Data structure and man-machine communication for network problems

A program which provides man-machine communication for the analysis of electronic circuits on a time-sharing computer is presented. The program is a part of AEDNET, a simulator for nonlinear networks, written in the AED-0 language and operating on the Project MAC time-sharing computer. The Electronic Systems Laboratory display console is used as a graphical input-output device on which the circuit diagram is plotted and the calculation results are observed. The requirements imposed on such a man-machine communication system are discussed and a unified way of answering these requirements is presented by developing some basic network concepts and their associated data structure. From the experience gained in writing and using the system, several conclusions are reached regarding the features that such a communication program should have to insure convenient and natural man-machine interaction.