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