GE/PAC 4000

Last updated

The GE/PAC 4000 computer systems are an obsolete line of computers manufactured by General Electric in Phoenix, Arizona beginning in the 1960s. PAC is short for Process Automation Computer, indicating the intended use of the systems for process control.

Contents

All 4000 systems are 24-bit, using fixed-point binary data, with between 1020 and 65,536 words of magnetic core memory, and a magnetic drum memory with 8192 to 262,144 word capacity. The CPU logic is implemented with discrete transistors. The systems can be configured with a wide variety of analog and digital inputs and outputs. [1] [2]

The 4020 is the low-end model of the system. [3] Three models of the 4000, the 4040, 4050, and 4060 differ in storage speed— 5μsec, 3.4μsec, and 1.7 and 2.38μsec respectively— and by the implementation of a serial arithmetic unit on the 4040 vs. parallel on the other systems,

Software

The operating system for the 4000 series is called "G-E-MONITOR", a "skeleton real-time system program." "Several versions of MONTIOR are available, each tailored to the needs of a specific industry or process." Other software included Process Assembler Language (PAL), FORTRAN II, and Tabular Sequence Control (TASC). A set of memory load, dump, and change routines was provided. [1] :33–34

Applications

A product brochure highlighted potential uses in the utility industry, food processing, manufacturing, the metal and chemical industry, paper and cement manufacturing, and petroleum. [4]

Related Research Articles

Burroughs Corporation company

The Burroughs Corporation was a major American manufacturer of business equipment. The company was founded in 1886 as the American Arithmometer Company, and after the 1986 merger with Sperry UNIVAC was renamed Unisys. The company's history paralleled many of the major developments in computing. At its start, it produced mechanical adding machines, and later moved into programmable ledgers and then computers. It was one of the largest producers of mainframe computers in the world, also producing related equipment including typewriters and printers.

PDP-10 36 bit mainframe computer family built 1966–1983

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)'s PDP-10, later marketed as the DECsystem-10, is a mainframe computer family manufactured beginning in 1966 and discontinued in 1983. 1970s models and beyond were marketed under the DECsystem-10 name, especially as the TOPS-10 operating system became widely used.

Symmetric multiprocessing multiprocessor architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single, shared main memory, have full access to all input and output devices, and are controlled by a single OS that treats all processors equally

Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) involves a multiprocessor computer hardware and software architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single, shared main memory, have full access to all input and output devices, and are controlled by a single operating system instance that treats all processors equally, reserving none for special purposes. Most multiprocessor systems today use an SMP architecture. In the case of multi-core processors, the SMP architecture applies to the cores, treating them as separate processors.


The GE-600 series was a family of 36-bit mainframe computers originating in the 1960s, built by General Electric (GE). When GE left the mainframe business the line was sold to Honeywell, which built similar systems into the 1990s as the division moved to Groupe Bull and then NEC.

GE-200 series

The GE-200 series was a family of small mainframe computers of the 1960s, built by General Electric (GE). GE marketing called the line Compatibles/200 (GE-205/215/225/235). Oddly, the GE-210 of 1960 is not compatible with the rest of the 200 series.

IBM 650 Vacuum tube computer system

The IBM 650 Magnetic Drum Data-Processing Machine is an early digital computer produced by IBM Corporation in the mid-1950s. The first one was installed in late 1954 and it was the most-popular computer for the next 5 years. It was announced in 1953 and in 1956 enhanced as the IBM 650 RAMAC with the addition of up to four disk storage units. Almost 2,000 systems were produced, the last in 1962. Support for the 650 and its component units was withdrawn in 1969.

UNIVAC is a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company and successor organizations.

Scientific Data Systems (SDS), was an American computer company founded in September 1961 by Max Palevsky and Robert Beck, veterans of Packard Bell Corporation and Bendix, along with eleven other computer scientists. SDS was an early adopter of integrated circuits in computer design and the first to employ silicon transistors. The company concentrated on larger scientific workload focused machines and sold many machines to NASA during the Space Race. Most machines were both fast and relatively low priced. The company was sold to Xerox in 1969, but dwindling sales due to the oil crisis of 1973–74 caused Xerox to close the division in 1975 at a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. During the Xerox years the company was officially Xerox Data Systems (XDS), whose machines were the Xerox 500 series.

Memory segmentation is a computer (primary) memory management technique of division of a computer's primary memory into segments or sections. In a computer system using segmentation, a reference to a memory location includes a value that identifies a segment and an offset within that segment. Segments or sections are also used in object files of compiled programs when they are linked together into a program image and when the image is loaded into memory.

Real-Time Multiprogramming Operating System (RTMOS) was a 24-bit process control operating system developed in the 1960s by General Electric that supported both real-time computing and multiprogramming. Programming was done in assembly language or Process FORTRAN. The two languages could be used in the same program, allowing programmers to alternate between the two as desired.

KDF8 was an early British computer built by English Electric as a version of the RCA 501. By producing a software-compatible system, the intention was to reduce time and cost to develop software. However, the lengthy process of developing manufacturing capability meant that the system was soon outpaced by systems from other vendors. Only a few systems were sold during its 5 years of production. Due to the consolidation of the British computer industry, English Electric's computer division became one of the components of what would become ICL.

SDS 930 Commercial 24-bit computer using bipolar junction transistors sold in the 1960s

The SDS 930 is a commercial 24-bit computer using bipolar junction transistors sold by Scientific Data Systems. It was announced in December 1963, with first installations in June 1964.

The CDC 1700 was a 16-bit word minicomputer, manufactured by the Control Data Corporation with deliveries beginning in May 1966.

GEC 4000 series

The GEC 4000 was a series of 16/32-bit minicomputers produced by GEC Computers Ltd. of the UK during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

RCA Spectra 70 series of mainframe computers manufactured by RCA from 1965 onwards

The RCA Spectra 70 was a line of electronic data processing (EDP) equipment manufactured by the Radio Corporation of America’s computer division beginning in April 1965. The Spectra 70 line included several CPU models, various configurations of core memory, mass-storage devices, terminal equipment, and a variety of specialized interface equipment.

SDS Sigma series series of computers introduced by Scientific Data Systems in 1966

The SDS Sigma series is a series of third generation computers that were introduced by Scientific Data Systems in 1966. The first machines in the series are the 16-bit Sigma 2 and the 32-bit Sigma 7; the Sigma 7 was the first 32-bit computer released by SDS. At the time the only competition for the Sigma 7 was the IBM 360.

The GE-400 series were time-sharing Information Systems computers by General Electric introduced in 1964 and shipped until 1968.

Olivetti Elea

The Elea 9003 is one of a series of mainframe computers Olivetti developed starting in the late 1950s. The system, made entirely with transistors for high performance, was conceived, designed and developed by a small group of researchers led by Mario Tchou (1924–1961). It was the first solid-state computer designed and manufactured in Italy. The acronym ELEA stood for Elaboratore Elettronico Aritmetico and was chosen with reference to the ancient Greek colony of Elea, home of the Eleatic school of philosophy. About forty units were placed with customers. In August 1964, only a few years after releasing the 9003, Olivetti's mainframe business was sold to GE.

The DATANET-30 was a computer manufactured by General Electric designed in 1961-1963 to be used as a communications computer. It was later used as a front-end processor for data communications. It became the first front end communications computer. The names on the patent were Don Birmingham, Bob McKenzie, Bud Pine, and Bill Hill.

The Xerox 500 series was a line of computers from Xerox Data Systems (XDS) introduced in the early 1970s as backward-compatible upgrades for the Sigma series machines.

References

  1. 1 2 General Electric Process Computer Business Section (1966). GE/PAC 4000 Systems Manual (PDF). Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  2. General Electric Process Computer Business Section (1965). GE/PAC 4000 Programming Manual (PDF). Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  3. General Electric. "Industry's most advanced compact computer for process control, GE/PAC 4020". Computer History Museum. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  4. General Electric (Oct 1963). GE/PAC 4000 Small Process Computer (PDF). Retrieved June 8, 2020.