Each year the Computing Division is allocated manpower to operate the projects in the Division. The year April 1981 to March 1982 was significantly better in matching manpower with projects than the previous year.
In 1980/81, the Division started the year below complement and had great difficulty in recruiting, mainly due to the uncompetitive salaries being offered. By mid year, we were in the middle of an extensive recruitment campaign when a complete embargo on recruitment in SERC was announced in order that SERC could balance its budget. Consequently, by the end of 1981 the Division was more than 20 people under complement.
In the early part of 1981/2, we were very active in recruitment and effectively managed to get up to our complement by the end of the first half of the year. Unfortunately, the manpower unavailable in the first half of the year effectively lost us 10 manyears of effort over the complete year.
A breakdown of manpower to projects over the year was:
| Central Computing | 95 | (99) |
| Interactive Systems (ICF) | 22 | (27) |
| NERC 1108 Support | 8 | |
| STARLINK | 8 | |
| Distributed Computing Systems | 8 | |
| Grants and Awards | 7 | |
| Joint Network Team | 5 | |
| Robotics | 3 | |
| Miscellaneous | 7 | |
| 163 | (172) |
The figures in brackets indicate the differences between allocations and manpower actually used.
The two projects which suffered the most due to lack of manpower were ICF (mainly in the systems side) and Central Computing (mainly in the operations side). Otherwise, there was quite a good match between allocations and manpower usage.
The smaller projects are now a significant activity of the Division, using just over 20% of the manpower. In the coming year, there is no increase in the manpower allocated to the batch and interactive facilities. On the other hand, the manpower allocated to the smaller projects will rise to 30% of the total Divisional strength.
The network mail command POST may be used to send messages directly from the terminal to another user on any other host which is also connected to SERCnet and which supports network mail facilities (DEC 10, PRIME, GEC). The network MAIL is inserted into the local post system. Used without parameters the command will prompt for the username and host mnemonic which must be supplied in a form similar to the following example. The uparrow Z stands for <CONTROL>+Z code.
POST NTBE34 @ RLPB Enter message, end with uparrow Z Message text here Uparrow Z OK, I have told FTP to send it. EXIT .
The POST command will also search a user's SWITCH.INI file for synonyms. This allows frequent correspondents to be referred to by more meaningful names. An entry in the file might look as follows:
POST/BILLSW = EXUM01 @ UMPA POST BILLSW etc
R3 Tape Library - Due to the expansion of the tape library and constraints on storage space in R27 we are in the process of moving tapes which have not been used since 1978 to a store in R3. This store will be accessed only on the first Thursday in each month.
TDMS Design - Users who submit jobs for tapes which are not in the Local Library may notice that the job status fluctuates between HELD - WAITING TAPES and NOT HELD. This is caused by the design of TDMS whereby all jobs which are HELD - WAITING TAPES get released when the librarian does a TDMS update. Those jobs which have not had their tapes moved into the Local Library by the update only get held again when they reach a sufficiently high point in the job queue to be processed by SETUP.
The QVOL Exec - The CMS Exec 'QVOL' can be used to determine the current location, home library, account and id of a given tape. To use, type:
QVOL tapenumber
Where the Home Library is shown as TAPE, MAIN or ARCH the tape will be moved to the Local Library at the next update should a job be marked HELD - WAITING TAPES.
Tapes in the R3 store will be shown as having a Home of R3R3 and will be moved only on the first Thursday in each month.
A Symposium on 3D Computer Graphics will be held in the Lecture Theatre, Building R22 at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory on 29 June 1982, starting at 11.00 (coffee from 10.30) and closing at about 16.15. The programme is as follows:
There will be no meeting fee neither will any expenses be paid. Attendance will be by TICKET ONLY. The number of tickets is limited to 200 and these will be allocated in order of receipt of requests which should be addressed to either Dr D A Duce or Miss G P Jones at:
Computing Division
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Chilton
DIDCOT
OXON 0X11 OQX (Telex 83159)
to arrive no later than 22 June. Early application is advised.
Owing to shortage of space in FORUM 22 not all the meeting notes from the Representative's meeting on 17 March 1982 could be published. The notes which were omitted are now presented here.
FORTRAN H(extended Plus) Compiler
Release 2.3.4 of the H Ext+ compiler was installed on Wednesday 11 November 1981 on MVT and CMS. This version fixes the problems mentioned at the previous Reps meeting. One minor problem was discovered in this release and subsequently fixed on 17/11/81.
Users are reminded that they should make use of this compiler for all their production work but they should check the validity of any results of a pre-production run very carefully with the output produced from another compiler (such as Fortran G1) before going into production. Any suspect compiler problems should always be reported to PAO.
VS FORTRAN (Fortran 77)
The VS Fortran compiler has been installed under CMS as a discontiguous shared segment. This means it can be run in a user's own machine (see HELP FORTVS for details). The version currently installed contains three optimisation levels (default is OPT(3)) which correspond to those provided with the Fortran H Ext+ compiler. Several problems were discovered both by CERN and RAL in an earlier release of this compiler but most have now been fixed by IBM in the current release. One major problem is that arguments of type character (explicitly or implicitly defined) when compiled at LANGLVL(77) in a calling routine, contain a hidden argument (the string length) which will cause difficulties if the called routine has been compiled at LANGLVL(66) or by the G1 or HX+ compilers. IBM have produced an expedient solution via a compiler option and are studying a long term solution suggested by the SHARE user group. All users of this compiler should see NEWS FORTRAN for more details of this topic.
A new library is required for this compiler and it is called VFORTLIB TXTLIB in CMS and SYS 1.VFORTLIB in MVT. The compiler itself is not available under MVT but MVT users may compile under CMS and send the TEXT files to MVT for linking and execution. Setting SYSLIB='SYS 1.VFORTLIB' in a suitable procedure like FHL or FHLG will use the correct library.
CERN have expressed interest in a Fortran 77 Compiler produced by SIEMENS of West Germany. This compiler is claimed to be more resilient and contains all optimisation levels. It is also claimed to contain features like bit handling which are not available in the IBM VS Fortran compiler. However, the manufacturers do not state whether it will run under CMS so we are awaiting further information from them before deciding on whether to obtain this compiler plus library on a trial basis.
Fortran Interactive Debug
The IBM Fortran Interactive Debug package is currently under trial on CMS. This program allows the user to control dynamically the execution of their program so making debugging much easier and faster. Users interested in trying this package should see HELP FIDBUG on the UDISK for more details. Please report your findings to PAO so we can decide whether to keep this package permanently.
Use of MVT Produced FORTRAN Load Modules in CMS
Load Modules on MVT can be executed under CMS (see HELP OSRUN) but only if they do not contain any reference to the RAL 'Fortran reentrant library. The library SYS1.XFORTLIB (set SYSLIB='SYS1.XFORTLIB' on a standard procedure) contains a standard IBM Fortran runtime library and must be used for all load modules that are going to be used under CMS or are being exported to another installation. Any existing load modules must be relinked using this library and including a REPLACE deck immediately prior to the INCLUDE statements in the Link Edit step. A suitable REPLACE deck is available in CMS from the PAO.
Use of CMS for Compilation and MVT for Production
FORTRAN compilations can be done in CMS (CMSBATCH or a user machine) and the resultant TEXT files sent to MVT and linked into a ULIB Member if the program is required to be executed in MVT. This method is preferable to compiling under MVT for CMS users. A job containing TEXT files and JCL can be sent to MVT from CMS via the SUBMIT command.
Demountable Work Disks
The withdrawal of the disk USDSK2 is imminent.
Transfer to 3350s
The majority of disks on the system are now of the 3350 type. This means that the disk space for the short lived datasets is increased from 400 Mbytes using FREEDISK (USDSK1) and ATLAS (RHEL08) to over 900 Mbytes, including the new FREE03 (FREE03). In addition, three other changes related to the 3350 's have been made:
Naming Conventions on 'FREE' Diskspace
The following system has been adopted. Its purpose is to remove the problem of identifying which of the volumes for short-lived datasets to choose.
Datestamping of Disk Datasets
The method of recording date of last use of datasets in a disk Volume Table of Contents (VTOC) is to be modified to bring MVT into line with MVS. About 8 utility programs which make use of the internal structure of the VTOC have been identified and will be amended accordingly. The method of using these will be unaltered as far as the users are concerned, but if there is any user who makes use of the present form who might be affected by this, he should write to P J Hemmings of the User Interface Group.
LRECL Subparameters suitable for CMS
There is a discrepancy between the maximum logical record lengths allowed by MVT and CMS. The maximum for CMS is 32760, and MVT allows for up to 32768. Certain model DCB's have LRECL=X which gives this maximum value. Since we are unable to re-define the meaning of LRECL=X , those model DCB's mentioned in section D11 of CIGAR, eg TRACK30, will be redefined to use LRECL=32760. Existing datasets will not be modified.
New dataset Naming Conventions
Groups wishing to establish catalogue node names should contact the PAD. It is intended to make dataset cataloguing compulsory on public disks, and such datasets will follow the new naming convention, eg, 'GROUP.ID.DATASET.NAME' . Datasets not following this convention will not be recognised by the cataloguing system and thus will be deleted in the usual way by the housekeeping programs.
We now have extra tape storage space in R3 and will be utilising this as archive space within the next month. Tapes unused since the start of TDMS in 1978 will be moved to R3. Transfer between R3 and ATLAS will take place monthly. The operations staff would like to hear from anybody still using 7-track magnetic tapes, since their discontinuation is desired.
Workstation statistics are not published at the moment, for a number of reasons. For example, HASP regards all unit record activity as being related to real devices, including applications developed to use the spool facility in transmitting data. Examples include FR80 spooling and 'file transfer' activities such as Back-to-Back links. The statistics as a whole therefore have insufficient meaning to have much value.
When changes to the basic data format were made which would have required program modifications, it was felt that effort would be better spent in setting up statistics systems for VNET. However, it is not yet possible to say when workstation statistics can be produced again.
2 June 1982 - DECsystem-10 Users Committee meeting, James Clerk Maxwell Building, King's Buildings, Edinburgh at 10.30 am
8 July 1982 - Central Computer Representatives in RAL Lecture Theatre
The next shutdown of all computer systems (except network equipment) scheduled during 1982 for the maintenance of air-conditioning plant is: 0800 hrs Friday 10 Sept till late Monday 13 Sept
IBM PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE DATES
Routine Preventative Maintenance will take place on the following days from 1800 - 2200 hours. Login messages on the ELECTRIC and CMS services will be issued prior to each maintenance session as a reminder.
On 1 April 1982 Mrs June Scholes officially relinquished her post as Documentation Officer at Atlas Centre. June has moved to another job within Computing Division and her place has been taken by Mrs Muriel Herbert. In future all enquiries about Documentation should be addressed to Mrs Herbert on Ext 272.
At the May Council Meeting final approval was received for the purchase of the 3081D. It is hoped that delivery will be in early July. Fuller details will be given in the next issue of FORUM.
In February User Interface Group sent out a survey form to all IBM Group Representatives. The questions were based on those used in the annual survey carried out by Daresbury Laboratory. Some questions were changed to reflect the different systems in use at RAL.
It is the intention of UIG to present the responses to the users, the management of the Computing Division and to the committees responsible for SERC Central Computing (User Liaison Committee, Central Computing Committee).
Direct action will be taken where possible to rectify perceived problems and proposals will be developed for producing a better service.
The distribution of the form posed some problems in the first place. It would have been best to send the form to each Account Holder on the RAL IBM systems but this was not possible. The second choice was taken: to send one form to each Group Representative. DL send their form to each Registered User. In future RAL will do the same though this will require production and processing of a much larger number. It is hoped that this will produce the added benefit of providing correct information for the various registers maintained by UIG and Resource Management Section.
Of the 100 forms sent out only 71 had been received at the time of going to press. Some were written by Group Representatives covering several accounts but the coverage represents a similar level to that obtained by DL. It is hoped that the survey will attract a better response in future years.
The responses to each question are summarised below with a legend showing the numbers where there was no No Response or the item was marked Not Applicable(NA) , Very Good(VG), Good(G), Fair(F), Poor(P), Very Poor(VP). One question(24) had different classification of response: Much Better(MB), Better(B), Same(S), Worse(W), Much Worse(MW).
Each response summary is followed by a compendium of the user comments and in some cases by the immediate action being taken to remedy problems. The suggestions for improved or added facilities(26) has not been included due to lack of space but it will be presented in a future issue of FORUM.
1. Please tick the services that you have used in the last three months.
| (a) MVT batch | (b) CMS | (c) ELECTRIC |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 41 | 60 |
2. If you regularly use a workstation please give its location or route name:
Only 7 responses indicated that no workstation was used.
3. How do you rate average system response for your prime shift interactive work requiring very little computer resources (e.g. most editing commands)? Comment on the published service level objectives (FORUM 12).
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) CMS | 29 | 17 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| (b) ELECTRIC | 14 | 1 | 10 | 25 | 13 | 8 |
COMMENTS: indicated that poor response was acceptable provided that a speedy transition to CMS was possible.
4. How do you rate average system response for your prime shift interactive work requiring moderate to large amounts of computer resources (e.g. a compilation)? Comment on published service level objectives (FORUM 12).
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) CMS | 39 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
COMMENTS: were generally favourable. One pointed out that the published service level objectives still do not cover this type of response(expansion or stretch factor).
5. How do you rate turnaround time for your prime shift batch work?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) MVT non-Setup | 14 | 8 | 32 | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| (b) MVT Setup | 14 | 2 | 24 | 28 | 3 | 0 |
COMMENTS: seem to indicate that the current MVT setup guidelines are not acceptable. Statistics show that most jobs are turned around within the guidelines.
6. How do you rate turnaround time for your printouts?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Central Printers RAL | 44 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| (b) Self-service printers (workstations) | 23 | 8 | 26 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| (c) Remote locations over network | 43 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
COMMENTS: indicate that the courier service (mainly on the RAL site) was inadequate. Operations group are arranging a revised route and timetable to improve site coverage.
7. How do you rate system reliability (number of times the system goes down during your working session)?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) CMS | 31 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| (b) ELECTRIC | 13 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 11 | 1 |
| (c) Workstation | 15 | 13 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| (d) Network | 31 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 3 |
COMMENTS: on network reliability may be misdirected. The PSEs are very reliable. User perception is coloured by more than just network components.
8. How do you rate availability (fraction of time system is available when you need to work)?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) CMS | 31 | 18 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| (b) ELECTRIC | 13 | 7 | 23 | 23 | 4 | 1 |
| (c) Network | 29 | 7 | 15 | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| (d) Workstation | 16 | 13 | 23 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
COMMENTS: about the inconvenience of Wednesday morning system development were frequent but the sample is dominated by RAL based users and not representative. There is believed to be a strong preference amongst external users for the Wednesday morning system development. Several noted that the services did not come back up by 10.30. Operations Group believe that this occurs rarely but have agreed to monitor it.
9. How do you rate data integrity (no loss of files)?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) ELECTRIC Files | 13 | 49 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| (b) CMS files | 31 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| (c) OS datasets | 21 | 38 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| (d) Private tape volumes | 21 | 26 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| (e) Private disk volumes | 40 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| (f) Archived datasets | 37 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
COMMENTS: were generally favourable.
10. How do you rate the amount of communications equipment available for satisfying your work requirements?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Public VDU's at RAL | 35 | 6 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| (b) VDU's on workstation | 23 | 15 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
| (c) Hardcopy terminals at RAL | 39 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| (d) Hardcopy terminals at w/stn | 27 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 5 | 7 |
| (e) Home terminals | 47 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| (f) Ports for dial-up terminals | 49 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
COMMENTS: seem to indicate that the unusually high number who use terminals from home would prefer faster devices.
11. How do you rate Networking Facilities?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) For Job Submission to HASP | 24 | 11 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| (b) Output Retrieval | 26 | 4 | 23 | 12 | 4 | 2 |
| (c) File transfer to OS datasets | 45 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| (d) File transfer to CMS files | 46 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| (e) Other File transfers | 50 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| (f) Message and Mail Facilities | 31 | 15 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
COMMENTS: indicate general satisfaction though few use file transfer other than through mail systems.
12. How do you rate the quality of help you receive from Computing Centre personnel? Take into account availability of staff, percentage of problems fixed, response time, feedback of information to users.
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Program Advisory Office | 10 | 14 | 25 | 14 | 5 | 3 |
| (b) Operators | 21 | 9 | 35 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| (c) Other Support Staff | 19 | 16 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| (d) Tape Librarian | 20 | 9 | 25 | 9 | 5 | 3 |
| (e) Communications Support Staff | 29 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| (f) Resource Management | 33 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 1 |
COMMENTS: indicate that the Tape Library is considered an essential service. Operations Group cannot allocate more than the 3 staff currently provided. They consider this adequate in all but the most exceptional circumstances. Others indicated that PAD response seems to depend on personnel and that not all problems are followed up. Several wanted PAD opening hours to be 08.30-17.00. Some users think that Computing Division decides Allocations. A future FORUM article should dispel the misconception.
13. How do you rate CMS HELP?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) XEDIT | 42 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| (b) CMS commands | 39 | 4 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| (c) VNET | 56 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| (d) Graphics | 55 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| (e) RAL features | 47 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
COMMENTS: indicated that CMS HELP is too verbose and poorly laid out.
14. How effective is User Liaison?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a)Frequency of Contact with RAL staff | 22 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 4 | 3 |
| (b) Flow of Information | 22 | 3 | 20 | 18 | 7 | 1 |
| (c) Help from Group/Workstation Reps | 32 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| (d) Help from Other Users | 35 | 5 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
COMMENTS: mainly from external users indicated that more personal contact by the Computing Division would be welcomed.
15. How do you rate the facilities for announcing service changes and status?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Computer Bulletins | 6 | 8 | 35 | 17 | 5 | 0 |
| (b) Logon Messages | 11 | 11 | 37 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| (c) NETSTAT | 37 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 3 |
| (d) NEWS (CMS) | 35 | 6 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
COMMENTS: concentrated on the lateness of Bulletins and their inaccessability by MUM users; on the need to retain LOGON messages for at least 7 days; and the general inadequacy of NETSTAT. A change in the system of distributing hardcopy versions is being investigated. Change Control has been tightened and moved to Thursday and more space on the NETSTAT message area is available to RAL Operations crews. Each of these has a direct responsibility to maintain up-to-date information in NETSTAT.
16. How do you rate the following for educating the user to use Computing Centre facilities?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Computing Centre courses | 29 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| (b) Computing seminars | 48 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 0 |
| (c) CIGAR | 10 | 4 | 19 | 26 | 8 | 4 |
| (d) Introduction to CMS | 32 | 2 | 25 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| (e) User Support staff | 30 | 7 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| (f) User Meetings | 29 | 2 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 1 |
COMMENTS: showed up the need for more courses at both simple and advanced levels. Topics suggested were XEDIT, EXEC, SCRIPT, Graphics, efficient use of the System, CMS refresher courses and an introduction to telecommunications services. Important reference manuals such as CIGAR must have an index. Others indicated that there should be more examples in the manuals and the HELP systems. Users felt that there should be an improvement in the quality of information fed back on non-trivial requests, including timescales for bug fixes and new features.
17. How do you rate the provision of manuals by the Computing Centre?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Stocking most widely used manuals | 29 | 11 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| (b) Ordering IBM manuals you request | 44 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| (c) Reference manuals | 25 | 5 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 5 |
| (d) Subroutine Library Manuals | 37 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 |
COMMENTS: indicate that the supply of manuals was a problem area. User Interface Group has agreed to investigate this. Some suggested that all documentation should be available on-line. Others wanted login instructions at each terminal.
18. How do you rate the software you use for text processing?| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) SCRIPT | 63 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| (b) GEROFF | 59 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| (c) ELECTRIC | 47 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| (d) Other (specify) | 67 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
COMMENTS: show that very few users are interested in text processing.
19. How do you rate the hardware you use for computer graphics?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Tektronix terminals | 22 | 9 | 17 | 19 | 4 | 0 |
| (b) Sigma GOC | 54 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 10 |
| (c) Tektronix hardcopy | 31 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 1 |
| (d) FR80 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| (e) Benson hardcopy | 59 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (f) Other (specify) | 63 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
COMMENTS: indicate that the FR80 is regarded as a very useful device but that there are significant support problems often associated with retrieval of output.
20. How do you rate the software you use for computer graphics?| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) GINO | 47 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| (b) SMOG | 47 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| (c) Local RAL graphics routines | 52 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| (d) Other (specify) | 60 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
COMMENTS: appear to show that a small proportion of users need graphics. This may be due to the small sample size.
21. How do you rate Telecomms handling of users' calls for terminal repair?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Answering calls | 41 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| (b) Monitoring service | 50 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
COMMENTS: indicate that Telecommunications section may not always be able to solve users problems.
22. How do you rate repair service for the workstation which you use?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 10 | 22 | 13 | 6 | 1 |
COMMENTS: were generally favourable but some were very critical.
23. What is your overall rating of the system (hardware and software) you use with respect to its ability to satisfy your needs?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) CMS | 30 | 13 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| (b) ELECTRIC | 14 | 1 | 16 | 29 | 10 | 1 |
| (c) MVT batch | 8 | 5 | 38 | 16 | 4 | 0 |
COMMENTS: indicate that CMS is seen as satisfying most user needs.
24. How do you rate the change in overall services since last year?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) This year | 14 | 3 | 25 | 23 | 5 | 1 |
COMMENTS: indicate that the service slightly better than last year. It is not known why 20 percent of sample did not give any indication but it could be that they have used the system for less than one year.
25. What is your overall rating of the services provided by the Computing Centre?
| NA | VG | G | F | P | VP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Services | 4 | 7 | 44 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
COMMENTS: In spite of all the faults with the service the overall rating is good but with a tendency to fair. Four users were not prepared to commit themselves.
26. What would you most like to see improved or added? (Describe your suggestions below)
There is is insufficient space to put the suggestions in this issue. They will be presented in a future FORUM.
