Model 204 (M204) is a

database management system In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and an ...

for IBM and compatible mainframe computers developed and commercialized by

Computer Corporation of America Computer Corporation of America (CCA) was a computer software and database management system, database systems company founded in 1965. It was best known for its Model 204 (M204) database system for IBM mainframe, IBM and compatible mainframes. I ...

. It was announced in 1965, and first deployed in 1972. It incorporates a programming language and an environment for application development. Implemented in

assembly language In computing, assembly language (alternatively assembler language or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence bet ...

for

IBM System/360 The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. System/360 was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applicati ...

and its successors, M204 can deal with very large databases and transaction loads of 1000 TPS.

Product description

Model 204 relies on its own type of

bitmap index A bitmap index is a special kind of database index that uses bitmaps. Bitmap indexes have traditionally been considered to work well for ''low-cardinality columns'', which have a modest number of distinct values, either absolutely, or relative to ...

, originally devised by Bill Mann, and combines the use of

hash table In computer science, a hash table is a data structure that implements an associative array, also called a dictionary or simply map; an associative array is an abstract data type that maps Unique key, keys to Value (computer science), values. ...

B-tree In computer science, a B-tree is a self-balancing tree data structure that maintains sorted data and allows searches, sequential access, insertions, and deletions in logarithmic time. The B-tree generalizes the binary search tree, allowing fo ...

, and partitioned record list technologies to optimize speed and efficiency of database access. It has been described as "one of the three major inverted-list atabase systems... the other two being" ADABAS and ADR's Datacom/DB. Although M204 is a pre-

SQL Structured Query Language (SQL) (pronounced ''S-Q-L''; or alternatively as "sequel") is a domain-specific language used to manage data, especially in a relational database management system (RDBMS). It is particularly useful in handling s ...

(and pre- relational) database product, it is possible to manually map the files of an M204 database to approximate SQL equivalents and provide some limited SQL functionality using Model 204 SQL Server.

Users

Model 204 is commonly used in government and military applications. It was used commercially in the UK by

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

. It was also used at the

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises ...

Property Tax system in California, the Harris County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Justice Information Management System, and in the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

's Automate The Schools system. An informal list of past and present Model 204 users, compiled in 2010, identified more than 140 organizations worldwide. Beginning in 1986, it was used by the US Navy Fleet Intelligence Center Europe and Atlantic (FICEURLANT). Model 204 has been a central part of Australian social security for decades. Services Australia have used it for their ISIS system that pays over $110 billion in welfare payments to around 6 million Australians. A 1.5 billion Australian dollar project to replace ISIS was expected to be completed in 2022 but was delayed. The project was scrapped in July 2023 having spent

AUD The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official currency and legal tender of Au ...

191 million, since the replacement system (based on Pegasystems business process automation software) took minutes to complete tasks Model 204 could complete in seconds. In a 2014 media interview, then Treasurer of Australia

Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for Division of North Sydney, North Sydney from 1996 Australian federal election, 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer ...

stated that the Australian social security system and the Pentagon were the only remaining active Model 204 customers in the world.

Corporate information

Add-on products for Model 204 database were formerly available from Sirius Software, Inc. Sirius, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, was acquired by Rocket Software in 2012.

References

External links

Model 204 at Rocket Software
{{Rocket Software Proprietary database management systems IBM mainframe software

Product description

Users

Corporate information

See also

References

External links