Since 1911 Pennsylvania has used a system of indeterminate sentencing of offenders under which the legislature sets the maximum penalties for each type of offense, and, within those limits, the sentencing judge chooses a minimum and a maximum term of confinement, or no confinement at all, on a case-by-case basis. In 1974 the legislature passed a new sentencing code, repealing all prior inconsistent laws on sentencing procedure. The new code lent structure to the trial Judge's sentencing discretion while leaving the fundamental features of the indeterminate sentencing scheme intact. In responding to the call for more substantive restraints on sentencing discretion, the 1978 Pennsylvania General Assembly created a Sentencing commission and directed it to develop presumptive sentencing ranges for every class of offense and offender. The adopted guidelines system, however, provides 'windows' for judicial discretion by allowing the judge to choose the minimum term of confinement from a recommended sentencing range, by not regulating the decision about whether to impose consecutive or concurrent sentences for multiple crimes, and by making the guidelines nonmandatory. The guidelines thus strike a balance between the standardization and individualization required in a rational sentencing scheme. 129 footnotes.