Lavington Early Computing in Britain

Ferranti Ltd. and Government Funding, 1948 - 1958
1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-3-030-15103-4
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 397 Seiten

Reihe: History of Computing

This unique book presents the story of the pioneering manufacturing company Ferranti Ltd. - producer of the first commercially-available computers - and of the nine end-user organisations who purchased these machines with government help in the period 1951 to 1957. The text presents personal reminiscences from many of the diverse engineers, programmers and marketing staff who contributed to this important episode in the emergence of modern computers, further illustrated by numerous historical photographs. Considerable technical details are also supplied in the appendices.Topics and features: provides the historical background to the Ferranti Mark I, including the contributions of von Neumann and Turing, and the prototype known as The Baby; describes the transfer of technologies from academia to industry and the establishment of Ferranti's computer production resources; reviews Ferranti's efforts to adapt their computers for sale to business and commercial markets, and to introduce competitive new products; covers the use of early Ferranti computers for defence applications in different government establishments in the UK, including GCHQ Cheltenham; discusses the installation and applications of Ferranti computers at universities in the UK, Canada, and Italy; presents the story of the purchase of a Ferranti Mark I* machine by the Amsterdam Laboratories of the Shell company; details the use of Ferranti Mark I* computers in the UK's aerospace industry and compares this with the American scene; relates the saga of Ferranti's journey from its initial success as the first and largest British computer manufacturer to its decline and eventual bankruptcy.This highly readable text/reference will greatly appeal to professionals interested in the practical development of early computers, as well as to specialists in computer history seeking technical material not readily available elsewhere. The educated general reader will also find much to enjoy in the photographs and personal anecdotes that provide an accessible insight into the early days of computing.

Simon Lavington is Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at the University of Essex, UK. His other publications include the Springer title Moving Targets: Elliott-Automation and the Dawn of the Computer Age in Britain, 1947 - 67.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lavington, Simon

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Preface and Introduction;6
1.1;A Reader’s Guide;8
2;Acknowledgements;10
3;Contents;11
4;1 The Small Seeds of Innovation;16
4.1;1.1 Post-war Britain;16
4.2;1.2 Old-Style Computing;17
4.3;1.3 Ferranti Ltd. in the UK’s Industrial Context;19
4.4;1.4 Ferranti: A Powerhouse of the Northwest;22
4.5;1.5 A Baby Is Born;24
4.6;1.6 The Amazingly Brief MOS Contract;29
4.7;1.7 The Wider Context;33
4.8;References;33
5;2 Academic/Industrial Collaboration: From Chorlton-on-Medlock to Moston, and Back;35
5.1;2.1 The University Waits: People and Places;35
5.2;2.2 The Moston Team Gets to Work;40
5.3;2.3 The New Computing Machine Laboratory;45
5.4;2.4 The Giant Arrives;46
5.5;2.5 The Laboratory Prepares for Serious Users;50
5.6;2.6 External Users Arrive;52
5.7;2.7 Applications in Science, Engineering and Commerce;55
5.8;2.8 Music, Games and Romance;57
5.9;2.9 Getting Serious;61
5.10;References;62
6;3 Canada Calling: Toronto Gets a Mark I;63
6.1;3.1 The Ministry of Supply Needs Some Computers;63
6.2;3.2 The Canadian Computing Scene;65
6.3;3.3 UTEC: Toronto’s Home-Grown Computer;68
6.4;3.4 Toronto Orders a Ferranti Computer;70
6.5;3.5 FERUT’s Sea Voyage from Manchester to Toronto;73
6.6;3.6 Continuing Links with Manchester;76
6.7;3.7 The Saint Lawrence Seaway Calculations;78
6.8;3.8 FERUT in Action;80
6.9;3.9 The End of FERUT;83
6.10;References;84
7;4 A Star Is Born: Ideas and Upgrades;86
7.1;4.1 The Tin Hut;86
7.2;4.2 John Bennett Calls for Change;91
7.3;4.3 Reactions from Chorlton-on-Medlock and Cheltenham;92
7.4;4.4 Christopher Strachey’s Rocket;94
7.5;4.5 Moston’s Star Twinkles;97
7.6;4.6 London’s Star: A Different Galaxy;100
7.7;References;106
8;5 Into the Market;107
8.1;5.1 The Players and the Stage;108
8.2;5.2 Indecisions and the Three MOS Installations;110
8.3;5.3 The Wider Market: NRDC’s Encouragement;111
8.4;5.4 The Dutch and the Italians Come Calling;115
8.5;5.5 The Competition;117
8.6;5.6 Ferranti’s Aerospace Sales Efforts;120
8.7;5.7 Commercial Data-Processing;124
8.8;5.8 The Drift Away from Moston;129
8.9;References;133
9;6 The AVRO Mark I* Installation at Chadderton;134
9.1;6.1 A. V. Roe at Chadderton, Manchester;134
9.2;6.2 Avro’s Computing Environment, Digital and Analogue;135
9.3;6.3 Personal Anecdotes of Computing at Chadderton;138
9.4;6.4 The Silent Slave;143
9.5;6.5 System Software and Applications Programs;145
9.6;6.6 The End of the Ferranti Mark I* at Avro;146
9.7;6.7 What came next at Chadderton and Woodford?;151
9.8;References;153
10;7 The Mark I* at Armstrong Siddeley, Ansty, Coventry;154
10.1;7.1 Reluctance at Armstrong Siddeley Motors;154
10.2;7.2 Enthusiasm Grows;155
10.3;7.3 Installation and Maintenance;157
10.4;7.4 The Programmers at Armstrong Siddeley;161
10.5;7.5 Integrating Computing Within the Company’s Activities;163
10.6;7.6 Applications;164
10.7;7.7 Acquiring a Second Mark I*;166
10.8;7.8 What Came Next?;168
10.9;References;170
11;8 The Ferranti Mark I* Installation in Amsterdam;171
11.1;8.1 KSLA, the Shell Company’s Laboratories in Amsterdam;171
11.2;8.2 Shell’s Search for a Digital Computer;172
11.3;8.3 The MIRACLE Arrives;175
11.4;8.4 MIRACLE Gets to Work and Expands;180
11.5;8.5 Lidy’s Story;185
11.6;8.6 The End of MIRACLE and What Followed;189
11.7;References;192
12;9 The Ferranti Mark I* Installation in Rome;193
12.1;9.1 The Italian Scenario;193
12.2;9.2 INAC and FINAC in Rome;194
12.3;9.3 FINAC at Work;200
12.4;9.4 The Wider Picture;206
12.5;9.5 How Did It All End?;207
12.6;References;209
13;10 GCHQ Cheltenham’s Mark I*;210
13.1;10.1 US and UK SIGINT at the Start of the Cold War;210
13.2;10.2 The Possibilities of General-Purpose Computers;212
13.3;10.3 Comparing ATLAS and ABNER with the Ferranti Mark I*;216
13.3.1;10.3.1 The ERA ATLAS Project;216
13.3.2;10.3.2 The ASA ABNER Project;217
13.3.3;10.3.3 Technical Comparisons of the Three Computers;219
13.4;10.4 GCHQ’s Links with UK Industry, Especially Ferranti Ltd;221
13.5;10.5 Delivery of CLEOPATRA, GCHQ’s Ferranti Mark I*;224
13.6;10.6 The Possible Applications of CLEOPATRA;227
13.7;10.7 Comparative Rates of Computation: Oedipus;230
13.8;10.8 What Followed CLEOPATRA at Cheltenham?;231
13.9;References;232
14;11 The Mark I* at the Armaments Research Development Establishment, Fort Halstead;234
14.1;11.1 Armaments Research, Pre-war and Post-war;234
14.2;11.2 Arranging the Purchase of a Computer for Fort Halstead;235
14.3;11.3 Installation of AMOS; Early Computing Activity;236
14.4;11.4 The Maturing Applications of AMOS;239
14.5;11.5 COSMOS, A Compatible Successor to AMOS;241
14.6;11.6 Into the 1980s;245
14.7;References;246
15;12 The Mark I* at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Aldermaston;247
15.1;12.1 Preparing for the UK’s Nuclear Deterrent;247
15.2;12.2 Aldermaston Acquires a Mark I*;248
15.3;12.3 The End of the Mark I* at Aldermaston;252
15.4;12.4 What Came Next? the Supercomputer Race;252
15.5;12.5 Software Activity at AWRE;254
15.6;References;257
16;13 What Came Next?;258
16.1;13.1 The New Life at Dover Street;258
16.2;13.2 The Computer Becomes User-Friendly;262
16.3;13.3 Goodbye Mark I, Goodbye FC;266
16.4;13.4 Ferranti and Supercomputers;270
16.5;13.5 From Ferranti via ICT and ICL to Oblivion;274
16.6;13.6 Any Star Dust Left Today?;276
16.7;References;279
17;14 Appendix A. Baby’s Conception: The Back Story;280
17.1;14.1 Computer History: The Wider Context;280
17.2;14.2 Max Newman’s Plans for a Computing Machine Laboratory;283
17.3;14.3 Willis Jackson and Max Newman’s BP Hardware;291
17.4;14.4 Alan Turing and the ACE Connection;294
17.5;14.5 Albert Uttley and the TRE Connection;296
17.6;14.6 Jack Good and the Princeton Connection;297
17.7;14.7 Conclusions on Conceptions;303
17.8;References;305
18;15 Appendix B. Mark I and Mark I* Software Details;306
18.1;15.1 Notations and the 5-Bit Teleprinter Code;306
18.2;15.2 Instruction Format and Programmer-Accessible Registers;308
18.3;15.3 Further Explanation of the Mark I Instruction Set;314
18.4;15.4 Storage Organisation: Primary and Secondary Memory;317
18.5;15.5 Basic System Software;319
18.6;15.6 Alan Turing’s Formal Mode: An Embryonic Operating System?;322
18.7;15.7 The Mark I Operator’s Console;323
18.8;15.8 Instruction Speeds for the Ferranti Mark I;325
18.9;15.9 Automatic Coding and Autocodes;325
18.10;15.10 Instruction-Set Differences Between the Ferranti Mark I and Mark I*;326
18.11;15.11 Number Representation and the Instruction Set for the Ferranti Mark I*;327
18.12;15.12 The Input Routine for the Ferranti Mark I*;332
18.13;15.13 Other Systems Software for the Ferranti Mark I*;333
18.14;References;337
19;16 Appendix C. Mark I and Mark I* Hardware Details;338
19.1;16.1 Physical Layout of Sub-units in the Ferranti Mark I;338
19.2;16.2 Register-Level Architecture;341
19.3;16.3 Circuit Technology;342
19.4;16.4 Storage Technology;343
19.5;16.5 Input/Output Equipment;347
19.6;16.6 Power Supplies;348
19.7;16.7 Reliability;349
19.8;16.8 Later Hardware Modifications;350
19.9;References;351
20;17 Appendix D. Naming Names;352
20.1;17.1 Ferranti Engineers Working on the Mark I and Mark I*;353
20.2;17.2 Ferranti Programmers;359
20.3;17.3 Comparison with Other UK Industrial Programming Groups;365
20.4;17.4 Relevant Manchester University Staff;368
20.4.1;17.4.1 The Early Days of Ferranti Collaboration;368
20.4.2;17.4.2 Later Collaborations with Ferranti Ltd;371
20.5;References;373
21;18 Appendix E. Performance, Cost and Delivery Details of Other Computers;374
21.1;18.1 Analysis of UK Computer Deliveries, 1955–1957;374
21.2;18.2 American and British High Performance Computers, 1954–1964;374
22;Picture Credits;379
23;References;383
24;Name Index;388
25;Subject Index;392