The First Email System

In 1978, UMDNJ had three campus locations in New Jersey: Newark, Piscataway and New Brunswick. EMAIL was used by workers on these campuses as a public and commercially viable system. EMAIL was delivered as one holistic platform, that integrated an easy-to-use interface, a word processor, a relational database (to support folders, archival, sorting and many other features not possible with flat-file based approaches), with a modular intercommunications protocol. EMAIL consisted of nearly 50,000 lines of code, using a high-level programming language (FORTRAN IV) and HP IMAGE/1000 database system, written solely by VA Shiva Ayyadurai.

Main Subroutine of EMAIL

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Examples of Programming Code from EMAIL, the First Email System
Developed by VA Shiva Ayyadurai While Working at UMDNJ

The figures are “snapshots” (about 10 to 15 lines) of portions of code, in aggregate of no more than 500 lines , which are just a small part of a much larger code base of nearly 50,000 lines, written in FORTRAN IV, portions of which were submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012. They are an illustrative subset of the many components of EMAIL, the first email system.

Unlike the developments on the ARPAnet, EMAIL was built to address a systems problem in the ordinary office situation using local area and wide area networks (LANs and WANs), where computers across offices and multiple campuses were connected --- independent of the ARPAnet. UMDNJ had any contact with the ARPAnet. EMAIL was meant to be a widely shared system of ongoing communication by ordinary workers, not computer scientists who knew code. EMAIL was developed with a focus on user-friendliness and high-reliability, and deployed as a commercial product, where nearly 500 office workers accessed, and used it.

After the invention of EMAIL, from 1982 onwards, other products with the same functions and interlocked components used in EMAIL appeared in rapid succession.

Group Management Menu

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Place User in a Group

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Displaying Groups

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Creating Groups

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Deleting Groups

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Adding Users

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Deleting Users

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Adding Zipnode (new network)

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Displaying a Zipnode

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Postmaster/Administration Functions

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Starting up the entire email system

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Forwarding/Redistribution

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Inbox

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Scanning Email

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Read Mail

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

"To:"

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

"From:"

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

"Date:"

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

"Subject:"

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Limiting "Subject" to 70 Characters

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

"Body:"

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Save Memo as Draft

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Composing Memo

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Outbox

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Registered Memo

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Sending Memo to Group

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Registered Carbon Copy

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Broadcast Memo

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Sending Memo to an Individual

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Multi-level User Access

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Saving Attachments

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Restricting Group Access

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

"CC:"

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Forwarding with Return Receipt

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Attachment Editor

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Address Book

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Displaying Address Book

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Printing

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Formatted Printing

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Creating Attachment from Scratch

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Creating Attachment from Scratch

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Attaching to a Memo

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Deleting

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Return Receipt

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Undeliverable Notification

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Memo Formatting

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Relational Database Engine

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Prioritization

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Groups

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Mail System Maintenance

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Secure Access Using User Name and Password

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Shutdown of the Entire System

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Deleting Zipnode

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

Drafts

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.

"BCC"

Code sample copy submitted for issuance of US Government Copyright on August 30, 1982 and donated to Smithsonian Institution on February 16, 2012.