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: ''This article is about 4GL software. For other meanings, see Mapper (disambiguation).'' MAPPER (MAintain, Prepare, and Produce Executive Reports) is a database management and processing system. It is a software tool that enables end-users to share computer power in a corporation. Users are able to develop their own applications and process them interactively. The product has a number of unique characteristics that may appear technically impossible to persons unfamiliar with its method of operation. MAPPER had its origins outside the technical mainstream of computer programming. Initially created in Sperry Univac's computer factory in Roseville, Minnesota, MAPPER is a proprietary product of Unisys Corporation. The principal architect was Louis S. Schlueter, who worked with other early "gurus" like Michael Stroeing of Sperry, Steve Anderson of Santa Fe Railway, and later with Kansas City government. MAPPER became a very popular solution in the Government sector. Large user group communities formed like the New England MAPPER Users Group headed by Judith Hartman, Howard Roundy and Michael Scolastico. There are similarities between the development history of MAPPER and that of UNIX. Both were responses to what appeared to be unreasonable restrictions in the way computer systems were developed. While UNIX (and later LINUX) is a core software "operating" system, MAPPER is a cross-platform application tool. Thus it will run, like a program, on a variety of operating systems. == History == MAPPER's heritage dates back to the 1960s when Louis Schlueter conceived the CRT RPS (Report Processing System, to differentiate it from RPG) as a means to help Sperry/Univac manage their factory producing computer hardware.〔 (MAPPER Collection, 1983-1996 )〕〔(Early motivation ) (Gerry Del Fiacco)〕 CRT RPS became MAPPER in 1975. Because of its illegitimacy, it was a low-budget development. This meant that all was set up for minimum use of resources. The development of the UNIVAC 1100, and pressure from customers led to a release for more general use in 1979. In these applications, end-users were devising and doing their own computing. The data are shown using a cabinet and drawer metaphor, corresponding with the file addressing method of the Univac 1100. Data were presented in strict rows of 80 to 132 characters long to match card punching and line printing capabilities. A set of commands gradually developed that were executed via a user's video screen. The earliest external use of MAPPER was in the Santa Fe railroad for tracking its piggyback trailers in Chicago. Eventually, this involved large-scale data handling and real-time updating. The development was done by railroad office workers, not programmers. After about four years, the Santa Fe actually bought its competitor, the Southern Pacific, a railway that used the much advertised Total Operations Processing System (|TOPS|) In the mid 1980s Sperry actively marketed MAPPER, including advertising featuring "MAPPER Man", the self-empowered executive end-user. In the Scandinavian countries, Sperry had a MAPPER song—"Do it the MAPPER way!" (1983)—written and performed by an ABBA-style group. The relationship between IT departments and this end-user tool tended to be difficult. IT staff, despite their work backlog, sensed a threat to their hegemony of application development and were actively hostile. Many applications were shut down by IT departments, embarrassed that end-users were producing results that were faster and more accurate than theirs. In some cases, other IT vendors called the active users "programmers" and claimed gross inefficiency. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「MAPPER」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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