Shared processing with an advanced intelligent terminal
C. Estall, Francis J. Smith · 1984
We have built a prototype distributed information retrieval system known as TBIRD, based on an inverted file and shared between a personal computer, acting as an advanced intelligent terminal, and a timeshared mainframe. It was developed to study the response and cost in comparison with a conventional system based on an unintelligent terminal. It is shown, by the transfer of most of the processing to the personal computer, that the computing costs can be reduced by a substantial factor and that the response time need not be degraded except when the mainframe is lightly used or when the communications channel between the processors is slow (