Graphical Data Display Manager: Difference between revisions

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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]] labslab, and first released in [[1979]]. ItGDDM was usedoriginally asdesigned theto primaryprovide graphicsprogramming [[API]]support for the [[OS/2]]IBM operating3279 system,colour whichdisplay terminal and the associated 3287 colour printer. The 3279 was initiallythe jointlyfirst developedcolour bygraphics [[Microsoft]]terminal andthat IBMcould be 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.

GDDM also provided support for the (then current) international standards for interactive computer graphics: [[GKS]] and [[PHIGS]]. Both GKS and PHIGS were designed around the requirements of CAD systems.

When [[IBM]] and [[Microsoft]] began collaborating on the design of [[OS/2]] in 1986 the Graphics Presentation Interface (GPI) which was the graphics [[API]] in 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 used as 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 [[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 1991. toMicrosoft continuecontinued development of its [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] operating environment with [[Graphics Device Interface]] (GDI) graphics API, leaving. IBM to persistcontinued with OS/2 for several more years.

===External links===

* [http://www.ibm.com/software/applications/gddm/about/index.html IBM's GDDM page], including links to on-line documentation.

* [http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/history/year_1979.html] announcement of 3279 and 3287.

== References ==

* Charles Petzold, '' Programming the OS/2 Presentation Manager'', Microsoft Press, 1989. ISBN 1556151705.

[[Category:Graphics software]]