Tom Van Vleck

04/01/21

I have had the privilege of working with some of the finest people in the world on some of the most interesting projects in computing.

What I always say is, "You learn something every day, unless you're careful."

Software Engineering Stories

Essays on software quality and engineering. (07/28/20, 25 files)

Three Questions About Each Bug You Find (07/89)
Cleaning up the Basement in the Dark (04/92)
It Can Be Done (05/94)
The Evolution of My Thinking (06/95)
Nasty Question (06/95)
A Few Minutes' Discussion (11/11/94)
Notebooks (07/95)
NASA's $30,000 drops of Epoxy (07/95)
The Risks of Electronic Communication (06/95)
Painting the Wall (06/95)
When the River Is Polluted (06/95)
Structure Marking (06/95)
Perfection Pills (06/95)
Counterpoint (11/11/94)
Check Marks (06/95)
Software Engineering Proverbs (10/06/20)
Software Engineering Reading list (07/28/20)
Hellandizing (1998)
Gauss's Algorithm (06/12/99)
Management Tactics (2001)
The Bulgarian Lesson (2001)
Van Vleck's Comb (2002)
Interviewing and Hiring (2004)
Darwin (2005)
Dumbo Management, Blender Management, Cargo Cults, and the Flying Trapeze (2010)
Slide One (2019)
Disasters (12/01/18)

Computer Security

Timing Channels. Covert channels are a concern in the design of secure operating systems; they allow information to leak between security domains. In 1990, I wrote a short paper about a 1976 exploitation of a timing channel, and some thoughts on the star property. (05/90)
How the Air Force broke Multics security in the early 70s. (10/14/02)
Project names and Borges numbers. Since we're talking about security, you may enjoy this story. (02/05/95)
Home Computer Security Advice The bare minimum that everybody should do. Version 17. (02/22/21)

Reference

You never know when you might need to know some of this stuff.

The Figures of the Syllogism .. as described by Petrus Hispanius. (2010)
Borges' Animals .. a classification as good as any. (2006)

Personal

Index Gallery (09/14/18)
Famous Van Vlecks (12/12/20)
Favorite Places on the Web (12/12/20)
Feijoada (1980)
Venice (2012)
Mushroom Hunting (1997)
The Funnies (05/25/02)
I was interviewed by Jeffrey Yost of the Charles Babbage Institute for the NSF History of Computer Security project. (10/24/12, 175K PDF)

Multics

I worked on the Multics operating system for almost 16 years in the 60s and 70s, and edit a web site describing the system, its history, and its builders.

"The Multics System Programming Process"
Charlie Clingen and I wrote an invited paper (06/78) for COMPCON 78 about our team's development process. It was reprinted in the IEEE Tutorial on Software Maintenance.

Professional

I provide consulting on computer security, software engineering, and web applications. Here is my résumé. (12/12/20)

Stories & Humor

How I got started in computers .. in a suburban basement in the 1950s (1995)
1401s I have known. Includes HELLO WORLD (2002)
The IBM 7070. An interesting and little-known machine (1996)
The IBM 7094 and CTSS. MIT's two 7094s. (01/28/21)
The IBM 360/67 and CP/CMS. My experiences with the ancestor of VM/370. (12/15/10)
The History of Electronic Mail. Early electronic mail and instant messaging. (12/12/20)
"Ojos Numerosos (for George Oppen)," a poem by Mark Mendel, painted on walls in Cambridge MA in 1975. (1997)
Real Programmers Don't Write Specs. I wrote this in 1982, based on people I knew. (10/25/82)
Software Engineering Comix. Seven b&w comic strips for programmers. (07/24/95)
Mulvaney on Bomb Disposal. World War II humor (12/08/13)
Home Terminals. Fifty years of logging in from home. (12/14/98)
Borges and I. How I learned to appreciate the master. (2012)
The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Tuesday, October 17, 1989, at 5:04 PM. (07/04/97)

Tools

Expandfile A simple command line program for expanding text templates. It is useful for many purposes, including enhancing HTML. Version 6. (03/29/21) updated
Password Generator in JavaScript: Generate random pronounceable passwords locally in your browser. Includes some history and general advice. (11/01/20)
iPhone Password Generator Web App: Generate pronounceable passwords locally on your iPhone using JavaScript. (09/04/19)
JavaScript Pie Chart: Useful data display in JavaScript. (01/14/21)
Diskpie: Display a directory's disk usage using the pie chart. (02/10/17)
Globe in JavaScript: JavaScript program to display the globe from any viewpoint. Port of a 56-year-old 7094 program. (05/14/20)
Customizable HTML calendar in JavaScript. Port of a 41-year-old Multics program. (05/14/20)
How I Prepare Pictures for the Web With Affinity Photo What I've learned so far. Version 3. (07/10/20)
Creating Computer History Websites Information for computer history website creators. (11/26/20)
High DPI Pictures Making pictures look sharp on smartphones and Retina screens. (01/21/21)
How I Filter Spam It takes some work, but it's worth it. Version 10. (04/01/21) updated