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$ HISTORY AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS $ --------------------------- $ UNTIL 1965 THE STANDARD LINC HAD ONLY 1024 WORDS OF MEMORY. ITS ASSEMBLY PROGRAMS INCLUDE LAP3, WRITTEN IN 1963, WHICH COULD HANDLE THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PROGRAM PREPARATION AND STORAGE BUT LACKED THE AUTOMATIC FILING CAPABILITIES OF THE WIDELY USED LINC UTILITY SYSTEM WRITTEN BY MACDONALD, DAVISSON, AND COX IN 1965. $ DOUBLING A 1024-WORD MEMORY PRODUCES ANOTHER SMALL MEMORY, BUT AT THIS LEVEL THE INCREMENT IS DRAMATIC: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO HANDLE THE FILE COPYING AND EDITING TECHNIQUES OF LAP6 ON THE SMALLER LINC $ DISCUSSION OF THE SPECIFICATIONS FOR A NEW ASSEMBLY PROGRAM BEGAN IN JANUARY,1965. VISITS TO SEVERAL BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES, WHERE THE LINC IS IN APPLICATION, WERE MADE IN AN EFFORT TO ESTABLISH SOME CONSENSUS OF USERS" NEEDS. ALL OF US WHO USE LAP6 ARE INDEBTED TO THE MANY, ESPECIALLY TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE LINC EVALUATION PROGRAM, WHOSE SUGGESTIONS AND LINC EXPERIENCE GREATLY INFLUENCED ITS FORMULATION. $ THE TECHNIQUE OF HANDLING THE LINC TAPE TO ACCOMPLISH THE EDITING FACILITY IS THE CONTRIBUTION OF MY COLLEAGUES MISHELL J. STUCKI AND SEVERO M. ORNSTEIN, AND WAS PROPOSED IN DISCUSSIONS DURING MARCH OF 1965. THEIR CAREFUL THOUGHT HAS SAVED LINC USERS HOURS OF TIME. $ COLLEAGUES AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HAVE NOT ONLY MADE VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS, BUT FEARLESSLY HAVE FACED UNPROVEN VERSIONS AND FORCED THE FLAWS TO THE SURFACE. ANY "GUARANTEE" OF RELIABILITY IS LARGELY DUE TO THEM. $ ANY RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN LAP6 AND AN ERRANT PROGRAM KNOWN SOMETIMES AS "LAP5" IS PURELY INTENTIONAL. THE NAME HAS BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT. $ . . . . . . $ TO PROMISE THE SYSTEM IS A SERIOUS THING. $ SOREN KIERKEGAARD, PHILOSOPHICAL FRAGMENTS $ . . . . . . $ ABSTRACT $ ........ $ LAP6 IS AN ON-LINE PROGRAM FOR THE 2048-WORD LINC WHICH USES THE LINC KEYBOARD AND SCOPE FOR COMMUNICATION WITH THE USER, AND THE MAGNETIC TAPES FOR STORAGE AND WORKING AREA. IT MAY BE USED FOR PREPARATION AND EDITING OF A CHARACTER STRING [MANUSCRIPT] OR SPECIFICALLY FOR LINC PROGRAM PREPARATION. FOR GENERAL MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION NOT ALL OF SECTION V AND NONE OF SECTION VI WILL BE OF INTEREST.