Software Publishing Corporation
software company
Software Publishing Corporation (SPC) was a Mountain View, California–based manufacturer of business software, originally well known for its "pfs:" series (and its subsequent "pfs:First" and "pfs:Professional" derivative series) of business software products, it was ultimately best known for its pioneering Harvard Graphics business and presentation graphics program.
Though SPC's earliest product was for the Apple II personal computer, most of its products were for use on text-based MS-DOS desktop computers, with non-graphical-user-interfaces (GUI), long before the graphical GUIs of Macintosh or Microsoft Windows existed. A salient benefit of Harvard Graphics, then, was that it brought sophisticated on-screen graphics capabilities to computers running the normally non-graphical, text-based DOS operating system. This factor played a role in the company's ultimate demise in 1996, as Windows was shipping on most desktop computers. Windows incorporated built-in graphical capabilities, so much of what Harvard Graphics provided was no longer needed. SPC scrambled to develop a Windows version of Harvard Graphics, but big competitors and their Windows-native business and presentation graphics tools had so penetrated the Windows market by then that it was just too little, too late. As MS-DOS began to disappear, so did SPC's revenues.
Early history
SPC was established in 1980 by three former Hewlett-Packard employees, Fred Gibbons, Janelle Bedke, and John Page, with an eye to producing packaged software for personal computers like the Apple II. It sold Personal Filing System (PFS), a database program for Apple II computers, and PFS:Report, a report generator for it. With the advent of the IBM PC the following year, the company quickly shifted focus to the burgeoning MS-DOS-based desktop computer market, which also included a fast-growing number of IBM PC compatible computers. The Apple II PFS product eventually led to the "pfs:" series of products for DOS.
By early 1984, InfoWorld estimated that SPC was the world's ninth-largest microcomputer-software company, with $14 million in 1983 sales.
The public source identifies “Software Publishing Corporation” as software company. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Software, Publishing and Corporation.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Software Publishing Corporation”, the useful work is to connect “software company” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7554224. VIAF identifies the subject as 150897156. The Library of Congress control number is n88623534. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1996, 1980, 1984 and 1983.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Software Publishing Corporation”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Software Publishing Corporation primary sources, Software Publishing Corporation archive and Software 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 “Software Publishing Corporation”?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Software Publishing Corporation” 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.