Massachusetts Computer Associates

Massachusetts Computer Associates

Company type	Private
Industry	Software
Founded	1961 (1961)
Founder	Thomas Edward Cheatham Jr.
Defunct	1991 (1991)
Fate	Acquired by Applied Data Research; later divested to SofTech
Headquarters	Wakefield , United States
Products	AMBIT/G software system, IVTRAN Fortran compiler

Massachusetts Computer Associates—initially known simply as Computer Associates and often referred to as COMPASS—was a software firm established by Thomas Edward Cheatham Jr., operating out of Wakefield, Massachusetts from approximately 1961 until 1991. The organization focused on the development and implementation of programming languages, with a particular emphasis on source-to-source transformation. In the late 1960s, it became part of Applied Data Research (ADR) through acquisition.

Among the distinguished computer scientists linked to COMPASS were Michael J. Fischer, Stephen Warshall, Robert W. Floyd, and Leslie Lamport. Significant undertakings included the AMBIT/G software system and IVTRAN, a Fortran compiler designed for the ILLIAC IV supercomputer.

During his time at COMPASS, Leslie Lamport authored the seminal "Time, Clocks" paper. The firm was also responsible for creating the first vectorizing compiler tailored for the ILLIAC IV, with Lamport contributing on a part-time basis. Additionally, Robert Floyd introduced his Treesort algorithm while working at COMPASS.

Corporate history

In the late 1960s, Massachusetts Computer Associates was acquired by Applied Data Research (ADR). Subsequently, ADR was sold to Ameritech in 1986 and then transferred to the unrelated New York-based Computer Associates. Shortly thereafter, COMPASS was divested to SofTech.