A gross generalization of the situation in the 1980s can be made that there was good software on low- and medium-performance systems such as Alliant, Sequent, Encore, and Multiflow systems (uninteresting to those preoccupied with the highest performance levels), while there was poor quality software in the highest performance systems. In addition, there is little or no software aimed at managing the system and providing a service to a diverse user community. There is typically no software that provides information on who uses the system and how much, that is, accounting and reporting software. Batch schedulers are typically not available. Controls for limiting the amount of time interactive users can take on the system at any one time also are missing. Ways of managing the on-line disks are non-existent. In short, the system software provided with the high-performance parallel computers is at best suitable for systems used by a single person or a small tightly-knit group of people.