John Chase remembers: > ISTR that "PDF" (now ISPF option 2) was the full-screen editor; > an add-on to "SPF".
The full-screen editor, formerly called SPF (the "Structured Programming Facility") was incorporated into ISPF (renamed by then, twice, to "Interactive System Productivity Facility") as the "ISPF/PDF" component (or the PDF subcomponent of ISPF), in contrast to the other part, which was the "Dialog Manager." There was a half-assed dialog-type function in the original SPF, but nothing as sophisticated as what the Dialog Manager offered. That part was good, but the incorporation of SPF (as ISPF/PDF) into ISPF, which forced PDF to be a Dialog Manager application, was bad, because it introduced the then-termed "rubber PF Keys" facility/improvement/disaster (pick your own poison), which was one of the most heated debates about "user interface expectations" and "gross disappointments" that was ever held at GUIDE. Most customers were furious about the unintended consequences, since it broke a boatload of stuff. But, IBM usability research indicated (to IBM, that is) that the new way was better, so the die was cast. (These were the same people that decided the PF Keys were better on the top of the keyboard instead of the 3x4 matrix on the right side.) IBM played these name games in order to change both the program ID and the price and the terms ("Restricted Materials" for some things) of distribution. Over time, they changed from essentially all PL/S source to having some elements written in SAS/C. One of the most significant changes, IMHO, was the incorporation of Donald Ludlow's SUPERC PO into ISPF/PDF as 3.12, 3.13, 3.14, now. That enabled them to charge just a little bit more (although you never read that in the announcement materials, but the developers knew exactly what was going on; Donald, however, approved, since it got his code out to essentially everybody). SPF, by the way, was at the time universally acknowledged as the very first (and then only) software product that a user could use right off the bat without any documentation or training, simply 'at sight', because its functions were so obvious and the interface was self-evident. Many, if not most, of the so-called "improvements" in later versions of "SPF" (a.k.a. ISPF/PDF) were not so well thought out. That was, of course, due to the fact that the external interface came under the control of the SAA "user interface & usability" folks inside IBM, who thought (and probably still do think) that they knew better than the original architects/designers/ programmers (who WERE actually programmers, themselves, and so really did know better what real programmers would like). It has always amazed me that IBM relentlessly allows idiots to design stuff (or worse, re-design already-working, well- done stuff) that they themselves: (a) did not before use, and (b) would never, ever use (in their job) anyway. The usability tests for the keyboard PF Key placement decision was conducted not with programmers, but women (97%) literally "off the street." Why? Because the "market" for 3270 terminals was thought to be female clerks entering data into CICS and IMS screens. IBM paid absolutely NO attention to real programmers or operators during that testing. An IBM VP admitted this to a large group of us at GUIDE once. What's so sick about that is that, in a conversation with her after her presentation, she basically said that our assertion that "programmers" used 3270 terminals to write code and debug programs was completely unbelievable. She was unaware of any such support and "knew" that the transaction monitors were the only software (other than MVS for consoles) that IBM offered to work with them. Asked what TSO was, she explained that she had heard of it, but thought that it was a minor and mostly-unused, functionally-stabilized product, and it had no importance whatsoever in IBM product plans. (That last part was, in fact, true -- as far as IBM was concerned.) Where and how IBM comes up with these morons has never ceased to amaze me. -- WB ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html