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Network Computing System
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<p>The Network Computing System (NCS) was an implementation of the Network Computing Architecture (NCA). It was created at <a href="/facts/Apollo_Computer/AyhaS46l">Apollo Computer</a> in the 1980s. It comprised a set of tools for implementing distributed software applications, or <a href="/facts/Distributed_computing/o5nyhqTF">distributed computing</a>. The three principal components of NCS were a runtime environment for remote procedure calls, a network interface definition language (NIDL) compiler, and a location broker service. The location broker differentiated NCS from similar offerings, such as the rival <a href="/facts/Open_Network_Computing/oSR4C7hH">Open Network Computing</a> technology from <a href="/facts/Sun_Microsystems/VJ9EzEFd">Sun Microsystems</a>, by permitting services to be distributed in a dynamic fashion and offering the possibility of "location independence".: 46 </p><p>The design and implementation of <a href="/facts/DCE%2fRPC/7XQyL8Hf">DCE/RPC</a>, the <a href="/facts/Remote_procedure_call/uMMb9CQw">remote procedure call</a> mechanism in the <a href="/facts/Distributed_Computing_Environment/0vpvuBhs">Distributed Computing Environment</a>, is based on NCA/NCS. In response to a request for proposals from the <a href="/facts/Open_Software_Foundation/sBn7Q7gt">Open Software Foundation</a> for distributed computing environments, NCS featured in the DEcorum proposal submitted by Apollo, by then incorporated as a division within <a href="/facts/Hewlett-Packard/abuNSYNu">Hewlett-Packard</a>, along with <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a>, <a href="/facts/Locus_Computing/6wDJRGuj">Locus Computing</a>, <a href="/facts/Transarc/cMhWqbuj">Transarc</a>, <a href="/facts/Digital_Equipment_Corporation/ztxs6keA">Digital Equipment Corporation</a> and <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a>. It also was the first implementation of <a href="/facts/Universally_unique_identifier/SUtkYJPe">universally unique identifiers</a>, these being employed by the location broker to identify objects in the distributed system. </p>