In which year did GM Research create the first single-stream batch file operating system?

The first single-stream batch file operating system was created by GM Research in 1956. This system marked a significant advancement in the way computers processed jobs, allowing multiple tasks to be executed in a sequence without manual intervention. By organizing jobs sequentially and managing their execution automatically, this operating system laid the foundation for more sophisticated batch processing and job scheduling methods that we see in modern operating systems today.

The significance of the 1956 development comes from the context of computing at the time. Before this innovation, computers were primarily operated interactively, with users directly controlling operations. The introduction of a batch processing system allowed for greater efficiency and utilization of computing resources as jobs could be prepared and queued for execution, rather than being processed one at a time interactively. This change was crucial for large-scale data processing, which became increasingly important in the following years, particularly in business and scientific applications.