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'''GDDM''' ('''Graphical Data Display Manager''') is a [[computer graphics]] system createdfor the IBM [[System/370]] which was developed byin [[IBM]]'s [[Hursley labsHouse|Hursley lab]], and first released in 1979. ItGDDM was usedoriginally asdesigned theto primaryprovide graphicsprogramming [[API]]support for the [[OS/2IBM 3279]] operatingcolour system,display whichterminal and the associated 3287 colour printer. The 3279 was initiallya jointlycolour developedgraphics byterminal [[Microsoft]]designed andto IBMbe used in a general business environment.
 
GDDM was extended in the early 1980s to provide graphics support for all of IBM's display terminals and printers, and ran on all of IBM's mainframe operating systems.
At the time (1980s), the [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) was still in its early stages of popularity, but already it was clear that the foundation of a good GUI was a graphics API with strong ''real-time interactive'' capabilities. Unfortunately, the design of GDDM was closer to (at the time) traditional graphics APIs like [[GKS]], which made it unsuited for more than the simplest interactive uses.
 
GDDM also provided support for the (then current) international standards for interactive computer graphics: [[Graphical Kernel System|GKS]] and [[PHIGS]]. Both GKS and PHIGS were designed around the requirements of [[CAD]] systems.
It wasn't long before Microsoft and IBM went their separate ways, Microsoft to continue development of its [[Windows]] operating environment with [[GDI]] graphics API, leaving IBM to persist with OS/2 for several more years.
 
GDDM is also available on the IBM i midrange operating system, as well as its predecessor, the AS/400.<ref>{{cite web |title=Creating Presentation Graphics with GDDM |url=https://www.mcpressonline.com/analytics-cognitive/document-management/creating-presentation-graphics-with-gddm |website=MC Press Online |accessdate=Mar 1, 2020}}</ref>
===External links===
 
GDDM comprises a number of components:
[http://www.ibm.com/software/applications/gddm/about/index.html IBM's GDDM page], including links to on-line documentation.
 
* Graphics primitives - lines, circles, boxes etc.
* Graphing - through the Presentation Graphics Feature (PGF)
* Language support - [[PL/I]], [[REXX]], [[COBOL]] etc.
* Conversion capabilities - for example to GIF format.
* Interactive Chart Utility (ICU).
 
GDDM remains in widespread use today, embedded in many [[z/OS]] applications, as well as in system programs.
 
==GDDM and OS/2 Presentation Manager==
 
IBM and [[Microsoft]] began collaborating on the design of [[OS/2]] in 1986. The Graphics Presentation Interface (GPI), the graphics [[API]] in the OS/2 [[Presentation Manager]], was based on IBM's GDDM and the Graphics Control Program (GCP). GCP was originally developed in Hursley for the 3270/PC-G and 3270/PC-GX terminals.
 
The GPI was the primary graphics [[API]] for the [[OS/2]] operating system.
 
At the time (1980s), the [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) was still in its early stages of popularity, but already it was clear that the foundation of a good GUI was a graphics API with strong ''real-time interactive'' capabilities. Unfortunately, the design of GDDM was closer to (at the time) traditional graphics APIs like [[Graphical Kernel System|GKS]], which made it unsuited for more than the simplest interactive uses.
 
It wasn't long before Microsoft and IBM went their separate ways, Microsoftin to1991. continueMicrosoft continued development of its [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] operating environment with [[GDIGraphics Device Interface]] (GDI) graphics API, leaving. IBM to persistcontinued with OS/2 for several more years.
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Charles Petzold, '' Programming the OS/2 Presentation Manager'', Microsoft Press, 1989. {{ISBN|1-55615-170-5}}.
 
===External links===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050117192808/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/history/year_1979.html announcement of 3279 and 3287.]
* [https://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_ibm_i_61/books_web/sc410536.pdf GDDM Programming Guide]
 
[[Category:Graphics software]]
[[Category:OS/2]]
[[Category:IBM software|Graphical Data Display Manager]]
[[Category:IBM mainframe software]]