<s>
FileMan	B-Language
is	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
utilities	O
written	O
by	O
George	O
Timson	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
and	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
using	O
MUMPS	B-Language
,	O
which	O
provide	O
a	O
meta-data	O
function	O
for	O
MUMPS	B-Language
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
FileMan	B-Language
utilities	O
allow	O
the	O
definition	O
of	O
data	O
structures	O
,	O
menus	O
and	O
security	O
,	O
reports	O
,	O
and	O
forms	O
,	O
allowing	O
someone	O
to	O
set	O
up	O
applications	O
without	O
tremendous	O
experience	O
in	O
the	O
MUMPS	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
FileMan	B-Language
was	O
designed	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
complex	O
information	O
storage	O
and	O
processing	O
needs	O
of	O
hospitals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
an	O
active	O
data	O
dictionary	O
that	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
invoke	O
the	O
full	O
interpretive	O
power	O
of	O
the	O
MUMPS	B-Language
language	I-Language
from	O
within	O
a	O
data	O
reference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
field	O
called	O
"	O
Length	O
of	O
Stay	O
"	O
could	O
invoke	O
a	O
MUMPS	B-Language
expression	O
that	O
would	O
process	O
the	O
various	O
dates	O
,	O
transfers	O
,	O
and	O
discharges	O
that	O
would	O
then	O
be	O
returned	O
as	O
if	O
it	O
were	O
stored	O
as	O
a	O
fixed	O
data	O
element	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MUMPS	B-Language
differs	O
from	O
many	O
languages	O
in	O
its	O
handling	O
of	O
the	O
null	O
string	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
large	O
percentage	O
of	O
the	O
FileMan	B-Language
internal	O
data	O
structures	O
are	O
null	O
strings	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
information	O
is	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
nothing	O
"	O
being	O
referenced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
approach	O
does	O
not	O
fit	O
the	O
traditional	O
Relational	B-Architecture
Data	I-Architecture
Model	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
FileMan	B-Language
may	O
be	O
used	O
standalone	O
,	O
or	O
may	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
the	O
VA	B-Language
Kernel	I-Language
,	O
which	O
provides	O
an	O
operating	O
system	O
neutral	O
environment	O
for	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
