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From: jeffm@ihlpf.att.com (Jeffrey C Martin)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Why Are They Called 'Generics'?
Message-ID: <14670@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 14 Nov 90 22:07:51 GMT
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In article <14643@accuvax.nwu.edu>, Jeff Wasilko <jjwcmp@ultb.isc.
rit.edu> writes:

> As I was catching up on my Digest-reading, a thought occured to me --
> why are switch programs called 'generics'?

Generic: adj, "relating to ... a whole group or class" (from
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary).

The word "generic" started out in the No. 1 ESS with its usual
adjectival usage, as "generic program": i.e., a program usable in
multiple central office environments, customized by changing
"parameters" and "translations."

Over time, people shortened the term to "generic" and started using
the word as a noun.

Here's a fairly early reference, from the September, 1964 issue of
"The Bell System Technical Journal":


       No. 1 ESS: System Organization
               and Objectives

By W. KEISTER, R. W. KETCHLEDGE and H. E. VAUGHAN
     (Manuscript received January 22, 1964)

"This paper is an introduction to the No. 1 electronic switching
system, a new general-purpose switching system developed for use in
the Bell System.  Organization and objectives of the system are
outlined to provide a back- ground for the detailed technical papers
which follow."

3.3 Programs

"Approximately 90 programs totaling about 100,000 words are used to
control the operations required for telephone service and to control
the maintenance of the system. These programs, each an ordered set of
instructions to provide a particular function, are stored in the
program store. The call programs provide the solution to any problem a
customer can present to the system, either directly or through some
other switching system. An assembly of call programs must tailor-make
a connection according to the demands of the customer.

"Several approaches toward providing programs for a large number of
different offices could be used. A generic program, which is the same
for each office, with detailed differences listed in a parameter
table, is the approach used in No. 1 ESS. The generic program includes
all features for a large number of offices, covering sizes from 2,000
to 65,000 lines and means for handling growth and changing traffic
conditions. This approach simplifies record keeping, because only the
parameter tables which specify present size and operating conditions
are unique to each office. Additional data which characterize a
particular office are found in translation tables also in the program
store. Typically, 18 different sets of translations are required in
each office. These include directory number to equipment number
translations for both lines and trunks, class of service, and special
treatment for lines and trunks.

"In the future, economics may dictate the need for several generic
programs - for instance, one for small offices, one for large offices,
one for four-wire offices, and perhaps some combinations of these..."

This excerpt was from the lead article in a two-volume special issue
on the No. 1 ESS switch.  That special issue was a true classic.  When
I joined No. 1 ESS development in late '72, those two volumes were
still the basic reference for bringing people on board with the
switch, and I believe they remained so throughout its development
life.  They still make for pretty good reading...


Jeff Martin
att!ihlpf!jeffm