CyberQuery
Open-knowledge reference entry
Cyberquery is a software product of Cyberscience Corporation Inc. Originally developed for data handling and analysis on Data General AOS and AOS/VS minicomputers, then the available platforms for Cyberquery were extended to all major UNIX platforms, OpenVMS, and Microsoft Windows.
Description of Cyberquery
Invented in 1980, Cyberquery is a declarative "4GL" fourth-generation programming language. Its early design was slightly influenced by RAMIS and other data access and analysis languages such as the query language on GE time sharing systems. Cyberquery automates the process of accessing files or tables and reading records or rows. This basic operation allows the user/developer to concentrate on the details of working with the data within each record, in effect working almost entirely within an implicit program loop that runs for each record. Compared to general-purpose programming languages, this automation allows the user/developer to ignore the technical details of the data and how it is stored, and concentrate on the information contained in the data.
Cyberquery has a data dictionary to describe the datasets users wish to access. This removes all the physical details of the file structure from each program and from the user/developer. The original target customers for Cyberquery were personnel departments, so ease of use by non computer specialists was an early design goal.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “CyberQuery” is open-knowledge reference entry. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through CyberQuery, Open-knowledge and entry, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “open-knowledge reference entry” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 22, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5197692. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1980.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “CyberQuery”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow CyberQuery primary sources, CyberQuery archive and CyberQuery research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “CyberQuery”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “CyberQuery” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.