1960 to 1969: The Rise of Business Computers and Business Software - The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering - page 127

The Apollo computer and software systems were important precursors to “fly-
by-wire” systems that would become the norm on future aircraft and the space
shuttle. The near disaster during the Apollo 11 descent, and the even greater prob-
lems with later Apollo missions, emphasize the fact that onboard software for air-
craft and space vehicles needed to approach zero-defect quality levels.
Computer and Software Growth in the 1960s
As the decade neared its end, computer programming was evolving toward soft-
ware engineering, with improved standards and better quality control.
I went to work for IBM at their lab in Boulder, Colorado. During a 12-year ten-
ure, I was fortunate to meet a number of IBM colleagues who would contribute
important insights to the software engineering field.
Among my technical colleagues were Dr. Harlan Mills of “clean room” and
“chief programmer” fame; Dr. Ted Codd of relational database fame; Dr. Ken Iver-
son, the inventor of APL; Dr. Charles Turk, the codeveloper of IBM's first soft-
ware cost-estimating tool; and Dr. Gerald Weinberg, the author of The Psychology
of Computer Programming .
Among my management and executive colleagues were Jim Frame, who man-
aged the IBM Santa Teresa Lab; Ted Climis, the head of the Systems Development
Division; Dr. Fred Brooks, who was in charge of the OS/360 and later wrote The
Mythical Man-Month ; and T. J. Watson, Jr. Watson personally sponsored an ini-
tiative to improve the quality of IBM software, and he was the executive who
sponsored the S/360 line.
By the late 1960s, computers were also starting to have an impact on sports. In
1968, a golf pro named Jim Healy built the first computerized tool for calculating
golf handicaps. Later, this kind of software would become the industry standard
for amateur and professional golfers.
The original tool was a one-off build using a custom microcomputer. Later, in
the 1980s, the software migrated to personal computers starting with Radio Shack
Model II and then moving to Apple and IBM personal computers.
The decade also witnessed the development of the UNIX operating system by
AT&T Bell Labs in 1969. The same year, the Department of Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) introduced ARPANET, which was the fore-
runner of today's internet.