System design of a computer for time sharing applications

In the late spring and early summer of 1964 it became obvious that greater facility in the computing system was required if time-sharing techniques were to move from the state of an interesting pilot experiment into that of a useful prototype for remote access computer systems. Investigation proved computers that were immediately available could not be adapted readily to meet the difficult set of requirements time-sharing places on any machine. However, there was one system that appeared to be extendible into what was desired. This machine was the General Electric 635. The 635 is a single address stored program computer with a word length of 36 bits. It possessed many of the characteristics that were deemed necessary for the application of a computer to time-sharing. The three most important characteristics are: 1. A clean and comprehensive order code, 2. a multiprocessor capability, and 3. nonsynchronous design.