I came across the following picture, and started wondering "What was it like to program a UNIVAC 490, and what could the thing do?
Well through the magic of LLMs, I could easily find out. The following web page is a simulation we created of programming a UNIVAC 490.
[clearnet] https://laantungir.net/univac-490
[tor] http://kn2jam4kyz6s5wacyozo3do3d2zsvh4to45uh7xliulwdust6zjuvnad.onion/univac-490
[fips] http://npub1crpldvy49ef8z34wlacwujnfudy4nd7k96aqdx5wgn6ckztz7z8q9t59ud.fips/univac-490
There are 6 sample programs you can run and I have included the instruction set in the reference tab, if you wish to try coding the 490 yourself.
The "Add two numbers" program should be queued up. It is a good one to step through and watch the registers to give you a general idea of what is going on.
The "Calculate Pi" program is a good one to let run, because the page can simulate the actual speed that the UNIVAC 490 processed at and give you a feel for what this puppy had under the hood.
Stay sovereign
[Laan]
*****************************
The UNIVAC 490 was a UNIVAC computer with 16K or 32K words of magnetic-core memory. The words had 30 bits and the cycle time was 4.8 microseconds. It was a commercial derivative of the instruction set that had been developed for the AN/USQ-17 by Seymour Cray for the United States Navy. This was the last machine that Cray designed before leaving UNIVAC to join the early Control Data Corporation.
At least 47 of these machines were made (serial numbers run from 101 to 147). Six were installed at NASA and played important roles in Gemini and the Apollo missions. The U490 had complete control of most or all of the data readout screens in Houston Mission Control. The USAF had two installed, as did Lockheed.
The instruction word format:
f – Function code designator (6 bits)
j – Branch condition designator (3 bits)
k – Operand-interpretation designator (3 bits)
b – Operand address modification designator (3 bits)
y – Operand designator (15 bits)
Numbers were represented in ones' complement.
The machine provided the programmer with the following registers:
Seven B-registers (Address modifying index registers) 15 bits each
One A-register or accumulator 30 bits
One Q-register and auxiliary arithmetic register 30 bits
Well through the magic of LLMs, I could easily find out. The following web page is a simulation we created of programming a UNIVAC 490.
[clearnet] https://laantungir.net/univac-490
[tor] http://kn2jam4kyz6s5wacyozo3do3d2zsvh4to45uh7xliulwdust6zjuvnad.onion/univac-490
[fips] http://npub1crpldvy49ef8z34wlacwujnfudy4nd7k96aqdx5wgn6ckztz7z8q9t59ud.fips/univac-490
There are 6 sample programs you can run and I have included the instruction set in the reference tab, if you wish to try coding the 490 yourself.
The "Add two numbers" program should be queued up. It is a good one to step through and watch the registers to give you a general idea of what is going on.
The "Calculate Pi" program is a good one to let run, because the page can simulate the actual speed that the UNIVAC 490 processed at and give you a feel for what this puppy had under the hood.
Stay sovereign
[Laan]
*****************************
The UNIVAC 490 was a UNIVAC computer with 16K or 32K words of magnetic-core memory. The words had 30 bits and the cycle time was 4.8 microseconds. It was a commercial derivative of the instruction set that had been developed for the AN/USQ-17 by Seymour Cray for the United States Navy. This was the last machine that Cray designed before leaving UNIVAC to join the early Control Data Corporation.
At least 47 of these machines were made (serial numbers run from 101 to 147). Six were installed at NASA and played important roles in Gemini and the Apollo missions. The U490 had complete control of most or all of the data readout screens in Houston Mission Control. The USAF had two installed, as did Lockheed.
The instruction word format:
f – Function code designator (6 bits)
j – Branch condition designator (3 bits)
k – Operand-interpretation designator (3 bits)
b – Operand address modification designator (3 bits)
y – Operand designator (15 bits)
Numbers were represented in ones' complement.
The machine provided the programmer with the following registers:
Seven B-registers (Address modifying index registers) 15 bits each
One A-register or accumulator 30 bits
One Q-register and auxiliary arithmetic register 30 bits
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