Abstract :
The principal hardware features of EDSAC 2, which was developed in the Cambridge University Mathematical Laboratory, are described. EDSAC 2, which came into operation early in 1958, was the first computer to have a microprogrammed control unit and established the viability of microprogramming as a basis for computer design. At the mechanical level of organization, EDSAC 2 was packaged in a bit-sliced manner, with interchangeable plug-in units. This method of packaging was well matched to the vacuum tube technology of the period, and its expected advantages, arising from the replication of units, were fully realized.<>
Keywords :
computer architecture; history; microcomputers; microprogramming; Cambridge University Mathematical Laboratory; EDSAC 2; bit-sliced; computer design; hardware features; microprogrammed control unit; vacuum tube technology; Adders; Arithmetic; Circuits; Design engineering; Electron tubes; Hardware; Laboratories; Microprogramming; Packaging; Registers;
