science

QUIKTRAN

QUIKTRAN is a 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 QUIKTRAN rather than just read about it. In short: QUIKTRAN is a Fortran-like, interactive computer programming language with debugging facilities. More than a Fortran-based programming language, QUIKTRAN was IBM's first entry in on-line Time Sharing in the 1960s.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

QUIKTRAN is a Fortran-like, interactive computer programming language with debugging facilities. More than a Fortran-based programming language, QUIKTRAN was IBM's first entry in on-line Time Sharing in the 1960s. It ran on an IBM 7040/7044, using an IBM 7740 as a dial up communications processor. In 1967 an IBM data center supported over 400 commercial customers in a time-sharing environment; users could dial up and log into the Quiktran system. They could store their own Fortran programs in private libraries for later execution, or execute numerous IBM-supplied programs for applications including linear programming, communication network design, and business programs. The system on the receiving end allowed teletype or typewriter keyboards using data phones or acoustic modems to connect. It could support approximately 50 simultaneous users, The hardware used was an IBM 1301 40-platter disk for storage, and an IBM 7320 Magnetic Drum for program swapping. The QUIKTRAN system was superseded by Call/360. Quiktran and Call/360 were supported by Service Bureau Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM. SBC was later sold to Minneapolis-based company (Control Data Corporation). Source: Burt McGregor

References Sammet 1969, p.226.

External links History of Programming Languages: QUIKTRAN

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with QUIKTRAN

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what QUIKTRAN claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In 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 QUIKTRAN 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 QUIKTRAN 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 QUIKTRAN

In research: QUIKTRAN appears in 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 QUIKTRAN 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: QUIKTRAN is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fortran programming language family, Procedural programming languages, Programming language topic stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for QUIKTRAN 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 QUIKTRAN in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what QUIKTRAN 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 QUIKTRAN out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is QUIKTRAN in simple terms?

Why does QUIKTRAN matter?

Because it connects several 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 QUIKTRAN?

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 QUIKTRAN.