WFL/DCP SPO

4717 Story

The original meaning of the acronym is given below and I adopt also the Unisys backronym "Single Point Operations" which they actually discontinued in 2005.

In the current context, the more or less same function corresponds to squeak code which is developed to run in SqueakJS or a 5.2 desktop. These classes do not have load time MCP/DCP dependencies and will load into either image type.

		The SPO would be associated with a particular Operator Display Terminal (ODT), by assignment in the NDL (Network Definition Language) sources for the machine controlled. The TD series (classic TD830 shown) were typically used in the seventies and early eighties. The "dumb" terminal is actually in the keyboard. I also used an "SR" station type with a more programmable microprocessor introduced after the TD.
This image shows a lot of reverse video, they were normally white text on black. I believe they also could be configured like a contemporary IBM 3270 for"greenscreen" green on black or amber. There also was an ET series, a more modern version of the TD (monitor shown left).

Supervisory Print Out

In the original MCP based systems one or more consoles could function as the "SPO", the system operator interface. Originally it stood for "Supervisory Print Out" in the early MCP (presumably B5000 or possibly earlier). In my homage it has become simply "SPO" (sp-oh) for DCP/MCP, the dominion control program in the style of the Burroughs MCP.

Links

• Burroughs Large Systems (external)
• Burroughs MCP Architecture (internal)
• CANDE
• Squeak
• WFL