
From: CRDGW2::CRDGW2::MRGATE::"SMTP::ANDREW.CMU.EDU::ATKBB+BAD-ADDRESSES"
Date: 29-JUL-1989 11:09:11
Description: Re: What is andrew by the way?                       

Received: by andrew.cmu.edu (5.54/3.15) id <AA01385>; Sat, 29 Jul 89 10:18:45 EDT
Received: via switchmail; Sat, 29 Jul 89 10:18:43 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from sharpsburg.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail
          ID </afs/andrew.cmu.edu/service/mailqs/q007/QF.IYoPkbu00VsD82FE5Q>;
          Sat, 29 Jul 89 10:16:09 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from sharpsburg.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail
          ID </afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr10/jr34/.Outgoing/QF.EYoPiSi00VsDI1nFBR>;
          Sat, 29 Jul 89 10:13:51 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from Messages.7.10.N.CUILIB.3.45.SNAP.NOT.LINKED.sharpsburg.andrew.cmu.edu.rt.r3
          via MS.5.6.sharpsburg.andrew.cmu.edu.rt_r3;
          Sat, 29 Jul 89 10:13:29 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <sYoPi9G00VsDA1nF0Q@andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: Sat, 29 Jul 89 10:13:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jennifer Robertson <jr34+@andrew.cmu.edu>
To: Info-Andrew <info-andrew+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: What is andrew by the way?
In-Reply-To: <1408@ambush.dk>
References: <1408@ambush.dk>
 
Here's a blurb about Andrew that we post occasionally.
 
Jenny
 
 
                             What is Andrew?
 
 
"Andrew" is a computing system developed at the Information Technology
Center, a joint venture between Carnegie Mellon University and IBM
Corporation.  The system was named for the primary benefactors of
Carnegie Mellon University, Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon.  The
complete Andrew system has three major parts -- ATK, AMS, and AFS --
which are described below, but the boundaries between the parts are not
absolutely fixed nor rigid.
 
 
The Andrew Toolkit (ATK) is an object-oriented system for supporting the
development of programs with flexible user interfaces.  It not only
supports simple graphic objects, such as buttons and dials, but also
supports the combined use of complex objects, such as multi-font text
containing spreadsheets, drawings, equations, and even animations.  The
architecture of ATK advances the state-of-the-art of user interface
toolkits with its innovative separation of presentation and state,
uniform data stream representation, arbitrary composition of objects,
window system independence and the ability to add new objects
dynamically.
 
The Andrew Message System (AMS) provides an easy-to-use, multi-media
mail and bulletin board system.  It can be used to send and receive mail
and bulletin board posts that contain embedded objects, such as
spreadsheets or images. Through the use of distributed servers, and
multiple interfaces that use the same underlying delivery and storage
system, AMS can collect, integrate and manage messages from a variety of
sources, and can deliver messages to high-function workstations as well
as to low-function personal computers.  AMS provides a variety of
value-added capabilities to electronic mail systems such as
authentication, return receipts, automatic sorting of mail, vote
collection and tabulation, enclosures, audit trails of related messages,
and subscription management.  Currently, the system supports over 1,700
bulletin boards containing 10 gigabytes of information; a new bulletin
board post arrives every 20 seconds.
 
The Andrew File System (AFS) is a distributed computing network
developed to be the primary campus file system for Carnegie Mellon. The
principal AFS installation at Carnegie Mellon supports more than 8,000
accounts and nearly 1,000 workstations and personal computers. The
system transparently supports distributed, replicated data to enhance
reliability and performance.  AFS is evolving into a system capable of
linking tens of thousands of computers connected by moderate bandwidth
networks. The enhanced system permits independent and geographically
distant organizations to share files while still permitting them to
administer their data autonomously.
 
 
To obtain a copy of the Andrew System software...
 
The Andrew System software is comprised of several components, all of
which currently run at CMU on IBM PC-RT's, Sun3's and MicroVax's, and
which have been ported elsewhere to other platforms.  Primarily, these
components consist of:
 
ATK - the Andrew Toolkit and related application programs
AMS - the Andrew Message System
AFS - the Andrew File System
 
Various combinations of these components are available through several
different sources, described below.
 
ATK and AMS
 
The Andrew Toolkit and the Andrew Message System  (minus the delivery
system and white pages) can be obtained in several ways.  From the
Internet, this software can be obtained via anonymous ftp from host,
expo.lcs.mit.edu (Internet: 18.30.0.212).  Look for the Andrew software
in the pub/R3 directory.
 
Copies of this software can also be obtained, for the nominal X11
shipping charge, by contacting:
 
Karen Kramaric
MIT Software Distribution Center
E 32 - 300
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02139
USA
(617) 253 - 6966
 
Ask for the X.V11R3 tape with the Contributed software and then look for
the Andrew software in the contrib/toolkits/andrew directory.
 
This software can also be purchased from IBM as part of "IBM/4.3 for the
IBM RT System," PRPQ 5799-WZQ, or "IBM/4.3 for the IBM 6152 Academic
System," PRPQ 5799-PFF.  Contact your local IBM representative for
ordering information.  For general information, call the Advanced
Computing Support Center (ACSC) at 1-800-642-2272 (1-800-443-2272 in
California).
 
AFS
 
The Andrew File System software can also be purchased from IBM as part
of "IBM/4.3 for the IBM RT System," PRPQ 5799-WZQ, or "IBM/4.3 for the
IBM 6152 Academic System," PRPQ 5799-PFF.  Contact your local IBM
representative for ordering information or call the Advanced Computing
Support Center (ACSC) at 1-800-642-2272 (1-800-443-2272 in California).
 
Management and distribution of future versions of AFS is now handled by
Transarc, a Pittsburgh-based company specializing in distributed file
systems.  For further information on AFS, call Transarc, Inc., at
1-412-338-4400.
 
 
For other information
 
Send mail to info-andrew-request@andrew.cmu.edu to be added to the
Andrew mailing list.  The info-andrew unmoderated distribution list
contains informal conversations between Andrew users and developers.
The info-andrew-bugs distribution list provides an easy method for
reporting bugs in the software.  When you subscribe to either of these
lists, you should mention whether or not you wish to receive the
messages in Andrew multi-media format; you can receive them either that
way or "stripped" to standard ASCII.
 
There is also a netnews distribution list, called comp.soft-sys.andrew,
which is identical to the info-andrew distribution list except that it
does not support the multi-media capabilities of info-andrew.
 
Finally, there is an andrew-demos mailing list to which interesting
ATK/Messages demos are sometimes posted.  (You must have AMS running to
see the demos -- there is no "stripped" version of the andrew-demos
list.).  To subscribe, send mail to andrew-demos-request@andrew.cmu.edu.
 
Please send your Andrew questions as personal mail to the Andrew
developers ONLY as a last resort; you will in general get faster and
better response and make the developers feel less overwhelmed if you use
the mailing list mechanisms that have been established for such purposes.
