1981 British computer society conference

EUROMICRO Reports

faults in computing systems. Using a typical system as an example, self-test algorithms for microprocessors, RAM and ROM memories and their implementations were discussed by E. Maehle, Erlangen, in his lecture on Self-

Test Programs and their Application to Fault-Tolerant Multiprocessor Systems. A combination of self-checking hardware design and self-test programs was proposed. Also the problem of system level fault diagnosis was addressed. The lecturer concluded with an out-look for further work in this area especially with respect to faultdetection problems in future VLSI-systems. System level self-diagnosis and measures for diagnosability were the topics of two papers, Efficient Algorithms for Comparison-Based Self-Diagnosis by E. Ammann and M. Dal Cin and Diagnosing Algorithms and Learning by R. Brause, E. Dilger and T. Risse. In both papers, self-diagnosis of multiprocessor systems was considered, where each processor may enter into the diagnosis of other processors. In the first paper, a formal model of self-diagnosing multiprocessor systems based on comparison testing was developed and several diagnostic measures were defined. Efficient serial and parallel diagnosing algorithms were presented. In the second paper, the concept of learning was introduced in order to achieve improved diagnosing algorithms by the utilisation of the full information available at each system test. Estimators for the actual system parameters were calculated.

Grid-Embedding: a Reconfiguration Method for Cellular Arrays was the title of a talk by M. Speicher, Bonn. In this talk, a method was presented to gracefully degrade cellular arrays and an optimal grid-embedding algorithm was described.

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Disabled, Software Engineering, Performance Measurement, and Systems Design. The British Computer Society is concerned with more than pushing forward the frontier of computer science. It also tries to give great priority to the practical uses and social implications of the technology and to the personal and work development of computer professionals. Through this conference, it was hoped that managers, analysts, programmers, academics and users in application fields were able to increase their knowledge both generally and in their own special interest areas. A report on BCS '81, with emphasis on the topics of special relevance to this Journal, is presented below.

Computers and People J. Bessant and K. Dickson (University of Aston in Birmingham, U.K.) provided an elaborate "Reassessment of the Impact of Computers on Employment". They explained that the emergence of low cost, computing power in the 1970's gave rise to much discussion about a "microelectronics revolution". A major feature of this debate was a concern for the employment consequences of applying the new technology. Bessant and Dickson concluded in their lecture that the "revolution" has not yet taken place. They believe that it would be wrong to assume that the threats posed in the present episode are insignificant. It is more realistic, they contended, to see the rate rather than the direction of technical change having altered; ultimately the employment and other social effects will emerge, but meanwhile there is some further time to examine policy options and so respond more effectively.

Education The proceedings of the workshop have been edited by M. Dal Cin and E. Dilger and will be published by Attempto Verlag, Wilhelmstrasse, 74 TObingen, West Germany, under the title: Self-Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerance, Proceedings, T~ibingen, 1981. Ca. 300 pp. ISBN 3-921552-16-8. Ca. DM 20.00.

1981 British Computer Society Conference v

The British Computer Society organized a conference on Information Technology for the Eighties, in London, from July 1-3, 1981. The Organizing and Programme Committees produced a worthy set of sessions, concentrating on' the following topics: Languages and Environment, Office Automation, Computers and People, Medical, Man-Machine Interaction, Education, Methodology, Business Applications, Data Communications, Expert Systems, Viewdata and Information Systems, Computers in Developing Countries, Computing and the

According to C.J. Tully (University of York, U.K.), a bold expansion of university courses in computer science should be an important component of a national policy for information technology. There is a notable and growing shortage of specialist skills in industry, he said, but universities are in no position to respond to the educational need. An action programme appropriate to the crisis was proposed by Tully in the lecture entitled "Government, Industry, Universities: A Fractured Triangle". During the last ten years, explained C. Disney (F International Limited, U.K.), the provision of educational computing resources has been ignored in some cases, obtained limited funding in others, and only been adequately financed where training for formal computing qualification necessitated the provision of appropriate resources. Developments, thus, have varied according to geographical and institutional location and levels of individual expertise and personal motivation, rather than from any National Objective or need to train and educate people to live with future technology. In her lecture, "The Importance of Ecudational Computing Resources for Individuals, Local Communities and Society", Disney provided a brief look at the

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EUROMICROReports

background to the current situation, which aided in emphasizing the requirements for the successful development of comprehensive facilities. B.A. Wyld (Urwick Orr & Partners Ltd., U.K.) and S.L McClinton (Ulster Polytechnic, Northern Ireland) outlined the course structure of the BSc Computer Science at Ulster Polytechnic in their lecture, "Industrial Placement for Computer Science Students". An essential aspect of this course is the third year's industrial placement. In an attempt to obtain the most suitable pairing of student capability with employer requirements a battery of tests was introduced. Wild and McClinton, having now completed four year's placements, were able to present sufficient statistical data to make an assessment of the tests that have not been employed and their usefulness, not only in the placement sphere but also in relation to the programming examination results and eventual degree classification. Data Communications

In his lecture, "Micros and Local Networks", L. Morgan (National Computing Centre Ltd., U.K.) asserted that the convergence of computers and telecommunications has long been established. He looked at the effect microcomputers have had, particularly the emergence of the microcomputer based local area network. Two architectures for local networks were discussed and four currently available network systems described. The following topical lectures were also presented at BCS '81: Session on L A N G U A G E S A N D E N V I R O N M E N T

The STONEMAN Project and Support Systems for Ada: Summary (J.N. Buxton) An Interactive Raster Graphics Language (A. Schappo and E.A. Edmonds) Choose Your Own COBOL (J.M. Triance and P.J. Layzell) A Portable PASCAL Compiler for Multiple Target Computers (B. Huc) Session on OFFICE A U T O M A T I O N

The Electronic Office: A General Introduction (D. Firnberg) Rational Office Automation (C.E. Malpas-Sands) OFFICEMAN: A Design Approach to the Electronic Office (C. V.D. Forrington) Stategic Planning for Office Automation (L.A. Woodman) An Office Document Retrieval System (P. Crookes and F.J. Smith)

The Manpower Implications of Computer-Aided Design in the U.K. Engineering Industry (E. Arnold) Session on M E D I C A L

The 'Systematic' Doctor (J. Anderson) Digitally Dependent Medical Imaging (J.R. Sheard) The Identification of Hierarchies in Symptoms and Patients Through Computation of Fuzzy Triangle Products and Closures (W. Bandler and L.J. Kohout) EMG Analysis: Clinical Pattern Recognition and Computing Methods Used ( J. Farrer and J. Roberts) Complete Computer System for General Practitioners (R.E. Bridge and G.L. Williamson) Taking COMMAND of Hospital Patient Care (S.L Newman and D.J. Warman) Session on M A N - M A C H I N E

INTERACTION

Human Factors and Program Flexibility (D.J. Cairns and J.J. Florentin) The Personal Computer and the Personal Scientist (M.L.G. Shaw and B.R. Gaines) The New Generation Natural Language System (P. Sabatier) Design of Systems for Interaction between Humans and Computers (R.L. Wexelblat) Session on M E T H O D O L O G Y

Experience in the Use of an Overall System Design Methodology (A.L. Freedman) Reducing the Risk of Failure in Computer System Development Projects (A.A. Levene) Session on BUSINESS A P P L I C A T I O N S

A Query Language as the Prime Reporting Technique on a CODASYL Database (G.O. Jones) A Corporate Human Resource Information System (J.M. Myszko) A Fast Optimising Algorithm for Solving the Dynamic n Job on One Machine Scheduling Problem (B. Adamczewskt) Electronic Funds Transfer Systems (E. Presutto) Session on D A T A C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

Using Databases Through Networks (W.B. Cousins) A Local Computer Network (E. Huzan) The Disposition of Facilities Within a Distributed Computer Network (P. W. Williams) Session on E X P E R T SYSTEMS

Approximate Reasoning in Intelligent Relational Data Bases (L.J. Kohout and W. Bandler) A Survey and Critical Review of Expert Systems Research (M.A. Bramer)

Session on C O M P U T E R S A N D P E O P L E

Session on V I E W D A T A A N D I N F O R M A T I O N SYSTEMS

Politics and Policies for Computing and Communications (F.J.M. Laver) The Industrial Relations Challenge~to Computer Professionals (M. Peltu) Are There Senses in Which a Computer May Properly be Held Responsible for its Actions? (J.P.A. Race)

INFLOFLEX as a Videotex Gateway to Full Text Legal Information Retrieval (S. Castell) Use of a Dedicated Machine Within the Electronic Directory Project (J. Harivel) Information Retrieval for Cancer Therapy: Problems and Prospects (A.S. Pollitt)

EUROMICROReports The Use of Distributed Data Bases in Libraries (M. Agosti, F. Dalla Libera and R.G. Johnson) Session on C O M P U T E R S IN D E V E L O P I N G C O U N T R I E S

A Profile of the Application of Computers in ASEAN Countries (K. Venkata Rao) The Delicate Role of the Consultant Adviser Within Successful Computer Development in Third World Countries (V.P. Lane) The BCS Developing Countries Project (J.L. Bogod) Session on C O M P U T I N G A N D T H E D I S A B L E D

Use of Computer-Based Facilities for the Dissemination of Information to Disabled People (C. Saiady and A. V. Stokes) An Information Service for the Disabled (H.M. Townley) Session on S O F T W A R E E N G I N E E R I N G

Programs Without Programming (LR. Wilson) SAVIOUR: A Tool to Assist in Constructing Large Software Systems (M.F. Bott and M.D. Tedd) A Compiler-Compiler for COBOL on Micros (A.E. Sale) A Logic of Correctness for Top-down Analysis and Synthesisof Programs (C.M.P. Reade)

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The technical program consisted of invited talks and 17 sessions for contributed papers. The invited speakers were K.S. Fu from Purdue University, USA, U. Grenander ,from Brown University, USA, S. Jaakkola from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden, F. Jelinek from IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, USA, H. Platzer from Technical University Munich, FRG, Ju I. Zhuravlev from the Academy of Sciences, USSR, and N. Aslund from the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. The technical sessions ranged from theoretical problems of image analysis to hardware systems and biomedical image analysis. Special sessions on human visual processing and speech processing were also included. The total number of presented papers was 72. All the invited and contributed papers were published in the Proceedings. All in all, the Conference was a success. The wide international interest also from outside the Nordic Countries slightly exceeded the expectations of the organizers. The series of Scandinavian Conferences on Image Analysis seems to be well on its way. The third conference in this line will probably be arranged by the Danish Pattern Recognition Society somewhere on the Danish territory in 1983.

Session on P E R F O R M A N C E M E A S U R E M E N T

Monitoring CODASYL Database Management Systems (C.L Johnston and A.S. Stone) Sizing the Performance of Minicomputers (D.C. Menzies) Is Your Installation Giving Value for Money? (R. Townsend)

The Proceedings are available from: Kai M~ikisava, Helsinki University of Technology, Dept. of Technical Physics, SF-02150 Espoo 15, Finland, at FIM 100or USD 25. These prices include mailing costs except the overseas air freight which is FIM 12 or USD 3 extra.

Session on SYSTEMS D E S I G N

IDMS and CAFS (J. W.S. Carmichael) New Approaches to Systems Analysis and Design (J. Abbatt, C. Campbell, A.H. Jones and F.F. Land)

The Proceedings of the BCS '81 Conference on INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR THE EIGHTIES have been edited by R.D. PARSLOW and are available from Heyden Et Son Ltd., Spectrum House, Hillview Gardens, London NW4 2JQ, England. 1981. xiv + 770 pages. ISBN 0-85501-698-1. Price: £25.

Second Scandinavian Conference on Image Analysis Approximately 160 scientists and engineers from different fields of picture processing and pattern recognition attended the Second Scandinavian Conference on Image Analysis in Helsinki, Finland, June 15-17, 1981. The Conference which was the second in a series of IAPR regional conferences on Image Analysis was arranged by the Pattern Recognition Society of Finland and co-sponsored by the Helsinki University of Technology. The Conference attracted participants from 17 countries representing North America, South America, Asia, and Europe.

Formal Design Techniques for Microprocessor Systems The Professional Group C6 (Microprocessor Applications) of the lEE organized a colloquium on 'Formal Design Techniques for Microprocessor Systems' in London on May 19, 1981. As microprocessors become more widely used, an increasing proportion of systems are becoming software based. Simultaneously, however, software is becoming more complex as both concepts and the capabilities of the microprocessors to implement those concepts, develop. This colloquium focussed on some current approaches to this problem and particularly on formal methods. A summary of the one-day colloquium on 'Formal Design Techniques for Microprocessor Systems' is presented below. CliffB. Jones (Programming Research Group, University of Oxford), in a lecture entitled " A Formal Approach to System Design", lamented the present state of the computer industry. He claimed that the problems of er-