CODES FROM WASHINGTON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000200650051-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 21, 2000
• Sequence Number: 51
• Publication Date: July 16, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

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Approved For, Release 2000/08/26: CI.A-RDP
OTTUMWA, IOWA
1 Front Edit Oth.r
Pape P.p. 1 P.o.
JUL 16 1964 1
Hare:
. 18,892
;,Codes Fromf Washington
Fritz' Newsom, who is director, letter code word and being in=i
of the data processing division 'of - trigued by it, had opportunity to,
Ottumwa's Technical ` and Voca- inquire three weeks ago when a 1
tional School, shed some light the representative. of wept sevy'
{other day on how some of the eral days here interviewing ?12
famous code. names are selected. data processing school students for.
In the computer field, it seems, possible employment. He asked
you are nobody unless you speak Charles Chonowiki, the represent
yin numbers with terms such as ative, about WALNUT.
-binary, binary coded decimal, octal, . And he received this very;,.
`or unless you abbreviate every- scientific explanation: - , ' (
:thipg. There is COBOL; which is "When the CIA decided to use
`.`common, business oriented lan- the power of computers in our in-
guage," and ALGOL-algarith telligence activities, we drew up
metic oriented language. - as ex. the very strict and complex re-
'~-
quirements that must be met. We
Over in. Washington the Central , called into Washington every maj-,.
Intelligence Agency has set up a or computer. manufacturer. and;
high-powered, very secretive com- presented to them . this complex)
puter complex used to store and data. After these people had heard 1
;retrieve information from a library. our specifications which - involved
of over 40 million documents in a ., two days of solid' briefing, one fel-
fraction of a second. -For this the .` low wiped his, brow and said, 'Wow,
CIA has come up. With the 'word, this, is a tough nut to crack.' So
WALNUT. what else could -we call }t but'
f 9
Newsom, 'knowing.. of t4rg; six- - WALNUT 7"'
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