The ADEPT-50 time-sharing system

In the past decade, many computer systems intended for operational use by large military and governmental organizations have been "custom made" to meet the needs of the particular operational situation for which they were intended. In recent years, however, there has been a growing realization that this design approach is not the best method for long term system development. Rather, the development of general purpose systems has been promoted that provide a broad, general base on which to configure new systems. The concepts of time-sharing and general-purpose data management have been under development for several years, particularly in university or research settings. These methods of computer usage have been tested, evaluated, and refined to the point where today they are ready to be exploited by a broad user community.