Honeywell, Inc., X3.2 Standards Subcommittee records
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists primarily of records collected by Theodore Bousquet, Honeywell representative, and in 1964, secretary, to the X3.2 subcommittee. Part of the records appear to be files from Honeywell representatives to other standardization committees. Correspondence, 1960-1968, is really a working file of internal Honeywell memoranda, and Honeywell "external" correspondence with members from other companies, including reports, proposals, agendas, and minutes as attachments.
X3.2 Subcommittee Documents, 1963-1966, are documents submitted to the subcommittee. The records are in two groups, one collected by O. C. Miles, numbers 100-599, and one probably collected by Bousquet, numbers 90-317. Hand written notes appear on some documents. Task Forces Records, 1966-1967, include correspondence, reports, minutes, and other records filed by task force number. Included are records from X3.3, and X4, another ASA committee which dealt with graphics symbols and keyboard arrangements. USASI Records, 1968-1969, contain correspondence, minutes, and reports received from the USASI.
Dates
- Creation: 1961-1969.
Creator
- Honeywell Inc. (Organization)
Language of Materials
English
Access to materials:
Access to the collection is unrestricted.
Copyright:
The Charles Babbage Institute holds the copyright to all materials in the collection, except for items covered by a prior copyright (such as published materials). Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provisions of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).
Historical Note
In 1960, the International Standards Organization (ISO) initiated plans to form a technical committee on computers and information processing, TC 97. At the first meeting of this committee six working groups were set up:
- Working Group A: Glossary
- Working Group B: Character Sets and Coding
- Working Group C: Character Recognition
- Working Group D: Input and Output Media
- Working Group E: Programming Languages
- Working Group F: Digital Data Transmission
In the United States, the American Standards Association (ASA) was charged with responsibility to represent American positions on standards. The ASA, in 1966 became the United States of America Standards Institute (USASI), and in 1969 was renamed the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI recognized the Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA, later the Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association, CBEMA) as the sponsor for standardization work in data processing. In 1960 BEMA formed a data processing group of sponsoring companies, one of which was Minneapolis-Honeywell. This data processing group formed a Plans and Policies Committee, which in turn formed an Engineering Committee. The Engineering Committee formed the X3 Committee, which was recognized by the ASA as a sectional committee.
At its founding, X3 included ten manufacturers' representatives, eleven general interest members, and ten user group members. Honeywell was represented by R. F. Clippinger. General interest members came from groups such as the Association for Computing Machinery, the Department of Defense, and the American Management Association; user groups represented were such groups such as the Air Transport Association and the American Bankers Association. Various subcommittees were formed, such as:
- X3.1: Character Recognition
- X3.2: Coded Character Sets
- X3.3: Data Transmission
- X3.4: Common Problem-Oriented Programming Languages
- X3.5: Definition of data proc operations, terminology and glossary
- X3.6: Data Processing, Problem Description and Analysis
Task groups within these subcommittees were formed to work on specific problems. Members of task groups were not necessarily members of the parent group.
X3 was charged with developing national standards, submitting them to ISO, and developing a United States position on proposals coming form ISO. X3 strove to achieve consensus on standards. Each company was concerned that new standards did not define their equipment as obsolete, yet also did not want to hinder future developments. Honeywell seems to have been particularly involved in the controversy over ASCII magnetic tape standards.
R. F. Clippinger was Honeywell's first representative on the X3 ASA Sectional Committee. The first Honeywell representatives to the X3 subcommittees were:
- X3.1, J. J. Eachus
- X3.2, R, W. Reach, T. J. McNamara, alternate
- X3.3, M. A. Antman, O. C. Miles, alternate
- X3.4, R. F. Clippinger
- X3.5, Keith Betz,
- X3.6, C. F. Dubay
By 1963 Theodore R. Bousquet had become Honeywell's representative to X3.2. In 1964 it became Honeywell's turn to act as secretary for this subcommittee, and Bousquet took this duty as secretary pro tem. Richard M. Muise acted as his alternate. By 1968 R. E. Turnberg was Honeywell's representative to X3.2, with Bousquet as alternate.
Extent
3 boxes (3 cubic feet)
Abstract
Contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, task force records, and committee agendas, minutes, and documents primarily collected by Theodore R. Bousquet. Part of the records appear to be files from Honeywell representatives to other standardization committees.
Acquisition:
The records were given to the Charles Babbage Institute in 1989 by David Rosenberg.
Subject
- Bousquet, Theodore R. (Person)
- American National Standards Institute. (Organization)
- Title
- Honeywell, Inc., X3.2 Standards Subcommittee Records, 1961-1969. Finding Aid.
- Author
- Prepared by Pat Hennessy, February 1991.
- Date
- May 2005
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Charles Babbage Institute Archives Collecting Area
Elmer L. Andersen Library
222 - 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis MN 55455
612-624-5050
cbi@umn.edu