Nomad software
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NOMAD is a
NOMAD provides both interactive and batch environments for data management and application development, including commands for database definition, data manipulation, and reporting. All components are accessible by and integrated through a database-oriented programming language. Unlike many tools for managing mainframe data, which are geared to the needs of professional programmers in MIS departments, NOMAD is particularly designed for (and sold to) application end-users in large corporations. End-users employ Nomad in batch production cycles and in Web-enabled applications, as well as for reporting and distribution via the web or PC desktop.
Capabilities
NOMAD is distinguished by five characteristics:
- An intuitive database-oriented fourth-generation programming language (4GL) for creating databases, managing data, and writing applications
- An interactive environment in which any 4GL statement may be typed and immediately processed (comparable to interactive tools like PHP or Perl)
- Relational database features, supporting lookup tables and the other elements of a normalized relational database
- Powerful set-at-a-time operations under the control of simple imperative commands
- Accesses data from many sources, such as DB2, Oracle, and SQL Server.
NOMAD's language was designed to simplify the application development process, especially for reporting applications. Where possible, common requirements were addressed by intuitive nonprocedural syntax elements, to avoid traditional programming. The heart of the system was the LIST command, which created report output.
LIST BY STATE BY CUST_ID NAME PHONE ACROSS STATUS BALANCE WHERE STATE AMONG('CT','NY') State Customer ID Name Phone Active Inactive New ----- ----------- ----------------- ------------ -------- -------- --------- CT 1001 ABC Co. 203-555-1212 1200 0 0 1012 DEF Co. 203-555-1313 0 50 900 NY 1305 GHI Co. 212-555-1414 2650 0 0
In this example, database fields STATE, CUST_ID, NAME, PHONE, STATUS, and BALANCE are laid out on a grid, with two sort breaks (via BY), generated columns based on data values (via ACROSS), and data selection (via WHERE). Additional keywords could control subtotals, titles, footers, table lookup, and myriad reporting details.
The LIST command is somewhat analogous to the SQL SELECT statement, but incorporates formatting, totaling, and other elements helpful for tailoring output to a business requirement. The SELECT statement, in contrast, is essentially a data query tool: its results would be processed or formatted as required using other mechanisms. This distinction is highlighted by SQL's classification as a 'Data Sublanguage' (DSL): SQL is a powerful formalism for controlling data retrieval. The LIST command is a comprehensive report writer addressing broader functionality.
Another example of NOMAD's power is illustrated by Nicholas Rawlings in his comments for the Computer History Museum about NCSS (see citation below). He reports that
CHANGE ALL SALARY=SALARY*1.06 WHERE POSITION='ENG' AND AVG(INSTANCE(RATING)) GE 7
Rawlings continues: "[Martin] decided to drop the idea [of showing alternative solutions to the problem]. [The NOMAD solution] was too unbelievable for him. He published his book in 1982 [sic: 1981], with many fine examples of NOMAD, most of which look silly today, for they don't reflect what NOMAD was really used for in the years since: serious, mission critical applications. I used Martin's Engineer's Problem in hundreds of NOMAD classes, as I forced people to think in terms of sets of data, instead of record-at-a-time, which is how they'd been taught."
Early development
NOMAD was developed by
Unlike RAMIS, which was largely written in
Another RAMIS successor was
NOMAD was officially released in October 1975 (although customer usage began in May 1975). The NOMAD customer base expanded rapidly, as new categories of users adopted time-sharing data management tools to solve problems they previously could not tackle. NOMAD competed principally with Focus and Ramis for this expanding market.
NOMAD was claimed to be the first commercial product to incorporate relational database concepts. This seems to be borne out by the launch dates of the well-known early RDBMS vendors, which first emerged in the late 1970s and early 80s – such as
NOMAD was released before these industry events, and thus, like System R, NOMAD drew on earlier academic work by relational database pioneers such as
At the time, relational database concepts were new; most database systems utilized hierarchical, network, or other data models. Adding relational features to NOMAD's original hierarchical design was evidently a bold move for NCSS. Training materials, such as
Development: late 1970s
NOMAD was the flagship NCSS product during the firm's years of rapid growth, going through a series of releases and receiving a major share of this (publicly traded) company's R&D, sales, support, and other resources.
NCSS and its
In the late 1970s, NCSS developed a 'mini-370' product called the NCSS 3200,[3] primarily intended as an in-house platform for running NOMAD under the NCSS operating system VP/CSS (see below). The small, low-cost system was sold as an end-user 'database machine' or 'information warehouse' for extracting and analyzing corporate datasets – analogous to the dedicated mainframes installed at some of NCSS's larger customer sites. Despite limited success, the company lost interest in the 3200 venture, which was scrapped along with the VP/CSS operating system.[citation needed]
Development: 1980s
Until 1982, NOMAD was available only on NCSS's proprietary time-sharing system VP/CSS. During this period, with a few exceptions, NOMAD was used only by interactive time-sharing customers via pay-as-you-go dial-up access. NOMAD's primary status as a time-sharing product – rather than a licensed software product – had a major impact on its initial design, enhancement, sales, training, and support. The first NOMAD customers were inextricably linked to National CSS's service offerings, and to the capabilities of VP/CSS and the NCSS network.
This changed, marking the start of a new era when NOMAD2 was developed in 1982 in conjunction with major customer Bank of America,[4] It was released as a separate product under VM in 1982 and under MVS in 1983. It is still available today for the latest versions of z/VM and z/OS. In the late 1980s, NOMAD’s presence expanded to the PC when PC Nomad was released to run under DOS.
Development: 1990 to Present
NOMAD products continued to develop along multiple product lines in the 1990s with support for more sources of data and more operating systems. A new version of NOMAD for
On the mainframe front, NOMAD added double-byte character support and ran under the Fujitsu operating system. QLIST was added to the mainframe product line, providing a user-friendly environment for developing sophisticated reports without extensive knowledge of NOMAD syntax. NOMAD remains an extremely stable product that is enhanced to keep up with contemporary needs, such as access to Oracle and SQL Server data on mid-tier platforms, full e-mail support and additional types of output formatted in HTML, XML, and PDF.
A new line of products began later in the 1990s, starting with RP/Web. This was the precursor to UltraQuest Applications, giving users the ability to Web-enable their mainframe NOMAD applications. The UltraQuest Reporter product was added to this line-up late in the 1990s, for easy reporting from the Web or from a PC of mainframe data via NOMAD. The experience gained from developing and supporting the QLIST and Report Painter products was applied to the development of UltraQuest Reporter. Their influence is clearly visible in UltraQuest Reporter, but Reporter uses Java and HTML technology to create a more user-friendly environment and provide more services.
The basic philosophy of the NOMAD language, to simplify the application development and reporting processes with an intuitive and powerful syntax, is carried forward into the UltraQuest products. UltraQuest Reporter applies a layer on top of the 4GL to make report-building even easier, without writing any syntax at all, employing an intuitive and powerful graphical user interface. Other features and services make reporting applications and data securely available through the Web to any employee’s PC.
Ownership
User base
When NOMAD was released as a licensed software product it was acquired by some of the large corporations that had been using the time-sharing service. These included
NOMAD continues[when?] to be used by large corporations and distributors, especially in the financial and health markets.
Notes
References
- ISBN 9789325971608. Retrieved Mar 11, 2020.
- ^ "RAMIS and NOMAD--National CSS" (PDF). May 20, 2005.
- ^ "NCSS 3200". 29 May 1978.
- ^ Blakeney, Susan (Nov 22, 1982). "Bank's Need to Extend Time-Sharing Spurs Nomad2 Development". Vol. 16, no. 47. Computerworld. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- ^ "Gores Acquires Aonix". Press release. December 2, 1998. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ "Avantcé Software completes acquisition of Select Business Solutions from affiliates of The Gores Group". Press release. February 14, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
Further reading
- McCracken, Daniel, A Guide to NOMAD for applications developmentNational CSS, 1980]
- ISBN 0-201-14452-2. [The first edition of this well-known book only mentioned SEQUEL in a footnote. Later editions feature extensive coverage of SQL.]
- Chamberlin, et al., "A history and evaluation of System R" CACM Vol. 24 No. 10, October 1981. [System R was a widely discussed research system during the late 70s and early 80s, familiar to all computer scientists of the day working on database systems, and implementing the first version of SQL. The initial installations of System R at IBM facilities occurred in June 1977.]
- Computer History Museum, Corporate Histories Collection. http://www.computerhistory.org/corphist/view.php?s=select&cid=4 [Follow links to numerous first-person recollections of life at NCSS and the history of Nomad.]
- ISBN 0-13-038943-9. [Reported to include "many fine examples of NOMAD."]
- Rawlings, Nicholas (2014). "The History of NOMAD: A Fourth Generation Language". S2CID 19419272.