computer science

WordMARC

WordMARC 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 WordMARC rather than just read about it. In short: WordMARC Composer was a scientifically oriented word processor developed by MARC Software, an offshoot of MARC Analysis Research Corporation (which specialized in high end Finite Element Analysis software for mechanical engineering). It ran originally on minicomputers such as Prime and Digital Equipment Corporation VAX.

Key takeaways

WordMARC 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 WordMARC to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WordMARC from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WordMARC Composer was a scientifically oriented word processor developed by MARC Software, an offshoot of MARC Analysis Research Corporation (which specialized in high end Finite Element Analysis software for mechanical engineering). It ran originally on minicomputers such as Prime and Digital Equipment Corporation VAX. When the IBM PC emerged as the platform of choice for word processing, WordMARC allowed users to easily move documents from a minicomputer (where they could be easily shared) to PCs. WordMARC was the creation of Pedro Marcal, who pioneered work in finite element analysis and needed a technical word processor that both supported complex notations and was capable of running on minicomputers and other high-end machines such as Alliant and AT&T. WordMARC was originally known as MUSE (MARC Universal Screen Editor), but the name was changed because of a trademark conflict with another company when the product was ported to the IBM PC.

Features In comparison with WordPerfect—which WordMARC compared itself against, with the headline "WordPerfect Ain't"—WordMARC's formatting metadata is always hidden. This was considered friendlier to novice users, and less likely to result in mangled documents. Although it was billed as a WYSIWYG system, it does not provide for display of proportional fonts. It does allow the use of proportional fonts by adjusting the margins based on the current text size using an estimated average character width in version 1. Primeword v2 has font character width tables, and a utility that can generate them from HP font files. Advanced features include Document Assembly (maintaining each chapter of a book in separate files and combining them for printing or to produce a table of contents or index), automatic paragraph numbering, footnotes, endnotes, support for mixed fonts, multi-level equations and scientific characters. An early version offers support for Japanese characters. The Unix version of WordMARC supports PostScript.

Company history In 1999 the company became MSC Software and in May was purchased by MacNeal-Schwendler Corp.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WordMARC

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WordMARC 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 WordMARC 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 WordMARC 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 WordMARC

In research: WordMARC 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 WordMARC 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: WordMARC is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Discontinued software, History of software, Science software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WordMARC 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 WordMARC in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is WordMARC in simple terms?

Why does WordMARC 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 WordMARC?

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 WordMARC.