Programs and Systems for On-Line Computers in Low Energy Nuclear Physics

A conference held five years ago this month served, among other things, to introduce the notion to a substantial representation from the community of experimental nuclear physicists that a stored program computer could be used as a powerful, flexible tool for extending the scope of, as well as for aiding in the detailed execution of their experimental programs. The appreciation of the possibilities which were raised were colored by a simultaneous apprehension. The physicists worried about how extensive an effort they would have to make, how intimately they would have to be involved in order to use a computer on-line to an experiment. In short - who was going to write the programs? The answer was, unfortunately, not long in coming - they were. The potential gains for some classes of users were such that they did not wish to leave the restricted world of wired-program analyzers which, after all, were sufficient unto their needs. For others, however, the ends justified the means of the task. This latter group set about creating the programs and, in fact, the systems of programs that were necessary. This paper discusses some of the programming approaches which are in use or are under development for handling all or some features of experiment procedures. Because this conference has reports directly by several of the users, the emphasis here will be to review and compare rather than describe any in great detail.