Robert S. Barton
Robert S. Barton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Stanley Barton 13 February 1925 New Britain, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | 28 January 2009 (aged 83) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Computer architect, professor |
| Years active | 1951–1970s |
| Known for | Principal designer of the Burroughs B5000, co-originator of dataflow architecture |
Robert Stanley "Bob" Barton (February 13, 1925 – January 28, 2009) was the principal designer behind the Burroughs B5000 and other models such as the B1700. As a co-originator of dataflow architecture, Barton also held a distinguished professorship at the University of Utah, where his mentorship shaped many influential figures in computer science.
Barton’s approach to computer design emphasized abstraction, prioritizing high-level programming languages and employing a stack machine architecture in the B5000. This represented a groundbreaking implementation of stack machines within a mainframe computer, a concept that continues to influence contemporary Unisys ClearPath MCP platforms.
He died at the age of 83 on January 28, 2009, in Portland, Oregon.
Career
Born in New Britain, Connecticut in 1925, Barton completed his BA (1948) and MS (1949) degrees in Mathematics at the University of Iowa. His professional journey in computing began at IBM's Applied Science Department in 1951.
By 1954, Barton had moved to Shell Oil Company Technical Services, where he worked on programming projects involving the Burroughs/Datatron 205 computer. In 1958, he delved into symbolic logic and Polish notation to enhance the processing of arithmetic expressions.
During the late 1950s, Barton joined the ElectroData Division of Burroughs Corporation in Pasadena, California, leading a system programming group responsible for creating BALGOL, an ALGOL 58 compiler tailored for the Burroughs 220 computer.
Starting in 1960, he provided consulting services to organizations such as Beckman Instruments and Lockheed Corporation, focusing on satellite data systems while advancing his concepts for the B5000. After working with Control Data Corporation in Australia in 1963, Barton became a faculty member in Computer Science at the University of Utah in 1965. There, he collaborated with pioneers like David C. Evans and Ivan Sutherland. His doctoral students included Duane Call (cofounder of Computer System Architects), Alan Ashton (WordPerfect cofounder), and Alan L. Davis. Moreover, he influenced future industry innovators such as Alan Kay, James H. Clark (Silicon Graphics cofounder), John Warnock (Adobe Systems cofounder), Ed Catmull (Pixar), along with shading technique pioneers Henri Gouraud and Bui Tuong Phong.
Following 1973, Barton dedicated himself fully to Burroughs Systems Research located in La Jolla, where he advanced novel computer architectures and system programming methodologies.
Awards
- Recipient of the IEEE 1977 W. Wallace McDowell Award: Recognized for groundbreaking architectural computer innovations including stack processing, self-describing data tags, and direct execution of high-level languages as demonstrated by the B-5000 and its successors.
- Honored as the inaugural recipient of the ACM/IEEE Computer Society Eckert–Mauchly Award in 1979: Acknowledged for exceptional achievements in designing computing systems grounded on the hierarchical organization of programs and data.
- Designated as a Charter Computer Pioneer by the IEEE Computer Society for contributions to Language Directed Architecture.
Selected publications
- Barton, Robert S. (January 1961). "An Additional (Unnamed) Compiler for the Burroughs 220". Communications of the ACM. 4 (1): 0.11.
- Barton, Robert S. (May 1961). "Innovative Methods in the Functional Architecture of a Digital Computer". NJCC Conference Proceedings, 19th Joint Computer Conference, Los Angeles, California, pp. 393–396.
- Barton, Robert S. (September 1961). "Description of a System for an Enhanced Information Processing Machine". ACM Conference Proceedings, 16th ACM National Conference, Los Angeles, California, pp. 103.101–103.104.
- Barton, Robert S. (September 1961). "Computer Functional Design". Communications of the ACM. 4 (9): 405.
- Barton, Robert S. (May 1963). "An Analytical Review of Contemporary Programming Practices". AFIPS Conference Proceedings, 23rd Joint Computer Conference, Detroit, Michigan, pp. 169–177.
- Barton, Robert S. (December 1969). "Concepts for Organizing Computer Systems: A Personal Overview". Software Engineering, 3rd Computer and Information Sciences Conference, Miami Beach, Florida, pp. 7–16.
Notable quotes
"Systems programmers serve as the high priests of a low cult." (1967)
References
Additional reading
- Waychoff, Richard, "Accounts of the B5000 and its Contributors", April 9, 1979