GOZARESH-E-COMPUTER
Computer Report
Vol. 15, No. 119
May-June 1993
Publisher : Informatics Society of Iran (ISI)
Manager : Ebrahim N. Mashayekh
Editor-in-Chief : Ali A. Parsa
Assistant Editor : Saeed Vahid
Circulation: CR is published bimonthly by ISI. Please address your
subscription requests to: Anoosh Hosseini, P.O.Box 61622, Sunnyvale,
CA 94088 USA.
membership: Annual subscription is included in membership fee.
Non-member price: US$ 25 per year ( 6 copies). CR features original and
translated articles, news and reviews on all aspects of computers in Iran and
abroad.
Submissions: Submit you article to: The Editor, Computer Report,
P.O.Box 1196, Tehran 14155, IRAN. All submissions are subject to editing for
style, clarity and space consideration.
Editorial: Unless otherwise stated, articles and reports reflect the
author's opinion. Inclusion does not neccessarily imply approval of ISI.
Mailing List Rental: ISI lists are available for computer-related
products and services.
Postmaster: Send address changes to: ISI, P.O.Box 1196, Tehran 14155,
IRAN.
Copyright (c) 1992 by Informatics Society of Iran. Copying
without fee is permitted with credit to the source.
CR's camera ready copies are produced using TeX-e-paarsi typesetting system.
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Articles:
Artificial Neural Networks 19
Distributed Shared Memories 26
IT Policies in UK 34
Object Oriented Approach 40
A Medical Expert System 48
Software
Bill Gates, The Big Game Hunter 65
Microsoft Tells about DOS 6.0 67
Standards
8 Bit Farsi Exchange Code 68
Innovations
A Look at Pen-based Computers 70
Demand for Lighter Computers 72
Departments
Editorial 18
News 5
Letters 16
Interview 56
Book Review 59
Anecdotes 75
Reports
A Report from Bulgaria 62
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News
Elections Go Computer Way
Ministry of Interior officials have announced
that in the 6th presidential elections which took place in June, computer
systems were used for the first time. Special cards with pictures of
candidates and optical mark reader devices were used for
transferring data into the computer and
then the votes for each candidate were tabulated by the computer.
System Science Seminar
The second seminar on New Developments and
Applications of Decision Making and System Sciences was held in the
Engineering College of Science and Industry University on May 17. In this
seminar a group of university professors, researchers, and students from
country's universities and research centers participated and presented
lectures on latest findings in the system science area.
TV Course on Programming
Payam-e-Noor University which is offering
Tele-Courses, has recently aired two courses on computer and programming
education. The first part of the course was aired on May 15. The course
instructor was Dr. Babolian, a Tarbiat Modaress University
Instructor and author of high
school text book on computers.
Apple Computer Show
Computer Dynamics, an authorized reseller of Apple
computers in Iran, held its third computer show in Iran, 25-27 May. In the
show which took place in Laleh (formerly Sheraton) Hotel, Apple computer
products were displayed.
Among items displayed were some Quadra computers which are subject to
U.S. export restrictions for Iran.
Religious Rules in the Computer
Public Relation division of the Isphahan
University of Medical Sciences has reported that in order to facilitate the
application and use of religious decrees concerning medical practice by
doctors, patients, and medical staff. A two year effort has led to
implementation of a computer diskette containig decress by grand religious
leaders. This report also indicates that the diskette can be used in all
hospitals. Interested persons will be able to retrieve such information in
a very short period of time.
Computerized National Archives
After implementation of ``Iran Pack''
network, researchers and interested parties will be able to access all
archival information of National Documents Organization cited by official of
the NDO. The ``Iran Pack'' network provides connection among all researchers
in the world through communication lines. More than 840,000 pieces of
documents have been stored in the computer network of NDO by the end of
last year.
Computer System for Bus Schedules
A computer system for bus schedules in
the Tehran's South Terminal has been installed and is operational. This
system assists the passengers with the schedule of bus arrivals and
departures through the monitors installed in the terminal.
Computerized Crime Detection
The computer center of crime detective office of Semnan province
has become operational. This center stores the latest information about
the stolen vehicles and avail them to the
interested parties. In the future the
information about theft, stolen motor
cycles, and crimes will be available
through this center.
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Farsi Computing Review
* An essential reading for anyone involved in developement of Farsi and
Arabic applications.
* Addressing both practical and theoretical issues
* A valuable source of information for every researcher working on
language dependent aspects of computing
Farsi Computing Review is published quarterly in English by
Informatics Society of Iran in co-operation with BRAIN Computer Systems
Group. It is available through subscription. For subscription information
please contact: P.O. Box 14455-161, Tehran, Iran. Fax: +98 21 980102
sample copy available upon request
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Feature
Iran aims for future growth
Amin Mohadjer charts the progress of IT industry
For Iran's computer market and industry the last few years have been a period
of steady growth. Only half a dozen years ago Iran was among the less
developed countries in the Middle East in computing terms, it is now heading
towards becoming one of the largest markets in the region.
The proof of this is reflected in the increasing number of newly formed
companies. In the past six months alone, more than 100 firms have emerged,
mainly engaged in importing computers and peripherals. In addition, hundreds
of already established companies have been successful in getting well-known
foreign firms.
During the same period, several international and domestic computer shows of
reasonable size and importance have been held in Tehran and other big cities.
As the country becomes a safer place for foreign investments, more computer
companies are eager to establish branches in Tehran. IBM, Novell and
Microsoft, Borland and Olivetti are just some of the companies who have come
to Iran in the last year or so.
The government has also paid more attention to the creation of the computer
and telecommunications infrastructures needed to support a more modern and
viable economy. Large international tenders for the supply of computer and
telecommunications systems are regularly announced.
Recently, the Iran Telecommunications Company posted a US\$1 billion worth of
bids for supply of six million digital telephone lines, a mobile cellular
network and packet switching And the Ministry of Education is talking to
computer firms about be installed in schools, classrooms by the end of the
second five-year development plan for the computer education within Iranian
schools.
Many of the government-imposed bans which prevented the expansion of the
market have been lifted. For example in 1991, computer users were finally
allowed to use modems for transmitting data over phone lines. And although
nationwide computer networks and Bulletin Board systems are yet to be set up,
the market for data transmission equipment and services will certainly be one
of the largest growing sectors of the computer industry in the years ahead.
The emerging free trade zones are also facilitating the imports of computers
to the country.
The gradual removal of restrictions and monopolies, and the relaxing of
US-instigated sanctions on the supply of high-tech equipment and technology
to Iran has led to a sharp increase in the imports of PCs, RISC-based
workstation, larger computers, as well as office equipment like fax and
photocopiers. These days it is rare to find a Tehran-based business that
doesn't have such equipment.
The state-run sector of Iran's computer industry. based on ministries and
affiliated organisations, has undergone fundamental changes too.
Many large state companies like DP Iran (ex-IBM) and Iran Argham (ex-NCR) who
once were sole players in the market, are either being broken into smaller
subsidiaries, or signing with other companies in order to keep their presence
in the highly competitive market.
Moreover, just as the government is cutting subsidies to state companies,
these very companies are losing their customers to the expanding private
sector.
Despite being young, the private sector has established a firm foothold in
the country's computer market. More than 500 private computer firms are
currently based in Tehran, some of them with branches in big cities like
Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashad. These companies' next target will be to capture
the less developed market.
Iran's computer market is heavily dependent on imports of all kinds of
equipment, since domestic production of computers is limited to a few
prestigious firms.
Backed by government support, some state companies like Pars Electric and the
Research Centre of Iran's Telecommunications Company have started
manufacturing PCs, but since production volumes and system reliability have
never reached the corresponding levels of foreign producers, most of the
domestic manufacturers maintain only a negligible presence.
Two of the fastest growing sectors of Iran's computer market are desktop
publishing and computer aided design. In the relatively large desktop
publishing market, Apple is the dominant player. Arriving late in Iran's
market, via its French subsidiary, the company launched several sister firms
in Tehran; Apple has also sold strongly into other cities.
As it hoped to capture a large share of Iran's Personal Computer market,
Apple immediately began Iranising the Macintosh operating system and
translating application packages and literature into Farsi. However, despite
this aggressive marketing strategy, the price of Macintosh computers is
considerably higher than IBM compatible PCs and as it is still hard to find
software packages for the Mac. Apple's market share barely exceeds five per
cent.
In the booming market of CAD and GIS application, most of the imported
hardware equipment is from Summagraphics and Roland whose systems are
relatively expensive. Their main customers are government departments who
previously used to buy all their equipment from abroad, they now prefer to
deal with Iranian representatives of foreign companies, who generally offer
better prices and after-sales service.
Workstations and minicomputers have also received lots of attention recently.
Almost all ministries, universities and regional water and power companies
are already importing equipment from Sun and Digital Equipment. And many
other companies have booked orders and are waiting for delivery. But despite
this increase in sales, more than 80 per cent of the Iranian computer market
is taken up by PCs and their peripherals.
The use of larger systems like mainframes and minis is limited to ministries
and government organisations like banks. Most of the big systems in use are
old IBM or NCR models which are generally running out of date. application
software.
The main application is database management, and the main players are Oracle,
Informix, IMS, DB2, SQL/DB and Cincom's Supra.
However, as these large and cumbersome computers are no longer capable of
meeting current demands, the growing trend is to install networks based
around powerful PCs with PS/2s or 486 machines as file servers. In many
workplaces, like the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), PCs are connected
to mini and mainframes installed in computer sites in Tehran and other major
cities. These act as terminals to facilitate access to resources as well as
to simplify data entry.
Networking has got much attention recently. As Iran's computer industry
understands the importance of computer networking as a more cost-effective
and efficient way of using computers, standalone PCs are gradually being
replaced by local area networks.
Microsoft and Novell, who have recently appointed distributorships in Iran are
market leaders with their Lan Manager and Netware networking solutions.
The sales of notebook and laptop computers are also increasing as these
machines become more affordable for Iranian managers. Since 8086- and
80286-based machines dropped out of the market, a fully-configured
80386SX-based machine is the lowest end of the range. In the past year or so,
80386X and 80386 machines have fallen to the same price as an 80286 system.
Most of the PCs in the market come from South East Asia.
Iran's software industry seems to be enjoying modest success as the number of
computer imports rises. Although Iran has no copyright law to protect the
rights of software products, pressure is being put on the Supreme Council of
Informatics by software companies suffering from acts of piracy. This council
the highest in the country's computer industry. is working on a first draft
of copyright law to be put before parliament. However, it seems like
everywhere else the answer to software piracy is better education.
So far, computer companies have been offering a bundle of software programs
on the PCs, without offering any documentation or support. Since many users,
including computer professionals, have found they can't make much sense of
software without the original documents, the sales of the genuine packages
have increased.
Microsoft and Borland, two world software giants who recently entered the
Iranian market, are offering original packages with documents at affordable
prices, especially for Iranian users.
The software industry in Iran is mainly based on customised programming. An
increasing number of new companies are concentrating on the development of
Farsi applications or Iranising English applications.
Despite this. customised programming is a common practice in many
organisations who prefer to use software according to their specific needs
and not to adjust their needs according to a program's capabilities. The
price of domestic software products is very high, since the vendors are not
able to market their products in mass volume in order to break production
costs on volume sales.
Despite high price tags. the quality of most software coded in Iran is weak
compared to the Farsi programs developed by foreign vendors (including
Eastern Language Systems and Gumma Productions) and such packages are
preferred by Iranian users. The market for specialised software programs with
their own hardware platforms is also a large market.
Besides the growing market for hardware and software products, the market for
computer literature is enjoying a similar expansion. And almost all top
seller books and software manuals are translated into Farsi immediately after
being published in English.
The number of companies engaged in computer training is also increasing
rapidly. Since the country's computer industry is faced with a shortage of
trained and skilled staff, many government departments and universities have
begun to arrange training courses on the use and programming of PCs. In the
private sector, more than 200 training companies have been set up, offering a
wide range of basic to professional courses on different computer subjects.
Most industry observers are optimistic about Iran. As the market is now
enlarging, the number of small vendors with small amounts of capital will
probably reduce in coming years as bigger players are joining the game.
The country boasts one major geographic advantage in its proximity to the
former Soviet Union. The importance of Iran as a gateway to the untouched
markets of these newly independent countries has not gone unnoticed by major
international companies. Many such firms think Iran is an excellent country
in which to establish a base and this should lead to a further boost to the
market in the coming years.
Reprinted from Computer Guide Middle East 1993 with Permission