Report R-196. Programming for Whirlwind I. June 11, 1951

Saxenian, Hrand

Published by MIT, Cambridge, 1951

About this Item

Saxenian, Hrand (1924-2014). Report R-196. Programming for Whirlwind. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. Mimeographed document. [1], 61, ix ff. 8 plates. Cambridge: Electronic Computer Division, Servomechanisms Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, June 11, 1951. 280 x 218 mm. Original soft-cover printed binder, labeled "Copy 30" in manuscript; uneven fading, top edges a bit frayed, small chip in lower spine. Very good. Stamp of Walter S. Attridge, Jr. on the front cover. First Printing of the programming manual for the Whirlwind I, MIT s first digital computer. Rare OCLC lists only two copies (MIT and Minuteman Library Network), and we catalogued one other in Origins of Cyberspace. The Whirlwind I, developed by Jay Forrester and his team at MIT between 1944 and 1953, was the fastest machine of its day, and the first machine capable of real-time computations Designed with a revolutionary bit-parallel architecture the ancestor of our modern computer architecture the Whirlwind was responsible for many advances in computer technology: Magnetic core random-access memory (introduced in 1953), self-checking procedures, sophisticated visual display facilities, feedback control loops, and techniques for sending digital data over telephone lines. Most importantly, the Whirlwind I was the first to use a three-dimensional random-access magnetic core memory (introduced in 1953), which represented "a fundamental turning point in the development of computer architectures" (Williams, History of Computing Technology, p. 386). Origins of Cyberspace 612. . Seller Inventory # 44862

Bibliographic Details

Title: Report R-196. Programming for Whirlwind I. ...

Publisher: MIT, Cambridge

Publication Date: 1951

Edition: 1st Edition