A computer system designer's view of large scale integration

Abstract

Russell has defined faith as the willingness to adhere to a belief in the face of evidence to the contrary. According to this definition it is quite appropriate to describe as faith the forecasts being made by many industry optimists about the imminent future of Large Scale Integration (LSI) of semiconductor logic in digital computers. This paper will attempt to cast a realistic light on the promises and possibilities of mainframe LSI. Two major topics will be discussed: A. Semiconductor technology: What major improvements are possible and under development, and what difficulties must be overcome before these possibilities materialize. B. Computer design: In what ways can the special characteristics of LSI enhance the design of general-purpose computers, and why are some proposals not as promising as they might first seem.