A small special-purpose data retrieval system

Magnetic tape files are becoming of increasing importance in data processing applications. Rapid access to these files in a random fashion is often necessary, but is difficult to achieve because the data processing machine is usually occupied in performing other computations.This paper describes the applications, uses, and design of a special-purpose computer for retrieval of information from large magnetic tape files. The machine makes it possible to obtain information from the large file rapidly and in a random manner without requiring special programming and without disturbing the schedule of the main data processing center.