MUMPS--an economical and efficient time-sharing system for information management

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Information Systems
• Software Engineering

Background:

• The Massachusetts General Hospital Utility MultiProgramming System (MUMPS) emerged as a significant development in computing.
• Early information management systems required specialized, often complex, solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a historical overview of MUMPS development.
• To describe the core modules and architecture of the MUMPS system.
• To highlight the system's design for ease of use and power in application development.

Main Methods:

• Historical analysis of MUMPS's evolution.
• Deconstruction of MUMPS into its fundamental components.
• Explanation of the integration of key modules: executive, interpreter, file system, and database.

Main Results:

• MUMPS is presented as a compact, integrated time-sharing system.
• Detailed descriptions of the time-sharing executive, language interpreter, I/O file system, and global database are provided.
• The system's architecture facilitates efficient application program design, development, and maintenance.

Conclusions:

• MUMPS offers a powerful yet user-friendly platform for information management.
• The integrated design of its modules contributes to its effectiveness.
• Its historical development underscores its role in advancing application development tools.