39 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
39 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
# Cardiograph computers
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The Cardiographs are a pair of imaginary computers,
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designed as educational toys.
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Inspired by the CARDIAC paper computer,
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they are intended to be simple enough to build as
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hand-operated paper models.
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Their design is guided by two additional criteria:
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1. They should be capable of producing interesting graphical output
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2. They should accurately model the functioning of a real computer
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(by operating on binary data, for example)
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## The two computers
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The two Cardiograph computers are:
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1. the _Cardiograph Mark I_ (CG) is a mainframe machine
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2. the _Micro Cardiograph_ (µCG) is a microprocessor trainer
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(a miniaturized descendent of the mainframe)
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They use the same instruction set and have very similar CPUs. (TODO: is that true?)
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The main difference is in their peripheral hardware:
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the Mark I is designed for batch processing and supports punched-card input,
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while the MicroCardiograph is designed to be used interactively.
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## Simulator
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_[Micro ElectroCardiograph (µECG)](micro/readme-micro.md)_ is a simulator for the Micro Cardiograph.
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## Documentation
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- [Specification for the Cardiograph Architecture](docs/architecture-specification.md)
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- [Design for the mainframe computer](docs/mainframe-design.md)
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- [Design for the micro computer](docs/micro-design.md)
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- [Assembly Language](docs/assembly-language.md) |