Polytron (software)
Encyclopedia
Polytron Corp. was founded in 1982 by Richard Kinnaird, Don Kinzer, Charlie Perkins, and Doug Root. With the exception of Root, all of them had worked at Tektronix
in various hardware and/or software engineering positions.
Personal Computer. The first product developed was a GPIB
controller plug-in board for the IBM PC. With an operational prototype in hand, the founders embarked on a campaign to raise venture capital
to take the company to the next step. After giving numerous presentations and receiving a few funding offers, they decided that the traditional VC route was not going to yield funding on acceptable terms so they began researching alternate funding methods.
With their collective software development experience, the founders eventually came up with the idea of creating one or more software development tools for the PC which they could sell to provide working capital for the original product idea. The first such product was PolyLibrarian, an object module library utility written by Kinzer, which was introduced in late 1982. At the time, there were few, if any, object module librarians available to PC programmers. Microsoft
had such a utility that they used to create the libraries that they shipped with the early versions of Microsoft C but they didn't include it as part of the package.
In 1983, Polytron introduced PolyMake, an MS-DOS
version of the well known Unix
make utility, written initially by Perkins. Here again, it is likely that Microsoft had such a utility that they used in-house but it was not distributed with any of their language products at that time. The PolyMake product was followed in 1985 by the Polytron Version Control System (PVCS
), also written by Kinzer, that was loosely based on the RCS
change control system authored by Walter F. Tichy
while at Purdue University
.
By the time that PVCS was released, Perkins had left the company and the three remaining founders came to the realization that the business that they had developed creating and selling software development tools was more interesting and likely more profitable than the original product idea would have been. Consequently, no more effort was applied to realizing the original product plan.
By 1989, the remaining founders accepted an offer to be acquired by Sage Software of Rockville, Maryland (not related to Sage Software of the UK), which merged with Index Technology in 1991 to become Intersolv Inc. Then, in 1998 Intersolv merged with Micro Focus which was later renamed Merant PLC. In 2004, Serena Software
acquired Merant and was itself acquired in 2006 by Silver Lake Partners
.
Tektronix
Tektronix, Inc. is an American company best known for its test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. In November 2007, Tektronix became a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation....
in various hardware and/or software engineering positions.
History
The original concept around which the company was organized was to create a line of instrumentation products for, or based on, the then-recently introduced IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Personal Computer. The first product developed was a GPIB
IEEE-488
IEEE-488 is a short-range digital communications bus specification. It was created for use with automated test equipment in the late 1960s, and is still in use for that purpose. IEEE-488 was created as HP-IB , and is commonly called GPIB...
controller plug-in board for the IBM PC. With an operational prototype in hand, the founders embarked on a campaign to raise venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
to take the company to the next step. After giving numerous presentations and receiving a few funding offers, they decided that the traditional VC route was not going to yield funding on acceptable terms so they began researching alternate funding methods.
With their collective software development experience, the founders eventually came up with the idea of creating one or more software development tools for the PC which they could sell to provide working capital for the original product idea. The first such product was PolyLibrarian, an object module library utility written by Kinzer, which was introduced in late 1982. At the time, there were few, if any, object module librarians available to PC programmers. Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
had such a utility that they used to create the libraries that they shipped with the early versions of Microsoft C but they didn't include it as part of the package.
In 1983, Polytron introduced PolyMake, an MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
version of the well known Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
make utility, written initially by Perkins. Here again, it is likely that Microsoft had such a utility that they used in-house but it was not distributed with any of their language products at that time. The PolyMake product was followed in 1985 by the Polytron Version Control System (PVCS
PVCS
PVCS Version Manager is a software package by Serena Software Inc. for revision control of files, in particular source code files....
), also written by Kinzer, that was loosely based on the RCS
Revision Control System
The Revision Control System is a software implementation of revision control that automates the storing, retrieval, logging, identification, and merging of revisions. RCS is useful for text that is revised frequently, for example programs, documentation, procedural graphics, papers, and form...
change control system authored by Walter F. Tichy
Walter F. Tichy
Walter F. Tichy is professor of computer science at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany where he teaches classes in software engineering....
while at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
.
By the time that PVCS was released, Perkins had left the company and the three remaining founders came to the realization that the business that they had developed creating and selling software development tools was more interesting and likely more profitable than the original product idea would have been. Consequently, no more effort was applied to realizing the original product plan.
By 1989, the remaining founders accepted an offer to be acquired by Sage Software of Rockville, Maryland (not related to Sage Software of the UK), which merged with Index Technology in 1991 to become Intersolv Inc. Then, in 1998 Intersolv merged with Micro Focus which was later renamed Merant PLC. In 2004, Serena Software
Serena Software
Serena Software Inc is US-based software company.Serena develops and markets products focused on managing change across information technology environments...
acquired Merant and was itself acquired in 2006 by Silver Lake Partners
Silver Lake Partners
Silver Lake is a US-based private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in technology, technology-enabled and related industries...
.