Project Abstract

The SAGE computer system had numerous impacts across the field of computing. The development of new technology and the experiences of those who worked on the project would go on to have an enormous impact on the field. Yet despite this it remains relatively unknown among the wider computing profession.This dissertation explores and analyses three main areas of the SAGE project. Firstly, the circumstances that birthed it: the preceding work and events at Project Whirlwind, and the political contexts that shaped and necessitated its development into SAGE. Secondly, its software ?�� the role the Software Development Corporation played in the evolution of the industry, the contributions British academics played, and a brief analysis of some of the code SAGE produced. Finally, the impact on industry ?�� this is done through a case study of IBM who were one of the primary contractors for SAGE. There the impact of SAGE on IBM?��s fortunes ?�� both present and future ?�� is examined and discussed.This work primarily adopts a ?��History of Technology?�� methodology ?�� a useful summary of which can be found in Haigh?��s The History of Computing: An Introduction for the Computer Scientist (Haigh 2004). To this end I have focused on how SAGE came to be ?�� its circumstances and context ?�� and how it influenced what came after it; specifically software and industry. In this I have been particularly inspired by the approach of Paul Edwards in The Closed World (Edwards 1996). His approach ?�� treating (military) computing as something both shaped by and shaping the world around it ?�� is an insightful example to follow. This project helps us gain a greater understanding of the role SAGE played in creating our industry today ?�� training thousands of programmers, rocketing IBM to new heights, and creating a template that future US military computing projects would follow.

Keywords: Historical Research, Impact on Industry, Military computing

 Conference Details

Session: Poster Session B at Poster Stand 5

Location: Sir Stanley Clarke Auditorium at Wednesday 8th 09:00 – 12:30

Markers: Troy Astarte, Gregory Cheng

Course: MSci Computer Science, 3rd Year

Future Plans: I’m looking for work