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Table of Contents

GOAL BACKGROUND Possible Sections Graphical User Interface

Pages from the Burks & Burks book NEXT Notes

GOAL:

• Use a PC and open source code to emulate and display most of the functionality of the ABC [ Computer }
  • Except the card "punch", card reader, and decimal conversion machinery
    - I/O is visible as decimal and binary.
    - Intermediate results, equation coefficients, are stored in PC memory not physical media.

    Making the internal states and operations visible

    Atanasoff used a variation of Gaussian Elimination, using kind of a "microcoded" division to form the correct ratios to permit coefficient elimination.
    (Determine the values of the variables.)

    Showing the progress of the elimination of the variables in the succeeding stored equations.
• Shows the Gaussian selection of equation pairs to load into the ABC, and a pivot point, for Gaussian elimination. You don't have to be a matrix whiz :-))
  - This provides a better reconstruction of operator activities. (The actual equation input, processing, and output are rather automatic after selection.)
• Provide a section "Why are people interested in solving simultaneous equations?" Like why bother?
• Provide the code and show the source of the compiler to help assure potential users that there are no virus present. The user can examine, compile, and run the source code.
  Posssibly provide a JAVASCRIPT version for safe running on your PC -

  Just plain have fun ;-))

BACKGROUND:

There were about six serious efforts in the era to get aid in solving scientific oriented computing. Here is a Mini History of the efforts.
Commercial data processing problems, such as inventory, billing, payroll, ..., were being handled by a group of companies, including the famous International Business Machines ( IBM ).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

There is a viable claim that the "First Electronic Computer"

• was conceived and designed by John V. Atanasoff
• and constructed by Clifford Berry
• at and funded by Iowa State College.
  • It also used the first "dynamic memory" - the principles used in your computer today, invented by Atanasoff.
  • First use of binary arithmetic, used in your computer today

The "ABC" was an equation solving machine, constructed to find the variables of up to 29 simultaneous equations, and was successfully tested in 1942. It could not run Windows ;-)) nor do most other computery things such as play games.

However - it was a "giant leap" in the quest for solving simultaneous linear equations.

• An ABC reconstruction has been completed at
  - Iowa State University was College at the time
  - re-construction pictures

  A very useful book, mentioned above, The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story by Burks and Burks, is available.

  Useful/Interesting web sites etc.

  - Making first computer come to life again

  - Current ABC Reconstruction Team

  - Reconstruction of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer by Dr. John Gustafson

  Contacts: John V. Atanasoff Jr., Dr. Carl Chang (ISU prof), Dr. John Gustafson (Reconstruction Project Mgr), Charles Shorb, Gary Sleege, Guy G Helmer, Laurel Tweed - current program coordinator, Alice R Burks - co-author of " The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story"

  A list of interesting pictures - at Iowa State web site

  - ABC Current Events

  - Current ABC Reconstruction Team

  There is an amazing amount of heat between Atanasoff "bigots" and ENIAC "bigots". Reminds me of the computer operating system wars, or computer language wars - Now that I've offended both sides, I'm just here to learn a little and have a good time.

  As Atanasoff is quoted, "There is more than enough credit for all."

  I am using FREEBASIC with the "FBIDE" developer's interface, because I can paint an arbitrary pixel with an arbitrary color !! You would be surprised how few languages permit you do that. It gets compiled to machine code and runs fast :-))

Possible Sections

• ABC Machine Operator's Manual - likely never written for the original machine - WWII called
  My (Ed Thelen's) start of an 'Operator's Manual'
  Charles Shorb's start of User Manual / Guide for the ABC in PDF.

  	Probably useful to me to help tie things together. Should include data (input card) preparation, handling intermediate decks/arced_paper ? Would the operator be responsible for selecting pivot points Gauss-Jordan, or just use Gauss, or ?? preparation of final (report) from data from the machine
  	(This Data Flow diagram (Feb 8, 2010) is based on John Gustafon's "ABC Instructions" - and needs checking by ABC folks)
  	image from Charles Shorb

  Maintenance and Trouble Shooting Manual - likely never written for original machine - WWII called

  • I probably won't write one either ;-))
  • A place for documents and comments by the reconstructors ??
  • ?John Gustafson? mentioned using repeating ( ?5x5? ) problems to assure rather complete testing
  • ?Voltage margin testing

  Acceptance Tests - likely never written for the original machine - WWII called

  • A complete simulation should pass these
  • Input test cases, and expected results for each,
  • probably no discussion of results/hour, uptime, ... ;-))
  • John Gustafson suggests simulating the worrysome data punching errors to estimating the largest practical array size -

Graphical User's Interface

• (Monitor must be at least 1280x1024, Tested on a PC running Windows XP)
  PLEASE NOTE & REMEMBER: click mouse on "EXIT" (middle of top line) or type "q" to quit the program.
  ABC-0V2-Sim10-03-21.exe - .exe file for images below - click to download and run (on a PC) - 106 KBytes
  ABC-0V2-Sim10-03-21.bas - source file for images below - 47 KBytes

  This Graphical User Interface is at Alpha 1.0 release, Bit fields rotated 90 degrees from 0.1 release, card reading/writing vectors added. Images of monitor are about 150 KBytes

  Atanasoff used terminology similar to the desk calculators of the era because current terminology hadn't been developed yet - although he was the ?first? to use the now universal word "memory". "Keyboard" (KA) is the equation being compared in this cycle, shifted in processing "Counter" (CA) is the equation being modified for the elimination, modified - Carries, being of some interest, are also painted

  The equations in the GUI (above) are selectable as "3x3, Integer", "5x5, Random", and "9x9, Random" with dynamic display of the bits, numeric changes and various eliminations of unknowns. The remark of "Atanasoff technique" refers to the method not requiring a formal multiply and the only divide is a shift right one bit, with no quotient :-)) greatly simplifying the machine.

  3x3 done

  9x9 half

  9x9 done

  I'm trying to make the display sexy, attractive, sparkle, ... "If I look at this, I can drive my convertible on the beach, and the girls will flock about" - you know those ads ;-)) As best I can figure, most folks know of simultaneous equations only as a topic to torment high school "math" students. If folks have some clue why solving equations of more than say three unknowns, they might give a hoot. Solving for just one unknown is usually puzzling enough !! ;-)) Why would some guy in Iowa ( or anywhere for that matter ) want to solve for up to 29 unknowns? So your GPS receiver solves for 4 convertible many times a second, GPS is magic anyway - Your comments on the above are solicited - Send e-mail or (510) 742-1146

Pages from the Burks & Burks book - the best published technical reference

• Six vital pages from "The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story" (above) are being made available courtesy of Alice R. Burks - each about 150 K Bytes

  from cover Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29

• Here is the basic scheme

  Page 11

  Page 12

NEXT: Feb 26, 2010

• Notes
• I feel pretty much done with the programming, could stand some prettying up. The code is not tidy at all, many changes of mind have left a bit of a scramble.
• Probably should add a real time option to show the actual speed of the machine - slow the simulation and display by factor of 25. One drum rotation per second did a complete add or subtract or shift of 30 coefficients - remarkable speed at the time, but modern silicon computers are sooo fast !!!
• Will spend more time on this web site ;-))

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If you have comments or suggestions, Send e-mail to Ed Thelen

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