Science  People  Locations  Timeline
Index: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Home > HP 2100


 Contents
Hewlett-Packard's first computer, the 2116A of the HP-2100 series, was developed in the late 1960s. It is a 16-bit word-addressed general purpose computer. Main memory is 4096 words (4K), expandable to 32K magnetic core. The memory cycle time is 1.6 microseconds.

There are two 16-bit accumulators, called A and B. There are two 1-bit flags, called Overflow and Extend. The program counter, 15 bits, is called P. All instructions in the standard instruction set are 16 bits long. Conditional branching is done with a conditional skip followed by a jump instruction.

1 Instruction overview

2 Model overview

2.1 Early models (1966-1969)

Core memory, hardwired CPU. Essentially a PDP-8The PDP-8 was the first successful commercial minicomputer, produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in the 1960s. It was the first widely-sold computer in the DEC PDP series of computers (the PDP-5 was not originally intended to be a general-purpo that has been pumped up to 16 bits.

2.2 Second generation (1970-1974)

Core memory, microprogramA microprogram is a program consisting of microcode that controls the different parts of a computer's central processing unit ( CPU). The memory in which it resides is called a control store. Complex microprograms were typical of mainframe computers, suchmed CPU.

2.3 21MX (1975-????)

SemiconductorA semiconductor is a material that is an insulator at very low temperature, but which has a sizable electrical conductivity at room temperature. The distinction between a semiconductor and an insulator is not very well-defined, but roughly, a semiconducto memory, expandable to 1,048,576 words (one megaMega (symbol M is a SI prefix in the SI system of units denoting a factor of 106, i. one million; 1 000 000. Confirmed in 1960, it comes from the Greek , meaning great''. For example, 1 MW (megawatt) 1 000 000 watts 1 000 kilowatts. Other common examplesword).

2.4 Introduction dates

According to the alt.folklore.computers Big List the early computers were introduced at the following times:

(Note the conflicting entries for the 2116A, also the presence of the 2000A which is a time sharing system and not an actual computer as such.)

3 References

Minicomputers

Read more »

Non User