Editing Wang Laboratories (section)

====Wang 2200====
{{main|Wang 2200}}
Wang developed and marketed several lines of small computer systems for both word processing and data processing. Instead of a clear, linear progression, the product lines overlapped and, in some cases, borrowed technology from each other.

The most identifiable Wang [[minicomputer]] performing recognizable data processing was the [[Wang 2200]], which appeared in May 1973. Unlike some other [[desktop computer]]s such as the [[HP 9830]], it had a [[Cathode-ray tube|CRT]] in a cabinet that also included an integrated computer-controlled [[Compact Cassette (data)|compact cassette]] storage unit and keyboard. It was microcoded to run [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreted]] [[Wang BASIC]]. It was widely used in small- and medium-sized businesses worldwide; about 65,000 systems were shipped.

The original 2200 was a single-user system. The improved VP model increased performance more than tenfold and enhanced the language (renamed [[Basic-2|BASIC-2]]). The 2200 VP evolved into a desktop computer and larger MVP system to support up to 16 workstations and utilized commercial disk technologies that appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The disk subsystems could be attached to up to 15 computers giving a theoretical upper limit of 240 workstations in a single [[Cluster (computing)|cluster]].

Unlike the other product lines, such as the VS and OIS (described above), Wang used [[value-added reseller]]s (VARs) to customize and market 2200 systems. One such creative solution deployed dozens of 2200 systems and was developed in conjunction with [[Hawaii]]- and [[Hong Kong]]–based firm [[Algorithms, Inc]]. It provided [[Pager|paging]] (beeper) services for much of the Hong Kong market in the early 1980s.{{Year needed|date=October 2022}}

Overshadowed by the Wang VS, the 2200 languished as a cost-effective but forgotten solution in the hands of the customers who had it. In the late 1980s, Wang revisited the 2200 series one last time, offering 2200 customers a new 2200 CS with bundled maintenance for less than customers were paying at the time just for maintenance of their aging 2200s. The 2200 CS had an [[I386|Intel 386 processor]], updated disk units, and other peripherals. Most 2200 customers upgraded to the 2200 CS, after which Wang did not develop or market any new 2200 products. In 1997, Wang reported having about two hundred 2200 systems still under maintenance around the world. Throughout, Wang had always offered maintenance services for the 2200.

The 2200 BASIC-2 language was ported to be compiled and run on non-Wang hardware and [[operating system]]s by at least two companies. Niakwa Inc<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.niakwa.com/ |title=Niakwa Programming Language - The Development Environment of Choice!!!!!!! |publisher=Niakwa.com |date=2010-02-01 |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> created a product named NPL (originally named Basic-2C). Kerridge Computer,<ref>{{cite web|author=CDK Global |url=http://www.kerridge.com/ |title=CDK Global. Dealer Management Systems and services from CDK Global Automatic Data processing |publisher=Kerridge.com |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> now a part of [[Automatic Data Processing|ADP]], created a product named KCML. Both products support [[DOS]], [[Windows]], and various [[Unix]] systems. The BASIC-2 language was enhanced and extended by both companies to meet modern needs. Compared to the 2200 Wang hardware, the compiled solutions improved speed, disk space, memory, and user limits by tens to hundreds of times; although there is no Wang support for the 2200, many software applications continue to function.

During the 1970s, about 2,000 Wang 2200T computers were shipped to the [[USSR]]. Due to the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Afghan war]] in the 1980s, US and [[COCOM]] export restrictions ended the shipment of Wang computers. The Soviets were in great need of computers. In 1981, Russian engineers at [[Minpribor]]'s [[Schetmash]] factory in [[Kursk]] [[reverse engineering|reverse engineered]] the Wang 2200T and created a computer they named the [[Iskra 226]]. The "COCOM restrictions" theory, though, while popular in the West, is challenged by some Russian computer historians on the basis that development for the Iskra-226 started in 1978, two years before the Afghan war. It is also different from the Wang 2200 in its internals, being more inspired by it rather than a direct clone.

It used the same BASIC language (named T-BASIC) with a few enhancements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wang2200.org/iskra-226.html |title=Iskra-226 Computer (Искра-226) |website=Wang2200.org |date=2013-02-27 |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> Many research papers reference calculations done on the Iskra 226. The machine's designers were nominated for a 1985 State Prize.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2vUopRmnXcC&pg=PA297 |title=Advances in Computers |volume=29 |editor=Marshall C. Yovits |chapter=Soviet Computing in the 1980s |author1=Richard W. Judy |author2=Robert W. Clough |page=297 |isbn=0-12-012129-8 |date=1989 |publisher=[[Elsevier Science]] |access-date=January 2, 2020}}</ref> Later, a somewhat scaled-down [[Unix]] implementation was created for Iskra-226, which was used in the [[Soviet Union]].