The Operational Environment: A Short History
Abstract
The genesis of much data is the operational environment. As transactions are executed, data are generated as a by-product. Response time is essential for online transaction systems. Good response time is achieved by adherence to the “standard work unit.” The SWU allows corporations to run many transactions and maintain consistent, good response time. The structure of operational data is achieved by the creation of a data model. The data model is built at several levels—the high level is the ERD, the midlevel is the dis, and the low level is the physical model. An important part of the operational environment is the component known as metadata. It is metadata that describe the structure and content of operational data.
Keywords
Operational environment; Standard work unit (SWU); Response time; ERD; Dis; Physical model; Data model; Metadata
The computer profession is immature. This is not a pejorative statement about IT and computers but simply a fact. When you compare IT versus other professions, it is no contest. The streets of Rome that we use today were laid out by an engineer 2000 years ago. The majority of the hieroglyphics in the pyramids in Egypt is some accountant documentation of how much grain is owed the pharaoh. In the mountains of Chile are found skulls that are estimated to be 10,000 years old that indicate that at least an early form of medicine was practiced long ago.
So, when you compare the profession of IT to the engineering, accounting, and medical professions, it is no contest. The IT profession is historically very immature compared to other professions. That is a historical fact that is inarguable.
The very earliest uses of the computer were for the purpose of calculating military matters in World War II. The military first used computers to calculate the trajectory and landing zone of projectiles.
Commercial Uses of the Computer
The commercial uses of the computer started in approximately the 1960s. And the commercial use of the computer has been growing and advancing ever since.
The very early days of the computer were (rightfully so) centered around the early technology. In the very earliest days were paper tape, wired boards, and then punched cards.
The language of the day was assembler. It was quickly recognized that trying to code and debug assembler was going to be a long and arduous process. Soon, there were more sophisticated languages such as COBOL and Fortran.
Fig. 7.1.1 shows that there were early fascinations with the technology of the day.
Soon, it was discovered that applications could be built. The early applications automated what would otherwise be tedious activities. The first applications centered around human resources, payroll, and accounts payable/receivable.
The first applications used the computer to automate human activities.
The First Applications
Fig. 7.1.2 depicts the advent of the first applications.
Once organizations discovered that they could write applications, soon, applications began to spring up everywhere. In the very earliest days of application development, the coding practices were very nonuniform, to say the least. The code that was produced was very difficult to maintain and was often inefficient. In the early days, there were no standard coding practices. Everyone “did his/her own thing.” As a result, the code that was produced was very unstable.
Fig. 7.1.3 illustrates the many new applications that were being produced.
Ed Yourdon and the Structured Revolution
Into this fray stepped Ed Yourdon and Tom Demarco. Ed Yourdon recognized that discipline in the creation of code was needed. Ed began what was termed the “structured” revolution. Ed began with structured programming and then extended his philosophy for the discipline in the creation of systems to general design principles.
Thus, structured programming and design was born. Given the development practices of the day, Ed Yourdon made significant contributions with the notion that computer systems should be developed with order and discipline.
The SDLC
One of the significant products of the structured revolution was the notion of the system development life cycle (SDLC).
Fig. 7.1.4 shows the SDLC.
The SDLC is sometimes called the “waterfall” approach to the development of systems.
Disk Technology
Into this fray at about the time of structured development of systems came the disk storage device. With disk storage, data could be accessed directly. Prior to the advent of disk storage, data had been stored on magnetic tape files. Even though magnetic tape files could hold a lot of data, all the data on the magnetic tapes had to be accessed sequentially. In order to find a single record, you had to process the entire file.
In addition, magnetic tape files were notoriously unreliable for the long-term storage of data. Over time, the oxide was stripped off of the magnetic tape files, thus rendering the file unusable.
With disk storage, data could be accessed directly. This meant that there was no longer a need to access an entire file in order to get to one record.
Fig. 7.1.5 shows the symbol for a disk storage device.
The first iterations of disk storage were expensive and fragile. But over time, the capacity, cost, and stability of the disk files improved.
And soon, applications were using disk storage, not magnetic tape files.
Fig. 7.1.6 shows that applications were built where data could be accessed on disk storage.
Enter the DBMS
Applications were built with the aid of software called a database management system—a DBMS. The DBMS allowed the application programmer to focus on the logic of processing. The DBMS focused on the placement and accessing of data stored on the disk.
It wasn’t long after the DBMS appeared that it was recognized that since data could be accessed directly, rather than sequentially, a new type of application could be built. The new application that could be built was the online transaction processing application.
Fig. 7.1.7 shows the online transaction processing application.
The advent of the online transaction processing application had a profound and long-lasting effect on business. For the first time, business was able to incorporate the computer into the very fabric of business. Prior to online transaction processing, the computer was useful to business. But with online transaction processing, the computer became a normal aspect of the day-to-day processing that occurred.
Suddenly, with online transaction processing, there were reservation systems; bank teller systems; ATM systems; and many, many more types of business applications.
Response Time and Availability
With the integration of the computer into business came a new concern. Suddenly, the business was concerned with response time and availability. Response time was crucial to the business ability to function properly. When the computer did not yield proper response time, the business directly and immediately suffered. When the computer went down and was unavailable, the business suffered.
Prior to online transaction processing systems, response time and availability were theoretical subjects that were only of passing interest to the business. But in the face of online transaction systems, response time and availability became central concerns of the business.
Because of the elevated importance of response time and availability, there were significant advances in technology. Suddenly, the operating system, the database management systems, and other internal components needed to operate with efficiency that was never before needed.
Fig. 7.1.8 shows the increasing sophistication of the technical environment.
There have been many advancements in technology. Some of the more prominent advances in early technology are listed here (Fig. 7.1.9).
The corporate computing environment has arrived where it is at today as a result of many advances. In almost every case, the advances are built on top of each other.
Corporate Computing Today
The world of corporations and technology today is a world in transition. Once, the IT department did everything imaginable that dealt with technology. Today, technology is to be found everywhere—in the hands of end user, in the hands of customers, on management's desk, and elsewhere. Much of computing is migrating to the cloud, where professional technology managers store and process data. The classic IT function has been relegated to a caretaker function, looking after older operational systems. Leadership in new and innovative uses of technology is directly in the hands of the end user.