Framework (office Suite)
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Framework, launched in 1984, was an
office suite Productivity software (also called personal productivity software or office productivity software) is application software used for producing information (such as documents, presentations, worksheets, databases, charts, graphs, digital painting ...
to run on the (x86) IBM PC and compatibles with the
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
operating system. Unlike other integrated products, Framework was not created as "plug-in" modules with a similar look and feel, but as a single windowing workspace representing a
desktop metaphor In computing, the desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users interact more easily with the computer. The desktop metaphor treats the computer monitor as if it is ...
that could manage and outline "Frames" sharing a common underlying format. Framework could be considered a predecessor to the present
graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inst ...
window metaphor: it was the first all-in-one package to run on any PC platform to offer a GUI, WYSIWYG typography on the display and printer output, as well as integrated interpreters.


History


Background

ValDocs, an even earlier integrated suite, and actually comparable to the original
Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...
of 1984 and Apple Lisa of 1982, was produced by
Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...
, a complete integrated work station that ran on the previous-generation
Zilog Z80 The Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor introduced by Zilog as the startup company's first product. The Z80 was conceived by Federico Faggin in late 1974 and developed by him and his 11 employees starting in early 1975. The first working samples were ...
CPU and CP/M operating system, with a
graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inst ...
(GUI) and "
WYSIWYG In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, is a system in which editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed d ...
" typography on the monitor and printing. Despite several iterations, ValDocs was too slow on the hardware that it was released on. A few months before Framework, its close rival Lotus Symphony was released. Framework offered all of the above ValDocs' functionality in the first all-in-one package to run on any PC platform. ''Programmers at Work'' credits
Robert Carr Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, (11 November 1916 – 17 February 2012) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Home Secretary from 1972 to 1974. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 26 years, and later se ...
as the designer and principal developer of Framework.


Forefront Corporation

Robert Carr Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, (11 November 1916 – 17 February 2012) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Home Secretary from 1972 to 1974. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 26 years, and later se ...
and Marty Mazner founded Forefront Corporation to develop Framework in 1983. In July of that year, they approached Ashton-Tate to provide the capital and to later market the product. Together with a team of six other individuals, Carr and company released the original Framework. The initial release of Framework included about a dozen or so frame types (identified by a
FRED Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rod ...
function, @frametype). Frame types included containers which could be filled up with other frames, empty frames which could become other type of frames based on user input, formulas embedded in them or program output targeting them,
word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current ...
frames, flat-
database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...
frames and
spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in c ...
as well as graphic frames. The product proved successful enough, that in 1985, Ashton-Tate bought Forefront a year sooner than planned.


Ashton-Tate era

The original team, now working for Ashton-Tate, continued to enhance the product. Later Framework versions included a frame type that can hold compiled executable code, Beginning with Framework II (1985), the company also produced the Framework II Runtime and the Framework II Developer's Toolkit. These products allowed application developers to create business applications using the built-in
FRED Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rod ...
programming language. Novel MHS Electronic Mail was integrated into Framework and a MailBox cabinet was added to the desktop. Framework III was produced in 1988–1989,. and in 1991, Framework IV emerged as the last Ashton-Tate-released version. Although Ashton-Tate humorously advertised, that " Lotus uses Framework", Framework failed to gain more than a fraction of the market share needed to become a workplace standard.
Lotus 1-2-3 Lotus 1-2-3 is a discontinued spreadsheet program from Lotus Software (later part of IBM). It was the first killer application of the IBM PC, was hugely popular in the 1980s, and significantly contributed to the success of IBM PC-compatibles i ...
was able to successfully capture most of the spreadsheet market, and after a number of setbacks regarding Ashton-Tate's flagship product dBASE, Borland bought Ashton-Tate, and later sold Framework to Selections & Functions, Inc.


Selections and Functions, Inc

Beginning with Framework V (Framework 5), Selections and Functions introduced only a few features — mainly features required to prevent the office suite from becoming out-of-date. For example, Framework VII (Framework 7) introduced long file names, the Euro symbol and the ability to display pictures in Framework. Framework VIII (Framework 8) introduced the ability to display JPEG and .BMP files and to load such files into Framework databases. Of particular importance, all of the Selections and Functions' versions of Framework added the ability to share "cut and paste" (memory buffer data) between Windows and Framework. For detailed feature lists and screen shots see the Framework homepage listed below. Selections and Functions continues to sell Framework — though no price is available publicly.


Components

In addition to frame types with compiled executable code, the current versions, 9 and 10, Framework IX, and Framework X, which run in virtual mode on a thunking platform includes a dynamic link library file (.FWL) that contain 32 bit flat memory GUI/API code that can be called by FRED as a function to run on the host operating system accepting parameters and returning a value. Present versions include the FrameworkPascal compiler, which extend Framework making it possible to compile .FWL filed that access Windows API. The spreadsheet program was superior in its day, offering true 3D capability, where spreadsheets could form an outline which can be "opened" to reveal a separate spreadsheet, as well as other frame types — a feat of sheer convenient function never again seen and further enhanced in later versions. Framework's built-in interpreter, the FRED (Frame Editor) computer language, was based on Lisp eval function. It can reference all frames and types across the product and can sense and perform all user interface operations.


Compatibility

Framework works on most versions of Microsoft Windows. Framework 7 was the last version which can be run on Windows 95/98/ME or on DOS. Framework 8 and 9 were designed to run on
Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
, but not in Windows 9x or DOS. Official updates are provided to run Framework on Windows 7 and 8. Framework VIII, Framework IX and Framework 10 runs in a thunking virtual machine platform integrated with the latest version of Windows.


See also

*
Comparison of office suites The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of office suites: General information Office Suite names that are on a light purple background are discontinued. OS support The operating systems the office suites ...


References

{{reflist


External links


Framework home pageInterview of Robert Carr about framework (archive)An early Framework and FRED book by Adam Green.
DOS software Office suites