Vol. 36, No. 3, 1997 - Nontopical issue 

Preface


This issue contains five papers and one Technical Forum contribution on a
variety of subjects: advances in LAN-based server support for multimedia
data delivery and resource management, a new method for reorganizing
databases on line, the San Francisco project and the resulting IBM
Business Frameworks, systems for computer-based interactive storytelling,
and the creation of books using electronic ink.

An area of high current interest that can benefit from new levels of
scalability is multimedia, with its requirements for extensive computing
power, large data capacity, and high transaction rates.  Kienzle et al.
discuss enhancements made to the OS/390* LAN Server in support of
multimedia applications in an S/390* environment.  The enhancements allow
the addition of multimedia features to existing applications and
expansion of capacity as demands increase.

One area of OS/390 support for multimedia applications is treated by Dan
et al. in a paper on resource management for multimedia.  The user of a
multimedia system expects a presentation that appears as if a
sufficiently powerful machine were dedicated to that user, providing, for
example, images that are free of any time- or resource-sensitive defects
such as jitter.  In general, due to the transaction demands of
multimedia, this requires the reservation of resources for multimedia
sessions.  OS/390 LAN Server, and specifically its video server, can
offer such services through its resource manager, which the authors
describe.

Database reorganization presents operational challenges when it is
difficult or impractical to take such databases or the systems containing
them off line.  Such challenges might arise, for example, when the
database is large or there is a requirement for continuous operation.
The optimal solution is reorganization on line, during concurrent
operational use.  Sockut, Beavin, and Chang present a method for
performing such an optimal reorganization and provide background on and
discussion of other approaches and alternative methods.

The next contribution, by Arnold et al., appears as a Technical Forum.
The authors describe the ongoing San Francisco project, an IBM-led effort
in support of and involving hundreds of software vendors worldwide.  This
project's focus is on lowering the training, risks, and costs for
businesses in migrating existing applications and creating new ones for
the world of distributed object solutions.  The results to date consist
of application frameworks, infrastructure, and logic, known collectively
as the IBM Business Frameworks.

An advanced, computer-based, interactive storytelling system and its use
for interactive creation of stories is explored in a paper by Davenport
and Murtaugh.  The resulting capability allows and encourages multiple
authors and the audience, using a networked presentation system, to
collaborate in the development of a story and the establishment of its
meaning.  The authors refer to their system as an automatist storyteller
and argue that such an approach is of particular value for complex
stories and stories of considerable scope or length.

A revolution in the presentation of book-length information by electronic
means may well be in the offing and may have consequences as fundamental
and far-reaching as the revolution that spawned the printed book itself.
Jacobson et al. describe their work in creating a new kind of book,
containing pages made of paper treated with a new ink-like material that
allows electronically addressable information to be displayed.  Such a
book would retain many of the practical advantages of an ordinary printed
book, but would electronically display on its pages the content of other
selected books.  Given its practicality and flexibility, they refer to it
as "the last book," designed for the information age.

The editor and staff of the IBM Systems Journal wish to thank the many
non-IBM readers who took part in our recent survey.  The results of the
survey show that the majority of those surveyed rate the Journal highly,
both in terms of quality and coverage, and that over 80 percent find the
Journal helpful in keeping them abreast of new developments in the field.
We thank you for this vote of confidence.  Readers also provided
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And, again, our thanks to all of you who participated in the recent
survey.

In this issue we also recognize the many referees who voluntarily help us
maintain the quality of the IBM Systems Journal.  They are drawn from
academia, from the computer industry as a whole, and from IBM.  The list
of referees for the last four years is included at the end of this issue.
On behalf of the authors, readers, and editors, we thank them for their
conscientious efforts.  If you would be willing to assist us as a
referee, please contact the editor and indicate your areas of expertise.

The next issue of the Journal will be a special issue on projects
sponsored by IBM Canada's Centre for Advanced Studies.


Gene F. Hoffnagle 
Editor

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Corporation.