ENIAC - Electronic Numeric Integrator And Calculator, History Phase 1, Punch Cards, Core Memories On Operating System
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Dawn of time
ENIAC(Electronic Numeric Integrator And
Calculator ) : (1945—1955)
• Problem: accurately compute the trajectory for shells• Speed: 0.05 MIPS (50,000 instructions/sec)
• “The machine designed by Drs. Eckert and Mauchly was a
monstrosity. When it was finished, the ENIAC filled an entire room,
weighed thirty tons, and consumed two hundred kilowatts of power.”
History Phase 1 (1948—1970)
Hardware Expensive, Humans Cheap
• When computers cost millions of $’s, optimize for
more efficient use of the hardware!
– Lack of interaction between user and computer
• User at console: one user at a time
• Batch monitor: load program, run, print
• Optimize to better use hardware
– When user thinking at console, computer idle => BAD!
– Feed computer batches and make users wait
• No protection: what if batch program has bug?
Punch Cards (1940s & 60s)
• Type program on punch cards (e.g., one card one line of
code)
• Submit box with punch cards (make sure cards are not
mixed!)
• Get results after a few hours or days
Core Memories (1950s & 60s)
The first magnetic core
memory, from the IBM 405
Alphabetical Accounting
Machine.
• Core Memory stored data as magnetization in iron rings
– Iron “cores” woven into a 2-dimensional mesh of wires
– Origin of the term “Dump Core”