TX-2: Difference between revisions
Its most important contributions were in software |
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The TX-2's [[magnetic tape]] [[mass storage]] system, created by Tom Stockebrand, used 1/2" tape, but was block addressable, unlike most magnetic tape systems, which could only write sequentially. He later moved to the [[LINC]] project, along with several other TX-2 alumni, where he helped create the descendant [[LINC tape]] system; he then moved to [[DEC]], where he helped create [[DECtape]], very similar to LINCtape. | The TX-2's [[magnetic tape]] [[mass storage]] system, created by Tom Stockebrand, used 1/2" tape, but was block addressable, unlike most magnetic tape systems, which could only write sequentially. He later moved to the [[LINC]] project, along with several other TX-2 alumni, where he helped create the descendant [[LINC tape]] system; he then moved to [[DEC]], where he helped create [[DECtape]], very similar to LINCtape. | ||
The Lincoln Writer was used with the TX-2 as a [[printing terminal]]. Its [[keyboard]] had a right-pointing manicule called the [[Meta key|"Meta Hand"]], and was used to indicate an "aside" such as entering a "meta" command. | |||
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* [http://bitsavers.org/pdf/mit/tx-2/ Bitsavers TX-2 documents] | * [http://bitsavers.org/pdf/mit/tx-2/ Bitsavers TX-2 documents] | ||
* [http://bitsavers.org/pdf/mit/lincolnLaboratory/division_6/6D-2631_TX-2_Circuitry_Handbook_Oct1958.pdf TX-2 Circuitry Handbook] | * [http://bitsavers.org/pdf/mit/lincolnLaboratory/division_6/6D-2631_TX-2_Circuitry_Handbook_Oct1958.pdf TX-2 Circuitry Handbook] | ||
* [https://tx-2.github.io/ TX-2 simulation project] | |||
** [https://tx-2.github.io/commentary/tx2.html The TX-2 Computer] - excellent, detailed, overview | |||
** [https://tx-2.github.io/documentation/ TX-2 Documentation] | |||
* [https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/subject/computers-individual-computers-tx-2-computer-289 TX-2 Computer] - a collection of images | * [https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/subject/computers-individual-computers-tx-2-computer-289 TX-2 Computer] - a collection of images | ||
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121107151904/http://www.ll.mit.edu/publications/labnotes/LookingBack_19_1.pdf Looking Back: The TX-2 Computer and Sketchpad] - the work TX-2 was perhaps best known for | |||
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20201227113758/https://www.cadhistory.net/03%20MIT%20CAD%20Roots%201945-1965.pdf Computer-Aided Design's Strong Roots at MIT] - covers use of TX-2 for Sketchpad in some detail | |||
* [https://www.digibarn.com/stories/linc/documents/LINC-Personal-Workstation/LINC-Personal-Workstation.pdf The LINC Was Early and Small] - lengthy personal memoir by Wesley Clark; it also mentions the TX-2 | * [https://www.digibarn.com/stories/linc/documents/LINC-Personal-Workstation/LINC-Personal-Workstation.pdf The LINC Was Early and Small] - lengthy personal memoir by Wesley Clark; it also mentions the TX-2 | ||
* [https://web.stanford.edu/~learnest/nets/timesharing.htm Who invented Timesharing] | * [https://web.archive.org/web/20240422180141/https://web.stanford.edu/~learnest/nets/timesharing.htm Who invented Timesharing] - briefly mentions work on TX-2 | ||
* [https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/368873.368879 The Lincoln Keyboard — A Typewriter Keyboard Designed for Computers Input Flexibility] - used on the TX-2 | |||
[[Category: Mainframes]] | [[Category: Mainframes]] | ||
[[Category: 36-bit Computers]] | [[Category: 36-bit Computers]] | ||
[[Category: Unique Computers]] | [[Category: Unique Computers]] | ||
Latest revision as of 10:14, 15 October 2026
The TX-2 was an early transistor computer; it was a follow-on to the ground-breaking TX-0 at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Innovations around interrupts used on the TX-2 were an important predecessor to the PDP-1. Its most important contributions were in the software developed on it.
One important application developed on the TX-2 was the ground-breaking Sketchpad. Later on, an important data networking demonstration that preceded the ARPANET used the TX-2. Beginning in 1964 a time-sharing system called APEX was put together on the TX-2, under the guidance of Larry Roberts, using a small number of consoles with graphics capability.
The TX-2's magnetic tape mass storage system, created by Tom Stockebrand, used 1/2" tape, but was block addressable, unlike most magnetic tape systems, which could only write sequentially. He later moved to the LINC project, along with several other TX-2 alumni, where he helped create the descendant LINC tape system; he then moved to DEC, where he helped create DECtape, very similar to LINCtape.
The Lincoln Writer was used with the TX-2 as a printing terminal. Its keyboard had a right-pointing manicule called the "Meta Hand", and was used to indicate an "aside" such as entering a "meta" command.
Further reading
- C. Gordon Bell, Gerald Butler, Robert Gray, John E. Mcnamara, Donald Vonada, and Ronald Wilson, The PDP-1 and Other 18-Bit Computers, in C. Gordon Bell, J. Craig Mudge, John. E. McNamara, Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware Systems Design, Digital Press, Bedford, 1978
- Severo M. Ornstein, Computing in the Middle Ages: A View From the Trenches 1955-1983 (AuthorHouse, 2002) - Some background about the end of the construction of the TX-2
External links
- Bitsavers TX-2 documents
- TX-2 Circuitry Handbook
- TX-2 simulation project
- The TX-2 Computer - excellent, detailed, overview
- TX-2 Documentation
- TX-2 Computer - a collection of images
- Looking Back: The TX-2 Computer and Sketchpad - the work TX-2 was perhaps best known for
- Computer-Aided Design's Strong Roots at MIT - covers use of TX-2 for Sketchpad in some detail
- The LINC Was Early and Small - lengthy personal memoir by Wesley Clark; it also mentions the TX-2
- Who invented Timesharing - briefly mentions work on TX-2
- The Lincoln Keyboard — A Typewriter Keyboard Designed for Computers Input Flexibility - used on the TX-2
