Summary
The GE-400 series were time-sharing Information Systems computers by General Electric introduced in 1964 and shipped until 1968.
| Designer | General Electric |
|---|---|
| Bits | 24-bit |
| Introduced | 1964 |
| Design | CISC |
| Type | Register-Memory Memory-Memory |
| Encoding | Fixed |
| Branching | Condition indicators Compare and branch |
| Registers | |
| Accumulator 6 index registers (in memory) | |
| General-purpose | none |
| Floating point | none |
System description edit
The GE-400 series (Compatibles/400) came in models: 415, 425, 435 (1964),[1] 455 and 465.[2] GE-400 systems had a word length of 24 bits which could contain binary data, four six-bit BCD characters, or four signed decimal digits. GE-400 systems could have up to 32,768 words (132K characters) of magnetic-core memory with a cycle time of 2.7 microseconds (435) or 5.1 microseconds (425). The systems supported up to eight channels for input/output.
The GE 412 (1962)[3] was an incompatible computer system with a 20-bit word length intended for process control applications.[4]
Unique features edit
GE-400 systems featured a "variable length, relocatable accumulator"[5] which could be set programmatically to a length of one to four words and relocated to overlay any four adjacent locations in memory (modulo four). "The accumulator can be moved to the data to be processed, rather than moving the data."
Successor systems edit
The 400 series was succeeded by the incompatible 36-bit GE-600 series.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Williams, R. H. (2014-05-23). British Commercial Computer Digest: Pergamon Computer Data Series. Elsevier. pp. 3/15–20. ISBN 9781483154527.
- ^ "Compatibles/400 | 102686873 | Computer History Museum". www.computerhistory.org. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
- ^ The European Computer Users Handbook. Computer Consultants. 1968. p. 15.
- ^ General Electric Company. GE 412 Programming Manual (PDF).
- ^ General Electric Company (1963). GE 425/435 Reference Manual (PDF). pp. 1–12: 1–13.
External links edit
- GE-400 Time-sharing information systems: Bring a powerful computer to the fingertips of all your people | 102646147 | Computer History Museum
- General Electric
- Le Musée Bull Belgique - Luxembourg: GE 400 (in French)