewhere sunny?
We've actually heard from a few of you guys. Maybe my arm twisting has done some good. Joe Ondrejik (5/84) is working on a masters in artificial intelligence at Pitt.
Matt Arezina was in touch (by the way, Matt is another of those good guys who gives us a call every once in awhile). At the time, Matt was working at DuPont in Wilmington through Keane, Inc. and living in Malvern, PA. He was finishing his MBA in Management Informa-tion Systems. I say at the time, because he was in the middle of changes right then.
I heard through the grapevine that Bob Smith (May 86) is living in West Chester. That's all I heard, Bob, so you better fill me in on the rest of it.
Sherry Vranko (5-91) was working at Westinghouse in Pittsburgh. With all the layoffs at Westinghouse, she has been transferred to the Savannah River plant. And, believe it or not, she called just as I was writing this. So, I'll add a little more. She absolutely loves it down there. She is living in Aiken SC, and just got a new puppy. He's a German Shepherd, Afghan mix, is three months old and his name is Rusty. Have fun with him and keep in touch!!
By the way, Michele Emery Davis, (5-87) was also working at the Savannah River plant last time I talked with her. Sherry just gave me the news that last month she moved to Arkansas where her husband (Richard) was transferred and just yesterday (2-19) they had a baby girl. Her name is Caroline, she weighed 7 lb. 8 oz. and was 19 ¼ inches long. Let us hear from you Michele and send pictures.
A little birdie told me that Mike (5-86) & Anita Costa Louttit (5-88) are expecting a little one. Let us know Mike and Anita.
I had E-Mail from Peggy Mogush (5-87). She is still in Upland, Indiana and is continually amazed at small town living (roughly translated, that's what she said). She and Mike Gutzat got together over Christmas while Mike was home from Germany. Mike stopped here to see us and to introduce us to Mary, his betrothed. Wedding plans have not been made yet, since Mike isn't sure where he's going to be or what he may be doing. It's always good to see Mike and we wish him all the best!!!! I know you'll be hearing more.
Also had mail from Bob Sadonis (5-85). If you remember in last edition I was looking for him. He is living in Longmont, CO and is working for IBM as an Information Systems Consultant. He is also doing a lot of skiing if I'm getting the correct message. You'll hear more from me Bob, soon.
Also, in last issue I told you that Ed Meinfelder had received his masters in Computer Science. Well, big news in Ed's life. His plans were to pursue a Ph.D., but he was hit by cupid on the way. Ed's engaged to Kristin Lee Mead, and Ed has put off his studies for awhile in order to help Kristin with her Ph.D. Congratulations, Ed and thanks for feeling sorry for me not getting any letters. I really appreciate it. You'll be hearing from me, too.
And, before I close - I want to let everyone know about the Banquet. We invite the alumni each year, but nobody comes. I know it isn't easy to take time during the week, but we'd love to have you. This year it is on Monday, April 6. There will be a reception in the East Parlor of Sutton Hall at 5:45 p.m. and dinner in the Blue Room at 6:30 p.m. Or, another thought. We are always looking for door prizes to give away at the banquet. If any of you work for companies that might be intersted in giving such items, let us know.
Keep in touch and take care.
Don Rosenberger
It hasn't been long since the scare from the Michelangelo virus, so I've been asked to discuss the pros and cons of virus checking and anti-virals. Discussion will center on DOS system infectors, although the general information can be applied to other operating systems as well.
For the first commercial computer game developers had problems with people making several copies of the game after paying for only one. Their solution to this breach of copyright was to develop an embedded monitor program within the game. If you "registered" your copy (for a fee), the developer would send a program to remove the monitor from your copy (but would only work for one copy). If you sent no money, the monitor would delete the game after you had played it a couple of times. There were bugs in the code of some monitor programs, and in some cases, malicious program-mers determined that they could put this type of embedded/memory resident monitor program to destructive use. The computer virus was born. Since viruses originated as a copyright-compliance tool for games, game disks became the predominant carrier of computer viruses.
There are three major types of computer virus: Boot-sector, Executable, and Data file. Boot-sector viruses tend to infect floppy disks. A hard drive can only be infected if someone tries to boot from an infected (system or data) floppy disk. If you keep a write-protect tab on your boot disks, and keep all other disks out of the computer during boot, then boot-sector viruses will not be a problem for your computer. Michelangelo is a boot-sector virus, but STONE has been the most common virus of this type at IUP.
Executable viruses attach themselves to .EXE or .COM files that are running. Jerusalem B is the most common virus of this type at IUP. This virus will delete any infected file that is run on Friday the 13th. Jerusalem managed to infect many of the applications on our Novell file server the semester before I was hired. The server was rendered inoperative, and was still being repaired when I started to work.
Data file infectors have not been seen in the lab yet. They tend to be source-code oriented. For example, the Anti-Pascal will infect .COM files, but leave them intact. The job of that virus is to delete as many .PAS and .BAK files as it can find.
All three types of virus can be combatted with an anti-viral scanner-disinfectant combination. F-PROT has been site-licensed by IUP, and is used in our lab to combat viruses. You may notice this package on a local computer bulletin board or anonymous FTP site - it is free to non-commercial PC users. (Small fees per copy for businesses, schools, etc.) The viruses may be combatted in two ways. First, scan your hard disk and recently-used floppies on a regular basis. This will identify any virus that has gotten onto your floppy/hard disks. F-PROT also has a program called VIRSTOP in the package. VIRSTOP runs briefly and terminates but stays memory resident where it will scan continually for viruses. If VIRSTOP is loaded, no "infected" application will be allowed to run. (If a boot-sector virus is present, VIRSTOP locks-up the PC, and requires a reboot.) If a virus can't load, it can't spread. Running the disinfectant makes the PC useable again.
The department has had a mixture of success and failure with viruses. Jerusalem B destroyed the file server in Fall 1989, which was a definite failure. The virus gained access via a single faculty PC. At that time, the department used a third-party print server that required everyone to have write access to several shared directories. Once the virus got in - it could easily spread to everyone. The server and faculty hard disks paid the price for that infection.
Viral defenses are much stronger today. No one has write access to any application directories. Therefore, neither students nor faculty can infect applications on the file server. This has limited viral attacks to individual PCs. The use of the F-PROT package has reduced the severity of any virus in the lab. In the past year, we have had 36 viral attacks on lab/faculty PCs. Most of these viruses came from the lab in Johnson Hall, where use of KERMIT to ftp sites is very common. Recently, the Johnson Lab also put F-PROT on their menu system, and trained their staff in anti-viral techniques. This has greatly reduced the number of viral attacks on campus, not to mention our lab.
At this time, the department is in good shape in resisting computer viruses. I don't rate us as excellent because of Murphy's Law - the more confident you are that you can't possibly be infected, the more probable it is that you will become infected. I hope our readers remember that while setting up their own defenses.
Two notes of warning: (1) Remember that "Calendar virals", such as Jerusalem B, read the dates from the computer calendar. If the computer calendar is off, so is the timing of the attack. I knew one gentleman who got hit by Michelangelo a day early (March 5), only because his calendar "forgot" this was a leap year. (2) There is a new Macintosh virus out called init 1984. This one changes enough system information to be really destructive, which is a change for MAC viruses. It does its damage on Friday the 13th, so it was "discovered" on March 13th. Updates to SAM, Gatekeeper, Disinfectant, and other MAC antivirals should already be available.
Julie A. Roxby, Intern Fall '91
I am currently 18 weeks into my internship at Allegheny Power Service Corporation (APS) in Greens-burg, and this internship offered me a unique opportu-nity that the rest of my intern class did not experience...a two month summer vacation. While the rest of my internship class was off beginning their job training, I was on a job search because APS interns do not begin until July. Just when all hope was lost for finding a decent job (and Mc Donalds was the everlurking alternative), I got hired at Micro Computing Applications, a small consulting firm, as a programmer. Great ... at least that was my first thought. The prospect of having a 'real' program-ming job (I'm not counting IUP's ever-present 'student programmer' positions) and the thought of going into my internship with some 'real world' experience was both exciting and thrilling. This two and a half month long job provided me with a greater educational experience than I never dreamed possible. It also gave me the opportunity to work for a small firm before starting my internship with a large firm.
Some say that the first impression is a lasting one. Starting from the first day of both jobs, the differences were very apparent. At APS, I was given Computer Based Training (CBT) to take on all the subjects I would need to know, and I was also registered for in-house classes to learn other programming languages. All the assistance I could ever need was surrounding me, my co-workers and EDP user support. As an example of how thorough my training at APS was, we had a CBT which oriented us with the IBM keyboard. At Micro Computing, I was given a manual for a database language I didn't know, shown to my PC, and I was told to take the tutorial for the software package, learn the language and let my supervisor know in three days that it was complete. Help was not readily available and I quickly learned that I was also user support.
After my training was complete, the real test came...can I do the work assigned? At both companies learning how to maneuver in a new operating system was a challenge, but above and beyond that was being able to write the code. At APS, which is a COBOL shop, I was paired up with a 'newer' employee in my group who was once, coinciden-tally, an IUP intern for APS from the MIS department. Since she understood the position I was in, the specification sheets for my assigned projects were very detailed, and she made it clear to ask questions even if they may seem to be stupid. The specs eventually became less detailed as I became familiar with the systems and what was expected.
At the smaller firm, I started modifying a few programs then I was thrown into maintaining and creating clients systems. I was assigned a client and concentrated solely on their system. As for specs, they were usually one a line description (if that's what it could be called) scribbled (yes, scribbled) on a sheet of notebook paper. At APS, job requests were a formal procedure which required forms, meetings and supervisor approval.
Testing projects at the consulting firm was relatively simple because I had a simulated version of my clients system and if an entire database was accidentally deleted, no harm was done to the end user since it wasn't installed on their production system. I could literally play with different possibilities for testing. Testing at APS was an entirely different story. Here all the possible outcomes must be thought of and test data must be created and built being sure not to use production data files. Testing actually became a long and tedious process. A process that had to be learned by trial and error.
The end users were completely different with the two companies. The APS users seemed to know precisely what they wanted (if not what they wanted, what they didn't want) and expected, showing knowledge of their system and system requirements. My clients through Micro Computing Applications had little or no knowledge of computers outside of Word Perfect and Lotus 123. They knew how to use the system that we had previously built, but it took extensive training for any new applications even though it was a relatively simple system. As for revisions or requests for the creation of new options, they were vague and unsure of what they expected. A few times, when the code was finished and ready to install, the users decided that it was exactly the opposite of what they wanted. At times, dealing with the clients became frustrating, but it provided opportunities to better my communication skills.
Other smaller details affected my opinions on company size and career choice. These details may or may not affect someone else's view. My co-workers at APS were much more friendly and willing to adapt their work or (at times) stop their work to assist me with the problems I encountered. I am receiving experience on IBM mainframes TSO, ISPF and a wide variety of software which is in common use that IUP does not have. I am only working at Cabin Hill and this (the position) does not provide me with an opportunity to travel. APS also does not allow for flex hours, it is strictly 8:00am-4:30pm. My position was clear and defined at APS, program-mer analyst.
At Micro Computing Applications, I had to play the role of programmer/user support/consultant when I was technically only a programmer. Since my client was in a different part of the city from the office, I had the opportunity to travel (although not extensively) and make my own flexible hours. I was able to wear shorts if I wanted except when going on site, then it was strictly professional attire. (Just because the clothing was relaxed, don't be lead to believe that the general atmosphere was; it was actually the opposite.) I received experience using PCs, networking them and patience. It is hard to comment on my co-workers because of the flex hours, it was a rare occasion to see one another.
My experiences this summer and fall provided me with the opportunity to discover exactly what I am looking for in a company and what I am expecting of my career moves. PC or mainframe, large or small company, language(s) used, work time flexibility, client contact, and travel opportunities are a few of the things to be considered when beginning the job search. One thing to keep in mind is that what I have stated here is not strictly for all large companies or for all small companies; it is just what I have experienced. The internship is a good way to get exposure to these situations. The most important thing to remember is to keep an open mind and don't limit any possibilities.
Michael Mistick, Intern for Fall '91
For the past seven months, I have been a part of one of IUP's best programs, the Computer Science Internship Program. Stationed on Pittsburgh's North Side at Legent Corporation, a leading software vendor for IBM mainframe systems, I have used Assembler to add to the batch report system of the NetSpy and LanSpy products. As an intern, I have realized that the benefits of an internship go far beyond the 12 credits of CO 493 and a few nice paychecks. Not only are the technical skills of an intern improved, but other skills are developed and introduced also. Office etiquette, team programming, and the chain of command are only a few examples of the on the job training that rubs off on interns. Also, I have been faced with a few differences between the classroom and what is done in the office.
In a typical programming class, most of the project time is spent writing code, while real programming projects pose many other challenges. From sifting through someone else's age old spaghetti code, to spending a few weeks writing formal program design papers, the role of a "programmer" is broader than just programming. Besides performing these additional tasks, a programmer must create better code. A student can get by with a malfunctioning program and hope for a decent letter grade, but a programmer must get all of the bugs out and thoroughly test the program. This transition, from student to programmer, might be surprising to some students, as it was to me.
As an intern, I feel that the transition from student to programmer will be much easier. Not only will an intern have the valuable job experience, but the intern will also have interview experience, job contacts, and a preview of career paths and office politics. As my internship nears completion, I look back to when it was first starting, and can not believe how far I have come. With some of the mysteries gone now, I eagerly look forward to graduation and my second job. I would strongly advise all Computer Science majors to at least look into what the Internship Program has to offer, it could be one the most important decisions made while attending IUP. Meetings for prospective summer/fall interns will be beginning near the start of the next semester, so do not miss your chance.
Jerome Sparks, Alumnus '83
To the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I say, "HELLO." My name is Jerome Sparks. Most people know me as "Sparky." I graduated from IUP in December 1983 after four and a half years of college life.
My computer career started as a Computer Operator. I quickly moved up to Computer Programmer, Programmer-Analyst, Analyst-Programmer (same responsi-bilities, different employers) and am now a Senior Systems Analyst for Kraft General Foods. I work for the Systems Department of the Dairy Division of the Frozen Products group. The items we sell include Breyers and Sealtest ice cream, Jello Pudding Pops, Cool-Whip, Light-n-Lively yogurt, etc.
The Systems Department offers a wide range of applications: inventory control & accounting, general ledger, accounts receivable, pricing & invoicing, trade evaluation, and many more. Most of the applications are written in COBOL and COBOL II, suing IMS, DB2, & VSAM, in batch and online CICS environments. Most of the applications reside on several IBM 3090 mainframes. However, the plant and warehouse functions are controlled by two AS/400s and a host of personal computers at all levels.
The education that I received at IUP has enabled me to become an expert in the computer field. Most of the instructors that taught the computer classes while I was attending IUP are still there today: Buterbaugh (not Butterball, as he says the first day of each semester), Cross, Cunningham, Maple, Shubra, Sweeney, and Wolfe. This shows their dedication. I hope that the students attending IUP now take full advantage of what is offered and become successful.
Bill Creighton, ISCC
Mark J Strawcutter, a graduate of IUP's Computer Science program and current Director of Systems and Communications at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, was recently elected to a three-year term on the Board of Trustees of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN).
CREN is a non-profit membership corporation with over 550 members and affiliates nationwide including universities, colleges, and collaborating research centers. It operates BITNET, an electronic communication network that, together with cooperating networks in other countries, links almost 3,500 mini and mainframe computers in about 1,400 organizations spanning 47 countries.
Mark's appointment to serve on the CREN Board of Trustees places him within a very select group of nationally recognized computing and networking experts. The Board of Trustees consists of twelve
individuals from education, business and industry. Other board members are:
Douglas Bigelow, Wesleyan
University;
Ronald Briggs, University of
Texas, Dallas;
Miriam Drake, Georgia Tech.;
Ira Fuchs, Princeton;
Suzanne Johnson, INTEL;
Benjamin Klein, CUNY;
Matthew Korn, IBM;
Philip Long, Yale ;
Geraldine MacDonald, SUNY
Binghamton;
Dennis Ritchie, AT&T; and
Martin Solomon, University
of South Carolina.
Mark continues to serve as a member of the CREN Technical Advisory Committee. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is a working group consisting of network users who are experienced and respected in key technical areas. Mark was recommended to serve in this group by his peers in the networking world. This is well deserved recognition for the expertise that Mark provides us in the IUP computing community.
Those of us who have worked with Mark during his years at IUP have come to appreciate his abilities. But, as is often the case, we assume that he is aware of our appreciation for the very significant contribu-tion that he makes to computing and networking here at IUP. It sometimes takes a bit of national recognition, such as this appointment, to make us pause and express that appreciation.
The TAC is chartered for a one year period and is expected to focus on several areas critical to the evolution of the BITNET network. The group will report to the Technical Committee, a sub-committee of the Board of Trustees, and the output of the activities will be in the form of recommendations for consideration of adoption as technical standards, process and/or policy. The initial charter areas are: BITEARN nodes plan review, link rationalization and other issues for the BITNET II based rationalization plan, and the BITNET standards process.
The TAC is expected, with input from the BITNET community, to evaluate, develop, and propose technical practices and procedures for consideration by the Technical Committee. The working group will serve as the primary advisory body to the CREN Technical Committee regarding BITNET issues and will work closely with the network information center staff in this capacity. Specific activities will include an implementation of the new BITEARN Nodes structure, the development and implementation of BITNET standards, the handling of domain names within BITNET, and the related issues of services provided by the BITNET-Internet gateways.
Others who have been selected to serve in the TAC are:
Scott Bradner, Harvard;
Bruce Crabill, University of Maryland;
Roger Fajman, National
Institute of Health;
Terry Kennedy, St. Peters College;
John Klensin, MIT;
David Lippke, University of Texas, Dallas;
Richard Schafer, Rice;
Lee Varian, Princeton;
John Wagner, Princeton; and
Harry Williams, Marist.
It is believed that the efforts of this group will significantly enhance the ability of the Technical Committee to respond to the needs of the BITNET community.
Mark, congratulations on your appointment to both groups. It's nice to see some well deserved recogni-tion come your way!
Charley Shubra
Hello Friends and Alumni,
Things have been busy at the Shubra household and at IUP. Personally, I continue to endeavor to keep up with two teenagers and 3 kids under the age of 4.
Professionally, software engineering, microcomputers, workstations, and database management system advances prove equally challenging. The department has obtained better facilities. The DEC VAX mainframe with its rich software foundation was a major advance over the Honeywell.
We have collected a number of terminal degrees also among the faculty. The major component missing in the formula is students. We could use a few more good men and women computer science majors. What follows are a few thoughts on the direction of DBMS technology. Keep in touch.
The Database is No Longer Just Data
Charley Shubra
Introduction
The database has long been a passive storehouse of facts (attributes) about entities which are manipulated by stand alone programs and interactive users. These procedures were not part of the database (store) nor the data model. Increasingly, databases are including non-data elements such as descriptions of integrity constraints, validity conditions and simple procedures. This movement promises to provide benefits similar to capturing the metadata in the data model. Namely, standardization, reliability, reuse and productivity.
The Object Oriented Database paradigm carries the integration of procedures with data one step further and promises to profoundly affect the future database environment.
Stored Passive Elements in the Data Model
Enforcement of integrity constraints has long been a function (sometimes optional) of the DBMS. Such standard constraints as field uniqueness - prohibiting duplicate values, entity integrity - prohibiting null values in key fields, referential integrity - assuring that the value of a foreign key has a matching primary key value, have been stored and enforced by the DBMS. Further, nonstandard i.e., application dependent validation criteria, can be described in the data model and are then applied automatically by the DBMS. But both the standard constraints and the application dependent validation criteria are passive in nature, i.e., they do not cause programmer supplied procedures to be executed. The DBMS merely applies the constraint and either permits the programmer's action to be carried out or flags the action as an error. If the DBMS stored programmer supplied procedures, they could be automatically invoked in response to a violated constraint. One possible application of such a procedure would be automatic error correction in response to invalid data.
Stored Active Elements in the Data Model
The next version on the SQL standard due out in 1992 includes a construct called "TRIGGERS". Like the passive constraints, these "TRIGGERS" begin by describing a condition which is checked by the DBMS; but further they include a series of programmer supplied SQL commands which are executed when the condition is recognized. These triggered procedures are restricted in their content so that they are not arbitrarily complex. Thus, the manipulation of the data continues to be accomplished by procedures which are not under the control of the DBMS, i.e., programs.
Object Oriented Database
Object Oriented Databases (OOD) improve on this situation by including and controlling procedures (called methods) within the data model. The OOD stores objects which consist of the entity, its attributes, and the set of procedures which operate on the entity. Thus, the database concept is extended to include arbitrarily complex procedures. Data modelling is now more complex because it not only consists of describing entities, attri-butes, and relationships, but it also requires the description of the actions (methods) which can be carried out on an entity. The methods are the only way to interact with the entity. This encapsulation promotes information hiding and maintainability. Further, because of the ability to inherit methods from more general objects, reusability and productivity are enhanced.
Stay tuned. The debate between proponents of the relational model and the object oriented model will rage for the next few years. But as informal profession-als, you can't ignore the object oriented concept. Besides it is time that the DBMS controls procedures as well as data.
Jim Wolfe
A few months ago, an E-mail message poured in from Pat Becker ('86) who is now working for Teradata Corp. in the Los Angeles area. He works there with Willie Lewis ('85) and Dave Wagner ('85). All three of them had been working for Honey-well for some time. They currently work on some aspect of networking and/or Unix internals (Pat wasn't too specific). Some of you may remember Pat, Willie, or Dave personally; other may remember the Lewis-Wagner legacy (they are the original authors of OGRE, the simulator used in the operating systems course).
I have run into Kevin Hunter ('89) and James (JT) Taylor ('87) on several occasions in the Washington D.C. area. They share an interest in orienteering with me and so I see them at various competitions. Both of them work for Computer Science Corporation and are on contract to the U.S. Geological Service; they provide software support. Kevin graduated with a double major (Geography) and JT went on to get a masters degree in Geography after leaving IUP.
Following are some faculty E-mail addresses. There were printed in the Fall '91 issue of The Debugger and are being repeated here in case you missed them the first time around. For each person, the remainder of their Bitnet address is @IUP.BITNET and the remainder of their Internet address is @grove.iup.edu
C. Miller CAMILLER G. Buterbaugh GLBUTER J. Cross JACROSS T. Cunningham TPC J. Maple JMAPLE M. Micco MICCO C. Shubra CJSHUBRA T. Watts TIAWATTS J. Wolfe JLWOLFE
Feel free to contact any of us and let us know what you are up to.
(A repeat from Fall '91)
Tom Cunningham
Hi:
I am trying to develop a file containing E-Mail and addresses of the IUP Computer Science graduates and faculty who are also on "the network".
If you do not object to having information about you included in my file for other alumni and faculty to access, please E-Mail the following information to me.
Name (and Maiden Name, if appropriate)
Month and Year of Graduation
Business Title
Business Address
Business Phone
Home Address
Home Phone
If you have the E-Mail address of any other alumnus, would you please forward it to me. I will then send this message to him/her, hoping to add to my file.
About once a month, I will mail out the list of E-Mail addresses that I have. If you want a copy of the file I will gladly E-Mail it to you. I hope to find a better way of distributing this information as the list becomes larger.
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 to be given through the Foundation for IUP for the Computer Science Department. Century Club members will be regularly listed in The Debugger.
If the department could get just 100 of our over 1200 graduates to partici-pate in this way, this would give us at least $10,000 each year (probably substantially more since most companies give matching gifts and some match 2,3 or 4 to 1). 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 this year.
During the Fall '91, Computer Science alumni gave more than $1,500 through the Foundation for IUP. Everyone in the department expresses their thanks.