Whirlwind: Difference between revisions
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It was built out of [[vacuum tube]]s, and used a predecessor to [[microcode]] for internal control [[logic]]. | It was built out of [[vacuum tube]]s, and used a predecessor to [[microcode]] for internal control [[logic]]. | ||
Whirlwind was orginally built for use in a flight simulator, but wound up being used to prototype the [[SAGE]] air defence system. | Whirlwind was orginally built at [[MIT]] (MIT's first computer) for use in a flight simulator, but wound up being used to prototype the [[SAGE]] air defence system. | ||
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Revision as of 18:19, 16 September 2018
Whirlwind was one of the very first computers; it was enormously influential, for several reasons. It was the first real-time computer, unlike all the other first-generation computers, which were intended only for large-scale computations for numerical applications. It was also the first computer with core memory, which was invented for it.
It was built out of vacuum tubes, and used a predecessor to microcode for internal control logic.
Whirlwind was orginally built at MIT (MIT's first computer) for use in a flight simulator, but wound up being used to prototype the SAGE air defence system.
