Guide to the John R. Ehrman collection
Finding aid prepared by Bo Doub, Kim Hayden, and Sara Chabino Lott
Processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered
through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant.
Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA, 94043
(650) 810-1010
research@computerhistory.org
February 2017
Title: John R. Ehrman collection
Identifier/Call Number: X5621.2010
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
9.5 Linear feet,
7 record cartons, 1 half manuscript box, and 1 microfiche box
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1966-1995
Date (inclusive): 1956-2005
Abstract: The John R. Ehrman collection documents Ehrman’s work in programming at IBM and Stanford University, and his membership with
SHARE, an early user group for programmers of IBM mainframe computers. Material dates from 1956 to 2005, with the bulk from
1966 to 1995. Much of the collection’s focus is on programming, with an emphasis on FORTRAN and its related languages, and
consists mainly of manuals, reference guides, books, technical reports, specifications, and program listings. Nearly half
of the material is published by IBM. The rest of the collection is published by Stanford University’s Computer Science Department
and SLAC, SHARE, and other universities, associations, and companies.
Languages: Collection material is primarily in English, with a small amount of material in French.
creator:
John R., Ehrman, 1935-
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying
any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the
Computer History Museum’s collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer
History Museum as owner of the material.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], [Date], John R. Ehrman collection, Lot X5621.2010, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History
Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of John Ehrman, 2009.
Biographical/Historical Note
John R. Ehrman was born in Richmond, Virginia on July 5, 1935. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Oberlin College
in 1956. Ehrman was first introduced to programming and computers during his time at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
where he managed the Academic Computer Center and taught introductory programming courses from 1963 to 1965. He also received
his PhD from U of I in theoretical physics in 1963. After finishing at U of I, Ehrman moved on to Stanford University, where
he provided computer support to physicists and engineers, worked in the Computation Center of the Stanford Linear Accelerator
Center (SLAC), and taught students in IBM Assembler Language programming. Ehrman worked and taught at Stanford from 1966 to
1983. In March of 1983, Ehrman began a 33-year career at IBM, ending as senior programmer in 2016. During his time at IBM,
Ehrman created and led development of IBM's High Level Assembler (HLASM), gave presentations at many user group conferences,
and visited customer sites to provide advice and assistance. Throughout his career, Ehrman has been an active member of the
user group, SHARE. Ehrman first became a member of SHARE in 1964, and his membership activities include designing an early
instance of the group’s logo, serving as project manager for various Assembler and FORTRAN-related initiatives, chairing the
Fortran Standards Committee, serving on the SHARE Board of Directors, and cofounding the annual SHARE Academy: Assembler Bootcamp
with Michael Stack. Ehrman retired from IBM and SHARE in 2016.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The John R. Ehrman collection contains material collected or created by Ehrman that documents his work at IBM and Stanford
University, and his membership with SHARE. Records date from 1956 to 2005, with the bulk from 1966 to 1995. Most of the collection
consists of manuals, reference guides, books, technical reports, specifications, and program listings. Much of the records’
focus is on programming, with an emphasis on FORTRAN and its related languages.
Nearly half of the collection is made up of material published by IBM, with some of it pre-dating Ehrman’s employment there.
A significant portion of the IBM material is related to the IBM System/360 and IBM System/370 and their operating systems,
the Basic Assembly Language (BAL) and its successors, and other programming languages.
Though containing less material, the records related to Stanford and SHARE provide a background in the development of FORTRAN
and other languages and programs. The Stanford records highlight the ACME (Advanced Computer for Medical Research) time-sharing
system, typesetting and typography programming, and the programming languages MORTRAN and FORTRAN. The SHARE material contains
a large amount of records specific to the group’s involvement in the development of FORTRAN, in addition to records related
to SHARE meetings and technical reports.
The final series in the collection contains manuals, specifications, technical reports, books, program listings, conference
proceedings, catalogs, and newsletters from a variety of companies, associations, and universities not represented in the
first three series. Topics vary, but much of the material is about FORTRAN and related languages, computer design, and programming.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into 4 series:
Series 1, IBM records, 1965-1997
Series 2, Stanford University technical reports and manuals, 1966-1983
Series 3, SHARE records, 1964-2005
Series 4, Other organizations records, 1956-1991
Separated Material
Books, software, and physical objects were separated from the main collection, including packaged Apple Computer software,
floppy disks, and a KoalaPad tablet. Issues of the periodical SHARE Secretary's Distribution (SSD) were also separated from
the collection. To view catalog records for separated material search the CHM catalog at
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/ .
Related Collections at CHM
John Ehrman papers, Lot X3468.2006.
John Ehrman manual collection, Lot X4155.2008.
Gift of John Ehrman, Lot X7492.2015.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Assembly languages (Electronic computers)
Computer programming
FORTRAN
International Business Machines Corporation
SHARE (Association)
IBM records, Series 1,
1965-1997
Series Scope and Content
This series consists of material published by IBM and collected by Ehrman. Many of the records in this series pre-date Ehrman’s
career at IBM, which began in 1983. Types of material in this series include manuals, reference guides, books, technical reports,
and course material and student workbooks from training and education internal to IBM. The IBM System/360 and IBM System/370
are well-documented in this series -- especially material relating to their operating systems and the Basic Assembly Language
(BAL), which was used in programming the S/360 and S/370. Successors of BAL, commonly referred to as “Assembler” languages,
are also prevalent in this material. Other technologies that frequently appear in this series include IBM’s RISC System/6000
(RS/6000), PL/I, High-Accuracy Arithmetic (ACRITH), FORTRAN, and FORMAC (FORmula MAnipulation Compiler). Also included is
a 1995 analyst report created by D.H. Andrews Group for IBM titled “IBM's Software Strategy.” This series is arranged chronologically.
102773955
FORMAC technical reports
1965
102773956
1054 paper tape reader and 1055 paper tape punch manuals
1965-1966
102773958
Systems reference library - IBM System/360 Operating System
1966-1969
102773957
IBM System/360 Operating System manuals
1966-1972
102773961
IBM System/360 principles of operation
1967; 1970
102773959
PL/I reports, technical papers, and course material
1967-1969; 1981; 1983
102773960
IBM System/360 student workbooks and course material
1967-1970
102773962
Number systems and introduction to IBM data processing systems student workbooks
1968
102773963
Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) for the Southern Pacific Company
1968
102773964
IBM 29 card punch reference manual
1968-08
102773965
Assembler languages programmer's guides and technical reports
1968-1982
102773966
Basic Programmer Training (BPT) course material
1969
102773968
Reference summary booklets and reference cards
1970-1994
102773967
More about computers
1971
102773969
Brief survey of languages used for systems implementation
1971-10
102773970
Training notebook for Information Management System (IMS)
1972
102773972
ASCII art from impact printer
1972-1974
102773973
IBM System/370 principles of operation
1973; 1981-1987
102773974
Introduction to the IBM 3850 Mass Storage System (MSS)
1975-1977
102773975
IBM internal course on processor architecture
1978
102773971
Compiler design course material
ca. 1978
102773976
System/370 Fortran H extended
1980-1981
102773977
Vocabulary for data processing, telecommunications, and office systems
1981-07
102773978
A personal history of APL
1982-10
102773979
Extended exponent range for FORTRAN users
1984
102773980
GUIDE/SHARE Language Futures Task Force final report
1984-11
102773981
IBM high-accuracy arithmetic (ACRITH) guides and descriptions
1984-1990
102773982
Vectorization and vector migration techniques
1986-06
102773983
Programming process architecture workflow chart
1986-10
102773984
Engineering and scientific subroutine library
1988-11
102773985
IBM's software strategy
1995-12
102773986
RISC System/6000 (RS/6000) guides
1995-1997
102773987
National language design guide : designing internationalized products
1996-10
Stanford University technical reports and manuals, Series 2,
1966-1982
Series Scope and Content
This series comprises technical reports and manuals published by Stanford University while Ehrman worked there. Material dates
from 1966 to 1982 and is from the Computation Center, Computer Science Department, Electrical Engineering Department, Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory, Computer Systems Laboratory, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), and Stanford Research Institute
(SRI). Half of the material is related to three subjects: ACME (Advanced Computer for Medical Research), a time-sharing system
developed by the Stanford Computation Center for the Stanford School of Medicine; typesetting and typography programming;
and the programming language MORTRAN. Other topics include FORTRAN, algebraic algorithms, floating point systems, and programming.
There are also two reports that present the questions and solutions from Stanford University's Computer Science Department
comprehensive examinations from 1972 to 1978 and qualifying examinations from 1965 to 1978. Donald E. Knuth, Gio Wiederhold,
Christopher J. Van Wyk, and Charles T. Zahn are the authors of many of the reports. This series is arranged alphabetically
by folder title.
102773530
ACME technical notes and manuals
1966-1975
102773539
Brief survey of computer languages for symbolic algebraic manipulation, A
1968
102773531
Comprehensive and qualifying examinations in computer science
1978-1979
102773532
Floating-point technical reports
1967-04
102773533
MORTRAN technical papers and manuals
1973-1982
102773528
Other Stanford University Computer Science Department technical reports
1971; 1979; 1981
102773535
Programming and problem-solving seminar proceedings
1977-04; 1979-12
102773536
Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory technical reports
1970; 1976-11
102773537
Stanford Computer Systems Laboratory technical reports
1978-1980
102773529
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) technical reports
1972; 1974
102773538
Typesetting and typography technical reports
1978-1980
SHARE records, Series 3,
1964-2005
Series Scope and Content
This series contains material collected or created by Ehrman from 1964 to 2005 while he was a member of SHARE. A quarter of
the material is related to SHARE’s involvement in the development of FORTRAN, including a presentation on the 25th anniversary
of FORTRAN by IBM’s Elliott Nohr, issues of the SHARE Fortran Project Newsletter, and FORTRAN program libraries. Another large
part of this series is made up of material collected for use during SHARE's 20th, 30th, and 50th anniversaries, including
proceedings from the first three SHARE meetings in 1955, a brief history of SHARE and its meetings, reminiscences of past
SHARE meetings, and a transcript from the 1972 SHARE Meeting of Pioneers. Also included are reports and papers published by
SHARE, and SHARE songbooks, which were used at the Esprit de Corps session, known as the SHARE or HASP sing-along, at annual
SHARE meetings and include familiar songs with the lyrics rewritten so they are related to SHARE and HASP. This series is
arranged alphabetically by folder title.
102773520
Bumper sticker
undated
102773523
Program library
1964-1968
102773527
Reports and papers
1969-1980
102773519
SHARE background information
1972-2005
102773518
SHARE Europe (SEAS) booklets
1989; 1992
102773526
SHARE Fortran 25th anniversary presentation
1982
102773525
SHARE Fortran project newsletter
1971; 1985-1996
102773521
SHARE songbooks
1989-1992
102773522
Strategic concerns of the members of SHARE booklets
1990-1992
Other organizations records, Series 4,
1956-1991
Series Scope and Content
This series contains material collected by Ehrman that was published by companies, associations, and institutions other than
those represented in the first three series of the collection. Material dates from 1956 to 1991. The majority of material
is made up of manuals, specifications, and technical reports, but there are also books, program listings, conference proceedings,
catalogs, and newsletters. Topics vary, but most of the material is about FORTRAN and related languages, computer design,
and programming. Much of the material was published by universities, including an IBM 7090 program library from the University
of Illinois; University of Michigan Terminal System program descriptions and manuals; and FORTRAN-related specifications and
manuals from Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, and University of British Columbia. There are a large number
of technical reports from Bell Laboratories, and a smaller number from Argonne and Los Alamos National Laboratories, University
of Illinois, University of California at Santa Cruz, and other organizations. The Association for Computing Machinery has
a large number of newsletters in this series from it SIGSAM and FORTRAN groups. Xerox PARC, Raytheon, Terrapin, and Microsoft
all have material in this series, as well. This series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
102773545
Argonne National Laboratory technical reports
1966-1967
102773543
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) newsletters
1966-1991
102773548
Augment precompiler technical summary reports
1976; 1979
102773568
Basic machine principles
1972
102773566
Bell Laboratories computing science technical reports
1972-1981
102773552
CFORMAC : Conversational FORMAC main program
1983-08
102773550
Computer design evaluation using programming language primitives
1973-12
102773561
Computer power and human reason : from judgment to calculation
1976
102773556
FORTH dimensions newsletter
1980-03
102773567
FORTH Inc. promotional package
1973
102773557
FORTUNE manual
1972
102773558
Guide to LSI implementation, A
1980-01
102773544
IF interactive FORTRAN compiler
1973-1979
102773549
Industrial Real-Time FORTRAN (IRTF) standard draft
1981
102773546
Los Alamos National Laboratory technical reports
1970; 1972
102773562
Merrill's expanded guide to computer performance evaluation using the SAS system
1990
102773554
Microsoft Applesoft compiler system for Apple II
1983
102773542
MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory memos
1970-1971
102773541
NATO Science Committee software engineering conference reports
1969-1970
102773540
R:BASE 3.1 : relational database concepts in practice
1991
102773565
REDUCE 2 manual
1973-03
102773555
Research in machine-independent software programming
1968-12-21
102773547
System Development Corporation product descriptions
1970; 1974
102773559
Terrapin Logo language for the Apple II : tutorial
1983
102773553
Tube, transistor, and diode descriptions
1956
102773564
University of Illinois Digital Computer Laboratory IBM 7090 program library
1962
102773563
University of Illinois manuals and technical reports
1962-02-12; 1969-12-01
102773534
University of Michigan Terminal System (MTS)
1976-1977
102773551
Using the CMS System Product Interpreter
1986
102773560
West of Eden : the end of innocence at Apple Computer
1989