Friday 11 August 2017

Vhdl Moving Average Example


Os bons progressos continuam a ser feitos, mas, como seria de esperar, o comissionamento está mostrando uma série de problemas de integração de sistemas que precisam ser abordados. Continua a preocupar-se com a capacidade do sistema de pulso clockdigit para fornecer pulsos grandes e nítidos suficientes para todos os sub-sistemas que dependem deles. Houve mais ajustes no gerador de pulso do relógio e espera-se que isso forneça impulsos adequados. Não está claro a partir da documentação sobrevivo o quanto a remodelação do relógio foi feita localmente, dependendo do gerador de pulso de pulso e dos distribuidores para enviar pulsos fortes de ldquoperfectrdquo. Após os problemas detectados no uso das unidades de regeneração de armazenamento do chassi 01, Les Ferguy, Peter Haworth e Don Kesterton introduziram um plano de teste revisado. Todas as 42 unidades estão sendo verificadas novamente. Atualmente, as 16 unidades na primeira fila são satisfatórias. Outros quatro que também estão trabalhando estão no endereçamento da loja, controle de seqüência e sub-sistemas aritméticos. James Barr e Tom Toth continuam a ordenar a decodificação de pedidos. O sistema de decodificação de pedidos é atualmente capaz de ler um pedido de um conjunto de interruptores de teste em série no tanque de ordem e, em seguida, gerando entradas de controle para o controle principal para aproximadamente metade do código de ordem do machinersquos. John Pratt demonstrou o contador que trabalha no sistema de acesso à rede de lojas, incluindo a linha de atraso contador 8212, circuitos similares são usados ​​nos subsistemas de controle e transferência de seqüência, por isso temos confiança, isso funcionará quando necessário. Tom Toth está desenvolvendo um simulador de linha de atraso programável para permitir que uma linha de atraso seja configurada com conteúdo conhecido para facilitar o teste da leitura da linha de atraso. Nigel Benneacutee continua com a construção e comissionamento do sistema aritmético, antecipando a entrega ao TNMoC quando a decodificação de pedidos e o controle principal estão suficientemente comissionados. Chris Burton (à direita) entregou uma unidade de exibição de trabalho para o TNMoC. Isso agora está sendo usado para exibir formas de onda do contador do sistema de coincidência. John Sanderson está projetando os circuitos eletrônicos para a unidade de carregamento de instruções iniciais e os switches engineeringrsquo. Martin Evans tem um design provisório dos circuitos para o sistema IO (leitor de fita, teleimpressor) baseado no projeto lógico de Bill Purvisrsquo. As próximas etapas antecipadas são: Descodificação de pedidos completa Comando básico da máquina de controle Mova o sistema aritmético de Cambridge para TNMoC Demonstreja a execução da ordem ldquoLoad Multiplierrdquo (H) para verificar os caminhos de dados do decodificador de ordem, do controle principal e do sistema sub-sistema aritmético. Demonstrar leitura e executar ordens da loja . O objetivo para completar esta lista é o final da primavera, no início do verão. Ferranti Argus (Blodhound) mdash Peter Harry Eu estendo um convite para todos os membros da CCS para visitar nosso Argus 700 em 24 de setembro de 2016. Esta data é um pouco no futuro, mas os meses de inverno são excluídos, já que o simulador de Bloodhound, com seu Argus 700, é Localizado em um cabide não aquecido no aeródromo da RAF Cosford. RAF Cosford está localizado fora da M54 entre Telford e Wolverhampton. A visita incluiu demonstrações do simulador de Bloodhound, uma breve conversa sobre os desafios enfrentados na restauração do Argus 700 e um segundo Argus 700 autônomo, no qual uma série de utilitários de software podem ser demonstrados. Para uma visão geral dos trabalhos completos de restauração realizados pelo Bloodhound Group, veja: bmpg. org. uk. Harwell DekatronWITCH mdash Delwyn Holroyd É apenas mais de três anos desde o evento de reinicialização em novembro de 2012, e a máquina já foi usada quase que diariamente desde então. Nos primeiros dias, nós não sabíamos o quão confiável seria. A Wersquore agora está em melhor posição para fazer uma previsão de longo prazo sobre os futuros prováveis ​​requisitos de manutenção. O Dekatron é um dispositivo extremamente confiável. Quando o HDC foi construído, era uma nova tecnologia com longevidade desconhecida. Eu acho que agora podemos ter certeza de que o Dekatrons superará a maior parte do resto da eletrônica e, de fato, a equipe de restauração atual. A única questão significativa é a lsquostickinessrsquo provocada pelo brilho deixado no mesmo cátodo por longos períodos, mas isso pode ser curado Girando por algumas horas. Continuamos girando periodicamente todas as lojas para manter o problema sob controle. O problema mais freqüente é, de longe, a falha dos resistores de ânodo da loja de bobina de fio de 1M. Agora parece inevitável que estes continuem a expirar a uma taxa baixa. Felizmente, eles são simples de substituir e encapsulamos as resistências modernas em termos de calor para preservar o aspecto e o caráter da eletrônica. Outros componentes passivos falham muito raramente. A máquina estava fora de ação por alguns dias em dezembro devido a um capacitor falhado no gerador de pulso, mas essa foi a primeira falha desse tipo desde a reinicialização. As válvulas também são confiáveis ​​para a maior parte. As únicas substituições necessárias foram na fonte de alimentação, onde algumas das válvulas estão sendo operadas no limite de suas especificações. Todas as válvulas utilizadas na máquina ainda estão disponíveis novas-antigas, e temos grandes estoques da maioria dos tipos. Os tubos de gatilho de alta velocidade serão o maior problema no futuro. Não só eles têm uma vida limitada, mas descobrimos que a maioria das peças novas e novas não estão funcionando devido a vazamentos da mistura de gás. Não existe uma parte equivalente exata que possa ser usada. Possíveis opções futuras incluem a análise de re-fabricação ou re-gassing, substituição por um tipo diferente de tubo de gatilho (requerendo modificações de circuito) ou uma substituição de estado sólido. O lado do relé da máquina não causa muitos problemas, uma vez que os relés de correios utilizados foram projetados por muitas décadas de operação no ambiente muito mais difícil de uma central telefônica. O maior problema no futuro será encontrar pessoas que sabem como ajustá-las corretamente (um trabalho que é mais difícil do que parece). Com o nível atual de uso (essencialmente apenas o carregamento do programa), é improvável que os leitores de fita experimentem desgaste significativo. As partes mecânicas lsquooilyrsquo da máquina (impressora e reperforador) não são usadas de forma regular, mas provavelmente se beneficiarão de um uso mais freqüente para evitar que as coisas se encolhem. Elliott 803903 mdash Terry Froggatt 903 soco de fita de papel de alta velocidade. Na ressurreição 72. Eu relatei que a Irsquod corrigiu a faixa menos significante do soco 903, substituindo um resistor 25937 soprado por baixo do soco, só então para descobrir que a faixa mais significativa que funcionava anteriormente estava desativada (embora o seu resistor estava OK). Então, em dezembro, levei meus próprios cartões PTS para o TNMoC para verificar que não era, por exemplo, um transistor de unidade recém-explodido. Não foi. Então eu tirei a placa traseira, que cobre os 10 resistores na parte de trás das fontes de alimentação PTS, e coloque meu voltímetro em cada resistor, por sua vez, com um programa gerando saída no soco. Todos os 9 resistores de perfuração mostraram uma tensão que flutuou à medida que os personagens foram perfurados, o que significa que deve haver fluxo de corrente através dos 9 circuitos solenóides. Então, Irsquom não sabe por que não podia sentir nada na armadura mais significativa. Um curto deste circuito para aterrar ou para outro circuito, estas molas solenoidrsquos precisam ser ajustadas, os resistores sob o soco devem ser removidos porque duplicam aqueles dentro do 903. O estranho é que esta faixa estava funcionando antes, Com os resistentes espúrios e as configurações atuais da mola. Então eu visitei TNMoC novamente em fevereiro, e tentei diminuir o resistor, em seguida, ajustando as molas, tudo em vão. Mas, depois de algum tempo repetindo várias verificações, a trilha defeituosa voltou à vida, sem motivo óbvio. A explicação mais provável seria um curto-circuito intermitente no interior do plugue de sinal circular na parte de trás do soco, o que Irsquod precisava desconectar o amplificador reconectado repetidamente. Na verdade, muitos buracos agora estavam sendo perfurados na faixa mais significativa, até eu remover o fio de curto-circuito do resistor. Isso sugere que as molas de solenóide foram ajustadas para compensar os resistores espúrios. No que diz respeito ao OCR da minha listagem de programas de vôo 920M de 300 páginas, 180 páginas foram digitalizadas como meias páginas e reunidas, a Irsquove corrigiu os erros de OCR em 150 dessas páginas até o ponto em que eu posso montá-las com o SIR e Irsquove, Verificou os comentários em 130 destes. Em Ressurreição 71. Pedi ajuda para identificar uma fita marcada com ldquoSIR SYS VIArdquo. Graças ao membro da CCS, Richard Burwood, o periférico usado por este programa foi identificado como o mais provável de ser um display Elliott Series 20, embora sua caneta leve não seja usada. Our Computer Heritage mdash Simon Lavington amp Rod Brown Muitos colegas da CCS, e especialmente aqueles que contribuem para o projeto Our Computer Heritage, acumularam documentos antigos, como manuais técnicos. Esses documentos agora estão sendo montados, catalogados e os próprios artefatos enviados para arquivos permanentes para manutenção segura. Já concluímos o processo de catalogação. Os resultados podem ser acessados ​​aqui: nossa página inicial do catálogo do nosso computador. Página principal do catálogo V2.pdf A maior parte dessa coleção de arquivamento relaciona-se com computadores de programas armazenados projetados por britânicos que vieram ao mercado no período de 1951 a 1965. Por isso, é compatível com a seção Mainframes do OCH websitersquos. No total, existem 1.821 itens no arquivo, contidos em 124 arquivos de caixa. Cada item pode ser uma peça única (letra, foto, artigo de jornal, etc.) ou uma peça maior (manual técnico, relatório anual da empresa, listagem de programas, bobina de fita magnética, etc.) ou um grupo coerente de artefatos (para Exemplo, uma pasta de correspondência, um álbum de fotografias). A entrada de catálogo on-line OCH para cada item tem quatro campos: a contagem total de palavras por entrada varia consideravelmente, dependendo do conhecimento do catalogador e do significado histórico percebido do item. Em princípio, há espaço para que os especialistas adicionem ao campo de comentários no futuro, embora seja necessário algum tipo de moderação editorial. A este respeito, a informação do catálogo não é diferente do conteúdo existente da OCH em web e dos comentários dos usuários finais são bem-vindos. No contexto do conteúdo on-line da OCH, a cobertura dos 1.821 itens no catálogo foi considerada desigual. Por exemplo, mais de metade dos 1.821 itens são específicos para computadores Elliott e suas histórias de empresas associadas. Por outro lado, o arquivo contém material útil em computadores como o MV 950 e o AEI 1010 que ainda não foram escritos nas páginas OCH Mainframes. Falando pessoalmente, completar o catálogo on-line será o meu OCH swansong. Dentro de alguns meses, vou demitir-se de liderar o projeto CCSrsquos Our Computer Heritage. Irsquove cuidou disso desde 2003 e agora sente que é um tempo para um novo rosto. A ênfase do projeto foi descrever, de forma fácil de usar, os computadores cedo, comercialmente disponíveis e de uso britânico. Este trabalho continuará, com o gerenciamento da web OCH habilmente realizado por Rod Brown. David Bew continuará a cuidar da seção OCH Minicomputadores. Mas para mim, em breve será ldquoSo longo, e obrigado por todos os fishrdquo. Software mdash David Holdsworth Leo III mdash Intercode e Master Routine Mike Tyzakrsquos, caça às fitas magnéticas Leo III, até agora encontrou 11 fitas, 8 na Escócia, 2 na Inglaterra e 1 na Austrália. Uma outra fita Leo pode ser para Leo III ou para uma máquina anterior. As fitas escocesas estão todas no Museu Nacional da Escócia, onde existe uma coleção de hardware Leo III. Eu acho que eu deveria organizar para visitá-los para discutir a perspectiva de usar alguns de seus equipamentos para ler essas fitas. KDF9 mdash Kidsgrove Algol Compiler (a. k.a. Kalgol) Estamos desapontados por descobrir que não temos todo o ambiente de software no qual o compilador operou, e parece que algumas das seções sobrepostas (conhecidas como ldquobricksrdquo) estão faltando. Também foi uma decepção que o programa de OCR Terry Froggattrsquos para a saída do lineprinter não fosse suficientemente preciso para eliminar a cópia de digitação, mas foi suficientemente bem sucedido para combinar com uma cópia copiada, eliminando a metade do trabalho pesado. Muito obrigado a Terry por isso. Nós processamos o resultado OCR coletando uma lista de misreads comuns e substituindo automaticamente o código correto. Em seguida, produzimos uma cópia por meio de prova, lendo isso e colocando-a através do nosso montador Usercode. David Huxtable (um dos autores de Kalgolrsquos) tem sido inestimável, tanto com lembranças quanto com o processamento do código OCR. Os voluntários também são páginas de cópia de digitação que são comparadas com a versão de leitura de prova. Esta atividade está apenas começando. Enquanto isso, David Huxtable produziu versões de leitura de prova de todo o lote. O código fonte contém alguns recursos do Usercode que não aparecem no manual 8212 Z-stores e H-stores. Nós pensamos que nós lidamos com isso corretamente (adequadamente), mas o tempo dirá. Sempre foi minha política desenvolver montagem e execução no início, provocar problemas como as lojas Z e H e dar confiança de que, em última análise, ele funcionará. O compilador consiste em uma série de passes conhecidos como tijolos que estão sobrepostos acima de um pedaço de código residente que contém rotinas para manipular as fitas magnéticas sobre um dos quais o código fonte Algol foi encontrado. As outras fitas foram usadas como espaço de trabalho, e o programa binário resultante foi emitido para fita. Embora tenhamos o código deste código de residente permanente (KAB00), não temos a sobreposição que inicializa sua operação (KAB80) Existem 147 comentários em 1257 linhas de código, e no KDF9 Usercode você normalmente possui 3 ou 4 instruções em um linha. A API para o KAB00 é em termos de vários canais e estamos experimentando a engenharia reversa desta API, tentando executar o tijolo 01 (KAB01) e produzir implementações mínimas de chamadas de API à medida que surgem. Temos o tijolo 01 a aceitar: mas um programa mais ambicioso contendo uma declaração for foi erroneamente rejeitado sugerindo que nosso exercício de cópia de digitação provavelmente encontrará erros tipográficos. Talvez o maior desapontamento seja a omissão de um tijolo do conjunto, o tijolo 20 que faz a classificação de procedimentos e calcula a matriz de chamadas. Pode ser possível implementar um substituto. Caso contrário, só poderemos executar as duas primeiras passagens. O compilador Usercode (brick 84, KAB84) também está faltando, e a Kalgol compila no Usercode. Se chegarmos tão longe, podemos usar nossa própria montadora Usercode 8212 com alguma perda de autenticidade, mas ainda é uma perspectiva atraente. Nossa expectativa atual é que será possível implementar o ldquochannelsrdquo da API KAB00 por meio de arquivos simples, em vez de tentar fazer as cassetes magnéticas simuladas do KAB00 residente oficial. Ao invés de tentar substituir o KAB80 perdido, preferimos colocar o esforço no tijolo faltante 20 (KAB20) que faz parte do processo de compilação da Algol. Ter David Huxtable a bordo é um imenso bem e pode tornar isso possível. Nosso foco é o compilador de otimização para o Algol 60, que abriu novo terreno, em vez do sistema de gerenciamento de arquivos baseado em fita magnética (POST) no qual o compilador operava. Kdf9.settle. dtdns. netKDF9kalgolDavidHoreadme. htm é um arquivo readme que mostra algumas evidências de sucesso (parcial). O Manual de Utilizador do KDF9 Algol e o Manual da Biblioteca de Rotina do Serviço KDF9 foram ambos muito úteis. Infelizmente, só conhecemos uma cópia de cada uma e, portanto, relutantes em confiá-las a um scanner de folhas. Seria bom saber de cópias duplicadas que poderiam ser usadas para produzir fotocópias de qualquer vítima do scanner. Nota: O Manual de Utilizador KDF9 Algol descreve os compiladores e é muito diferente do Manual de Programação Algol KDF9 que várias pessoas possuem no formato A5 cheapie. A página de título dos manuais A4 contém a nota de rodapé ldquoprice: três guineasrdquo. ICL 2966 mdash Delwyn Holroyd Completamos outra operação de recuperação de dados de fita, desta vez composta por software PDP-11 escrito nos anos 70. Estamos fazendo um bom progresso com a unidade EDS200 de demonstração. Mais tentativas foram tentadas na fonte de energia 7181, intermitentemente problemática, mas, mais uma vez, ele começou a funcionar antes que o problema pudesse ser localizado. Algumas juntas de solda na área provável foram re-fluidas, mas isso não a curou. Ainda estamos à procura de mais voluntários para expandir a equipe e permitir a operação regular aos domingos. ICT 1900 mdash Delwyn Holroyd, Brian Spoor amp Bill Gallagher Este inverno, uma das principais tarefas planejadas é catalogar o software e a documentação que temos. Ao contrário de alguns dos outros projetos, temos uma multiplicidade de riquezas que corremos o risco de perder o caminho do que temos. Encontramos cópias das bibliotecas Multiplexor Housekeeping (v.1 e v.2), mas não as macro packs associadas. Brian conseguiu recriar um pacote de macro de trabalho para v.1 e um pacote de macro ligeiramente suspeito para v.2. Se alguém tiver uma listagem antiga ou mais informações, seria apreciado. Os programas de teste foram escritos para usar essas duas bibliotecas. Na mesma fita que continha a biblioteca Multiplexor Housekeeping (v.1), também encontramos uma biblioteca Interrogating Typewriter Housekeeping, colocada para uma investigação mais aprofundada. Estamos tentando obter o máximo possível desse software antigo com os novos programas de demonstração. Também naquela fita é um conjunto de programas de utilidade para o Disco de Dados ICT 1956 (DD ou DS - dispositivo tipo 8). Esta unidade de disco fixo precoce tinha uma capacidade de armazenamento de 31,5 milhões de caracteres, com um máximo de 126 milhões de caracteres (4 unidades no controlador). Em termos de programação, era totalmente diferente de outros tipos de disco de TIC (EDS, FDS em BDAS ou UDAS). Acreditamos que seja feito por produtos de dados e teve 60 palavras (24 bits) por setor, com registros (e baldes lógicos) aparentemente abrangendo múltiplos setores. Se alguém tiver mais informações, gostaríamos de saber mais do que descobrimos ao consultar o código de programa de programas de utilidade. Bill fez avanços na frente E4BM. O E4BM binário para um 1905 em Putney Bridge House que temos foi projetado de forma reversa para fonte e pode ser gerado para produzir um binário idêntico. Uma versão funcional também pode ser gerada com certos periféricos de características não incluídos, embora seja necessário mais trabalho. Ele também progrediu a tentativa de escrever um pacote de bateria de 196x (DR) com base no código E6RM, isso também foi estendido para uma versão de esqueleto para o disco de dados de 1956 para que possamos tentar e executar os programas de utilidade encontrados. Este trabalho também nos permitirá ter configurações diferentes em execução no emulador de 1905. Uma versão empacotada do emulador 1904S (teste beta) foi criada e está disponível mediante solicitação. Ainda há um pouco de lsquotidyingrsquo trabalho para ser concluído antes que uma versão de problema seja possível. A mais recente adição ao emulador é um terminal de entrada de trabalho remota 7020, conectando-se com sucesso a um terminal emulado uniplexor7010 ou multiplexor channel7010 e trabalhando com GEORGE 2 (via XKVB) e GEORGE 3 para permitir instalações de entrada de tarefas remotas completas. A entrada do console é, como está se tornando quase normal, provando ser estranho. A emulação do PF56 (processador de comunicações do controlador de disco 28147903903) está funcionando naquele DCP original pode ser carregado e executado até certo ponto. Mais trabalhos são necessários nos módulos de 1900, 7930 (scanner) e disco, são necessárias mais informações. O leitor de entrada de mesa e de fita de papel está sendo particularmente difícil de implementar. Nada mais foi feito com o Maximop desde a criação de um patch que permitiu que ele funcionasse no 2966 no MPOE no ano passado. Mais trabalhos em recriar a fonte e uma fita de problema lsquoproperrsquo está planejada quando pode ser inserida. Alguns trabalhos foram realizados para trazer o GEORGE 2DOF1T de volta à vida. Esta foi uma versão personalizada para a Tarmac quando eles substituíram sua 1903A com um par de 2950 na sede em Wolverhampton, mais tarde atualizado para um 2966 que atualmente está no TNMoC. Brian fazia parte da equipe do projeto. O projeto foi abandonado (custo superado) assim como estava chegando à conclusão, mas parece que havia um pouco mais de trabalho depois que Brian mudou-se da equipe. Se alguém tiver alguma informação sobre como a Tarmac realmente a usou, informe-nos. Seria bom ter este funcionando como um sistema alternativo que poderia ser executado no 2966. IBM Group mdash Peter Short Um de nossos curadores conseguiu encontrar uma máquina de escrever eletromática nos EUA e está a caminho. A Electromatic foi adquirida pela IBM em 1933, formando o início do negócio da máquina de escrever da empresa. Nós também estamos esperando obter um terminal de exibição em cores 3179 em breve. Esta foi a substituição do terminal de cores 3279 Hursley-desenvolvido. O produto global foi projetado em Fujisawa, embora o desenvolvimento do monitor tenha sido subcontratado em Hursley. Nós também continuamos recebendo uma série de outras doações, incluindo um modelo PS2 modelo 55, impressora Lexmark, monitores de tela plana, adaptadores de PC e acessórios, manuais de referência técnica para PC e PS2 e muito mais. Agora que nosso mandato no London Science Museum está no fim, as reuniões de Londres são realizadas no BCS em Southampton Street. O que nós não conseguimos apreciar até que a Ressurreição 72 tenha ido às impressoras é que o BCS executa um sistema de reservas para reuniões na sede de Londres e tem que manter um registro de todos os que estão nas instalações. Recomendamos fortemente a qualquer um que queira participar de nossas reuniões de Londres para reservar com antecedência. Isso pode ser realizado on-line, indo para computerconservationsociety. orglecture. htm e seguindo o ldquobook linkrdquo (como acima) para a reunião que você deseja participar. No entanto, não é essencial reservar com antecedência. Você pode simplesmente aparecer e reservar no dia. Mas o processo provavelmente será moderadamente demorado e se 30 pessoas tentarem se registrar de uma só vez. Por favor, note que, no caso de o evento ser sobrecarregado, a prioridade será dada aos bookers iniciais. Nós transferimos nosso conjunto de emuladores de cs. man. ac. ukCCSArchive para computerconservationsociety. orgsoftwaresoftware-index. htm e fizemos algumas adições. O software associado também pode ser encontrado aqui. Qualquer pessoa que tenha material similar a contribuir é convidada a entrar em contato com dikleatherdale. net. A localização antiga permanece nas próximas semanas, mas será eliminada em breve. Lamentamos informar a passagem de Peter Naur, agora talvez melhor lembrado por sua co-invenção do formato Backus-Naur para descrever a sintaxe de uma linguagem de programação. David Hartley escreve 8212 ldquo. As maquinas que cercaram Algol 68 o deixaram muito chateado. Na Conferência A68, em 1968, ele se levantou e fez um discurso emocionante sobre a iniqüidade daqueles que acompanharam Ard van Wijngaarden culpando-os por politicar em um comitê internacional e ele renunciou lá e depois. Depois disso, o Comitê A68 dividiu-se e o design da linguagem de programação posteriormente não foi o mesmo. Ele era um cara honesto, bem como nicerdquo Nossos bons amigos no Museu Nacional de Computação (TNMoC) recentemente anunciaram várias novas nomeações. Os leitores sem dúvida, aplaudem a nomeação de Andrew Herbert e Martin Campbell-Kelly para o Conselho de Administração, ambos dos quais são distinguidos e respeitados membros líderes da CCS. Desejamos-lhes bem. O membro da CCS, Herbert Bruderer, no final da ETH (Instituto Federal Suíço de Tecnologia) em Zrich, publicou recentemente um novo histórico de computação inicial. Meilensteine ​​der Rechentechnik (Milestones em analógico e computação digital) que parece ser de interesse para falantes alemães. Uma sinopse útil pode ser encontrada em degruyterviewproduct432414. Dr. Bruderer é um prolífico autor da história da computação. Entre suas obras anteriores, Konrad Zuse und Die Schweiz (Konrad Zuse e Suíça) é um questionário sobre as origens do computador digital. O membro do CCS, Dr. Ian Cullimore, inventor de algumas das primeiras PCs de bolso na década de 1980, o Atari Portfolio e o Poqet PC, contactaram-nos com um apelo à ajuda. Ele está tentando rastrear um Telpon PTC-1194, em relação a 1999 para sua pesquisa. Lamentávelmente moderno, como ele diz, não sem justificação. Se você pode ajudar, envie um e-mail para ele. North West Group detalhes de contato Presidente Tom Hinchliffe: Tel: 01663 765040. Email: Secretário Gordon Adshead Tel: 01625 549770. Email: O bebê bebê ou uma máquina experimental de escala extremamente pequena 8212 Parte 2 Dave Wade A primeira parte deste artigo tratou da Motivação para a construção de um ldquoBaby Babyrdquo e nos apresentou a matrizes de portas programáveis ​​de campo (FPGAs) e o processo de configurá-las usando um idioma (VHDL) semelhante a uma linguagem de programação. Aqui concluimos a história. Entidade e Arquiteturas VHDL O design a ser implementado é definido em termos de entidades e arquiteturas. A entidade define a interface para o sistema, e a arquitetura descreve a lógica a ser implementada. Um design deve conter pelo menos um par de arquitetura de entidade, mas entidades e arquitetura podem ser aninhadas e as sub-entidades podem ser usadas várias vezes dentro de um projeto de maneira similar às sub-rotinas. Ao contrário de uma sub-rotina, cada instância de um par de entidades de arquitetura gerará uma implementação de lógica separada no chip, de modo que, de certa forma, é mais parecida com uma macro. A entidade poderia ser a lógica necessária para desativar um botão ou botão. Pode ser definido uma vez e reutilizado várias vezes no projeto. O VHDL inclui uma série de tipos que podem ser usados ​​para definir sinais no chip. É usual usar o tipo STDLOGIC que representa um único sinal lógico. Pode, naturalmente, ter os valores 0 e 1, mas existem valores adicionais que, por exemplo, podem ser usados ​​durante o teste para representar alta impedância em um sistema tri-state ou outros estados indefinidos. Por exemplo, o estado do interruptor stoprun pode ser representado assim: 8212 Observe que o ldquordquo indica o fim da instrução e o ldquo-rdquo apresenta um comentário. Onde vários sinais são necessários, podem-se usar vetores de STDLOGIC que são definidos como STDLOGIC ARRAY. Por exemplo, a indicação: 8212 define cinco linhas que são usadas na simulação do bebê para especificar um endereço na memória. Tipos de usuários adicionais podem ser definidos, por exemplo, como mencionado acima, o bebê divide cada instrução em quatro fases distintas chamadas batidas. A declaração abaixo cria um tipo que pode representar as quatro fases e, em seguida, define um sinal atual que pode representar o estado atual da máquina: 8212 Como programadores, nós não precisamos saber quantos sinais precisamos no vetor de lógica que o sistema gera para representar Essa variável, o sistema irá cuidar disso. Se decidimos, então, precisamos de estados extras, por exemplo, ldquoscan3, action3rdquo, podemos apenas adicioná-los à definição e, na próxima vez que executarmos a ferramenta de síntese, gerará a lógica apropriada. Como código processual normal, o código arquitetônico VHDL consiste em declarações. De acordo com o código normal, existem declarações condicionais e de atribuição. Por exemplo, com três sinais SW1, SW2 e LED0, podemos codificar: 8212 O que configuraria uma das células Logic no FPGA para ser um portão AND. Embora isso funcione bem, em qualquer condição de corrida mais complexa pode causar caos. A maioria dos projetos FPGA, incluindo o Baby Baby, são sincronizados com as bordas do relógio. Isso pode ser feito usando o atributo de evento de um sinal. Isto é denotado adicionando o evento de palavra-chave ao nome da variável, separado por um único caracter de apóstrofo. Dado o sinal clk este código: 8212 resulta em lógica sendo gerada de tal forma que LED0 somente mudará na margem ascendente do sinal de clk. As ferramentas Xilinx incluem um visualizador que permite ao usuário ver a lógica gerada. Aqui está a lógica gerada para a peça acima da VHDL pelas ferramentas Xilinx: 8212 Implementando o bebê em VHDL Como o VHDL é uma linguagem modular, o Baby Baby foi implementado em pequenos passos, permitindo que cada um deles seja carregado no FPGA e testado antes de seguir em frente Para o próximo passo. O primeiro componente que implementei foi a principal loja. Isso usa a RAM incluída no chip Spartan 3E. As ferramentas Xilinx ISE incluem um utilitário para configurar esta RAM. Para o Baby Baby é definida uma memória de 32 palavras, cada uma de 32 bits, para combinar a configuração da loja lógica do Babyrsquos. A memória é configurada como memória de porta dupla com duas interfaces separadas para desacoplar o código de exibição do código principal do bebê. É pré-carregado com um programa deslizante que move um padrão de bits representando a palavra ldquoBABYrdquo na tela. A exibição é fornecida por uma pequena tela LCD LCD 7rdquo. Os sinais VGA são gerados usando o código padrão fornecido com a placa com base em um relógio de ponto de 25 MHz gerado a partir do cristal a bordo de 50Mhz através de uma divisão por dois. A placa Nexys 2 inclui uma saída VGA com conversor digital-analógico simples que permite cores de 8 bits. Somente a saída verde é usada pelo Baby Baby. Isso é usado para incrementar um contador de pontos que é executado de 0 a 800 através da linha VGA. Quando isso atinge 800, ele é redefinido para 0 e um contador de linha que é executado de 0 a 600 é incrementado. Quando o contador de linha atinge 600, também é reiniciado para zero. Os sinais Hsync e Vsync são gerados a partir desses contadores. Dependendo do botão seletor pressionado no início de cada linha, um multiplexador de 32 a 1 bit é carregado com: 8212 Uma palavra da loja do bebê O acumulador A barra de controle Bits 4 a 8 do contador de pontos é usada para selecionar qual bit É exibido, então cada célula tem 8 pontos de largura. Geralmente, os dois primeiros bits são sempre definidos como verdes brilhantes para representar os pontos e os dois próximos em verde brilhante se o bit que está sendo exibido for um, caso contrário nenhuma cor é definida e a tela aparece em preto. Se a linha atual exibida for a linha de ação e o destaque da linha de ação estiver habilitado, o acima é modificado exibindo uma cor verde pálida em vez de nenhuma cor. Gostaria de dizer que calculo cuidadosamente o layout da exibição da loja na tela VGA, mas a verdade é que eu produzi uma exibição inicial e, em seguida, ajustei as compensações do contador, por isso parecia central. Após alguma experimentação, descobri que um ponto que é de 2 pixels quadrados parecia sobre o significado correto de que um traço é de 6 pixels de longos tempos com 2 pixels de profundidade. O Relógio Mestre Para fornecer um tempo de instrução preciso, o Baby Baby também possui um relógio mestre a 100 KHz com um período de 937sec4 937sec assimétrico e um sinal BLACKOUT que é alto para 32 pulsos e baixo para quatro. Como os relógios VGA, esses sinais são gerados no FPGA usando contadores e comparadores conduzidos pelo relógio externo FPGA de 50 MHz para produzir sinais que coincidem exatamente com os tempos documentados replicarsquos. Em geral, a estrutura lógica da CPU FPGA reflete a réplica MSI, mas implementada como uma máquina paralela de 32 bits. It therefore has:8212 5-Bit latch for the L-stats 3-Bit latch for the F-stats 32-bit latch for the accumulator 32-bit latch for the present instruction The four beats of the MSI replica are mirrored by four states Scan1, Action1, Scan2, and Action2 of a VHDL state machine. The BLACKOUT signal is used to trigger the change from one state to the next. The logical operations carried out in each state correspond to those of the MSI replica. The part of the code that implements this state machine is only 100 lines VHDL. The PC Interface The FPGA machine implements the same PC interface as the MSI replica. Initially I had not considered using this interface and was planning on using the serial port provided on the FPGA card to load data. However this would have required a PC program to send the data to the FPGA and logic in the FPGA to allow it to be stored in memory. After some consideration I realised that if I could replicate the MSI replica interface I could use the same PC program they use and I would only need to add logic to the FPGA. When I came to this decision I had a working emulation but I was generating the BLACKOUT pulses directly from the on-board 50 MHz clock and did not have a 100 KHz DASH clock. However unlike hard logic implementation, the changes to the clock generation were straightforward and only a few extra lines of VHDL were needed so that a DASH pulse with the correct onoff ration was generated, and the BLACKOUT signal derived from this signal. Once this was implemented I then had to decide how to store the inputs from the PC into the FPGA implementations store. I considered two ways of doing this. I could implement a shift register and store the bits in it as it arrived. In the end I decided to construct a simple state machine with 36 consecutive states, 32 for the refresh states and four for the blackout period to match timings on the replica. Each of the first 32 states is therefore equivalent to one of the P-pulses in the MSI replica. As the data arrived from PC it is stored in the appropriate bit in a register. The complete word is then written to store during the blackout period. As on the MSI replica the transfer can be triggered from the PC or from a switch on the FPGA board. There was one other tweak needed to this system. The FPGA runs at 3.3V and the printer port expects 5V. On checking the Centronics specification the outputs from the FPGA generate enough current and have a high enough voltage swing to drive the printer port. However if it was directly connected to the FPGA the 5V from the PC would damage the FPGA. Current limit resistors needed to be added to protect the FPGA. I tested the interface with an old Windows 95 laptop and much to my surprise it all worked wit only a little tweaking. At this point I had a Baby Baby that could load code from the PC and from switches and run it. A Full User Interface Initially the only switches implemented were the KC and stoprun switches. These were implemented using the switches on the FPGA board. To prevent multiple instructions from being executed when it is pressed the FPGA code de-bounces the KC switch. As the FPGA loads a program into memory this was all that was needed to test the machine. Once the machine was working logic was added to implement the various Clear switches, again using the switches on the Nexys board. The Typewriter Buttons At this point I had a working Baby but it wasnrsquot very pretty and it could only run the pre-loaded code or load code from a PC. There was no way to change a program directly. For this I needed to implement the typewriter buttons. As there are 32 buttons on the typewriter, to directly connect these to the FPGA would use many inputs. Whilst there are plenty on the Nexys 2 board using them would need an expensive Hirose FX2 connector and require a PCB to be made. If I could use the 8-pin PMOD connectors, which are common on many FPGA boards I would have the flexibility to switch to other smaller FPGA chips many of which have a fewer IO ports. To do this I decided to use MCP27S16 serial peripheral interface (SPI) chips to reduce the number of inputs. Unlike most SPI chips multiple MCP27S16 chips can be connected to a single SPI bus and individually addressed without needing separate enable lines. This meant that up to four can be connected to the FPGA with only a 4-wire interface. Each chip has 16 IO pins which can be programmed as inputs or outputs, so the entire typewriter console can be implemented using four ports on the FPGA and two MCP27S16s. The chips are conveniently available in conventional through-hole DIL format and so can easily be mounted on traditional 0.1rdquo pitch prototype boards. A small board was constructed. Apart from the ICs, only a couple of capacitors and resistors were needed. The chips connect to a PMOD connector mentioned above which provides the four IO connections and power. Standard 0.1rdquo socket strips were soldered to the inputs for testing. I was really surprised how easy this was to implement in the VHDL. A small piece of VHDL code was written which continually polls the SPI chips. The content of the switches is read serially and converted to a 32-bit word using a shift register. The state of the switches is therefore continually available to the rest of the system and it can be examined and tested in the same way as if it were using direct inputs. A third MCP27S16 chip is used to sense the line, function, manualauto, erasewrite and highlight switches. For simplicity this is connected separately and is managed by a second instance of the same VHDL code. The switch inputs are all handled in the blackout period. The data from the buttons is combined with the data received from the PC interface and written to the appropriate line in store. If any other switches (e. g. KLC, KSC, KAC or KCC) are depressed these are also actioned during the blackout period. As you can see from this photo, sadly the physical interpretation is not that of a finescale live steam locomotive, it is rather more a garden railway pastiche. As I wanted something that was small enough to carry yet still had some feel or atmosphere of the original Baby. I decided on a 10rdquo wide rack, approximately 50 of the width of the replica, but as there are no EHT supplies in the base I have a total height of 17rdquo. The main body of the rack is constructed from aluminium extrusions purchased from BampQ. The sheet aluminium used for the switch panels and as the bracing for the feet was obtained from a local model shop, as was the plastic sheet used to fashion the monitor surround. The typewriter buttons are standard push-to-make switches purchased on Ebay, they are similar in colour to the replica buttons, but are a totally different shape, being pure buttons rather than having a hollow button with a skirt at the bottom. I believe that I could use my 3-D printer to print some covers that would fit over the originals that would be a closer match to the originals, but I have yet to try this. The L-stat, highlight, and manualauto switches are all standard miniature toggle switches. These should be ball-ended switches, and although I know such things were made as I have some, I could not find enough to complete the Baby. The F-stat, haltrun and erasewrite switches are also miniature toggle switches, but with black rubber covers. I feel these look quite realistic. The monitor switches were obtained from my junk box. These are really too large, but I could not find any smaller latching switches. Lastly the panel that is on the replica constructed from Post Office key switches is currently crudely represented by some miniature paddle switches. As the paddles clip into place my intention is to modify these so that they bear a closer resemblance to the Post Office switches on the replica. Mounting the switches It is pretty obvious from the pictures of the Baby Baby that my craft skills are limited so drilling the mounting holes for the typewriter buttons and toggle switches was going to be a major challenge and I looked for a way to automate it. As I didnrsquot have a CNC milling machine, the holes were produced using a Dremel attached to a MaplinVelleman K8200 3-D printer modified using instructions from the Velleman website. I had hoped to use the same procedure to mill the plates that hold the feet to the rack verticals, but found that the printer was not capable of milling through the aluminium plates. The table is not rigid enough, and deflects even when milling shallow grooves so these were cut with a small hacksaw. Mounting the Circuits The FPGA card and the SPI expanders are mounted on the rear of the machine. It is not very pretty, but then neither is the back of the Baby replica. The replica machine has a small lamp which is lit when the machine executes a stop instruction. It is extinguished when the KC (single step) switch is pressed. On the FPGA machine this is replaced by a small LED which is directly driven from the FPGA chip. The replica is equipped with a hooter which sounds if a stop instruction is set. It is silenced when the stoprun switch is moved to stop. It is driven from what of the store refresh counters. The Baby Baby also implements refresh counters. They are not required to refresh the store but they are needed for the PC Interface. The appropriate bit of the counter is gated with the stoprun switch and routed to an FPGA output pin which is fed into the audio input on the VGA display, so the frequency is the same as on the replica. Operation of the Machine Generally the machine operates identically to the MSI Replica. Therefore:8212 It runs at the same speed as the MSI Replica. Although the speed of the replica may drift as it is not crystal stabilized. A program can be stopped and started by means of the stoprun switch Instructions stepped through by use of the KC switch. The monitor display buttons can be used to change the store viewed on the display. The present instruction is only displayed when the machine is running The L-stat switches and the typewriter buttons can be used to set or clear any bit in store. This means programs can be loaded manually The KLC, KSC, KAC and KCC switches clears the appropriate parts of the machine On a STOP instruction the machine stops, the STOP LED lights and the hooter sounds Switching from RUN to STOP silences the hooter The STOP LED remains lit until KC is pressed When connected to a PC, the machine can be loaded with a program The instruction defined in the L-stat and F-stat is executed in manual mode. Once if STOP is set and when KC is pressed Continually if RUN is set. There are some minor differences:8212 The main store contains a copy of a slider program at power on. For easy demonstration. Additional programs may be loaded from ROM by using switches on the FPGA board at the rear. The F-stat and L-stat switches are ignored in manual mode On the MSI replica they cause errors. At this point I believe that I have fulfilled the initial project objectives and a little more. The FPGA Baby Baby is:8212 An FPGA implementation of the SSEM that executes Baby programs. Execution times match the replica Baby. Switches, buttons and lamps are correctly implemented A display that can be switched in the same way as the MSI Baby store. It can be loaded from the PC interface programs. My next project is to replace the DOS based PC interface with an Arduino or Raspberry PI and SD card slot so that I can have a self-contained unit that can load any Baby program. Dave Wade is a volunteer on the replica SSEM at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. He can be contacted at . A Letter from Christopher Strachey Clive Page amp Martin Richards The letter below submitted by Clive Page is believed to be one of the last published works of Christopher Strachey before he left Cambridge for Oxford and was first published in January 1965. Strachey attributes the original thought to Turing. To the Editor, The Computer Journal . An Impossible Program A well-known piece of folk-lore among programmers holds that it is impossible to write a program which can examine any other program and tell, in every case, if it will terminate or get into a closed loop when it is run. I have never actually seen a proof of this in print, and though Alan Turing once gave me a verbal proof (in a railway carriage on the way to a Conference at the NPL in 1953), I unfortunately and promptly forgot the details. This left me with an uneasy feeling that the proof must be long or complicated, but in fact it is so short and simple that it may be of interest to casual readers. The version below uses CPL, but not in any essential way. Suppose T R is a Boolean function taking a routine (or program) R with no formal or free variables as its arguments and that for all R . T R True if R terminates if run and that T R False if R does not terminate. Consider the routine P defined as follows If T P True the routine P will loop, and it will only terminate if T P False . In each case T P has exactly the wrong value, and this contradiction shows that the function T cannot exist. It is, perhaps, unlikely that many readers will now be familiar with CPL (frankly it was unlikely then). Fortunately Martin Richards has elegantly come to our rescue with this explanation - Stracheyrsquos letter is all about proof of what is now known as the Halting Problem, which is regarded as so straightforward that it is now taught to most first or second year computer science students in finite automata courses. I am probably not the right person to comment on Stracheyrsquos lsquoproofrsquo and there are many people (such as Ken Moody, Alan Mycroft, Mike Gordon and Glynn Winskel) much more competent than me to do that, but that will not stop me having my say. Firstly, the letter was written in 1964 or possibly 1963 when CPL was not fully developed. In the early life of CPL, parameterless routines were declared and called without specifying their empty argument lists. This awful convention was common in those days and adopted by languages such as Algol, Algol W and Algol 68. The problem was that you could only tell whether the expression P evaluated to a routine or was a call of that routine by the type of the context in which it occurred. Worse still, if P were declared to return P as a result the type of the context would not resolve the ambiguity. The later version of CPL insisted on empty parentheses in both the declarations and calls of parameterless functions. The difference between P and P () is then clear to the reader. Another minor change, in later CPL, was that parentheses were used to enclose function arguments while square brackets were only used to enclose array subscripts. I am also surprised that Strachey constructed the loop using a label and a goto statement rather than a more readable while statement. The Return statement could have been omitted. The declaration of P could have been written in the closely-related BCPL language as follows. As Strachey mentions, the language used is immaterial to his argument, but unfortunately his proof is just wrong. In languages like CPL, Algol 60, Algol W, Algol 68, ML or Haskell, all that T can do with its argument is call it. It is not possible for these languages to look at the code of P that will be used when P is called. So the only thing T can do with P is call it, and if P does not terminate, then T will not terminate. For the halting problem T must terminate whatever P it is given. Perhaps the closest we can get to a definition of T is the following. At least this is guaranteed to return TRUE if P () terminates. Unfortunately it loops for ever otherwise. It is just possible an optimising Haskell compiler would observe that P takes no arguments and has no free variables so executing it can have no effect, so its call can be eliminated, causing T to return the wrong result when P () does not terminate. The conventional proof of the halting problem assumes both T and P are Turing machine or register machine programs, and the proof is based on constructing a variant of the program for T replacing returns of True by code that loops forever, and returns of False by code that halts. Assuming the argument of T is P . there is final modification that causes it to consider the termination of P ( P ) rather than just the termination of P () . This, of course, requires P to take an argument but that is not a problem. If this modified version of T is called T we now consider the call T ( T ) and observe that Both these are inconstant so T and hence T cannot exist. One final observation is that Cintcode BCPL is not like all the other languages mentioned above since the BCPL manual bcplman. pdf does give a description of the Cintcode byte stream code generated by the compiler and that the value of T is a pointer to the Cintcode entry point of the function. So a BCPL program can analyse the flowchart for T as well as calling it. So perhaps we can regard BCPL as being closer to Turing or register machine code than the other languages mentioned above CCS Website Information The Society has its own website, which is located at computerconservationsociety. org. It contains news items, details of forthcoming events, and also electronic copies of all past issues of Resurrection . in both HTML and PDF formats, which can be downloaded for printing. At computerconservationsociety. orgsoftwaresoftware-index. htm. can be found emulators for historic machines together with associated software and related documents all of which may be downloaded. Note that this part of our website is under development. Further material will be added in due course. 1950s Computer Training Package Overture. Back in the late 1950s the publicrsquos appreciation of what a computer was or what it could do was sketchy to say the least. And that of the captains of industry (as they were then known) was little better. The Institute of Office Management took it upon themselves to explain by making a set of long playing records (remember them) together with a set of film-based slides to be shown in parallel. Leo was heavily featured. The cost 80 for the set 8212 roughly 1000 today. The contemporary description is presented here 8212 1. What Is Electronic Data Processing This filmstrip, which is a general introduction to the series, is shorter and less technical than those following. It will be found useful for purposes of management appreciation, staff education when a computer is about to be installed in a company and the training of office management students. After a brief historical introduction to show the importance of recent changes in the office, it explains what is meant by electronic data processing, discusses the significance of the concept of a common language medium and of the possibilities inherent in it for linking up different types of office machines for combined operations. The film concludes by summarising the great advantages to be derived from a properly planned electronic office. 2. How a Computer Works 8212 Part 1 8212 General Principles and InputOutput The first part of this filmstrip briefly traces the evolution of the automatic digital computer from the abacus, shows how its operation differs from that of a modern accounting machine, fully explains the difference between decimal and binary notation, then describes in detail how numbers are represented by electrical pulses, the language of computers. The second part of the film discusses various types of mechanisms by which data fed to the computer is read in, how information is printed out, the significance of on-line and off-line processing and the conversion of ordinary alphabetic and numeric characters into machine language. 3. How a Computer Works 8212 Part 2 8212 Storage, Arithmetic, Control Though permanent data translated into machine language can be stored externally on punched cards or magnetic tape, the computerrsquos program of coded instructions and the intermediate products of its calculations need internal storage facilities. These may be provided by magnetic drums, nickel delay lines or magnetic cores, the operation of which are fully explained. Next the film describes the working of the arithmetic unit, showing how pulse trains are applied to electronic switches to carry out the basic computing functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Lastly, a detailed step by step account is given of how the control unit executes the program, transferring data from one part of the computer to another, from the reading in of the first instruction to the printing out of the final result. 4. Do You Need a Computer How can a company find out whether it would pay to do its routine clerical work on a computer How does it decide what type of computer is required This filmstrip takes the viewer step by step through the whole justification study, discussing such questions as to whether to employ outside consultants or the OampM service, the composition of the team for the preliminary survey, the areas of work to be covered, the information to be produced, the effect on present organisation structure and the number of technical staff needed to install and operate the new system. It explains how to set a realistic time-table for the changeover, how to build up an accurate cost statement and how to inform and secure the co-operation of the departments involved, concluding with the contents of the report to the board to enable them to make a final decision. 5. Programming8212 An Introduction This filmstrip covers the general principles of programming shows by means of simple illustrations taken from clerical procedures what it involves explains why it is so important, takes so long and is relatively so costly. It describes the qualifications required of programmers, the factors which should govern their selection, how their work must be organised, the difficulties they will inevitably meet and how they can be overcome. Included is a brief account of the evolution of programming from its early binary form to autocode plain language programming. 6. Installing a Computer The installation of a computer calls for careful, detailed planning. The accommodation must be prepared for effective power supply, ventilation, humidity control and maintenance. Different people throughout the organisation must be kept in touch with various developments information must be exchanged with manufacturers and the views of experienced users sought. Managerial, technical and routine personnel must be selected and trained staff who have been made redundant, re-deployed. An economic workflow must be devised for the load to be put on the computer. Programs must be thoroughly tested and kept flexible to permit of last-minute changes and unforeseen developments. Finally, the machinersquos performance must be checked against the target on a parallel run with the conventional system. This filmstrip highlights all these essential aspects of successful computer installation. Intermezzo. You might imagine that such things were long forgotten but in 1990, a set of records and films turned up in the Institute of Advanced Management archive at Warwick University. Graham Briscoe arranged for them to be transcribed to VHS video tapes (remember) and made available again. A covering article was published in the IAM journal reproduced here 8212 Peter Ives 8212 one of the members of the team who prepared the original film strip and records. Seeing these filmstrips in video form has reactivated memories of a time when I was directed to produce a series of filmstrips to explain this new office tool 8212 the computer. At a time of no little scepticism towards electronics in the office by many sectors of management, we set out to produce a guide which was to be quite unbiased in its approach. Even so, the fact that the project was written by ldquoconvertsrdquo comes through rather strongly in places. How naiumlve we must have been: Here was a small group with each of us in the throes of a feasibility study, awaiting delivery of a computer, writing long coded programs or going through the traumatic experience of getting a job onto our first machine. Yet we boldly set ourselves up as being among the countryrsquos DP experts to produce an authoritative text on the subject. Initially we divided the six strips between ourselves, reporting progress and exchanging ideas at monthly meetings. It was significant that those who already had their computer found it increasingly difficult to give time to the project. It was not uncommon for apologies for absence to be accompanied by the news that, say, the payroll run had collapsed and must be made to work by the following week. However, the strips were eventually completed, a few months late if I recall correctly, but this matched the pattern of frustration in the computer world of the late fifties and early sixties. Machine delivery delays, software, usually confined to an operating system, behind schedule, long periods of down time etc, all eventually overcome in a spirit of ldquogiven the time, wersquoll get it right in the endrdquo. To illustrate these delay problems, I am reminded of a firm which ordered a large machine and very extensive software, building penalty clauses into both contracts in case of delay. The hardware was delivered over a year late and the penalties paid. The software was not ready and again the penalties applied but with the added bonus that the firm then rented the machine back to the manufacture until such time as it was completed. Looking at the filmstrips and bearing in mind the hardware of the time, which can now only be called primitive, quite a lot of what was said in the text concerning staffing, costing and planning still holds good today. One complete change has manifested itself, however, in that we were stressing the need to involve management in the computer project whereas the position is now somewhat reversed for, as new office systems are discussed, management is demanding terminals with instant access to data pertinent to their role. With hindsight I wonder why we went so deep in explaining the workings of the computer. The theory of binary arithmetic was necessary for the programmer of the day but the explanations of addressable drum stores, the working of the ferrite store and the way instructions were handled within the machine were not really needed for management to assess the potential of this new equipment. Perhaps we included such technicalities to show that at least we knew what was going on inside those grey cabinets 8212 or at least we thought we did. Concerning the technical side, I became involved in the early computers at the beginning of the fifties because the management of my organisation knew through a company exhibition of hobbies and handicrafts that my hobby was electronics. The man to whom I reported went on a computer course and was taught valve theory and the circuitry of logical gates. Neither of us found our knowledge to be of any use when trying to bridge the gap between manual and electronic systems in our office. It has been entertaining to see the filmstrips again, not only for the amusement of seeing some of my colleagues and myself as earnest young men, but to stand back and appreciate the developments in this field over the past 30 years. None of us could have guessed the advances to be made in the hardware bringing many more times the then available machine power down to desktop size or through terminal access to a large mainframe. Today we may feel that technology can advance no further and that systems have reached the ultimate in sophistication but I am certain that in the next 30 years changes will come about even more dramatically than in those which have passed. I picture someone in the year 2020 looking at a training aid written today. As he takes a small device from his pocket and talks in his own language to a computer on the other side of the world he could well be wondering why the writer put so much stress on what to him would be the obsolete VDU terminal Geoff Tweedale 8212 curator of the National Archive for the History of Computing at Manchester University, who was involved in the conversion from film strip and record onto video. Although the development of the electronic digital computer is so very recent, documentation on its early history is remarkably sparse. The Cambridge University computer team made a brief film of the EDSAC in the early 1950s, but none of the computer pioneers committed their exploits to film. Training films are even rarer, not least because the application of the computer to data processing was relatively slower than its application to scientific problems and also, not all bodies were as enlightened as the IAM. The pioneering IAM film strips therefore appear to be unique and are an important addition to the National Archive for the History of Computing. In viewing the strips one is immediately struck by the extraordinary rapidity of technological advance: many of the machines depicted already look like dinosaurs 8212 yet they are not much more than 30 years old Advances in software are equally evident from the sections on programming. As a historical document, the film provides a unique insight into the impact of the computer on the business world 8212 in the days when installing a computer was a major financial and logistical problem and at a time when Britain was a world leader in computing (even surpassing the USA in the 1950s). On the other hand, the explanations of the theory and practice of computing are clear and concise and still relevant today. In short, the film provides an important window on the past, which can still be watched today with profit. Alan King 8212 recently acting chief executive of the Institute of Administrative Management, following a data processing career with Lyons Tetley 8212 which started off working on LEO machines. I watched the video with great nostalgia, especially since I suspect I make a brief appearance. Much of the machinery inevitably reflects the technology of a bygone period, both in appearance and performance. You certainly would not now see the 1960s programming techniques used outside of a specialist software house, nor come across the view that users need to understand how a computer works at circuit design level. In contrast, many of the business concepts explored by the video are as valid today as they were 30 years ago. I was particularly impressed by the sections on the employment of external consultants, on carrying out a cost-benefit feasibility study and on the need for integrated data processing. Peter Bailes 8212 a curator in the Information Age Project Team (the then new computer gallery) at the Science Museum, London. The videos are highly informative, both as computer training films and as historical archive material. Most of the content can be found in todayrsquos training videos 8212 the desire to attain a common language medium, although no longer punched card and paper tape is still as poignant, even if just as unrealisable. Indeed most of the information regarding for example Installing a Computer, and Do You Need A Computer is still relevant to larger computer users, but is unfortunately neglected in todayrsquos small throwaway computer market due to the price and performance improvements we have experienced. Of particular interest are the attitudes and opinions towards the technology, the computers and the training that cannot be conveyed on other media. Museums collect objects that can be preserved and restored hundreds of years later but the audio-visual recording can communicate more personal experiences and information that, unless captured at the time, would otherwise be lost forever. This is brought across by the dated but now amusing presentation techniques and the Reithian style BBC narrator that informs us that ldquoIt must not be forgotten that women can also make good programmersrdquo and presents us with a magnetic tape that can store the whole of Gone With the Wind ldquoWe have an immensely effective tool, can the office put it to work effectivelyrdquo is the question we are left with at the end of the first film. Have things changed so much that we can answer it any more effectively Marcus Austin 8212 a curator in the Information Age Project Team at the Science Museum, London. It is interesting to see from this film just how much has changed in computing, how 30 years ago computers spoke the common language of paper tape, and punched cards, and the valve was king. Just how much has changed is illustrated by the 1956 Ferranti Pegasus itrsquos now regarded as old enough to be the first candidate for restoration by the Computer Conservation Society at the Science Museum in London. The impressive computer of the 50s has been replaced by the PC which is 100 times faster, has 100 times the memory, and is 100 times cheaper than the Pegasus. The advice given is in many ways still relevant to mainframe users of today, the reasons for buying a computer, the application itrsquos used for, and the installation problems all remain the same. They also try hard to dispel the 1950s myth of the electronic brain, something that would instantly solve your problems, a myth that confused a generation of computer buyers and still carries on today. However, the authoritarian tone of the commentary is contrary to the user-friendliness exuded by modern computer training videos. Edward Cluff 8212 secretary general, Association for Managers of Information Technology Systems (AMITS). Over the course of many years, I have found that relative newcomers to the business (i. e. in the last 20 years) enjoy and even benefit from anecdotes about how things were in the industry in the early days. This is because there is much to be learned from the trials and tribulations some of us once endured, like trying to squeeze everything into a couple of hard discs on a mainframe each with 4.25 Mb, or fighting with repeated write errors on tapes guaranteed to be error free. Most of the sources of how things were and why we did what we did are fading into the distant horizons but this video, a collection of audio tape presentations made at the time, is invaluable to those who are not content with the story of today. Jenny Wetton 8212 assistant keeper for Science, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester. Watching these late 1950s training strips on electronic data processing was certainly an education for me. The material provides an interesting comparison with current practice in terms of not only changes in technology, but also how the computer was seen in the office environment, the huge cost of time and money involved, and the changes in attitudes to staff. The first strip gives a good general introduction to electronic data processing. Computers had been put into offices because there were demands for faster and more accurate information but little mechanisation and a shortage of quality clerical staff. Also mentioned is the important contribution a computer could make by enabling different types of equipment to be linked together 8212 integrated data processing. The second strip gives a good introduction to what goes on inside a computer. A brief history of the technological advances and how they worked is also provided. There is a useful explanation in the third strip of how the storage worked, i. e. magnetic drums, readwrite heads, nickel delay lines and 8212 the latest method at the time 8212 magnetic core storage. This complements examples of each of these storage mechanisms which we have on display in the Computers Exhibition in Manchester. The strip also points out what many computer users have since found to their cost, machines can make mistakes faster than you ever dreamed possible The fourth strip is, to my mind, the most interesting because of the light it shines on the commercial methods and attitudes of the time. It deals with the commercial criteria that need to be taken into account when deciding whether to buy a computer 8212 a large decision when most machines used in business cost between 100,000 and 200,000. It also deals with the need for a detailed EDP study which would take the same amount of time as planning a new factory. There seems to have been a rigid division of labour between the sexes. The data input and clerical staff pictured are all women, whereas those doing the EDP study and managing the computerrsquos arrival are all men. There is just a brief mention of the thorny subject of redundancies, mainly the need to consider and explain what will happen to those who will lose their jobs to the computer. The fifth strip, on programming, explains why computers were so costly in time and money to set up and run as well as buy. It points out that women can be good programmers and that age should not be a barrier either The final strip on installation emphasises how much has to be prepared before the computer arrives, including the dissemination of information to all staff on the implications of its arrival, with the aim of avoiding rumours. Finale. Fast-forward that VHS tape by another quarter-century or so and we arrive at 2016. Some of the comments from 1990 seem a little dated, but many still ring true. Transcription has had to take place once again and the courses will shortly be available for download. The CCS and the Leo Society also have copies. 40 Years ago. From the Pages of Computer Weekly Low-cost version of the 4080 mini released by GEC: A low-cost version of the 4080 minicomputer has been announced by GEC. Designated the 4070, it gives 75 per cent of the performance of the 4080 and is aimed at users who do not really need the 550 nanosecond memory cycle of the 4080. (CW 487 p3) 2903 shows one-shift work pattern: The average ICL 2903 in the UK is used for less than one shift a day, but only 5.5 hours of this is production work, another 1.3 hours on average being used for development, according to a survey by Systemsolve. (CW 487 p4) US military shortlists Coral 66 in real time language hunt: Initial tentative examination of Coral 66 by the US armed services in their search for a new standard real time language has now assumed a far more definite character, with the inclusion of Coral in a final shortlist of about 12 languages. (CW 487 p32) Customs plan Import network: A nationwide on-line terminal network planned by the Customs for clearing imported goods at UK seaports looks like becoming a reality. Prospective terminal suppliers have received an operational requirement and Customs are awaiting detailed proposals. Eight major UK ports will be involved in the network. (CW 488 p1) Lords retrieval going ahead, Commons wait: While plans for the full House of Lords computer-based information retrieval system are nearing the tendering stage, the House of Commons will still have to wait for some time for its own retrieval system, according to a parliamentary reply last week. This has led to protests from Kenneth Warren, the MP who raised the matter. (CW 488 p2) World challenge to EMI brain scanner: Challenges to EMIrsquos near monopoly of the X-ray brain scanner market have come from the US, Germany, France and Japan, as other companies try to cash in on this specialised market which has brought the UK firm 80 million worth of business in four years. (CW 488 p47) Philipsrsquo micro controlled teleprinter: TEXT REF title: The latest development in the long history of the teletypewriter has come from Philips which has introduced the PACT 8212 Programmed All-purpose Communication Terminal 8212 microprocessor-controlled machine. A Philips spokesman said that the microprocessor, an eight-bit 2650, came from Signetics, the US company taken over by Philips last year. (CW 489 p1) EPSS packet exchange: A major step towards the full operation of the Post Officersquos Experimental Packet Switched Service was taken at the beginning of the month when packets were exchanged, via the switching exchange in Manchester, by the National Computing Centre and Manchester University Regional Computing Centre. (CW 489 p4) London tests of EPSS exchange: Following the successful exchange of packets over the Post Office Experimental Packet Switched Service by the National Computing Centre and Manchester University, the London exchange has been put through its paces by a number of users with different mainframes, network interfaces and terminals. (CW 490 p40) ICL gets its 2960 workhorse on the road: Some 12 months after it was originally scheduled to be released, the ICL 2960 has now been formally announced. Seen as a mid-range machine which will appeal to many existing ICL 1900 users, the 2960 has just over half the power of the 2970 and sells for upwards of 520,000. (CW 491 p1) ARPA - Coral link-up: The link of the Royal Signals and Radar Establishmentrsquos GEC 4080 processor into the world wide ARPA telecommunications network was officially inaugurated last week by the Queen. The connection will allow the RSRErsquos compiler for the government standard real time language, Coral 66, to be accessed by all users of the network. (CW 491 p40) USAF give minis crisis job: Crisis management is the formidable task to which three SEL 3255 minicomputers are to be assigned by the US Air Force Systems Command. The three minis being acquired from Systems Engineering Laboratories of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, under a 1million contract, are to be installed at Beale Air Force Base, California, where they will go in to service with the Ninth Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. The minis will form part of the SR-71 Blackbird ground support computer systems, and will improve the capability at Beale for crisis management operations. (CW 493 p25) Intel ready with lsquochiprsquo computer: The computer-on-a-chip will come a significant step nearer in the summer when Intel launches its new 8048 device, which incorporates active and passive memory on the same chip as the processor itself. The 8048 will not be available before September, but Intel sees it as the most important development in the microprocessor industry since the introduction of the Intel 8080 eight-bit microprocessor chip itself. (CW 494 p1) IBM challenges desktop market with 5100 release: Designed for commercial, statistical and mathematical problem solving, the IBM 5100 portable computer, now announced in the UK, offers Basic and APL programming and up to 64Kbytes of main memory in a 50 lb desktop unit. The 5100 also incorporates a typewriter keyboard, a numeric keypad, a display screen showing up to 16 lines of characters, and an exchangeable magnetic tape cartridge unit. (CW 495 p32) Newspaperrsquos distribution to go automatic: Publisher of the Glasgow Herald, George Outram and Co, has signed a 189,000 contract with Prime Computer for two minicomputer-based systems to handle distribution and commercial applications. They are due to go live by late summer. The distribution system will be based on a 160K Prime 300 running under DOSVM and using the FIRST transaction processing software. Peripherals will include two 12-Megabyte disc drives, console, line printer, and five Lynwood VDUs. (CW 496 p32) CTL Series 8000 succeeds Mod One: A new range of small, multi-access computer systems on which Computer Technology will be pinning its hopes of continued success until well into the 1980s was unveiled by the company last week. The new range, called Series 8000, has arrived 10 years after the birth of CTL with its Modular One, and is based on the best features of the latest versions of that machine. The Series 8000 sees CTL turning the Modular One from a single computer meeting all needs, to a range of systems for all sizes of installation and application. (CW 498 p3) Ideal standard set for US forces: With its selection of a new standard real time language now begun, the US Department of Defense has published its report setting out the criteria for the ideal language. Some of these standards, unfortunately, seem to reduce the chances of either of the two UK languages under evaluation, Coral 66 and Algol 68, emerging as the final choice. (CW 498 p8) Cray wins two big orders: The specialist mainframe manufacturer Cray Research of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, has received two orders for its Cray 1 supercomputer. One machine is in operation at a customer site, while the second is due to be delivered in July 1977. The first machine, with a 500,000 64-bit word memory, is at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico on a six month inspection basis. The laboratory is primarily running test problems to evaluate the machine and first reports indicate that the system is performing ldquoexceptionally wellrdquo. (CW499 p2) First UK 2904 order: The first order for ICLrsquos new 2904 has come from Petters of Staines, Middlesex, an engine manufacturer and part of the Hawker Siddeley group. The 182,000 2904 will be installed early next year, when it will replace a remote job entry terminal linked to a 1903T at another Hawker Siddeley plant. The system will include 40K of memory and two EDS60 disc units. (CW 499 p32) London meetings will henceforth take place at the BCS in Southampton Street, Covent Garden starting at 14:30. Southampton Street is immediately south of (downhill from) Covent Garden market. The door can be found under an ornate Victorian clock. For queries about London meetings please contact Roger Johnson at. or by post to 9 Chipstead Park Close, Sevenoaks, TN13 2SJ. Manchester Seminar Programme The Battle of Britainrsquos Home Computers North West Group meetings take place in the Conference Centre at MSI 8211 the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester 8211 usually starting at 17:30 tea is served from 17:00. For queries about Manchester meetings please contact Gordon Adshead at. Details are subject to change. Members wishing to attend any meeting are advised to check the events page on the Society website at computerconservationsociety. orglecture. htm. Details are also published in the events calendar at bcs. org. Contact details Readers wishing to contact the Editor may do so by email to . or by post to 124 Stanley Road, Teddington, TW11 8TX. Members who move house should notify Membership Secretary Dave Goodwin ( ) of their new address to ensure that they continue to receive copies of Resurrection. Those who are also members of BCS, however, need only notify their change of address to BCS, separate notification to the CCS being unnecessary. Queries about all other CCS matters should be addressed to the Secretary, Roger Johnson at. or by post to 9 Chipstead Park Close, Sevenoaks, TN13 2SJ. MSI . Demonstrations of the replica Small-Scale Experimental Machine at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester are run every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday between 12:00 and 14:00. Admission is free. See msimanchester. org. uk for more details Bletchley Park . diariamente. Exhibition of wartime code-breaking equipment and procedures, including the replica Bombe, plus tours of the wartime buildings. Go to bletchleypark. org. uk to check details of times, admission charges and special events. The National Museum of Computing. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 13:00. Situated within Bletchley Park, the Museum covers the development of computing from the ldquorebuiltrdquo Colossus codebreaking machine via the Harwell Dekatron (the worldrsquos oldest working computer) to the present day. From ICL mainframes to hand-held computers. Note that there is a separate admission charge to TNMoC which is either standalone or can be combined with the charge for Bletchley Park. See tnmoc. org for more details. Science Museum. There is an excellent display of computing and mathematics machines on the second floor. The new Information Age gallery explores ldquoSix Networks which Changed the Worldrdquo and includes a CDC 6600 computer and its Russian equivalent, the BESM-6 as well as Pilot ACE, arguably the worldrsquos third oldest surviving computer. Other galleries include displays of ICT card-sorters and Cray supercomputers. Admission is free. See sciencemuseum. org. uk for more details. Other Museums : At computerconservationsociety. orgmuseums. htm can be found brief descriptions of various UK computing museums which may be of interest to members. Computer Conservation Society Aims and objectives The Computer Conservation Society (CCS) is a co-operative venture between BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT the Science Museum of London and the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in Manchester. The CCS was constituted in September 1989 as a Specialist Group of the British Computer Society (BCS). It thus is covered by the Royal Charter and charitable status of BCS. The aims of the CCS are to To promote the conservation of historic computers and to identify existing computers which may need to be archived in the future To develop awareness of the importance of historic computers To develop expertise in the conservation and restoration of historic computers, To represent the interests of Computer Conservation Society members with other bodies, To promote the study of historic computers, their use and the history of the computer industry, To publish information of relevance to these objectives for the information of Computer Conservation Society members and the wider public. Membership is open to anyone interested in computer conservation and the history of computing. The CCS is funded and supported by voluntary subscriptions from members, a grant from BCS, fees from corporate membership, donations, and by the free use of the facilities of our founding museums. Some charges may be made for publications and attendance at seminars and conferences. There are a number of active Projects on specific computer restorations and early computer technologies and software. Younger people are especially encouraged to take part in order to achieve skills transfer. The CCS also enjoys a close relationship with the National Museum of Computing. Resurrection is the journal of the Computer Conservation Society. Editor 8211 Dik Leatherdale Printed by 8211 BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT copy Computer Conservation SocietyHappy New Year 2017 Dear Valued Customers, Yes, its that time again After several years of development we are happy to announce the release of TINA v11 and TINA Design Suite v11 along with its fully compatible online version TINACloud . We are sure youll enjoy TINAs many new features and improvements. Weve done our best to bring the latest technology to your circuit design and simulation activities, while maintaining the intuitive and easy user experience. TINA is well known for its ease-of-use, and it is equally popular among industry designers, educators and students throughout the world. In addition to the tons of features in TINA v6-10 here are some of the new features of TINA v11 and TINA Design Suite v11 and TINACloud: 8,000 new parts, including large number of Power amp RF devices SystemC support, add your own digital filters and MCUs to TINA Industrial Power, Lighting, Motor Control application circuits XMC microcontrollers and application circuits Efficiency-, Average value - and Frequency meters Advanced Macro editing, popup text, analysis control links New sophisticated SAR amp Sigma-Delta ADCs and DACs with SPI I2C, SPI, PM bus simulation and monitoring Transient Noise Generation and Analysis in the Industrial version Microchip XC8, MATRIX Flowcode 7, DAVE (XMC) amp Arduino Support Post processing of Fourier Spectrum Export of Diagrams in CSD format (Common Simulation Data File) Importing 3D Enclosure models in industry standard formats Visualization and printing of PCB design with Enclosures in 3D Exporting PCB with Enclosure in industry standard formats Impor ting Footprints in 2D and 3D in industry standard formats In the last three years TINACloud has gone a long way too and now it is also used as an online prototyping tool at Infineon Technologies . one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world. It now includes a lot of new features, Industrial Power amp RF components and designs which are also available in the fully compatible TINA. As a valued Tina user, we are now offering you a special product release: special introductory prices with 30 discount a complimentary . three-year subscription to TINACloud free HDL package for the Educational, Classic and Industrial versions With this incredible time limited upgrade you will be able to run, test and present your circuit designs on virtually every OS including WindowsMacLinux and every platform from smart phones through tablets to desktop PCs. Now, wherever you are, including home, office, classroom, traveling to conferences, client offices, and meetings, you can experience TINAs tremendous feature set. So, dont hesitate and place your order now to get all the benefits at once Thank you for being a loyal DesignSoft Customer. Note: When you want to place an order please use the links on this page to get all the benefits Share and Enjoy Dear Valued Customers, Yes, it8217s that time again After several years of development we are happy to announce the release of TINA v11 and TINA Design Suite v11 along with its fully compatible online version TINACloud . We are sure you8217ll enjoy TINAs many new features and improvements. We8217ve done our best to bring the latest technology to your circuit design and simulation activities, while maintaining the intuitive and easy user experience. TINA is well known for its ease-of-use, and it is equally popular among industry designers, educators and students throughout the world. In addition to the tons of features in TINA v6-10 here are some of the new features of TINA v11 and TINA Design Suite v11 and TINACloud: 8,000 new parts, including large number of Power amp RF devices SystemC support, add your own digital filters and MCUs to TINA Industrial Power, Lighting, Motor Control application circuits XMC microcontrollers and application circuits Efficiency-, Average value - and Frequency meters Advanced Macro editing, popup text, analysis control links New sophisticated SAR amp Sigma-Delta ADCs and DACs with SPI I2C, SPI, PM bus simulation and monitoring Transient Noise Generation and Analysis in the Industrial version Microchip XC8, MATRIX Flowcode 7, DAVE (XMC) amp Arduino Support Post processing of Fourier Spectrum Export of Diagrams in CSD format (Common Simulation Data File) Importing 3D Enclosure models in industry standard formats Visualization and printing of PCB design with Enclosures in 3D Exporting PCB with Enclosure in industry standard formats Impor ting Footprints in 2D and 3D in industry standard formats In the last three years TINACloud has gone a long way too and now it is also used as an online prototyping tool at Infineon Technologies . one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world. It now includes a lot of new features, Industrial Power amp RF components and designs which are also available in the fully compatible TINA. As a valued Tina user, we are now offering you a special product release: special introductory prices with 30 discount a complimentary . three-year subscription to TINACloud free HDL package for the Educational, Classic and Industrial versions With this incredible time limited upgrade you will be able to run, test and present your circuit designs on virtually every OS including WindowsMacLinux and every platform from smart phones through tablets to desktop PCs. Now, wherever you are, including home, office, classroom, traveling to conferences, client offices, and meetings, you can experience TINAs tremendous feature set. So, don8217t hesitate and place your order now to get all the benefits at once Thank you for being a loyal DesignSoft Customer. Note: When you want to place an order please use the links on this page to get all the benefits Share and Enjoy Hardware Description Languages (HDL) are powerful tools to describe and simulate complex electronic devices. In this tutorial video we will show how you can create a macro from a Verilog (.v) code and use in TINA. You can create macros from VHDL, Verilog-A and Verilog-AMS files in a similar way. Watch our tutorial video to see how you can create a macro from a Verilog (.v) code and use in TINA. Download the FREE trial demo of TINA Design Suite and get: One year free access to TINACloud (the cloud-based, multi-language, installation-free online version of TINA now running in your browser anywhere in the world.) An immediate 20 discount from the offline version of TINA Free license for your second computer, laptop etc. Click here to download the FREE trial demo of TINA. You can also find below the script of the video: Using Hardware Description Languages in TINA, Part 2: Creating Macros from Verilog In this tutorial video we will show how you can create a macro from a Verilog (.v) code and use in TINA. You can create macros from VHDL, Verilog-A and Verilog-AMS files in a similar way. For example consider the following Verilog interface: module halfadd (A, B, S, C) In this case the A, B ports will appear on the left side and the S, C ports will appear on the right side of the macro shape. Let8217s see how to make a macro from the following Verilog code (a half adder): module halfadd(A, B, S, C) assign C A amp B Note that this Verilog code is much simpler than the equivalent VHDL code. This is one of the great advantages of Verilog. The essential Verilog code of the half adder is 2 lines long only. Let8217s demonstrate the details. Click the Tools menu Select New Macro Wizard Type a name for the new macro In our case: Half adder Verilog Change the Settings from Current circuit to From file Click the Open icon Change the file type to. v Select TINA examples Click the Verilog folder Select the Half adder Verilog. v file and press Open Press the Next button to save the macro, and save the macro into the default Macrolib folder. Now you can insert the Macro by pressing the Insert button or you can select the 8220InsertMacro82308221 from the menu. Click the Insert button The macro will be attached to your cursor. Place it wherever you wish on the workspace. To see the content of the macro double-click on it and press the Enter Macro button The content of the macro appears. Close the TINA HDL Editor window Lets test our newly created macro in TINAs Digital interactive mode along with the previously created VHDL macro (See Using Hardware Description languages in TINA, part 1) Let8217s open our previously created Half Adder VHDL macro. TSC circuit. Here is the circuit with two High-Low digital switches, one for each of the A, B inputs, and two logic indicators. We will copy the circuit, then we will change the macro into the Half adder Verilog macro To select the circuit click at the corner of the area to be selected, hold down the left mouse button then move the mouse and release the left mouse button at the opposite corner. Click the Copy then the Paste button on the toolbar. Your circuit will be attached to your cursor. Position it by moving the mouse to the required position and press the left mouse button. Deselect the circuit by clicking an empty spot. Click the Half adder VHDL macro to be selected then delete it by pressing the Del key on the keyboard. Click the Insert menu Select User Macros Select the Half adder Verilog. TSM, then click Open The Verilog macro will be attached to your cursor, you can move and insert it into the place of the deleted VHDL macro. Let8217s test the 2 circuits Select the Digital interactive mode with the narrow 8220Select Interactive mode8221 button on the Toolbar Press the Dig button The logic levels of the nodes appear, Red for High. Blue for Low. The logic indicators will also show the logic level of the outputs in a Red square for High, and empty square for Low. Both Halfadder circuits work as required. Share and Enjoy Posts navigation Recent Posts Categories

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