<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
was	O
designed	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
the	O
data	O
entry	O
products	O
that	O
were	O
available	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
3740	I-Device
was	O
the	O
major	O
data	O
entry	O
capability	O
available	O
to	O
convert	O
the	O
data	O
collected	O
at	O
the	O
source	O
,	O
whether	O
high	O
volume	O
,	O
distributed	O
or	O
locally	O
gathered	O
,	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
available	O
in	O
digitized	O
form	O
in	O
databases	O
that	O
were	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
managers	O
and	O
other	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
make	O
sure	O
that	O
the	O
information	O
was	O
saved	O
securely	O
in	O
storage	O
for	O
future	O
reference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
followed	O
the	O
design	O
lead	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
3740	I-Device
but	O
was	O
totally	O
programmable	O
,	O
enhanced	O
the	O
speed	O
and	O
storage	O
of	O
the	O
processor	O
,	O
the	O
speed	O
and	O
amount	O
of	O
available	O
memory	O
for	O
the	O
software	O
to	O
use	O
,	O
the	O
size	O
and	O
clarity	O
of	O
the	O
display	O
,	O
and	O
afforded	O
multiple	O
diskette	O
drives	O
with	O
larger	O
capacity	O
on	O
each	O
diskette	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
was	O
described	O
by	O
IBM	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
Distributed	O
Data	O
System	O
"	O
in	O
its	O
1980	O
announcement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
Distributed	O
Data	O
System	O
paralleled	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
3740	I-Device
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
was	O
a	O
natural	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
aging	O
data	O
input	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
provided	O
programmable	O
platform	O
using	O
a	O
fairly	O
well	O
known	O
languages	O
,	O
RPG	B-Language
and	O
COBOL	B-Application
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
personal	O
computer	O
-	O
although	O
it	O
looked	O
a	O
bit	O
like	O
a	O
more	O
recent	O
pc-desktop	O
display	O
mounted	O
to	O
a	O
desk	O
with	O
a	O
very	O
large	O
CRT	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unfortunately	O
,	O
the	O
users	O
were	O
already	O
beginning	O
to	O
search	O
for	O
personal	O
computers	O
to	O
solve	O
their	O
data	O
problems	O
and	O
within	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
development	O
of	O
'	O
smart	O
heads	O
 '	O
for	O
the	O
main	O
frame	O
interface	O
was	O
well	O
underway	O
,	O
culminating	O
in	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
PC-based	O
display	O
for	O
the	O
main	O
frames	O
by	O
IBM	O
in	O
1983	O
-	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
3270	I-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
it	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
XT	I-Device
and	O
was	O
followed	O
soon	O
after	O
by	O
powerful	O
computing	O
monitors	O
which	O
were	O
also	O
PC-based	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
Distributed	O
Data	O
System	O
was	O
not	O
viewed	O
by	O
these	O
potential	O
users	O
as	O
a	O
PC-based	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
System	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
natural	O
improvement	O
over	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
3740	I-Device
which	O
was	O
now	O
more	O
than	O
10	O
years	O
old	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
industry	O
had	O
spent	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
five	O
of	O
those	O
years	O
producing	O
the	O
supporting	O
environment	O
for	O
it	O
,	O
but	O
were	O
now	O
at	O
the	O
crossroads	O
where	O
they	O
had	O
to	O
decide	O
if	O
they	O
were	O
going	O
to	O
continue	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
super	O
expensive	O
,	O
guaranteed-not-to-fail	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
,	O
or	O
to	O
move	O
away	O
from	O
what	O
Big	O
Blue	O
was	O
promising	O
them	O
into	O
the	O
nether	O
world	O
of	O
unknown	O
software	O
,	O
incomplete	O
,	O
poorly	O
thought	O
out	O
process	O
changes	O
and	O
daily	O
interruption	O
of	O
work	O
flow	O
due	O
to	O
system	O
crashes	O
of	O
their	O
-not-ready-for-business-but-cheaper-than-dirt	O
-	O
personal	O
computer-based	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
being	O
done	O
by	O
Big	O
Blue	O
,	O
they	O
had	O
to	O
take	O
care	O
of	O
all	O
of	O
this	O
by	O
themselves	O
including	O
protection	O
against	O
malware	O
and	O
viruses	O
that	O
using	O
the	O
main	O
frame	O
would	O
protect	O
them	O
from	O
having	O
to	O
deal	O
with	O
the	O
problem	O
by	O
themselves.But	O
then	O
IBM	O
release	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
3270	I-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
within	O
the	O
year	O
additional	O
PC-based	O
products	O
with	O
more	O
pc-like	O
characteristics	O
and	O
the	O
decision	O
was	O
made	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
the	O
path	O
forward	O
was	O
clear	O
,	O
and	O
big	O
expensive	O
,	O
though	O
functional	O
,	O
systems	O
like	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
were	O
hard	O
to	O
sell	O
to	O
a	O
pc-bent	O
worldview	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
huge	O
portion	O
of	O
IBM	O
selling	O
PC-based	O
products	O
that	O
was	O
making	O
the	O
same	O
paradigm	O
shift	O
and	O
saw	O
that	O
the	O
closed	O
system	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
System	O
was	O
not	O
the	O
way	O
to	O
go	O
from	O
their	O
perspective	O
and	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
sales	O
impetus	O
on	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
Distributed	O
Data	O
System	O
was	O
not	O
nearly	O
sufficient	O
for	O
it	O
to	O
sell	O
very	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
equipment	O
was	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
Distributed	O
Data	O
System	O
(	O
see	O
the	O
table	O
for	O
more	O
specifications	O
)	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
5285	O
Programmable	O
Data	O
Station	O
(	O
COBOL	B-Application
,	O
IBM	B-Language
RPG	I-Language
,	O
DE/RPG	B-Language
languages	O
,	O
was	O
built	O
on	O
a	O
very	O
fast	O
microprocessor	O
-	O
not	O
Intel	O
based	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
5286	O
Dual	O
Programmable	O
Data	O
Station	O
(	O
COBOL	B-Application
,	O
IBM	B-Language
RPG	I-Language
,	O
DE/RPG	B-Language
)	O
,	O
fast	O
microprocessor	O
-	O
not	O
Intel	O
based	O
,	O
single	O
screen	O
split	O
using	O
mirrors	O
to	O
display	O
to	O
both	O
users	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
large	O
display	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
Distributed	O
Data	O
System	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
station	O
independent	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
for	O
which	O
the	O
data	O
was	O
being	O
collected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
provide	O
interaction	O
with	O
mainframe	O
and	O
other	O
computers	O
as	O
needed	O
,	O
the	O
Programmable	O
Stations	O
connected	O
using	O
a	O
LAN	O
cable	O
for	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
to	O
mainframes	O
such	O
as	O
IBM	B-Application
System/360	I-Application
or	O
IBM	B-Device
System/370	I-Device
and	O
mid-range	O
computers	O
like	O
IBM	B-Device
System/3	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/36	I-Device
or	O
IBM	B-Device
System/38	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
local	O
matrix	O
printer	O
capability	O
at	O
40	O
cps	O
,	O
80	O
cps	O
and	O
120	O
cps	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
faster	O
line	O
printer	O
at	O
up	O
to	O
500	O
lines	O
per	O
minute	O
are	O
available	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
makes	O
the	O
system	O
even	O
more	O
usable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
unit	O
has	O
locations	O
for	O
multiple	O
8	O
"	O
floppy	O
drives	O
and	O
connects	O
to	O
the	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
LAN	O
if	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
unit	O
is	O
programmable	O
using	O
its	O
own	O
internal	O
memory	O
and	O
code	O
may	O
be	O
written	O
in	O
COBOL	B-Application
or	O
either	O
of	O
two	O
versions	O
of	O
RPG	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
unit	O
has	O
locations	O
for	O
multiple	O
8	O
"	O
floppy	O
drives	O
and	O
connects	O
to	O
the	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
LAN	O
if	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
unit	O
is	O
programmable	O
using	O
its	O
own	O
internal	O
memory	O
and	O
code	O
may	O
be	O
written	O
in	O
COBOL	B-Application
or	O
either	O
of	O
two	O
versions	O
of	O
RPG	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
5288	O
Programmable	O
Control	O
Unit	O
is	O
a	O
standalone	O
processor	O
containing	O
resources	O
and	O
programming	O
to	O
control	O
up	O
to	O
four	O
Programmable	O
Data	O
Stations	O
at	O
one	O
time	O
using	O
the	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
LAN	O
in	O
a	O
separate	O
LAN	O
operated	O
by	O
the	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
can	O
connect	O
on	O
the	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
to	O
the	O
main	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	O
5225	O
was	O
also	O
offered	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
System/36	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fact	O
,	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
systems	O
(	O
IBM	B-Device
System/3	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/32	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/34	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/36	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/38	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
AS/400	I-Device
)	O
which	O
support	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5250	I-Device
protocol	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
is	O
likely	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
a	O
user	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	O
5225	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
5280	I-Device
system	O
software	O
controlled	O
the	O
data	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
characters	O
delivered	O
to	O
the	O
hardware	O
to	O
print	O
by	O
way	O
of	O
the	O
LAN	O
adapter	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
IBM	O
5256	O
printer	O
adapter	O
determined	O
how	O
to	O
get	O
the	O
printing	O
done	O
in	O
the	O
most	O
rapid	O
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
adapter	I-Device
is	O
separate	O
from	O
the	O
adapter	O
of	O
the	O
printer	O
and	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
deserialize	O
the	O
data	O
on	O
the	O
ring	O
,	O
presenting	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
printer	O
adapter	O
for	O
action	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	O
5256	O
was	O
also	O
offered	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5250	I-Device
computer	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
now	O
has	O
become	O
equated	O
with	O
the	O
data	O
stream	O
that	O
the	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
offering	O
for	O
IBM	B-Device
5250	I-Device
original	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	O
5256	O
is	O
available	O
on	O
any	O
IBM	O
computer	O
system	O
that	O
supports	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5250	I-Device
protocol	O
and	O
any	O
of	O
those	O
systems	O
(	O
IBM	B-Device
System/3	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/32	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/34	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/36	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
System/38	I-Device
,	O
IBM	B-Device
AS/400	I-Device
)	O
who	O
support	O
the	O
protocol	O
is	O
likely	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
a	O
user	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	O
5256	O
printer	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5250	I-Device
system	O
actually	O
lists	O
the	O
IBM	O
5256	O
as	O
the	O
printer	O
component	O
on	O
the	O
system	O
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DE/RPG	B-Language
or	O
COBOL	B-Application
are	O
the	O
languages	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
