SIDNEY@MIT-OZ ("Sidney Markowitz") (11/27/85)
The following question came up in a local discussion group about SDI (Star Wars). I assume that the "phone system" being cited is ESS. Can anyone offer some informed information about the size and nature of the software involved in ESS, and its history of development, reliability, etc.? I went to the SDI forum at 10-250 over the weekend and picked up a red pamphlet as well as a leaflet from some pro SDI student group. The pamphlet was produced by the Marshall Fund. Both these contain the same statement, roughly saying that the Phone System contains 10 million lines of code with 4000 interconnections (or some such number) between each module. Then a claim that this is more complex than SDI would be. Does anyone know what these people were talking about. They quote 50 million lines for the phone system vs. 10 million for SDI; they go on to say "Also, the number of interconnections between `nodes', i.e., nerve centers, in the AT&T program is 14,000, whereas the number of interconnections in the SDI program is estimated to be about 4500." I am also mystified by the reference. Can someone who knows telephony shed light on this? Thanks, Sidney Markowitz <sidney%mit-oz@mit-mc.arpa> -------