Detailed use of NLS for internal management processes of ARC: Cost records, working forecasts, purchase Renaissance, etc.

In 1970 we began using the ARPANET to facilitate our re-programming of NLS for the forthcoming PDP-10 TENEX. The University of Utah had a TENEX on the network, and we used NLS on the 940 to write our new PDP-10 code; using our Tree-Meta compiler, we developed a cross-compiler for our 940 that produced PDP-10 relocatable binary code. We would ship that over the net for loading and debugging on Utah's TENEX. When the two computers and the intervening network link were all working properly (lots of flat tires in the early days of automobiles), our programmers would do all of this back and forth transitioning "through" the same workstation. I think that it was not only a record-making way of working, but the NLS transport task was accomplished in remarkably short time (we attributed part of the efficiency to the network, and part to the use of NLS).

In late 1970 we brought NLS up on the PDP-10 TENEX with improved and new features (including multiple windows).

Began using our Mail/Journal system within our group. Integrated into NLS, this assumed that a mail item was a document -- so any part of all of an NLS document could be sent. Provided for permanent record in explicitly retrievable form (our Journal). As an electronic-mail system, this was quite advanced. It had a Directory service (our Ident System) to provide mail-relevant information about registered users; mail distribution was addressed by people's Idents, with no need to know or specify which host they used. Fields were provided for superceding other items, and for attaching keywords. An online index was provided for stored items.