i recently sent this email to andrei.  he encouraged me to post it in this forum.  here it is:

hi andrei

a colleague  recently pointed me to the wired article about you & your D computer language.  thought you might be interested an earlier attempt to produce a new & better computer language that we called d (lower case).  fear not, i am an engineer, not a lawyer, & do not sue people.

my name is jim schmit.  i am a retired engineer / professor / entrepreneur / international business man / corporate executive.  I wrote my 1st program over 50 years ago.  i worked for IBM as a systems engineer on the first OS on big iron.  disillusioned with the consequences of complexity in computer design (i am a pathological minimalist), i dropped out to become a computer science professor & "do my own thing".  i was extremely active at the birth of the microcomputer. in the mid 70's i created a programming system for small cheap control computers based on a stack architecture pseudo machine.  it was tiny intended to fit entirely in a 2K byte eprom.  the run time system consisted of a set of “base” functions that fit in less than 1/2 K bytes of memory.  there was no interpreter, the code was threaded.  the application fit in the other 1 1/2K.  the functions used byte codes & used less than 1/3 the space of well written machine language and ran at 1/2 the speed of machine code.  net results…3x the functionality in the same rom while far easier to write & debug code.  i called it omega

before i could commercialize my system, i was distracted.
i was commissioned to design & build what became known as CompuTrac, the first microcomputer based technical analytic system for trading the commodities markets.  it became an instant hit & we soon found ourselves at the forefront of real time trading systems.  we developed initially for the apple II & later the PC.

by the late 70’s we were searching for a new hardware platform & disappointed in the options available decided to “roll our own”.  we revisited omega as the basis for a real time graphic workstation.  a former customer, turned competitor, named his product omega, so we renamed the language d (after c).  with 2 former student assistants, paul johnstone & ana maria roa, we started delta digital designs “strong designs & innovative coffee”.

we introduced our delta computer with d software in late ’83.  the software extended into the new windowed environment but remained small & quick.  Our first product was called TradePlan.  it was a real time vector spreadsheet with constantly changing graphic output.  it could monitor 3 real time ticker feeds of exchange trading data, maintain a local data base of time series prices, feed 4 spreadsheets that were fully user programable to calculate technical indicators & create a trading system with alarms of opportunity & display all on constantly updating charts.  the d machine run time system containing multitasking scheduler, real time i/o handlers, a complete graphic windowing capability ran in under 8K of code.  The trade plan app code was under 24K.  running on a 6809 processor, it was highly user responsive & could keep up with the workload.

it became famous in it’s small world of finance.  In 1985 both CompuTrac & Delta Digital Designs was bought by Dow Jones / Telerate.

at dow, our products were renamed, extended & added to.  we did another product called Matrix that was a user programmable financial market monitor / consolidator that proved very popular.  In the late 80’s our products generated just under $1B revenue for DJ.

Matrix used the 3rd iteration of the d language, rebuilt to be fully object oriented.

I retired in 1992 but my team continued the work for dow & a series of other owners until 2003.

if any of this is of any interest to you, please let me know.

regards

On 7/9/14, 6:17 AM, jim schmit wrote:
> i recently sent this email to andrei.  he encouraged me to post it in
> this forum.  here it is:
>
> hi andrei
>
> a colleague  recently pointed me to the wired article about you & your D
> computer language.  thought you might be interested an earlier attempt
> to produce a new & better computer language that we called d (lower
> case).  fear not, i am an engineer, not a lawyer, & do not sue people.
>
> my name is jim schmit.  i am a retired engineer / professor /
> entrepreneur / international business man / corporate executive.  I
> wrote my 1st program over 50 years ago.  i worked for IBM as a systems
> engineer on the first OS on big iron.  disillusioned with the
> consequences of complexity in computer design (i am a pathological
> minimalist), i dropped out to become a computer science professor & "do
> my own thing".  i was extremely active at the birth of the
> microcomputer. in the mid 70's i created a programming system for small
> cheap control computers based on a stack architecture pseudo machine.
>   it was tiny intended to fit entirely in a 2K byte eprom.  the run time
> system consisted of a set of “base” functions that fit in less than 1/2
> K bytes of memory.  there was no interpreter, the code was threaded.
> the application fit in the other 1 1/2K.  the functions used byte codes
> & used less than 1/3 the space of well written machine language and ran
> at 1/2 the speed of machine code.  net results…3x the functionality in
> the same rom while far easier to write & debug code.  i called it omega
>
> before i could commercialize my system, i was distracted.
> i was commissioned to design & build what became known as CompuTrac, the
> first microcomputer based technical analytic system for trading the
> commodities markets.  it became an instant hit & we soon found ourselves
> at the forefront of real time trading systems.  we developed initially
> for the apple II & later the PC.
>
> by the late 70’s we were searching for a new hardware platform &
> disappointed in the options available decided to “roll our own”. we
> revisited omega as the basis for a real time graphic workstation.  a
> former customer, turned competitor, named his product omega, so we
> renamed the language d (after c).  with 2 former student assistants,
> paul johnstone & ana maria roa, we started delta digital designs “strong
> designs & innovative coffee”.
>
> we introduced our delta computer with d software in late ’83. the
> software extended into the new windowed environment but remained small &
> quick.  Our first product was called TradePlan. it was a real time
> vector spreadsheet with constantly changing graphic output.  it could
> monitor 3 real time ticker feeds of exchange trading data, maintain a
> local data base of time series prices, feed 4 spreadsheets that were
> fully user programable to calculate technical indicators & create a
> trading system with alarms of opportunity & display all on constantly
> updating charts.  the d machine run time system containing multitasking
> scheduler, real time i/o handlers, a complete graphic windowing
> capability ran in under 8K of code.  The trade plan app code was under
> 24K.  running on a 6809 processor, it was highly user responsive & could
> keep up with the workload.
>
> it became famous in it’s small world of finance.  In 1985 both CompuTrac
> & Delta Digital Designs was bought by Dow Jones / Telerate.
>
> at dow, our products were renamed, extended & added to.  we did another
> product called Matrix that was a user programmable financial market
> monitor / consolidator that proved very popular.  In the late 80’s our
> products generated just under $1B revenue for DJ.
>
> Matrix used the 3rd iteration of the d language, rebuilt to be fully
> object oriented.
>
> I retired in 1992 but my team continued the work for dow & a series of
> other owners until 2003.
>
> if any of this is of any interest to you, please let me know.
>
> regards

Whew, Walter dodged a bullet there by capitalizing his "D" language! :)

Seriously though, this is a fascinating glimpse at some interesting technology and history. Many thanks for taking the time to post this here.

On Wednesday, 9 July 2014 at 13:18:00 UTC, jim schmit wrote:
> i recently sent this email to andrei.  he encouraged me to post it in this forum.  here it is:
>
> hi andrei
>
> a colleague  recently pointed me to the wired article about you & your D computer language.  thought you might be interested an earlier attempt to produce a new & better computer language that we called d (lower case).  fear not, i am an engineer, not a lawyer, & do not sue people.
>
> my name is jim schmit.  i am a retired engineer / professor / entrepreneur / international business man / corporate executive.  I wrote my 1st program over 50 years ago.  i worked for IBM as a systems engineer on the first OS on big iron.  disillusioned with the consequences of complexity in computer design (i am a pathological minimalist), i dropped out to become a computer science professor & "do my own thing".  i was extremely active at the birth of the microcomputer. in the mid 70's i created a programming system for small cheap control computers based on a stack architecture pseudo machine.  it was tiny intended to fit entirely in a 2K byte eprom.  the run time system consisted of a set of “base” functions that fit in less than 1/2 K bytes of memory.  there was no interpreter, the code was threaded.  the application fit in the other 1 1/2K.  the functions used byte codes & used less than 1/3 the space of well written machine language and ran at 1/2 the speed of machine code.  net results…3x the functionality in the same rom while far easier to write & debug code.  i called it omega
>
> before i could commercialize my system, i was distracted.
> i was commissioned to design & build what became known as CompuTrac, the first microcomputer based technical analytic system for trading the commodities markets.  it became an instant hit & we soon found ourselves at the forefront of real time trading systems.  we developed initially for the apple II & later the PC.
>
> by the late 70’s we were searching for a new hardware platform & disappointed in the options available decided to “roll our own”.  we revisited omega as the basis for a real time graphic workstation.  a former customer, turned competitor, named his product omega, so we renamed the language d (after c).  with 2 former student assistants, paul johnstone & ana maria roa, we started delta digital designs “strong designs & innovative coffee”.
>
> we introduced our delta computer with d software in late ’83.  the software extended into the new windowed environment but remained small & quick.  Our first product was called TradePlan.  it was a real time vector spreadsheet with constantly changing graphic output.  it could monitor 3 real time ticker feeds of exchange trading data, maintain a local data base of time series prices, feed 4 spreadsheets that were fully user programable to calculate technical indicators & create a trading system with alarms of opportunity & display all on constantly updating charts.  the d machine run time system containing multitasking scheduler, real time i/o handlers, a complete graphic windowing capability ran in under 8K of code.  The trade plan app code was under 24K.  running on a 6809 processor, it was highly user responsive & could keep up with the workload.
>
> it became famous in it’s small world of finance.  In 1985 both CompuTrac & Delta Digital Designs was bought by Dow Jones / Telerate.
>
> at dow, our products were renamed, extended & added to.  we did another product called Matrix that was a user programmable financial market monitor / consolidator that proved very popular.
>  In the late 80’s our products generated just under $1B revenue for DJ.
>
> Matrix used the 3rd iteration of the d language, rebuilt to be fully object oriented.
>
> I retired in 1992 but my team continued the work for dow & a series of other owners until 2003.
>
> if any of this is of any interest to you, please let me know.
>
> regards

Cool story, bro.

On Wednesday, 9 July 2014 at 13:18:00 UTC, jim schmit wrote:
> i recently sent this email to andrei.  he encouraged me to post it in this forum.  here it is:
>
> hi andrei
>
> a colleague  recently pointed me to the wired article about you & your D computer language.  thought you might be interested an earlier attempt to produce a new & better computer language that we called d (lower case).  fear not, i am an engineer, not a lawyer, & do not sue people.
>
> my name is jim schmit.  i am a retired engineer / professor / entrepreneur / international business man / corporate executive.  I wrote my 1st program over 50 years ago.  i worked for IBM as a systems engineer on the first OS on big iron.  disillusioned with the consequences of complexity in computer design (i am a pathological minimalist), i dropped out to become a computer science professor & "do my own thing".  i was extremely active at the birth of the microcomputer. in the mid 70's i created a programming system for small cheap control computers based on a stack architecture pseudo machine.  it was tiny intended to fit entirely in a 2K byte eprom.  the run time system consisted of a set of “base” functions that fit in less than 1/2 K bytes of memory.  there was no interpreter, the code was threaded.  the application fit in the other 1 1/2K.  the functions used byte codes & used less than 1/3 the space of well written machine language and ran at 1/2 the speed of machine code.  net results…3x the functionality in the same rom while far easier to write & debug code.  i called it omega
>
> before i could commercialize my system, i was distracted.
> i was commissioned to design & build what became known as CompuTrac, the first microcomputer based technical analytic system for trading the commodities markets.  it became an instant hit & we soon found ourselves at the forefront of real time trading systems.  we developed initially for the apple II & later the PC.
>
> by the late 70’s we were searching for a new hardware platform & disappointed in the options available decided to “roll our own”.  we revisited omega as the basis for a real time graphic workstation.  a former customer, turned competitor, named his product omega, so we renamed the language d (after c).  with 2 former student assistants, paul johnstone & ana maria roa, we started delta digital designs “strong designs & innovative coffee”.
>
> we introduced our delta computer with d software in late ’83.  the software extended into the new windowed environment but remained small & quick.  Our first product was called TradePlan.  it was a real time vector spreadsheet with constantly changing graphic output.  it could monitor 3 real time ticker feeds of exchange trading data, maintain a local data base of time series prices, feed 4 spreadsheets that were fully user programable to calculate technical indicators & create a trading system with alarms of opportunity & display all on constantly updating charts.  the d machine run time system containing multitasking scheduler, real time i/o handlers, a complete graphic windowing capability ran in under 8K of code.  The trade plan app code was under 24K.  running on a 6809 processor, it was highly user responsive & could keep up with the workload.
>
> it became famous in it’s small world of finance.  In 1985 both CompuTrac & Delta Digital Designs was bought by Dow Jones / Telerate.
>
> at dow, our products were renamed, extended & added to.  we did another product called Matrix that was a user programmable financial market monitor / consolidator that proved very popular.
>  In the late 80’s our products generated just under $1B revenue for DJ.
>
> Matrix used the 3rd iteration of the d language, rebuilt to be fully object oriented.
>
> I retired in 1992 but my team continued the work for dow & a series of other owners until 2003.
>
> if any of this is of any interest to you, please let me know.
>
> regards

Sounds quite impressive. Maybe it's a good omen for D.

Interesting story.  Thanks for posting it.  I remember Telerate!  That was the reason we had a PC in our house in the 80s.  If it weren't for that, I may not have ended up a programmer.

On 7/9/14, 7:25 AM, David Gileadi wrote:
> Seriously though, this is a fascinating glimpse at some interesting
> technology and history. Many thanks for taking the time to post this here.

Seconded. Thanks Jim! -- Andrei

On 7/9/2014 7:25 AM, David Gileadi wrote:
> Whew, Walter dodged a bullet there by capitalizing his "D" language! :)

This is the first I've heard of that product, it is fun hearing about it!

On Wed, Jul 09, 2014 at 12:38:42PM -0700, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d wrote:
> On 7/9/2014 7:25 AM, David Gileadi wrote:
> >Whew, Walter dodged a bullet there by capitalizing his "D" language! :)
> 
> This is the first I've heard of that product, it is fun hearing about it!

On that note, the "Mars programming language" is also already taken (as I've pointed out elsewhere recently):

	http://ww2.cs.mu.oz.au/~mgiuca/mars/

The frequency of name collisions makes me think that the programming language market is far too saturated, in spite of only a handful of languages actually being generally viable.


T

-- 
Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation: I have preferences.  You have biases.  He/She has prejudices. -- Gene Wirchenko

On Wednesday, 9 July 2014 at 19:11:22 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
> On 7/9/14, 7:25 AM, David Gileadi wrote:
>> Seriously though, this is a fascinating glimpse at some interesting
>> technology and history. Many thanks for taking the time to post this here.
>
> Seconded. Thanks Jim! -- Andrei

thank you andrei.

a little more info

a preliminary information document from 1983

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Hn2bVpUk-sOHdYTktqTFdkR0E/edit?usp=sharing

some early photos of the computer, code & authors

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Hn2bVpUk-sV3E0VEcyckFfa1k/edit?usp=sharing

finally, an email conversation with woz in which i give more detail of the project

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qg4-s-_pCpFkfgfoFpYaD40RkpRdjn8TqU8Al7XPR1k/edit?usp=sharing

woz finally made it to new orleans but had a stomach virus attack before we could meet.  one day i hope to have the honor

On Wednesday, 9 July 2014 at 15:53:42 UTC, Sean Kelly wrote:
> Interesting story.  Thanks for posting it.  I remember Telerate!  That was the reason we had a PC in our house in the 80s.  If it weren't for that, I may not have ended up a programmer.

I love these pieces of computer history. I recently had the chance to meet Ivan Godard and got all the war stories behind the design of ada (he gave a conference at ACCU and we had dinner after that).

Thank you for sharing !