<s>
Advanced	O
Computer	O
Techniques	O
(	O
ACT	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
software	I-Application
company	O
most	O
active	O
from	O
the	O
early	O
1960s	O
through	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
that	O
made	O
software	B-Application
products	I-Application
,	O
especially	O
language	B-Language
compilers	I-Language
and	O
related	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
writer	O
Katharine	O
Davis	O
Fishman	O
,	O
in	O
her	O
1981	O
book	O
The	O
Computer	O
Establishment	O
,	O
and	O
computer	O
science	O
historian	O
Martin	O
Campbell-Kelly	O
,	O
in	O
his	O
2003	O
volume	O
From	O
Airline	O
Reservations	O
to	O
Sonic	O
the	O
Hedgehog	O
:	O
A	O
History	O
of	O
the	B-Application
Software	I-Application
Industry	O
,	O
have	O
considered	O
ACT	O
an	O
exemplar	O
of	O
the	O
independent	O
,	O
middle-sized	O
software	O
development	O
firms	O
of	O
its	O
era	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Charles	O
Babbage	O
Institute	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Minnesota	O
has	O
also	O
viewed	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
history	O
as	O
important	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
firm	O
's	O
first	O
job	O
was	O
fixing	O
a	O
language	B-Language
compiler	I-Language
on	O
the	O
UNIVAC	B-Device
LARC	I-Device
computer	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
being	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Navy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UNIVAC	O
awarded	O
a	O
$	O
100,000	O
contract	O
for	O
the	O
work	O
;	O
Lecht	O
hired	O
some	O
programmers	B-Application
and	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
first	O
office	O
was	O
in	O
former	O
servant	O
quarters	O
atop	O
the	O
Plaza	O
Hotel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creating	O
compilers	B-Language
became	O
a	O
key	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
early	O
efforts	O
;	O
its	O
first	O
compiler	B-Language
,	O
for	O
the	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
language	I-Application
,	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1960s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
COBOL	B-Application
compiler	B-Language
later	O
in	O
that	O
decade	O
,	O
then	O
a	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
77	O
compiler	B-Language
and	O
a	O
Pascal	B-Application
compiler	B-Language
both	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
UNIVAC	O
,	O
early	O
customers	O
for	O
the	O
firm	O
's	O
compiler	B-Language
work	O
included	O
IBM	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Honeywell	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
few	O
trained	O
computer	B-Application
programmers	I-Application
available	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
Lecht	O
hired	O
those	O
with	O
musical	O
,	O
linguistic	O
,	O
or	O
mathematical	O
backgrounds	O
,	O
finding	O
them	O
to	O
be	O
successful	O
at	O
this	O
new	O
activity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
instituted	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
weekly	O
reports	O
that	O
all	O
developers	B-Application
had	O
to	O
file	O
detailing	O
their	O
progress	O
;	O
these	O
were	O
communicated	O
to	O
the	O
client	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
theory	O
that	O
"	O
a	O
client	O
can	O
get	O
angry	O
at	O
us	O
,	O
but	O
 [ they ] 	O
ca	O
n't	O
be	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
week	O
angry	O
at	O
us	O
because	O
we	O
told	O
 [ them ] 	O
exactly	O
where	O
we	O
were.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
also	O
published	O
A	O
Guide	O
for	O
Software	O
Documentation	O
in	O
1969	O
,	O
compiled	B-Language
and	O
edited	O
by	O
Dorothy	O
Walsh	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
again	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
of	O
its	O
kind	O
and	O
was	O
cited	O
by	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
publications	O
in	O
the	O
years	O
to	O
follow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
also	O
began	O
entering	O
the	O
packaged	B-Application
software	I-Application
business	O
,	O
developing	O
compilers	B-Language
and	O
related	O
tools	O
as	O
a	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advent	O
of	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
created	O
a	O
market	O
for	O
the	O
compilers	B-Language
and	O
Data	O
General	O
became	O
a	O
major	O
customer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
time	O
IBM	O
withdrew	O
from	O
that	O
market	O
and	O
the	O
regime	O
of	O
Shah	O
Reza	O
Pahlavi	O
decided	O
to	O
standardize	O
on	O
the	O
Honeywell	B-Device
6000	I-Device
series	I-Device
for	O
the	O
Iranian	O
military	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ACT	O
was	O
also	O
an	O
earlier	O
entrant	O
in	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
field	O
in	O
the	O
mid-late-1970s	O
,	O
acquiring	O
Base	O
Information	O
Systems	O
and	O
its	O
Ultratext	O
System	O
technology	O
and	O
partnering	O
with	O
Honeywell	O
to	O
put	O
the	O
system	O
on	O
the	O
Honeywell	B-Device
Level	I-Device
6	I-Device
minicomputer	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
Wang	O
Laboratories	O
captured	O
much	O
of	O
this	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
market	O
;	O
the	O
Ultratext	O
product	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
overly	O
complicated	O
and	O
Schachter	O
later	O
lamented	O
that	O
ACT	O
letting	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
make	O
an	O
impression	O
in	O
this	O
domain	O
slip	O
away	O
was	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
our	O
worst	O
failures	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
revenues	O
over	O
$16million	O
and	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
size	O
was	O
in	O
the	O
top	O
60	O
of	O
over	O
3,000	O
companies	O
in	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
services	O
,	O
and	O
facilities	O
management	O
sector	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
business	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
service	O
bureaus	O
,	O
were	O
losing	O
money	O
,	O
and	O
there	O
were	O
significant	O
cost	O
overruns	O
developing	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
Pascal	B-Application
compilers	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
expanded	O
its	O
language	O
products	O
into	O
those	O
desired	O
by	O
the	O
defense	O
industry	O
for	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
deployment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
JOVIAL	B-Language
compiler	B-Language
was	O
produced	O
in	O
1981	O
,	O
targeted	O
for	O
the	O
Zilog	B-Device
Z8002	I-Device
16-bit	O
,	O
small	O
memory	O
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
soon	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
JOVIAL	B-Language
compiler	B-Language
targeted	O
to	O
the	O
popular	O
MIL-STD-1750A	B-General_Concept
16-bit	O
processor	O
architecture	O
specification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
these	O
compilers	B-Language
came	O
associated	O
tools	O
such	O
as	O
assemblers	B-Application
,	O
linkers	B-Application
,	O
runtime	B-Device
systems	I-Device
,	O
simulators	B-Application
,	O
and	O
symbolic	B-Application
debuggers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
cross-development	O
tools	O
were	O
typically	O
hosted	O
on	O
either	O
IBM	B-Device
System/370	I-Device
mainframes	O
or	O
VAX	B-Device
minicomputers	B-Architecture
running	O
VMS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
General	O
Dynamics	O
became	O
the	O
biggest	O
customer	O
for	O
the	O
JOVIAL	B-Language
product	O
,	O
especially	O
for	O
its	O
use	O
in	O
the	O
avionics	O
for	O
the	O
F-16	O
Fighting	O
Falcon	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
sold	O
to	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
defense	O
contractors	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
continue	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
commercial	O
language	B-Language
compilers	I-Language
:	O
A	O
BASIC	O
compiler	B-Language
was	O
developed	O
in	O
1985	O
,	O
which	O
along	O
with	O
COBOL	B-Application
,	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Pascal	B-Application
,	O
was	O
supplied	O
to	O
AT&T	O
Computer	O
Systems	O
 '	O
3B	B-Device
series	I-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
C	B-Language
language	I-Language
compiler	B-Language
was	O
developed	O
by	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
commercial	O
compilers	B-Language
were	O
enhanced	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
latest	O
standards	O
,	O
COBOL-85	B-Language
and	O
draft	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
8X	O
,	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
contract	O
for	O
compilers	B-Language
for	O
the	O
BiiN	O
joint	O
venture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cash	O
infusion	O
from	O
Prudential-Bache	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
compiler	B-Language
system	O
for	O
the	O
Ada	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
targeted	O
to	O
the	O
MIL-STD-1750A	B-General_Concept
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
consisted	O
of	O
a	O
compiler	B-Language
front-end	O
licensed	O
from	O
DDC-I	O
in	O
Denmark	O
(	O
itself	O
an	O
offshoot	O
of	O
the	O
Dansk	O
Datamatik	O
Center	O
)	O
married	O
to	O
a	O
compiler	B-Language
back-end	O
from	O
ACT	O
that	O
made	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
existing	O
tools	O
for	O
the	O
MIL-STD-1750A	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
ACT	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
U.S.	O
company	O
to	O
successfully	O
validate	O
an	O
Ada	B-Language
1750A	B-General_Concept
compiler	B-Language
past	O
the	O
strenuous	O
Ada	B-Language
Compiler	I-Language
Validation	I-Language
Capability	I-Language
(	O
ACVC	B-Language
)	O
validation	O
suite	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
JOVIAL	B-Language
and	O
Ada	B-Language
,	O
the	O
company	O
would	O
gain	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
high-profile	O
defense	O
contractors	O
as	O
customers	O
throughout	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
1987	O
,	O
ACT	O
transferred	O
its	O
software	O
division	O
of	O
compilers	B-Language
and	O
related	O
tools	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
joint	O
venture	O
called	O
InterACT	O
that	O
was	O
two-thirds	O
owned	O
by	O
LSI	O
Logic	O
and	O
one-third	O
by	O
ACT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
would	O
include	O
ACT	O
's	O
existing	O
compilers	B-Language
,	O
assemblers	B-Application
,	O
linkers	B-Application
,	O
simulators	B-Application
,	O
and	O
debuggers	B-Application
;	O
a	O
CASE	B-Application
tool	O
,	O
Interactive	B-Application
Development	I-Application
Environments	I-Application
's	O
Software	O
Through	O
Pictures	O
;	O
a	O
CAE	O
tool	O
,	O
LSI	O
Logic	O
's	O
LSI	O
Design	O
System	O
;	O
and	O
novel	O
components	O
,	O
including	O
bridged	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
simulation	O
models	O
and	O
graphic	O
editors	O
and	O
administration	O
tools	O
allowing	O
automated	O
composition	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
other	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
total	O
set	O
of	O
products	O
,	O
initially	O
called	O
CASHE	O
but	O
then	O
called	O
the	O
System	O
Design	O
Environment	O
(	O
SDE	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
aimed	O
at	O
providing	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
developers	B-Application
a	O
way	O
to	O
design	O
,	O
simulate	O
,	O
and	O
debug	O
their	O
embedded	O
applications	O
while	O
hardware	O
was	O
still	O
being	O
developed	O
,	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
wait	O
for	O
a	O
prototype	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
work	O
on	O
commercial	O
compilers	B-Language
was	O
gradually	O
shut	O
down	O
,	O
although	O
a	O
C	B-Language
cross	O
compiler	B-Language
to	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
i960	I-General_Concept
embedded	O
architecture	O
was	O
completed	O
and	O
had	O
some	O
sales	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dubbed	O
the	O
InterACT	O
Integrator	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
hosted	O
on	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
workstations	O
and	O
positioned	O
as	O
a	O
data	O
management	O
framework	O
for	O
the	O
integration	O
and	O
automatic	O
sequencing	O
of	O
CASE	B-Application
tools	O
and	O
other	O
software	O
packages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
InterACT	O
continued	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
sell	O
the	O
Ada	B-Language
and	O
JOVIAL	B-Language
products	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1988	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
made	O
a	O
licensing	O
arrangement	O
with	O
MIPS	O
Computer	O
Systems	O
to	O
gain	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
compiler	B-Language
back	O
end	O
technology	O
for	O
the	O
MIPS	B-Device
R3000	I-Device
RISC	B-Architecture
microprocessor	O
,	O
and	O
commenced	O
work	O
on	O
an	O
Ada	B-Language
cross	O
compiler	B-Language
system	O
for	O
the	O
R3000	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
validated	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
late	O
1989	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
,	O
the	O
Ada	B-Language
cross	O
compiler	B-Language
product	O
for	O
MIPS	B-Device
R3000	I-Device
made	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1991	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
DDC-I	O
had	O
acquired	O
the	O
Ada	B-Language
and	O
JOVIAL	B-Language
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
business	O
of	O
InterACT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
specialized	O
in	O
delivering	O
software	B-Application
products	I-Application
and	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
services	O
in	O
the	O
human	O
services	O
field	O
,	O
specifically	O
for	O
behavioral	O
health	O
providers	O
such	O
as	O
psychiatric	O
hospitals	O
and	O
mental	O
health	O
clinics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
CSM	O
systems	O
worked	O
via	O
batch	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1970s	O
,	O
CSM	O
made	O
the	O
move	O
to	O
deploy	O
its	O
software	O
to	O
online	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
systems	O
that	O
were	O
provided	O
to	O
customers	O
as	O
turnkey	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Near	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
that	O
decade	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
CSM	O
's	O
applications	O
were	O
converted	O
to	O
being	O
implemented	O
using	O
the	O
MUMPS	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
which	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
become	O
a	O
common	O
choice	O
within	O
the	O
healthcare	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
most	O
part	O
,	O
CSM	O
operated	O
independently	O
of	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
ACT	O
's	O
activities	O
,	O
but	O
there	O
were	O
occasional	O
collaborations	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
when	O
the	O
parent	O
produced	O
MUMPS	B-Language
implementations	O
for	O
the	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
PRO	O
series	O
microcomputers	O
and	O
Tandem	O
Computers	O
NonStop	B-Architecture
fault-tolerant	O
product	O
line	O
,	O
or	O
when	O
ACT	O
's	O
Network	O
Processor	O
product	O
was	O
used	O
underneath	O
CSM	O
's	O
Human	O
Services	O
Network	O
Information	O
System	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Former	O
employees	O
of	O
ACT	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
work	O
elsewhere	O
on	O
compilers	B-Language
and	O
various	O
kinds	O
of	O
system	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
notable	O
such	O
endeavor	O
was	O
Edison	B-Language
Design	I-Language
Group	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Founded	O
by	O
one	O
of	O
ACT	O
's	O
compiler	B-Language
designers	O
J	O
.	O
Stephen	O
Adamczyk	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
several	O
ex-members	O
of	O
ACT	O
's	O
commercial	O
compiler	B-Language
group	O
working	O
for	O
it	O
over	O
the	O
years	O
,	O
they	O
produced	O
a	O
very	O
successful	O
front-end	O
implementation	O
for	O
the	O
C++	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
and	O
became	O
well-regarded	O
contributors	O
to	O
the	O
ISO	O
C++	B-Language
standardization	O
effort	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
acquiring	O
and	O
rebranding	O
the	O
ACT/InterACT	O
JOVIAL	B-Language
and	O
Ada	B-Language
compiler	B-Language
products	O
,	O
DDC-I	O
continued	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
market	O
them	O
throughout	O
the	O
1990s	O
;	O
they	O
were	O
still	O
listed	O
as	O
legacy	O
products	O
on	O
their	O
website	O
into	O
the	O
2010s	O
.	O
</s>
