<computer> An IBM minicomputer for small business and
departmental users, released in 1988 and still in production
in October 1998.
Features include a menu-driven interface, multi-user
support, terminals that are (in the grand IBM tradition)
incompatible with anything else including the IBM 3270
series, and an extensive library-based operating system.
The machine survives because its API layer allows the
operating system and application programs to take
advantage of advances in hardware without recompilation and
which means that a complete system that costs $9000 runs the
exact same operating system and software as a $2 million
system. There is a 64-bit RISC processor operating system
implementation.
Programming languages include RPG, assembly language, C,
COBOL, SQL, BASIC, and REXX. Several CASE tools are
available: Synon, AS/SET, Lansa.
