Macro (computer science)

A macro (short for "macroinstruction", from Greek μακρο- 'long') in computer science is a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence (often a sequence of characters) should be mapped to a replacement output sequence (also often a sequence of characters) according to a defined procedure. The mapping process that instantiates (transforms) a macro use into a specific sequence is known as macro expansion. A facility for writing macros may be provided as part of a software application or as a part of a programming language. In the former case, macros are used to make tasks using the application less repetitive. In the latter case, they are a tool that allows a programmer to enable code reuse or even to design domain-specific languages.

Macros are used to make a sequence of computing instructions available to the programmer as a single program statement, making the programming task less tedious and less error-prone. (Thus, they are called "macros" because a big block of code can be expanded from a small sequence of characters.) Macros often allow positional or keyword parameters that dictate what the conditional assembler program generates and have been used to create entire programs or program suites according to such variables as operating system, platform or other factors. The term derives from "macro instruction", and such expansions were originally used in generating assembly language code.

Information technology

Information technology (IT) is the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data, often in the context of a business or other enterprise. IT is considered a subset of information and communications technology (ICT). In 2012, Zuppo proposed an ICT hierarchy where each hierarchy level "contain some degree of commonality in that they are related to technologies that facilitate the transfer of information and various types of electronically mediated communications.". Business/IT was one level of the ICT hierarchy.

The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also encompasses other information distribution technologies such as television and telephones. Several industries are associated with information technology, including computer hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, internet, telecom equipment, engineering, healthcare, e-commerce and computer services.

Humans have been storing, retrieving, manipulating and communicating information since the Sumerians in Mesopotamia developed writing in about 3000 BC, but the term information technology in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review; authors Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler commented that "the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT)." Their definition consists of three categories: techniques for processing, the application of statistical and mathematical methods to decision-making, and the simulation of higher-order thinking through computer programs.

MACRO-10

MACRO-10 is an assembly language with extensive macro facilities for DEC's PDP-10-based Mainframe computer systems, the DECsystem-10 and the DECSYSTEM-20. MACRO-10 is implemented as a two-pass assembler.

Programming examples

A simple "Hello, world!" program in MACRO-10 assembler, to run under TOPS-10, adapted from a specimen in a large collection of "Hello World" programs in various languages:

If this program is saved in the file HELLO.MAC, it can be assembled, linked and run like this (the TOPS-10 system prompt is the . at the start of lines):

The assembly listing file generated by the /DLIST (Disk LISTing) option to the COMPILE command:

The date ":9" is a Year 2000 problem. A more complex MACRO-10 example program, which renders one version of the 99 Bottles of Beer song, may be examined at the "99 Bottles of Beer" web site.

For larger bodies of code, much of the MACRO-10 code for the TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 systems is available in the Trailing Edge PDP-10 tape archives.

References

External links

Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, Italian: Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma, usually known as MACRO, is a municipal museum of contemporary art in Rome, Italy. The museum is housed in two separate places: a former brewery in via Nizza, in the Salario quartiere of the city; and a former slaughterhouse in Piazza Orazio Giustiniani, in the quartiere of Testaccio.

History

The project began in the late 1990s over the site old factories Peroni. After an initial phase of restructuring of the site which allowed the opening of six rooms in September 1999, the museum was officially opened 11 October 2002.

Since 2003 the museum also have an annex entitled MACRO Future and composed of two refurbished flats of 1000 square metres each, in the former slaughterhouse of Rome, located in the neighborhood Testaccio.

Renovation

Since July 2004, an extension is being built in order to present all of the permanent collection. These arrangements have been entrusted to the French architect Odile Decq.

Computer (disambiguation)

A computer is a program machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data, and provides output in a useful format.

Computer may also refer to:

Human computer

The term "computer", in use from the early 17th century (the first known written reference dates from 1613), meant "one who computes": a person performing mathematical calculations, before electronic computers became commercially available. "The human computer is supposed to be following fixed rules; he has no authority to deviate from them in any detail." (Turing, 1950) Teams of people were frequently used to undertake long and often tedious calculations; the work was divided so that this could be done in parallel.

The first time the term "Computer" appeared in The New York Times was February 3, 1853; an obituary stated:

Since the end of the 20th century, the term "human computer" has also been applied to individuals with prodigious powers of mental arithmetic, also known as mental calculators.

Origins in astronomy

The approach was taken for astronomical and other complex calculations. Perhaps the first example of organized human computing was by the Frenchman Alexis Claude Clairaut (1713–1765), when he divided the computation to determine timing of the return of Halley's Comet with two colleagues, Joseph Lalande and Nicole-Reine Lepaute.

List of Courage the Cowardly Dog characters

This is a list of characters from the Cartoon Network animated series, Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Main characters

Courage

Courage is the series' protagonist, and an overly frightened purple beagle dog who lives in Nowhere, Kansas. He was abandoned as a puppy after his parents were sent into outer space, but was adopted by Muriel Bagge. Her husband, Eustace, regularly mistreats him. Ironically, given his name, Courage is a genuine coward, but still goes to great lengths to protect his owners; to the end, he often gets injured, sometimes quite brutally, or almost killed and only surviving through his determination and/or pure luck. Despite his cowardice, Courage is very clever and resourceful when the situation demands it, outsmarting the villains most of the time. Aiding him at saving the day is a self-aware, sarcastic and seemingly omniscient Computer that he keeps in the attic with which he could consult for information in how to remedy any predicament he faces (though it never fails to badmouth him in one way or another). He got his name when Muriel found him as a puppy alone in an alley and remarked that he must be quite brave to be there by himself.