IBM Systems Application Architecture: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:07, 8 August 2012

Revision as of 10:49, 12 October 2012

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'''Systems Application Architecture''' ('''SAA''') is a set of standards for [[computer software]] developed by [[IBM]]. The SAA initiative was started in 1987 under the leadership of [[Earl Wheeler]], the "Father of SAA".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bride|first1=Ed|last2=Desmond|first2=John|title=Wheeler: father of SAA - IBM VP and General manager of programming Systems Division Earl Wheeler; Systems Application Architecture - interview|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SMG/is_n15_v9/ai_8048960/|accessdate=June 20, 2012|newspaper=Software Magazine|date=Dec, 1989}}</ref> The intent was to implement SAA in IBM [[operating system]]s including [[MVS]], [[OS/400]] and [[OS/2]]. [[IBM AIX|AIX]], IBM's version of the [[UNIX]] operating system, was not a target of SAA, but does have interoperability with the SAA family.

SAA did not define new standards, but selected from among IBM's existing guidelines and software. IBM also purchased some third party software from developers such as [[Bachman Information Systems]], Index Technology, Inc., and [[KnowledgeWare|KnowledgeWare, Inc.]].<ref>{{cite news|title=IBM kauft sich für SAA Software-Know-how ein|url=http://www.computerwoche.de/heftarchiv/1989/35/1151816/|accessdate=June 21, 2012|newspaper=Computerwoche|date=25.08.1989-08-25}}</ref>. These were intended to be implemented uniformly across all SAA compliant environments.

The standard was "designed to make application programs look and work in the same manner across the entire range of the company's personal computing systems, midrange processors and System/370 processors.".<ref>{{cite web|last=IBM Corporation|title=IBM Archives: 1987|url=http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/history/year_1987.html}}</ref>.

SAA was labeled "complex, obscure, and potentially difficult to learn."<ref name=Linnell>{{cite book|last=Linnell|first=Dennis|title=The SAA Handbook|year=1990|publisher=Addison-Wesley|isbn=0-201-51786-8|url=http://books.google.com/books/about/The_SAA_handbook.html?id=ZVkPAQAAMAAJ}}</ref>{{rp|p.xi}}

Under [[Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.|Lou Gerstner]] IBM later quietly discontinued use of the "SAA" [[Umbrella term|umbrella]]. By 2001 SAA was being spoken of in the past tense.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cooper|first=Charles|title=Gerstner's legacy and why it matters|url=http://www.zdnetasia.com/gerstners-legacy-and-why-it-matters-38030327.htm|accessdate=June 20, 2012|newspaper=ZDNet|date=November 2, 2001}}</ref> However many of the individual components of SAA are still in use as of 2012.

==Common programming interface (CPI)==

The '''Common Programming Interface''' attempted to standardize compilers and [[Applicationapplication programming interface|application programming interfaces]]s among all systems participating in SAA, with the objective of providing "a common programming interface for the entire IBM computer product line - PCs, System/3x, System/370. This implies that under SAA, a program written for any IBM machine will run on any other".<ref name=Perna>{{cite web|last=Perna|first=Janet|title=SHARE 70: Session D010 - SAA Strategy Update: Application Software Support|url=http://www.redbug.org/dba/sharerpt/share70/d010.html|accessdate=June 18, 2012}}</ref>.

CPI included a number of pieces<ref name=Linnell />{{rp|pp.46-51}}:

* Programming languages &mdash; [[PL/I]], [[COBOL]], [[Fortran]], [[C (programming language)|C]], [[IBM RPG|RPG]] and [[REXX]].

* Application generator &mdash; [[IBM Cross System Product (CSP)]].

* Database access &mdash; [[IBM SQL/DS|SQL]].

* Query interface &mdash; [[IBM Query Management Facility|QMF]].

* Presentation interface &mdash; the OS/2 [[Presentation Manager]] was a full implementation of the SAA presentation interface. [[IBM Graphical Data Display Manager (GDDM)]] provided compatible SAA graphics support for MVS and VM.

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Three types of data links were supported:<ref name=Linnell />{{rp|pp.56-58}}

* [[Synchronous Data Link Control]] (SDLC) high speed [[Widewide area network|wide area networks]]s.

* [[X.25]] packet-switched networks.

* [[Token ring]] [[Locallocal area network|local area networks]]s (LAN).

CCS supported [[IBM 3270]] data streams, mainly for existing devices. [[Document Content Architecture]] specified a format for documents to be exchanged among different word processors and other software. [[IBM Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS)|Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS)]] was a page description language like Xerox [[Interpress]] or Adobe [[PostScript]]. Application services were provided by [[Snads|SNA Distribution Services (SNADS)]] for [[store and forward]] document transmission, Document Interchange Architecture (DIA) for electronic mail, and Distributed Data Management for file sharing.<ref name=Linnell />{{rp|pp.58-59}}

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==Further reading==

* {{cite book|last=Grochow|first=Jerrold M.|title=SAA: a guide to implementing IBM's systems application architecture|year=1991|publisher=Yourdon Press|isbn=9780137857593|url=http://books.google.com/books/about/SAA.html?id=vu1QAAAAMAAJ}}

==External links==

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibm Systems Application Architecture}}

[[Category:IBM software|Systems Application Architecture]]

{{Software-stub}}