I. P. Sharp Associates

I. P. Sharp Associates. It was a pioneering Canadian computer services company, renowned for its global computer network and leadership in the APL programming language community. Founded in the mid-1960s, the firm provided innovative time-sharing, database management, and communications software to a worldwide clientele. Its network and collaborative culture significantly influenced the development of distributed computing and business analytics.

History

The company was founded in 1964 by Ian P. Sharp and Roger V. Moore in Toronto. Initially focused on contract programming and consulting, it quickly embraced the APL language after Sharp's exposure to it at IBM. A major expansion occurred in 1973 with the acquisition of the Time Sharing Limited network from Bowater, providing a foundational packet-switched network across North America and Europe. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it built one of the first international commercial computer networks, linking major cities like New York City, London, and Tokyo. The company was acquired by Reuters in 1987 and fully integrated by 1989, ending its operation as an independent entity.

Products and services

Its primary service was the SHARP time-sharing system, which provided users with direct access to powerful mainframe computers and the APL language. The company developed and marketed the INFO/DBMS, a sophisticated hierarchical database management system used for financial modeling and planning. Its global IPSA network offered electronic mail (Mailbox), file transfer, and remote job entry capabilities, serving corporations, governments, and academic institutions. Other notable offerings included statistical analysis packages and the RATS (Regression Analysis of Time Series) software, later spun off to VAR Econometrics.

APL and the SHARP system

The company was instrumental in promoting and evolving the APL language, creating a highly optimized interpreter that was a benchmark for performance. Its SHARP APL system featured a shared workspace environment that facilitated collaboration among programmers on the network. The firm hosted influential APL conferences and published the renowned APL Quote-Quad journal, which became a central forum for the APL community. This deep integration of language and network enabled novel applications in financial analysis, operations research, and scientific computing.

Influence and legacy

The company's global network presaged the connectivity of the modern Internet, demonstrating the commercial viability of international data communications. Its advocacy and development of APL influenced later array programming languages and concepts found in products like MATLAB and modern data science tools. The acquisition by Reuters directly contributed to the development of the Reuters Dealing system and other electronic financial services. The collaborative, "hacker culture" environment it fostered produced significant advances in database theory and computer networking.

Notable people

Key founders included Ian P. Sharp, a mathematician and early APL advocate, and Roger V. Moore, who managed early operations. Lawrence C. (Larry) Breed was a primary architect of the SHARP APL interpreter and co-author of the influential APL\360 implementation at IBM. Kenneth E. (Ken) Iverson, the creator of the APL language, was a longtime consultant and significant intellectual influence. Other notable figures included database expert Garth Foster, network architect Dick Guertin, and Timothy A. (Tim) Budd, an early developer of the INFO/DBMS system.

Category:Computer companies of Canada Category:Defunct computer companies Category:APL programming language family