Additional contributions welcome. To add items you must be registered and signed in, see the Welcome page for details, or send items to mts-comments@umich.edu.
Unless stated otherwise, documents are from the Computing Center or the Information Technology Division at the University of Michigan, Copyright © by the Regents of the University of Michigan, and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0).
Archives

Working to ensure that the
cultural record is preserved and
accessible long into the future
U-M's permanent, safe, and accessible
service for representing its
rich intellectual community
MTS documentation is available from:
Historical documents and records:
- the UM Computing Center Records and UM Computing Center Publications collections at UM's Bentley Historical Library (BHL)
- the Michael T. Alexander records at UM's BHL
- the UM Information Technology Division Records and UM Information Technology Division Publications at UM's BHL
- List of archival collections related to computing at UM's BHL
- University of Michigan Computing Timeline, 1946 to 2012 (PDF), Bentley Historical Library in U-M's Deep Blue Digital Archive
- History of Connectivity on Campus at UM's BHL
- SHARE Michigan Time Sharing (MTS) System Project,
1979, SHARE, Inc. Records (CBI 21), Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, Box 19, folder 13, roughly 100 pages of information contributed to the CBI by Don
Boettner of the University of Michigan Computing Center in ca. 1990.
- Merit Network, Inc. records, 1966-2002, Bentley Historical Library.
- Timeline of Digital Initiatives at the Bentley Historical Library: 1979-2007.
Bibliography
-
Published Literature on the Michigan Terminal System, including masters and doctoral theses and research reports
- List of references to MTS in published literature
Wikipedia articles
MTS Volumes
-
MTS Volume I: Michigan Terminal System, Second Edition
- MTS Volume II: Michigan Terminal System, Second Edition
- MTS Volume 1: The Michigan Terminal System
- MTS Volume 2: Public File Descriptions
- MTS Volume 2x: (Obsolete) Public File Descriptions - Obsolete descriptions removed from MTS Volume 2
- January 1987, 186 pages, PDF/A, 280KB Deep Blue
- MTS Volume 3: System Subroutine Descriptions
- MTS Volume 4: Terminals and Networks in MTS
- MTS Volume 5: System Services
- MTS Volume 6: FORTRAN in MTS
- MTS Volume 7: PL/I in MTS
- MTS Volume 8: LISP and SLIP in MTS
- MTS Volume 9: SNOBOL4 in MTS
- MTS Volume 10: BASIC in MTS
- MTS Volume 11: Plot Description System
- MTS Volume 12: PIL/2 in MTS
- MTS Volume 13: The Symbolic Debugging System
- MTS Volume 14: 360/370 Assemblers in MTS
- MTS Volume 15: FORMAT and TEXT360
- MTS Volume 16: ALGOL W in MTS
- MTS Volume 17: Integrated Graphics System
- MTS Volume 18: The MTS File Editor
- MTS Volume 19: Magnetic Tapes
- MTS Volume 20: Pascal in MTS
- MTS Volume 21: MTS Command Extensions and Macros
- MTS Volume 22: UTILISPin MTS
- MTS Volume 23: Messaging and Conferencing in MTS
University of Alberta Manuals
- MTS Reference, July 1984, 65 pages, PDF/A, 6.3MB MTS Archive
- Introduction to MTS, May 1970, 16 pages, PDF/A. 2.6MB MTS Archive
- Terminal Users' Guide, May 1970, 23 pages, PDF/A, 2.8MB MTS Archive
- Batch Users' Guide, May 1970, 17 pages, PDF/A, 2.4MB MTS Archive
- Commands, May 1970, 33 pages, PDF/A, 3.8MB MTS Archive
- Utilities, May 1970, 27 pages, PDF/A, 3.2MB MTS Archive
- Files and Devices, May 1970, 56 pages, PDF/A, 8.4MB MTS Archive
- Mag Tape Users' Guide, May 1970, 42 pages, PDF/A, 4.7MB MTS Archive
- FORTRAN (G and H), May 1970, 63 pages, PDF/A, 3.6MB MTS Archive
- PL/1, May 1970, 26 pages, PDF/A, 3.2MB MTS Archive
Tutorial Documents
- Introduction to Computing Center Services, September 1983 Hathi Trust
- Introduction to Database Management Systems on MTS--Getting Organized, T7001, March 1986, 210pp. Hathi Trust
- Introduction to Magnetic Tapes--Getting It on Tape, September 1986 Hathi Trust
- Introduction to MTS--Getting Started, T7003, July 1987, 128pp. Hathi Trust
- Introduction to Programming and Debugging in MTS--Getting the Bugs Out, T7004, January 1986, 203pp. Hathi Trust
- Introduction to Terminals and Microcomputers--Getting Connected, T7005, March 1990, 106pp. Hathi Trust
- Introduction to the MTS File Editor--Getting It Right, T7006, June 1986, 318pp. Hathi Trust
- Introduction to FORMAT, October 1980 Hathi Trust
- The Taxir Primer, R.C. Brill, MTS Version, 4th edition, February 1983 Hathi Trust
- Using infoX, T7019, May 1992, 80 pp, PDF/A MTS Archive
Newsletters
-
Computing Center Newsletter, Computing Center, University of Michigan
- volume 1 (1971) through volume 16 (1986), PDF Hathi Trust
- U-M Computing News, Computing Center, University of Michigan
- volume 1 (1986) through volume 6 (1991), PDF Hathi Trust
- Information Technology Digest, Information Technology Division (ITD), University of Michigan
- volume 1 (1992) through volume 7 (1998), PDF Hathi Trust
- Link Letter, Merit/NSFNET Project Newsletter
Memos
- Information Technology Division (ITD) Publications, lists
MTS Volumes, updates to MTS Volumes, other reference documents,
Step-by-Step documents, Tutorial documents, CC Memos, and Merit Memos
- U-M Computing Center Memos
- Merit User Memos
- Nos. 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1979-1980 Hathi Trust
- Translation Day Character Code Changes on MTS (ccm480)
- Using LaTeX on MTS (ccm815)
- TEXTFORM Reference Manual (r1028)
- January 1986, 256 pages, Computing Services, University of Alberta, PDF/A, 700KB Deep Blue Bitsavers
- BITNET on MTS (r1039)
- The Resource Manager (r1037)
- C89 (r1063), a C programming language compiler for the IBM S/370 architecture
- So You Want To Use the IBM 360/67, J.M. Kennedy and Andrea Berger, University of British Columbia
- December 1968, revised November 1970, 15 pages, PDF/A, 3.6MB MTS Archive
- MTS Users Guide, NUMAC, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne and University of Durham
Film and video
-
Basic Operation of MTS (1969)
Basic Operation of MTS
- 1969, 35:32, 320x240, Quicktime, 15 fps, 52MB Deep Blue
- 1969, 35:32, 640x480, MPEG-4, 30 fps, 313 MB MTS Archive
- Basic Operation of the IBM 29 Card Punch
- 1967, 20:07, 320x240, Quicktime, 12 fps, 32MB Deep Blue
- Advanced Use of the IBM 29 Card Punch
- 1968, 30:10, 320x240, Quicktime, 12 fps, 49MB Deep Blue
- Reception honoring Robert C. F. Bartels, first Director of the U-M Computing Center
- September 2004, 1:06:13, 320x240, Quicktime, 12 fps, 105MB Deep Blue
- Michigan Digital Automatic Computer (MIDAC)
- The story of the UM's high-speed electronic computer "MIDAC" built at UM's Willow Run Laboratories in the early 1950s under the sponsorship of the U.S. Air Force.
- Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
- Original: Michigan Report, University of Michigan Television, kine pos, b/w, sound, 00:14:37, 1955
Applications
MTS Volume 2: Public File Descriptions includes documentation for the application programs that were provided as part of MTS by the computing centers that developed and ran it. But MTS applications were not limited to just these "public files". Anyone with a valid MTS user id could make programs available for use by others and many individuals and organizations did. MTS Volume 2 includes a section, "Other Available Files", that lists some of the most important sources of additional application programs. A few of the most important application programs are listed below.
CONFER
CONFER is one of the first and one of the most sophisticated computer conferencing systems. It was developed in 1975 at the University of Michigan by then graduate student Robert Parnes. The CONFER system continued to be a widely used communication tool until 1999. CONFER is the progenitor of the computer conferencing systems Caucus, PicoSpan, and YAPP.
- "CONFER" Wikipedia article
- Confer and MTS Help (R1042)
- Computer Conferencing Guidelines (R1043)
- Guidelines for Effective Conferencing for Organizers (R1044)
- Guidelines for Effective Conferencing for Participants (R1045)
- MTS Volume 23: Messaging and Conferencing in MTS
- A Partial History of Computer Conferencing in Ann Arbor, Jan Woltor, 1997, updated 2007, 8 pages, PDF, 267KB, MTS Archive
- The History of the Student Conferencing Project, David Winkel, 1989 or 1990, 3 pages, PDF/A, 69KB MTS Archive
MICRO Information Management System
The MICRO Information Management System was the first-large scale set-theoretic database management system to be used in production. Its major underpinnings and algorithms were based on the Set-Theoretic
Data Structure (STDS) model developed by D. L. Childs of the University
of Michigan's CONCOMP (Conversational Use of Computers) Project. MICRO featured a natural language interface which allowed non-programmers to use the system.
- "MICRO Information Management System" Wikipedia article
- Description of a set-theoretic data structure,
D. L. Childs
- March 1968, Technical Report 3 of the CONCOMP (Research in
Conversational Use of Computers) Project, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, 30 pages, PDF, 1.4MB Deep Blue
- Feasibility of a Set-Theoretic Data Structure : A General Structure Based on a Reconstituted Definition of Relation,
D. L. Childs
- August 1968, Technical Report 6 of the CONCOMP (Research in
Conversational Use of Computers) Project, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, 48 pages, PDF, 2.1MB Deep Blue
- A Set Theoretic Data Structure and Retrieval Language, William R. Hershey and Carol H. Easthope, Labor Market Information System (LMIS) Project, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Michigan
- May 1972, Spring Joint Computer Conference in ACM SIGIR Forum, Volume 7, Issue 4 (December 1972), pp. 45-55,
DOI=10.1145/1095495.1095500, 11 pages, PDF, 649KB MTS Archive
- "A Set Theoretic Data Structure and Retrieval Language (Appendix H)", William R. Hershey and Carol H. Easthope and "Micro Information Retrieval System (Version 3.9) Technical Reference Manual (Appendix I)", Michael A. Kahn, Donald L. Rumelhart, and Boyd L. Bronson
- MICRO Information Management System Reference Manual, Michael A. Kahn, Donald L. Rumelhart, and Boyd L. Bronson
- Version 5.0, October 1977, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Michigan and Wayne State University, 479 pages, PDF, 15MB MTS Archive
- MICRO: A Relational Database Management System, Harry F. Clark, David E. Hetrick, Robert C. Bressan
- July 1992, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Michigan, 451 pages, ISBN 0877363501, 9780877363507 MTS Archive
- "Chapter 6: MICRO" in Introduction to database management systems on MTS, Rick Rilio
- March 1986, User Guide Series, Computing Center, University of Michigan, pages 147-189 Hathi Trust
MIDAS: Michigan Interactive Data Analysis System
The Michigan Interactive Data Analysis System (MIDAS) is a system of data analysis and statistical computing programs developed by the Statistical Research Laboratory (SRL) of the University of Michigan. The development of MIDAS was been undertaken because the SRL staff felt the need for a computing system which would: 1) provide a wide variety of statistical capabilities; 2) offer flexible data manipulation capabilities; 3) perform computations as cheaply as possible; 4) use a consistent and, hopefully, intuitive syntax; 5) operate easily in both batch and remote modes, 6) allow for future enlargement and easy modification; and 7) accommodate with equal efficiency small and large data sets.
-
Documentation for MIDAS, Daniel J. Fox, Kenneth E. Guire
- First edition revised, 1972, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 136 pages, PDF, 11MB Hathi Trust
- Second edition revised, 1974, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 207 pages, PDF, 19MB Hathi Trust
- Third edition, 1976, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 223 pages, PDF, 22MB Hathi Trust
- A manual of elementary statistics using MIDAS
- 1975, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 323 pages, PDF, 29MB Hathi Trust
- Elementary statistics using MIDAS
- 1976, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 324 pages, PDF, 27MB Hathi Trust
- Simulation with MIDAS, William A. Ericson, Daniel J. Fox
- 1976, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 91 pages, PDF, 8MB Hathi Trust
OSIRIS: Organized Set of Integrated Routines for Investigations with Statistics
OSIRIS, Organized Set of Integrated Routines for Investigations with Statistics, is a package of about 50 programs for the management and analysis of social science data, jointly developed by the component centers of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan using funds from the National Science Foundation, the Inter-University Consortium for Political Research, and other sources. In 1974 OSIRIS was available at approximately 200 installations in the USA and abroad.
- OSIRIS II: MTS users manual
- Part I, 1971, 78 pages, Inter-university Consortium for Political Research, PDF Hathi Trust
- Part II, 1971, 394 pages, Inter-university Consortium for Political Research, PDF Hathi Trust
- OSIRIS III: an integrated collection of computer programs for the management and analysis of social science data
- 1973, 6 volumes, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, PDF Hathi Trust
- 1973, MTS Supplement, 63 pages, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, PDF Hathi Trust
- OSIRIS architecture and design, Judith Rattenbury and Neal Van Eck
- 1973, 305 pages, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, PDF Hathi Trust
- Data processing in the social sciences with OSIRIS, Judith Rattenbury and Paula Pelletier
- 1974, 243 pages, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, PDF Hathi Trust
- OSIRIS IV user's manual
- 4th edition, 1979, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, PDF Hathi Trust
- 6th edition, 1980, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, PDF Hathi Trust
- 7th edition, revised, 1982, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, PDF Hathi Trust
- Computer processing of social science data using OSIRIS IV, Judith Rattenbury, Paula Pelletier, and Laura Klem
- 1984, 182 pages, Institute for Social Research (ISR), University of Michigan, PDF Hathi Trust
SPIRES: Stanford Public Information Retrieval System
The Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System (SPIRES) was originally developed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in 1969, from a design based on a 1967 information study of physicists at SLAC. The system was designed as a physics database management system (DBMS) to deal with high-energy-physics preprints. Written in PL/I, this version of SPIRES ran on an IBM mainframe. In the early 1970s, an evaluation of this system resulted in the
decision to implement a new system for use by faculty, staff, and
students at Stanford University. The new system was renamed the Stanford Public Information Retrieval System and development took place under a National Science Foundation
grant headed by Edwin B. Parker, principal investigator. The new version of SPIRES was rewritten in PL360, a block structured programming language designed explicitly for IBM/360-compatible
hardware. The primary authors were: Thomas H. Martin, Dick Guertin and
Bill Kiefer. John Schroeder was the manager of the SPIRES project during
this early phase of development. SPIRES became the primary database management system for Stanford
University business and student services in the 1980s and 1990s. It was
also adopted by about two dozen other universities, including
installations using the Michigan Terminal System (MTS), and VM/CMS. These universities collaborated through annual meetings of the SPIRES Consortium.
-
SPIRES Wikipedia article
- SPIRES software available from Stanford University under the Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL 1.1)
- "Chapter 5: SPIRES" in Introduction to database management systems on MTS, Rick Rilio
- March 1986, User Guide Series, Computing Center, University of Michigan, pages 85-146 Hathi Trust
TEXTFORM
TEXTFORM is a text formatting package developed at the University of Alberta which runs on an IBM 360/370 computer or its equivalent. It conveniently page-formats documents ranging in size from small reports to books of several thousand pages, on many output devices (including terminals, line-printers, electrostatic printers and photo typesetters). The user is given complete, yet simple control over many program features such as document layout, index format, and statistics collection. The layout among any group of documents may be forced to be the same, or permitted to be as different as desired. Documents can b e transported from one output device to another with little effort. Use of the facilities may range from novice (with less than a day' s training ) to expert (using TEXTFORM as a programming language).
- "A New Tool for Publishing Printed Material", TEXTFORM Group, University of Alberta, Share 48 Proceedings, Vol II, pp. 1042-1056, 1977 MTS Archive
- "Publishing, Word Processing and TEXTFORM", Grant Crawford, University of Alberta, in Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) Session '78
Proceedings, pp. 88-92, 1978 MTS Archive
- TEXTFORM Reference Manual (r1028)
- January 1986, 256 pages, Computing Services, University of Alberta, PDF/A, 700KB Deep Blue Bitsavers
MTS Workshop proceedings

-
MTS Systems Workshop I, University of British Columbia (UBC), May 1974
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 19 pages, PDF, 17MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 338 pages, PDF, 36MB Hathi Trust
- Proceedings Full, 349 pages, PDF, 112MB MTS Archive
- MTS Development Workshop II, University of Alberta (UQV), July 1975
- MTS Development Workshop III, University of Michigan, October 1976
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 55 pages, PDF/A, 9.9MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 828 pages, PDF/A, 136MB MTS Archive
- MTS Development Workshop IV, NUMAC/UNE, July 1978
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 12 pages, PDF/A, 2.2MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 837 pages, PDF/A, 136MB MTS Archive
- MTS Development Workshop V, Wayne State University, June 1979
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 24 pages, PDF/A, 3.8MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 797 pages, PDF/A, 117MB MTS Archive
- MTS Development Workshop VI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, June 1980
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 21 pages, PDF/A, 3.0MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 1223 pages, PDF/A, 168MB MTS Archive
- MTS Workshop Seven, May 20-27, 1981 @ UBC and SFU (photo)
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 28 pages, PDF/A, 7MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 586 pages (mostly two-up), PDF/A, 53MB MTS Archive
-
MTS Workshop VIII, July 1982 @ UM (workshop 8, photo)
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 23 pages, PDF/A, 3.5MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 552 pages (mostly two-up), PDF, 38MB MTS Archive
-
MTS Workshop IX, August 3-10 1983 @ UQV
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 17 pages, PDF/A, 2.7MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 574 pages (mostly two-up), PDF, 32MB MTS Archive
-
MTS Workshop Ten, July 1984 @ Durham
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 19 pages, PDF/A, 2.8MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 622 pages (mostly two-up), PDF, 29MB MTS Archive
-
MTS Workshop 11, June 4-12 1985 @ WSU
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 14 pages, PDF/A, 1.3MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 298 pages (most two-up), PDF/A, 41.7MB MTS Archive
- MTS Workshop 12, June 8-14 1986 @ RPI (photo)
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 10 pages, PDF/A, 1.8MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 437 pages (most two-up), PDF/A, 16.3MB MTS Archive
-
MTS Workshop 13, June 1987 @ UBC and SFU
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 45 pages, PDF/A, 10.0MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 829 pages, PDF, 34.7MB MTS Archive
-
Intersystem Workshop '88, June 1-8 1988 @ UM, (photo)
- Preliminary Notes, 58 pages, PDF/A, 15.4MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 41 pages, PDF/A, 4.7MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 812 pages, PDF, 34.7MB MTS Archive
-
Workshop '89, June 4-9 1989 @ UQV
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 15 pages, PDF/A, 2.1MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 509 pages, PDF, 13MB MTS Archive
-
Workshop XVI, July 10-18 1990 @ Durham
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 20 pages, PDF/A, 4.1MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 396 pages, PDF, 14.1MB MTS Archive
-
Community Workshop '92, June 13-19 1992 @ RPI
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 23 pages, PDF/A, 4.2MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 741 pages, PDF, 51.8MB MTS Archive
-
Community Workshop '93, June 6-11 1993 @ SFU
- Proceedings Table of Contents, 23 pages, PDF/A, 5.3MB MTS Archive
- Proceedings Full, 435 pages, PDF, 66.5MB MTS Archive
- Community Workshop '94, 1994 @ Edinburgh
There were 82 MTS Newsletters published between 1971 and 1982 that were one of the ways that information was shared and development coordinated between the sites that ran MTS. The U-M's Bentley Historical Library has a complete set of the paper copies of these newsletters. To date only number 55 has been scanned.
- Number 55, 9 October 1979, 140 pages, PDF/A, 31.6 MB MTS Archive
Internal documentation
-
MTS Lecture 1
- Text, May 1978, 12 pages, PDF/A, 64k Deep Blue Bitsavers
- Text, May 1978, 12 pages, HTML MTS Archive
- Figure 1, 1978, 1 page, HTML MTS Archive
- Updated Figure 1, 2010, 1 page, HTML MTS Archive
- MTS Volume 1: The Michigan Terminal System (Systems Edition)
- MTS Volume 3: Subroutine Descriptions (Systems Edition)
- MTS
Volume 99: Internal Documentation, A collection of documents describing
internal system interfaces, data structures, and programs
- MTS Disk Information
- MTS Disk Disaster Recovery
- MTS Operator's Manual
- Resource Manager Operations Manual
- UMMPS D6.0 Supervisor Call Descriptions
- Device Support Programs and the DSP Interface, Ken Bowler
- July 1982, 85 pages, Computing Centre, University of British Columbia, PDF/A, 364KB MTS Archive
- MTS Coding Conventions, Steve Burling
- 1984 (based on source from the D6.0 tapes), 62 pages, PDF/A, 319KB MTS Archive
- MTS D6.0 HASP Manual
- MTS Accounting, by Charles F. Engle
MTS Distributions
-
MTS distribution materials from D1.0 (1968) through D6.0 (1988) are available to the public:
- MTS D1.0 tape contents, handwritten by someone with very good printing, possibly John Hogg
- MTS D3.0 Documentation, includes General Notes, Instructions for converting from D2 to D3 format disks, D3 notes from 2004
- MTS D4.0 Documentation, includes General Notes, Installationn Instructions for Old and New Sites, D4 Notes from 2004
- MTS D5.0 Documentation, includes General Notes, Installation Instructions for Existing and New Sites, D5.0 Notes from 2004
- MTS D6.0 Documentation, includes General Notes, Installation Instructions for Existing and New Sites, MTS Licensing Policy, D6.0 Notes from 2004
- April 1988, 63 pages, PDF/A, 334KB MTS Archive
- MTS D6.0 Driver File Listing
- MTS D6.0 Operator's Manual
- MTS D6.0 HASP Manual
- MTS D6.0A -- A pre-built version of MTS for use with the Hercules S/370 emulator
- MTS D6.0 -- Creating and running the D6.0 version of MTS under Hercules
- D6.0 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), 30 January 2012, version 1.0, HTML MTS Archive
- Screenshots of MTS D6.0 and D6.0A under Hercules
- Try MTS -- An independent web site, created by Rupert Lane in June 2014, provides information about installing and running MTS under Hercules and an introduction to using MTS.
- Information about TN3270 emulation programs which are needed to run MTS under Hercules.
- The lbltp program runs under Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix and retrieves data from or writes data to unlabeled, ANSI labeled, or IBM labeled tapes, including MTS *FS tapes. Tapes may be either physical tapes or virtual tapes (AWSTAPE or FAKETAPE format) that reside in a file. The source and binary for the lbltp program and its documentation is included with the MTS Distributions on the bitsavers software archive and U-M's Deep Blue digital archive.
- Information about AWSTAPE simulated magnetic tapes and utilities from CBT Tape.
Hercules Emulator for the System 370, ESA/390, and z/ architectures
There are two separate Hercules development streams. MTS will run using versions from either stream. When D6.0 of MTS was made available in late 2011 it ran under version 3.07 of Hercules, but there was a bug in Hercules magnetic tape support and a missing feature related to printer carriage tapes that caused problems. MTS D6.0A contains fixes to get around the magnetic tape problem. Both problems were fixed in version 3.08 (July 2013) and later versions of Hercules.
- The 3.xx stream (Spinhawk):
- This stream evolved to provide regular releases compatible with version 3.07,
containing additional architectural features and bug fixes,
as well as selected enhancements from the developer sandbox.
- As of April 2019 the current release was 3.13. Source code, documentation, and pre-built Windows binaries are available. Unix and Mac OS X binaries must be built from source.
- Pre-built binaries for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux are available for the now obsolete November 2012 3.07 version.
- Documentation is also available as PDFs from a separate web site.
- The 4.xx stream (Hyperion):
- This stream evolved from version 3.07 enriched by
a series of user interface changes and usability enhancements which are not always compatible with version 3.07.
- Source code is available.
Linux, FreeBSD, Mac, and Windows binaries must all be built from source.
- A Wiki is available.
- Documentation is available as PDFs from a separate web site.
- Additional information:
- E-mail group: H390-MTS a Yahoo! Group to discuss MTS under Hercules started on 2 January 2012.
- E-mail group: Hercules-390 a Yahoo! Group to discuss the Hercules S/370 emulator.
- Discussion: "MTS Today" on this site.
E-mail lists and discussion threads
- E-mail group: H390-MTS a Yahoo! Group to discuss MTS under Hercules, 2 January 2012 ...
- E-mail group: Hercules-390 a Yahoo! Group to discuss the Hercules S/370 emulator on which some early MTS discussions took place.
- Archive of e-mail sent to the list of "old MTS hands" (now mts-interest@umich.edu).
- Announcements, news items, and updates related to MTS are sent to the group a few times a year.
- If you would like to be added to or removed from the MTS-Interest e-mail group, send a note to mts-comments@umich.edu.
- Thread: "Re: MTS" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 25 May 2001 ...
- Thread: "Current status of MTS" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 19 October to 28 October 2010
- Thread: "Michigan Terminal System" on the BetaArchive website, July 2011 ...
- Thread: "Michigan Terminal System (MTS)" on the ClassicMainframes Yahoo! Group, 14 October 2011 ...
- Thread: "Michigan Timesharing System" on the Classic Computer e-mail list, 22 December 2011 ...
- Thread: "Michigan Terminal System (MTS)" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 23 December 2011 ...
- Thread: "MTS D6.0 Utility Tape problem?" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 23 December 2011 ...
- Thread: "MTS 6.0 Documentation" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 27 December 2011 ...
- Thread: "MTS and typesetting?" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 28 December 2011 ...
- Thread: "Source for PL/C" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 28 December 2011 ...
- Thread: "MTS Restoring Files from *FS Tapes?" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 30 December 2011 ...
- Thread: "MTS 6.0: Planes, trains and automobiles" on the Hercules-390 Yahoo! Group, 31 December 2011 ...
- Thread: "Hercules Questions, MTS D6.0A good news" on alt.folklore.computers talks about ASMH and MTS, 6-7 January 2014
- Thread: "Michigan Terminal System Archive" item on Hacker News, 18 April 2015 ...
- Thread: "MTS" item on CCTalk, 10 August 2015 ...
People
MTS Sites
Discussions
NUMAC: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, University of Durham, and Newcastle Polytechnic
-
Claremont Tower at NCL
Elizabeth Barraclough Building, March 2019
"How computers have changed since 1968", a January 2005 article in Durham University's Online News
- The Roger Broughton Museum of Computing Artefacts
- Photographs from Roger Broughton
- "40 Years of Computing at Newcastle, 1957-1997"
- "Celebrating 50 Years of Campus-wide Computing", May 2019
- Background information for the inauguration of an ambitious exhibition on "The History of Computing at Newcastle University" (PDF), June 2019
- Newcastle University renames building to honor Elizabeth Barraclough, April 2019
- The Simple Screen Management Protocol (SSMP) and the Fawn Box Project, FORUM Computing Division Newsletter, Central Computing Division, Rutherford Appleton Lab, January/February 1987
- A brief history of Computing Science at the University of Newcastle
- Timeline of the history of Computing Science at the University of Newcastle
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
-
RPI Computer Services General Information
-
- MTS History, possibly by Brian Eliot
- MTS Termination memo, Gary Schwartz and John Wilder
- Mystery Image #31, RPI History Revealed, 28 November 2012
Simon Fraser University (SFU)
University of Alberta (UQV)
University of British Columbia (UBC)
-
Leonard S. Klinck Building at UBC
University of British Columbia Archives, Computing Centre fonds
- University of British Columbia Images
- IF: An Interactive FORTRAN compiler, Ron Hall, a paper presented at SHARE 41, 15 August 1973, Miami Beach, Florida, 8 pages, PDF MTS Archive
- UBC CLPARSER: A Command Language Parsing Facility, Alan Ballard, University of British Columbia Computing Centre
- “The Plus Systems Programming Language”, Alan Ballard and Paul Whaley in Proceedings of Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) Congress 84, June 1984 MTS Archive
- UBC PLUS: The Plus Programming Language, Allan Ballard and Paul Whaley, University of British Columbia Computing Centre
- PLUS Source Library Definitions, Alan Ballard, University of British Columbia Computing Centre
- "The Paging Game", by Jeff Berryman, University of British Columbia, c. 1974
- Materials from the UBC Computing Centre 25th Anniversary Open House and Talks (February 1982), 9 pages, PDF, 2.5MB MTS Archive
- 50th Anniversary of Computing at UBC, brochure, March 2007, PDF
University of Michigan (UM)
-

UM's Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor
UM's Bentley Historical Library and Archive
-
MIDAC: Automatic Computer, Willow Run Research Center, Engineering Research Institute, University of Michigan, undated, perhaps 1952, 16 pages, PDF Hathi Trust
U-M Computing Center Building
- Proposal to the U.S. Office of Education to request funding for a portion of the cost of constructing "A Computing Center Building"
at the University of Michigan, January 1969. Includes a description of
existing computing facilities at UM, including several photographs of the
North University Building, plans and costs for the new building, which
show a "drive-up window" and a basement that were not included in the
building that was actually built.
- The University of Michigan Computing Center, Mary Ann Wilkes (ed)
- Program for the dedication of the U-M Computing Center Building
- A guide to statistical computing at the University of Michigan, Albert Liebetrau and John McKenzie
- Second edition, 1973, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 109 pages, PDF, 12MB Hathi Trust
- Second edition revised, 1976, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 110 pages, PDF, 10MB Hathi Trust
- U-M Computing Center Counselors Tests
- Test I with questions, but without answers, 12 pages, PDF, 1.4MB MTS Archive
- Test II with questions, but without answers, 10 pages, PDF, 1.9MB MTS Archive
- Test III with questions, Jim Sterken's answers, scores, and comments, c. 1973, 10 pages, PDF/A, 1.2MB MTS Archive
- Test III with questions, Jeff Ogden's answers, scores, and comments, c. 1973, 12 pages, PDF/A, 1.5MB MTS Archive
- "Amdahl 470 Up to 130% Faster Than 2M-Byte 370/168 in Tests", article in Computerworld, 10 September 1975
- "Michigan Accepts Amdahl 470 After Tests", article in Computerworld, 15 October 1975
- "The Computing Center", U-M Research News
- "University Resources in Computation", U-M Research News
- "The Computing Center: Coming to Terms with the IBM System/360 Model 67", U-M Research News
- November / December 1969, Vol XX, Nos. 5 and 6 Hathi Trust
-
"A Faster Cratchit - The History of Computing at Michigan", U-M Research News
- January 1976, Vol. XXVII, No. 1, 24 pages, PDF, 4.8MB MTS Archive
- LISP/MTS User's Guide, Bruce Wilcox and Carole Hafner, MHRI, University of Michigan
- July 1976, 95 pages (missing page 49), UBC Department of Computer Science, PDF, 5.9MB MTS Archive
- Educational Computing at the University of Michigan 1976-77, Karl Zinn
- Welcome to the University of Michigan Computing Center
- U-M Computing Center 20 Year Anniversary Program
- Technical Staff Meeting Dress Code, Merit Network Design Memo ND 80-999
- Disk Manager (DMGR) timings, Jeff Ogden
- Textedit : an interactive program for text processing, Daniel J. Fox
- 1981, Statistical Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 209 pages, PDF, 16MB Hathi Trust
- "TeX Installation at the University of Michigan", by Paul Grosso
- October 1982, in TUGboat, Volume 3, No. 2, October 1982, pp. 22-23, PDF/A, 221KB MTS Archive
- U-M Computing Center Microprocessor and Word Processing Committee Goals, Jeff Ogden
- "Evolution of the MicroGroup", Gavin Eadie, 1988, 4 pages, PDF/A, 106KB MTS Archive
- "U to pay government $2.8 million for MTS overcharges", University Record, University of Michigan, 18 January 1993
- GOM: Good Old MAD, Donald Boettner
- *Pizzadelivery, documentation, PDF
- Several articles
from the May 13, 1996 issue of the University of Michigan Information
Technology Digest, Volume 5, No. 5, giving the history of and
reminiscences about MTS, Merit, and UMnet on the eve of MTS's retirement
at the University of Michigan, preserved on Web pages created by Josh
Simon. The articles are also available from the Hathi Trust Digital Library.
- Other floors, other voices : a textography of a small university building, by John M. Swales, 1998.
- The author describes this volume as a "textography" because it combines
certain elements of text analysis and certain elements of ethnography.
Through analysis of texts, textual forms and systems of texts, [it] shows
the lives, life commitments and life projects of people deeply embedded
in the literate culture of the university. The people examined work in a
single building [the North University Building (NUBS) on the main campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor]. From the book jacket: "John Swales' textography might also be called "comparative rhetoric
in a small building," offering proof, once again, that another culture
may be only a trip up or down a flight of stairs. On its three floors,
Swales finds modes of text-building as distinctive and exotic as
field-workers find in remote valleys and isolated islands: one floor
languaging about frozen Unix stations; the next creating, partly in
Latin, the Flora Novo-Galiciana; and the third offering a range of genres that
attempt to variously negotiate the "theory-practice" requirements of
English as a second language." "Each community is closely observed and
described in almost sensuous detail, so that we not only gain real
insight into the way the writing is done on the three floors, but also
feel the adventure of it and, best of all, learn to hear the individual
voices in each community."
- Computing at Michigan: From the MTS and the Computing Center to ITD and
Microcomputers: The Defining Years (1966-1986), Thomas Madden
- April 1999, 33 pages, a paper for History 265 at the University of Michigan, PDF/A, 466KB Deep Blue
- "Fire at the U-M Computing Center"
- October 1999 e-mail from Jeff Ogden describing a fire at the U-M Computing Center building, 3 pages, PDF MTS Archive
- Chapter
12 "Computers and Computing" from A Century of Chemical Engineering at
The University of Michigan - A Miscellany of Contributions from
Historical Documents, Students, Alumni, Staff, Faculty, and Friends
1898–2002, compiled by James O. Wilkes Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
Emeritus, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor
- U-M Computing Center 45 Year Anniversary Program and Reception Honoring R. C. F. Bartels
- September 2004, 65 pages, PDF/A, 12.4MB Deep Blue
- A Century of Connectivity at the University of Michigan, Nancy Bartlett, Nancy Deromedi, Alice Goff, Christa Lemelin, Brian Williams, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, December 2007, 40 pages, PDF, 1.3MB.
- Computing at the University of Michigan: The Early Years through the 1960s, Norman R. Scott, Computer Science and Engineering, UM College of Engineering, 2008
- Letter from Marvin Parnes, UM Associate Vice-president for Research and Jack
Bernard, UM Associate General Counsel to Jeff Ogden and Gavin Eadie
giving permission to make the source, object code, and documentation for the Michigan Terminal System widely available
and outlining suggested copyright and license terms
- A 2013 oral history interview with Jim Henriksen was included as one of the initial video
oral histories of computer simulation pioneers funded by
the National Science Foundation (NSF). In the first part of
his interview Jim describes what it was like to work at the
U-M Computing Center in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The link to the
Computer Simulation Archive is http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/computer-simulation/ and the link to Jim's interview is http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/computer-simulation/videos/james-o-henriksen-interviewed-by-richard-e-nance-henriksen.
The interview is an hour and 10 minutes in length and includes two
discussions of the U-M Computing Center from 4:55 to 10:11 and from
58:06 to 1:00:26.
- "History Lessons: In Spite of Problems", an article talking about CRISP, Computer Registration In Spite of Problems, in the August 2018 issue of the UM Alumnus online magazine. CRISP began as a 1972 class project initially implemented on MTS. The class was lead by Professor Bernie Galler, Professor of Computing and Communications Science. Bernie was also an Associate Director of the U-M's academic Computing Center. For additional information about CRISP, see the longer article, "CRISP: An interactive student registration system" (pdf), by Bernie Galler and his students in Proceedings of the ACM annual conference, 1973.
- Amdahl 470V/6 P2 at the Computing History Museum
- MTS overview and photographs by Dave Mills
- Data Concentrator overview and photos by Dave Mills
- Tom Valerio's MTS Wiki
- Chaos
was one of the leading computer chess programs from 1973 through 1985.
Written in FORTRAN, Chaos started at RCA Systems Programming division in
Cinnaminson, NJ with Fred Swartz and Victor Berman as first authors,
Mike Alexander and others joined the team later and moved development to
MTS at the University of Michigan Computing Center
- Calculating a Natural World: Scientists, Engineers, and Computers During the Rise of U.S. Cold War Research, Atsushi Akera, MIT Press, 2006, 440p.
- Describes the complicated interplay of academic, commercial,
government, and military interests that produced a burst of scientific
discovery and technological innovation in 1940s and 1950s America.
Compares the academic computing centers at MIT and the University of
Michigan in the 1950s and 1960s, tracing the tensions on those campuses
over whether computers were a service facility, a commercial technology,
or a subject of research. Includes history of the development of the
CTSS, Multics, and MTS time-sharing systems. Atsushi Akera is an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).
- U-M Bicentennial IT Historic Timeline, 1880 to 2018
Wayne State University (WSU)
-
Computing and Data Processing Center Records 1956-1974, Wayne State University Archives
- A Brief History of Computing at Wayne State University (1947 to 1979), Booklet by Robert Monroe
- c. 1979, 12 pages, Computing Services Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, PDF/A, 3.2MB MTS Archive
- Computers and Education at Wayne State University, Seymour J. Wolfson
- ICM System/Three-sickly Reference Manual, Form A65-4321-0, James Simmons
- 1964, 16 pages, Wayne State University, PDF/A, 2.2MB MTS Archive
WSU Computer Comics
IBM
- IBM S/360-67 Reference Card, 229-3174-0 (Blue)
- IBM System/360 Model 67 Functional Characteristics, A27-2719-0
- 1967, 68 pages, PDF, 4.3MB Bitsavers.org
- This publication contains detailed information on the
organization, characteristics, features, and functions
unique to the IBM System/360 Model 67 Time Sharing
System.
- IBM Mainframes – 45+ Years of Evolution, Jim Elliott, 2010, 46 slides, IBM Canada, PDF
- Slide 19 mentions MTS and has a photograph of the NUMAC S/360-67
Amdahl
-
Amdahl 470V/6, P2 at the Computer History Museum, catalog X436.84A
- Amdahl 470 V-6 Machine Reference, 50 pages, 1975, PDF/A, 7.8MB MTS Archive
- Amdahl 470 V-6-II Machine Reference Manual, 50 pages, March 1978, PDF/A, 9.4MB MTS Archive
- Amdahl 470V/8 Computing System Machine Reference Manual, April 1981, PDF/A, 3.8MB MTS Archive
- A number of PDFs of Amdahl publications are available online at Bitsavers.org
- Amdahl 470V/6 photographs MTS Archive
- Amdahl 5860 era at Newcastle, 1984-1992, photographs.
MIT's Lincoln Laboratory
- MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, Wikipedia
- Lincoln Laboratory Multi-Programming Supervisor, Lincoln Manual 78 (ESD-TR-67-14), Frank Belvin and Joel M. Winett, 6 January 1967, 255 pages. The MTS supervisor, UMMPS, was initially developed based upon the Lincoln Laboratory Multi-Programming Supervisor (LLMPS).
- The Lincoln Terminal System: Civil Applications, F. C. Frick, Technical Note 1971-46, 30 September 1971, 31 pages. This Lincoln Terminal System (LTS) was an automated training system and in spite of the fact that very early versions of what became MTS were also known as LTS (LLMPS Terminal System), the Lincoln Labs LTS was unrelated to the work at the University of Michigan on LTS / MTS, LLMPS, or UMMPS.
Other
- Try MTS is an independent web site, created by Rupert Lane in June 2014. It provides information about installing, running, and using MTS under Hercules and descriptions of several of the programming languages available. Since 2014 Lane has continued to update the site with the addition of introductions to eleven (so far) of the programing languages available in the D6.0A version of MTS: BASIC, FORTRAN, MAD (GOM), ALGOL 60, ALGOL W, LISP, UTILISP, PL/1(F), SNOBOL, RATFOR, FLECS, PIL, APL, Assembler G, and GPSS. The most recent updates were made in early 2018.
- "The Dream of a Lifetime", Bill Joy, In MIT's TechnologyReview.com,
August 2005, in which Bill talks about the past and the future and says
nice things about MTS and the Merit Network in passing.
- Personal reflections on MTS by Mark Riordan of Michigan State University's Computer Laboratory.
- The IBM 360/67 and CP/CMS, by Tom Van Vleck, mentions MTS and gives a good history of the events leading to the creation of the IBM System/360 Model 67 in the mid-1960s.
- Use Google Scholar to search for articles that mention the "Michigan Terminal System". In October 2014 this search returned over 1,250 results.
- IBM Mainframe Operating Systems: Timeline and Brief Explanation for the IBM System/360 and Beyond, Dave Morton, Version 28, February 2012, 63 pages, PDF.
- Best practices for producing high quality PDF files, Deep Blue at the University of Michigan.
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