source: t29-www/en/computer/tabulating-machine.php

Last change on this file was 1087, checked in by heribert, 7 years ago

Speichermedien übersetzt (Bernd)
Tabelliermaschine muss noch im Englischen angeglichen werden

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1<?php
2        $seiten_id = 'tabelliermaschine';
3        $version = '$Id: tabulating-machine.php 1087 2017-01-08 08:27:21Z sven $';
4        $title = 'BULL Tabulating machine';
5       
6        require "../../lib/technikum29.php";
7?>
8    <h2>BULL Tabulating machine</h2>
9
10    <p>Tabulating machines were widely used when electronic data processing
11       began in the 1950s. These big machines were called "technical marvels":
12       At a glance at the inner life you can see what special art of
13       engeneering was performed at that time. This kind of technology appears
14       odd for today's folks.</p>
15
16    <p>The tabulating machine BULL BS-PR was constructed in October 1956, thus it
17       is the oldest piece of EDP in the museum. At these days you could buy it
18       for about 260,000 German marks (about 62,000 US$).
19       Nevertheless even medium-sized businesses (especially banks) had to buy
20           these punch card machines to work economically.</p>
21<div class="box center auto-bildbreite">
22        <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/tabelliermaschine.jpg"
23             width="679" height="658" alt="Bull PS BR Tabulating Machine" />
24                <p class="bildtext"><i>Tabulating Machine Bull BS-PR</i></p>
25    </div>
26    <p>On high quality tabulating machines the patch panel could be replaced to
27       perform very different tasks. By plugging the cables on the programming field
28       cleverly, even some scientifical caluclations could be solved.
29    <br/>For every new program the software engineer had to plug a new
30       programming field. The only data input medium are punch cards. Therefore
31       we own other machines that are also operational to perform card driven EDP,
32       that is, devices for creation, sorting, mixing, etc. the cards.</p>
33           
34<div class="box left clear-after">
35      <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/relais1.jpg"
36           alt="Partial view of the relays" width="312" height="416"/>
37      <p class="bildtext"></p>
38         
39    <p>We have digged out programs in order to enable our tabulating machine to calculate
40       bank statements as well as multiplying and dividing. However, advanced
41       arithmetic operations are not implemented in the computer. Anyway it is possible
42       to implement a good deal of operations with lengthy algorithms borrowed from
43       computer science.
44         
45    <p>And so it came to pass that some BULL engineer asked himself why there was not yet a
46       way to compute square roots on the tabulating machine back then in 1959.
47       Since he was bored, he started to bet against his friends whether he is able to
48       implement the <em>Toepler algorithm</em> on this machine. It turned out it was
49       possible and he won the bet. We came across that program and restored it back
50       to operation. We happily relieved the historical moment having the <font color="#FF0000"><b>world's only tabulating
51       machine that can calculate square roots</b></font>. The algorithm works without any memory.
52       There is a <a class="go" href="/shared/pdf/wurzelprogramm.pdf">program guide (PDF)</a>
53       in German and French.
54    </p>
55
56    <p><small>We would like to thank the <a href="http://www.feb-d.de">F.E.B.
57       (Federation des Equipes Bull) Deutschland e.V.</a> for their assistance
58       of the restoration of the tabulating machine</small></p>
59
60 
61        The control and memory of the machine is comprised of about 1500 relays.
62        <br/>10 ALUs work in parallel and are driven and synchronized by the large main motor.
63        Every revolution engages about 300 sliding contacts. In the upper part of the picture
64        you can see three ALUs. Only one of the ALUs is broken (that can be easily bypassed by
65        customizing the programs), that is quite astonishing in view of the old age.
66     
67   <div class="box left">
68        <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/rechenwerk-1.jpg" alt="Rechenwerk" width="450" height="405" />
69                <p class="bildtext"><i>Arithmetic-logic unit</i></p>
70                </div>
71               
72                <div class="box right">
73                <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/rechenwerk.jpg" width="398" height="366" />       
74                </div>
75        <br>
76            With closed walls it looks like a strange chunk made of metal, but it
77                comprises impressive electromechanical technology. In the front there
78                are two demountable program boards that are mounted at the left side
79                of the device (not visible in the picture). The board on the left contains
80                a program for compiling and printing bank statements, the board on the
81                right contains a simple program for multiplying. Multiplying and dividing
82                mechanically needs lots of time. To shorten this amount of time, the
83                <a href="gamma3.php">"electronical calculator" BULL GAMMA&nbsp;3</a>
84                could be attached. That auxiliary tube calculator was only used for this
85                purpose.</p><br><br>
86   
87       
88        <p>     We exposed one of the 10 ALUs for an one-of-a-kind photo. The principle of sprocket wheel
89            machines is visible to the naked eye. All calculation work is performed only by mechanical
90            components and read in electronically by touch-sensitive contacts. You can even read out
91            the current arithmetic register contents: They hold both <i>144</i>. Carries are also
92            performed purley mechanically. It's hardly imaginable that these machines worked more than
93            12 hours every day without any serious problems.
94    </p>
95   
96    <div class="box left">
97        <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/offen1.jpg"
98             alt="Front view of the BULL BS PR Tabulating Machine" width="555" height="325"/>
99            <p class="bildtext">
100                    <i><b>Printing unit</b> of the tabulating machine</i>
101                </p>
102        </div>
103       
104        <p>
105        This picture partly shows the complicated printing unit &ndash; in
106        every step a complete line is printed (like later line printers did).
107        In the foreground you can see the punchcard feeder. Every punchcard is
108        read in two times. At the first scan the machine detects wheter the card is
109        a controller card or a data card whereas at the second scan the machine reads
110        the content from the card.
111                Additionally, the machine is capable of comparing the content of two
112        consecutive cards.
113    </p>
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