MIIS (programming language)

MIIS
Paradigm	Procedural, database-oriented
Developer	A. Neil Pappalardo, Curt W. Marble
Typing discipline	Dynamic, weak
OS	Proprietary
License	Proprietary
Influenced by
MUMPS

MIIS (Meditech Interpretive Information System) is a proprietary programming language, integrated database, and operating system environment derived from MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System). ^[1] It was created by A. Neil Pappalardo and Curt W. Marble at the Massachusetts General Hospital's (MGH) Laboratory of Computer Science between 1964 and 1968, originally running on Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-series minicomputers.

History

The evolution of the original MGH MUMPS language took two major directions: MUMPS proper and MIIS. While MUMPS proper was eventually standardized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), MIIS was developed as a distinct, proprietary system. It became the core technology for Meditech, the healthcare information systems company Pappalardo co-founded in 1969.

Differences from MUMPS

As an example of the differences between MUMPS and MIIS, the value of a logical expression in MUMPS may be false = zero or true = non-zero, canonically, one. In MIIS, the value false is the empty string and the value of true is a string consisting of the ASCII delete character (code 127 decimal).

There is also a philosophical difference between the dialects. MIIS often takes the approach that code should continue execution regardless of possible errors, whereas MUMPS is designed to halt and generate an error. For example, when encountering an undefined variable, MUMPS generates an error while MIIS treats it as nil.

Usage

In the 1980s, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts used MIIS to program their Data General mainframe for its Brigham Integrated Computing System (BICS). ^[2]

In 1986, the Symposium on Computer Application in Medical Care (SCAMC) reported that Vancouver General Hospital also had an Integrated Cardiology Patient Management System written in MIIS. ^[3]

The MIIS language has been used in programming library systems as well as health industry systems. The OCLC's local library system, LS/2000, is one example. ^{[4] [1]} It has also been used to create financial systems for insurance brokers, as seen in Ireland and the UK in the late 1970s.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Kusnetzky, Dan (18 January 2012). "Preparing for a presentation at the OCLC conference center | Walking down the MUMPS and OCLC memory lane while waiting for conference attendees". ZDNET . Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2025. Early in my career, I was a software engineer for DataPhase systems. One of my tasks was designing and implementing a MARC record database for the company's Automated Library Information System (ALIS). The system was implemented in MIIS, Meditech's implementation of the MUMPS system. MUMPS is now known as simply "M" and MARC is the U.S. Library of Congress machine readable cataloging record format.
2. Teich, Jonathan M.; Glaser, John P.; Beckley, Robert F.; Aranow, Meg; Bates, David W.; Kuperman, Gilad J.; Ward, Michael E.; Spurr, Cynthia D. (1999). "The Brigham integrated computing system (BICS): advanced clinical systems in an academic hospital environment". International Journal of Medical Informatics. 54 (3): 197–208. doi:10.1016/S1386-5056(99)00007-6. ISSN   1386-5056.
3. Kiely, F. Michael (9 November 1988). "An Integrated Cardiology Patient Management System". Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer Application in Medical Care: 693–697. ISSN   0195-4210. PMC   2245171 .
4. Lutz, Marilyn (1 March 1984). "OCLC's Local Library System: LS/2000". Library Hi Tech. 2 (2): 7–16. doi:10.1108/eb047542. ISSN   0737-8831.