The Formatted File System (FFS) is the name of a series of Database Management Systems (DBMS)

Database management system

A database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...

 developed for military use and designed to run on IBM mainframe computers.

The period from 1964 to 1968 saw the transition from isolated DBMS development efforts to the development of DBMS families. The Formatted File System is one such family. Others included General Electric's IDS

Integrated Data Store

Integrated Data Store is a network database largely used by industry for its performance.IDS was designed by Charles Bachman at General Electric in the 1960s. It was not known to be easy to use or implement applications with, because it was designed to maximize performance using the hardware...

 family, and the Mark IV

MARK-IV (Software)

MARK-IV is a Fourth-generation programming language that was created by Informatics, Inc. in the 1960s. Informatics, Inc. took advantage of IBM's decision to unbundle their software; MARK-IV was the first "software product to have cumulative sales of $10 million".MARK-IV is now part of the product...

 series developed by Informatics Inc. (later acquired by Sterling Software

Sterling Software

Sterling Software was an American software company founded in Dallas, Texas in 1981 by Sterling Williams and brothers Sam and Charles Wyly. The company was acquired by Computer Associates International in 2000 in a stock-for-stock transaction worth $3.3 billion.Computer Associates sold Sterling...

). These families were developed across organizations and branches of government, spreading and evolving with their primary developers. Beginning around 1968, industry DBMS development became increasingly proprietary.

Family Members

• IRS(DTMB), 1958, IBM 704
  • Information Retrieval System (David Taylor Model Basin
    David Taylor Model Basin
    The David Taylor Model Basin is one of the largest ship model basins — test facilities for the development of ship design — in the world...
    
    )
• TUFF/TUG(DTMB), 1959, IBM 704/9
  • Tape Update for Formatted Files / Tape Updater and Generator (David Taylor Model Basin)
• FFS(SAC), 1961, IBM 7090
  • Formatted File System (Strategic Air Command
    Strategic Air Command
    The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
    
    )
• FFS(IDHS), 1963, IBM 1401
  • Formatted File System (Intelligence Data-Handling System)
• FFS(FICEUR), 1963, IBM 1410
  • Formatted File System (Naval Fleet Intelligence Center in Europe)
• FFS(DIA-IDHS), 1965, IBM 1410
  • Formatted File System (Defense Intelligence Agency - Intelligence Data-Handling System)
• GIS, 1965, IBM SYSTEM/360
  • Generalized Information System
• NIPS, 1965, IBM 1410
  • NMCS (National Military Command System) Information Processing System
• NIPS, 1968, IBM SYSTEM/360
  • NMCS (National Military Command System) Information Processing System
• CDMS, 1968, IBM SYSTEM/360
  • Cobol Data Management System