Adlib Internet Server 5

Title
Collection of documents and ICL PLAN source listings referring to subroutines written in the PLAN programming language used to create a tailored word processing program for users in the printing and publishing industry
Reference
MS/2187
Production date
1964 - 1979

Creator

International Computers Limited Biography Biography
International Computers Ltd (ICL) was a British company formed in 1968 as a part of the Industrial Expansion Act of the Wilson Labour Government. ICL was an initiative of Tony Benn, the Minister of Technology, to create a British computer industry that could compete with major world manufacturers like IBM. English Electric Leo Marconi (EELM) was merged with the computer interests of Elliott Automation which was then taken over by International Computers and Tabulators (ICT) to form International Computers Limited (ICL). Plessey Co and English Electric each owned 18% of the equity of ICL, with 53.5% in the hands of former shareholders of ICT and the remaining 10.5% held by the government. ICL represented the last step in a series of mergers that had taken place in the industry since the late 1950s. ICL tended to rely on large contracts from the UK public sector. Significant customers included Post Office Ltd., the Inland Revenue, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Defence. The company had various buildings at Bracknell (its main one being at Lovelace Road in the town); it also had numerous locations throughout the UK and worldwide. Manufacturing took place in Letchworth (Hertfordshire), Manchester and the Midlands (including Kidsgrove). It is thought that there were over 100 ICL locations in the UK alone with many more overseas. Fujitsu's involvement with ICL steadily increased; in 1990 Fujitsu acquired 80% of ICL plc from STC. Following the acquisition of Nokia Data in 1991, personal computers and servers were marketed under the ICL brand. Eventually in 2002, Fujitsu acquired full ownership of ICL and subsequently fully integrated it, dropping the ICL brand.

Scope and Content
The subordinates were written as part of a suite of routines termed CCS (Computer Composition Systems). These programmes initially had paper tape input, but later operate with disc file input. Output was generally paper tape to drive a hot-metal linecaster of Monotype composing machine, and later to phototypesetting machines such as the Linotron 505 and Monophoto. Proofing output was to drum printer, with line numbers also printed to identify subsequent word editing. The subordinates are mostly concerned with the automatic hyphenation of English words. This encapsulates work done by David Martin at the University of Newcastle on both identifying hyphenation points within a word, and succinctly encoding the tables of rules and exceptions. The table at the beginning of each subordinate is thus the most important. The table is highly condensed, and uses symbols defined in the 'Extract of ICL manual on the design of the hyphenation table' (MS/2178/07).
Extent
14 items
Language
English
Level of description
TOP
Repository name
Science Museum, London
Conditions governing access
Open Access
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied in accordance with current copyright legislation and Science Museum Group terms and conditions

Related object

Archive of International Computers Ltd.Notes Notes
Connected with the Computer Composition System (item 31/71 1969)

System of arrangement
The numbering designated by the donor has been retained. Listing compiled by the donor and donor's notes providing further information about the collection are contained within the object file.