Godfather of DB2, Mr. IMS – Vern Watts
I have been very fortunate in my career to have
known many of the founders of database and DB2.
One of the most interesting and intriguing
individuals is Vern Watts, Mr. IMS. Vern has
worked 53 years for IBM. That’s not a typo. He
started working for IBM in 1956. He worked on the
prototype, and continued to lead the team which
invented the first commercial database, the IBM
Information Management System, IMS. IMS was
first used to track parts for the Apollo space
program and is used by the vast majority of Fortune Vern Watts
500 companies worldwide.
The early days of IMS required database pioneers to do what few (if any) had
done before. As Vern recalled in an article available at
vcwatts.org/ibm_story.html, "One of the problems with being early in the
programming business is that there was nobody around with more experience
than you, and a fairly simple program was still complex, because you didn't have
any systems support." Vern would often go home with a book, consume it, and
overnight become the expert on the topic. (Watch the YouTube clip.)
IMS has continued to evolve, and recently celebrated its 40th birthday with a new
IMS 11. Vern Watts attributed the product's successful evolution to a sharp focus
on how to get where the businesses want to go. "We don't want to jump on new
fads and be kept busy chasing rainbows," Watts explains. To get a sense of just
how far IMS has come in 40 years, you have to remember where it all started.
See how the story continues (and add your own recollections) in the IBM
Database Magazine wiki.
The IMS and DB2 for z/OS DBMS organizations work together often, and share
two adjacent towers at Silicon Valley Lab. In the early part of my IBM career,
DB2 was going to be IMS Version 2. The objective for DB2 Release 2 was to be
able to use SQL directly on an IMS database and DL/I on the DB2 data. That
effort was not successful, but most joint projects succeeded. Data sharing
challenges were similar for IMS and DB2, but more rework was needed in DB2,
as IMS already had block level data sharing. IMS and DB2 still share one
component, the lock manager, which began as an IMS component and is now
developed in the DB2 organization.
Every week or two, I’d find my way over to Vern’s lunch table. He always had a
thought for the challenge I was working on, and sometimes a bit of humor to help
me keep on digging. We’d swap stories and ideas. "I think about my job in the
car on the way home," he said. "I dream about it at night. I find it totally
consuming and fascinating." Those dreams were often fruitful.
I still remember the first time one of the new programmers noted that they were
not born yet when I was working. I’ve gotten used to that remark, and so has
Vern. "When people find out what year I started working here, apart from
commenting -- 'but I wasn't even born yet!' -- what impresses them most is that
I'm still interested in my work, I'm still creative and I have no trouble keeping up
with them." I’ve never seen Vern have trouble keeping up with anyone.
Bob Gilliam, a former manager of IMS noted, "What's remarkable is not just that
he's been with IBM for so long, it's that he has continued to make contributions of
all sizes, from developing new applications to everyday things like writing
computer code."
Semi-retired after more than 50 years at IBM, Watts stayed involved with
development efforts, including those for IMS 10 and 11, which brought XML, Web
services, and SOA capabilities to the platform, even as they expanded the
scalability. As they have from the beginning, customers drive the approach to
adding new functions, Watts explains. "We always try to stay on top of the new
technologies. We started it off with IMS being pretty much a closed system, and
that was based on the experience of our customers, whose corporate systems
needed to be closed and protected. We've tried to stay in the forefront."
Vern continued to invent new techniques through his career, and became a
Distinguished Engineer Emeritus in retirement. He got to keep his office and his
ThinkPad, while IBM paid his retirement. Lately, he has been working two days a
week. We were working together on a YouTube video to encourage customers
to use the Information Center two weeks ago. So we mark with sadness his
passing. Watts suffered an aneurysm while enjoying a picnic lunch with his wife
of many years during a sightseeing trip celebrating his recent 77th birthday. Vern
lived as he wanted, and I’m sure that heaven for Vern is a new programming
challenge.
Vern L. Watts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98hgieE08o
http://www.ibmdatabasemag.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=211300235
Written by Roger Miller. Published in IDUG Solutions Journal