computer science

Multiple Console Time Sharing System

Multiple Console Time Sharing System is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Multiple Console Time Sharing System rather than just read about it. In short: The Multiple Console Time Sharing System (MCTS) was an operating system developed by General Motors Research Laboratories in the 1970s for the Control Data Corporation STAR-100 supercomputer. MCTS was built to support GM's computer-aided design (CAD) applications.

Key takeaways

Multiple Console Time Sharing System belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Multiple Console Time Sharing System to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Multiple Console Time Sharing System from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Multiple Console Time Sharing System (MCTS) was an operating system developed by General Motors Research Laboratories in the 1970s for the Control Data Corporation STAR-100 supercomputer. MCTS was built to support GM's computer-aided design (CAD) applications. MCTS was designed starting in 1968. It was written in a high-level systems programming language "Malus", a dialect of PL/I. A superset of Malus called Apple became the primary application language. MCTS was based on Multics. All access to data was through the virtual memory system. Only the system paging support module was concerned about the physical location of the data.

See also GM-NAA I/O SHARE Operating System Timeline of operating systems

References

Further reading Krull, F.N. (Fall 1994). "The origin of computer graphics within General Motors" (PDF). IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 16 (3). IEEE: 40–56. doi:10.1109/MAHC.1994.298419.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Multiple Console Time Sharing System

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Multiple Console Time Sharing System claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Multiple Console Time Sharing System before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Multiple Console Time Sharing System ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Multiple Console Time Sharing System

In research: Multiple Console Time Sharing System appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Multiple Console Time Sharing System in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Multiple Console Time Sharing System is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Discontinued operating systems, Multics-like, Operating system stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Multiple Console Time Sharing System outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Multiple Console Time Sharing System in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Multiple Console Time Sharing System means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Multiple Console Time Sharing System out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Multiple Console Time Sharing System in simple terms?

Why does Multiple Console Time Sharing System matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Multiple Console Time Sharing System?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Multiple Console Time Sharing System.