ISSCO Graphics#Tellagraf
{{Short description|Software package}}
{{Redirect|ISSCO|the research institute|Dalle Molle Institute for Semantic and Cognitive Studies}}
Integrated Software Systems Corporation (ISSCO), doing business as ISSCO Graphics,{{cite web
|quote=... ISSCO. DISSPLA and TELLAGRAF are registered trademarks of Integrated Software Systems Corp
|title=capture retro*graphics on your dectm terminal. - IEEE Xplore
|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1674529}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}a proprietary conversational graphics program from [https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=30311 ISSCO] of San Diego, CA.[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015026567563?urlappend=%3Bseq=801 TELL-A-GRAF in MTS], Dave Whipple, Computing Center Memo 450, University of Michigan, March 1983. was an American software developer and publisher based in San Diego, California, and active from 1970 to 1986. They were best known for their enterprise graphics software packages, including Tellagraf, CueChart and Disspla.{{cite web
|quote=The plots can be created with any of the available graphics packages on VM/CMS-- DISSPLA, TELLAGRAF, etc. |title=Merging Graphics
|url=http://rcsg-gsir.imsb-dsgi.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/documents/latex/node53.html
|date=February 25, 1998}}
History
ISSCO Graphics had considered acquiring{{cite news
|newspaper=The LA Times |title=Software Firm Seeking
|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-13-fi-1548-story.html
|quote=buying a company that would give ISSCO ... for the personal computer market.
|date=August 13, 1985 |author=Greg Johnson}} Breakthrough Software, whose software focus involved PC DOS, as a means of getting into the PC arena,{{cite magazine |magazine=InfoWorld |date=October 13, 1986
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDwEAAAAMBAJ |page=31
|title=Issco agrees to buy maker of Time Line}} but backed off when Computer Associates made an offer to acquire ISSCO.{{cite magazine
|magazine=InfoWorld |date=December 15, 1986
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bDwEAAAAMBAJ |page=16
|title=Breakthrough to Withdraw from Merge Plans with ISSCO}}
By early 1987 it was reported that "Issco users breathe sigh of relief" that all was well.following what was reported as "frosty reception by users." {{cite news |newspaper=ComputerWorld
|date=March 2, 1987 |page=8
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZ4AAehqfn0C
|title=Issco Sigh of relief}}
The ISSCO User's Group was founded in 1976.{{cite web
|quote=Proceedings of the 12th Annual ISSCO Users Group Meeting, Los Angeles California,. February 1987
|title=Dave Lavery - Program Executive for Solar System Exploration (NASA)
|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/davelavery |date=February 1987}}
ISSCO, which was founded in 1970{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/27/jobs/charts-on-computer-graphics-are-trending-upwards.html
|title=Charts on computer graphics are trending upwards
|author=James C. Condon |date=March 27, 1983}} by Peter Preuss,{{cite web
|title=About Peter and Peggy Preuss
|url=https://preuss.ucsd.edu/about-preuss/about-peter-and-peggy-preuss.html}} was acquired by Computer Associates in 1986.{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/02/business/software-giants-plan-merger.html
|title=Software giants plan merger
|author=Calvin Sims |date=June 2, 1987}}
Notable products
=Tellagraf=
Users of Tellagraf often had access to CueChart and Disspla software.{{cite web
|quote=Guide to Curchart, Tellagraf, and Disspla at ANL provides information necessary for using the three ISSCO graphics packages at Argonne
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255046055
|title=Guide to using Cuechart, Tellagraf, and Disspla at ANL}} Often computer sites having one had all three.{{cite web
|quote=The plots can be created with any of the available graphics packages on VM/CMS-- DISSPLA, TELLAGRAF, etc. |title=Merging Graphics
|url=http://rcsg-gsir.imsb-dsgi.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/documents/latex/node53.html
|date=February 25, 1998}}
Terminals with varying degrees of graphics, such as the DEC's VT100 and Tektronix's Tektronix 4xxx family of text and graphics terminals.{{cite journal |journal=Data Processing
|quote=... software such as Issco's Tellagraf at. &6500, input device like a VT100 screen or Tektronix 4702 costing. E2 000-4000 and an output device, such as an HP
|doi=10.1016/0011-684X(86)90188-7
|title=Mainframe graphics for business presentations
|volume=28 |pages=26–27 |year=1986
|author=Judith Bird}} were supported, and the software ran on popular computing platforms.Cuechart with Tell-a-Graf is machine- and device-independent, permitting it to operate with most major computers and ...
Four years are important to Tellagraf's early history:{{cite news |newspaper=Computerworld
|date=September 27, 1982 |page=28 |title=Tellagraf graphics software
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dpKltAUoYAAC}}
- 1978: ease of use
- 1980: graphic-artist quality
- 1982: introduction of CueChart, and recognition by IEEE.{{cite journal
|title=New products
|author=D Michalopoulos |journal=Computer |date=1982|volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=101–106 |doi=10.1109/MC.1982.1654116
}}
- 1983: "quality graphics enters the mainstream of data processing with ..."
Tellegraf was eventually acquired by Computer Associates and renamed CA-Tellegraf.{{cite book
|quote=Title, CA-TELLAGRAF User's Guide, Volume 2. CA-TELLAGRAF User's Guide, Computer Associates International.
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqtVcgAACAAJ
|title=CA-TELLAGRAF User's Guide|year=1987
|title=CA Tellagraf Overview
|url=https://www.cnet.com/products/ca-tellagraf}} SAS users found it helpful.{{cite web
|quote=Utilizing SAS Software to generate command language programs, using CA-Tellagraf as an example
|title=Utilizing SAS Software to generate ... CA-Tellagraf as an example
|url=http://www.sascommunity.org/sugi/SUGI88/Sugi-13-274%20Huang.pdf
|author=Dorothy Hu Huang}}
Universities,Some even wrote their own quick-start guide: {{cite book
|quote=The reason for this is that the color set for the background is generated by the camera, and then the picture generated by *TELLAGRAF is drawn on top.
|title=Computing Center Memo
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BYFQAAAAMAAJ
|publisher=University of Michigan Computing Center |date=1983}} research institutes{{cite web
|quote=The box plots were prepared by using CA–TELLAGRAF to generate the linework and text.
|title=Arizona's Industrial Rock and Mineral Resources: Workshop Proceedings
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gs1RAQAAMAAJ
|author1=David L. Huston |author2=David MacArthur Miller
|author3=Denise A. Wiltshire |date=1983}} and financial services firms were among early users.{{cite book
|title=TELLaGRAF & CueChart (LBKL) |date=October 1983}}
=Disspla=
Disspla is a package of data plotting subroutines that can be used from high level languages.{{cite web |author=Jukka Kiijarvi
|url=http://www.kolumbus.fi/jukka.kiijarvi/clunowa/programming/graphics/graphics.html
|title=Lunowa - Programming - Data Plotting Software}} It was also acquired by Computer Associates.
=Tellaplan=
In 1983 ISSCO introduced Tellaplan, "a project planning, report and schedule charting system for Tell-A- Graf users in IBM MVS or CMS or Digital Equipment Corp. VAX computers"{{cite news |newspaper=ComputerWorld |title=Tellaplan system
|date=July 4, 1983 |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JF4iQwmmCwYC}} atop which they built "two visual project management software packages" three years later.{{cite web
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nI091j0HhhwC
|title=New products: Issco|last1=Enterprise|first1=I. D. G.|date=1986-10-27}}