Improving Information for Social Policy Decisions -- The Uses of Microsimulation Modeling: Volume II, Technical Papers (1991)
Chapter: Advances in Software Methodology
MB with respectable access and transfer rates is not uncommon now. On a dedicated basis, the capacities and speeds of current devices perform as well or better than their mainframe counterparts do on a shared basis.
For sequential low-cost storage, classical nine-track half-inch magnetic tape drives with moderate performance characteristics have been available for microcomputers for some time, but relatively high costs and somewhat bulky equipment have discouraged widespread use. A much more promising arrival is digital audio tape (DAT), which is expected to become considerably cheaper, substantially more capacious, smaller, and sufficiently fast for microcomputer-based large file operations.57 In 1989–1990, 1-gigabyte (109 or 1,000,000,000 bytes) DAT devices capable of operating as directory devices using block recording techniques are expected to become available. In addition, the erasable optical disk, first introduced in a desktop product in fall 1988,58 is now becoming more common, and larger capacities and faster access times are appearing.
Such devices are likely to become standard in microcomputer environments for large file storage as well as routine file backup and restore operations. These devices are likely to become the microcomputer equivalent of magnetic tape in the near future.
Advances in Software Methodology
The history of electronic computing has been characterized by hardware developments leading software developments. Characteristically, the hardware available has exceeded our ability to exploit it fully. As the price of hardware has decreased substantially, appropriate use has replaced maximal use as a relevant issue. Nevertheless, the art of constructing programs and software systems—software engineering—remains very important in terms of extracting value from computing hardware.
Two recent developments in software engineering are worth noting in
