The Amateur
Computerist
January 1 1989 Volume 2 No. 1
TABLE of CONTENTS
Return to Sanity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1
Letters from Readers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3
Problem Corner.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7
TRY THIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 8
Response to October Editorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 9
Commodore County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 10
Computer Hacking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 11
Assigning Keys.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14
History of Computers, Pt. I.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 18
Return to Sanity
With the Amateur and the Pro
by Floyd Hoke-Miller
Realizing,
Doubting not,
We are standing
At the Crossroads of
confusion;
Marking time,
Directionless,
Minus any concerted plan
To correct
Constitutional crises
On the home front.
Webpage: http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/
Page 1
Diplomatic danger
Dominating
All contact abroad;
Genocide facing
Homo Sapiens
As a Species
From terra firma.
Face aghast
Tarnished by allegiance to
Mars and Mammon
Sabre rattling,
Hate mongering
Crying peace,
Good will!
Arming to the hilt
Secretly.
Voltaire ignored is
Censorship,
Frustratingly,
Convertingly
Hiding an
Ugly head,
Creating by so doing,
Not democratic equity,
But stark inequity
In hyperbole
Let us say;
Build the Big Brain
Sans numbers,
Doing the work for us all,
All may then,
Sit, Stand, Travel,
Whatever —
We'll all be Bosses.
(Note: Voltaire was a proponent of free speech and freedom of the press. He said though: “I may
disagree with what you say, I will dual to the death to defend your right to say it.”)
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Letters from Readers
Thank you for your introductory edition of the Amateur
Computerist. After I read it, it was distributed to my network instructor
and then to my fellow students in IEEE. Everyone is excited. When I get
a chance I will get a subscription.
I have some suggestions. As you know Scientific American
publishes a column that has a lot to do with Mathematics. It’s called
“Metamathical Themas.” It would be nice if someone in the society
could review the column and see how it could apply to the computer.
Then if someone comes up with something that's really ground breaking
the society will gain more ground with the general public.
Another idea is to have someone collect all the programs he or she
can in BASIC, Fortran, et al, and send them to you or someone else to
collate and get an advisory panel to judge which is the best. That would
lead up to a giant library getting started where disks are available for a
small fee to anyone who wants them. If you could get some of the
colleges like MIT, Cal Tech, and others in on this after awhile the First
Amateur Computerist Congress can convene. Of course membership just
doesn’t have to be for Americans and Canadians – extend it world wide.
There’s one more area I would like to see developed and elaborated
upon and that is “Courseware” software that teachers use for their
courses. That should have a separate column.
The art part should include making pictures with computers and
doing the things that the comic book artists do. Awards and Scholarships
can be handed out. Finally, we should have branches, regions or whatnot
to help you do this. And a logo is needed if you don’t have one already.
Thank you
Gary Chestnut
Page 3
I was pleased to see your letter in Radio-Electronics announcing the
start up of the Amateur Computerist newsletter, and would like to be
added to the mailing list to receive it. If there is a subscription charge,
or if contributions to defray expenses are acceptable, please let me know
and I’ll send a check. There have been newsletters devoted to particular
systems, but I feel there is a need for broader coverage.
A bit about myself: I’m a semi-retired chemist with an interest in
building and using computers which goes back quite a way, though with
little accomplished. Unfortunately, I was unaware at the time of Stephen
Gray and the “Amateur Computer Society.” However, some 25 years
ago I did acquire one of the original Heath analog computers (with 15
wildly drifting op-amps!) and still have it.
About ten years ago I started to construct Hal Chamberlin’s IMP-16
system, which he described in the old Computer Hobbyist. I never did
get it finished due to the demise of the Computer Hobbyist, and
subsequently of National’s Bit Buck which reprinted Chamberlin
articles, which Hal apparently never completed. I still have the boards
and chips for it, but there’s no point in working with a system which is
now obsolete, though very powerful for its day.
Next on my list of unfinished projects was a Z-80 system, based on
the surplus Xerox board. I have this completed and may even get around
to firing it up one day.
My present system is a Slicer 80186, built from their kits. This
comprises the CPU and 1-meg expansion boards, with Heath H-29
terminal, two 360-K floppies and a NEC P6 printer, running MS-DOS
2.1. I’ll have to add their PC board if I’m going to run much commercial
software.
My present interest is in working with full 32-bit systems based on
the National 32032 or the Motorola 68020. As you may know, Rick
Rodman (1923 Anderson Road, Falls Church, VA 22043) publishes an
informative newsletter devoted to the former. The low-priced 32016 and
32032 kits available through National’s distributors, facilitate designing
around these chips. I got a 32032 kit thru Hamilton/Avnet about 18
months ago for $70. An upgraded version is now available. This is quite
good as it provides schematics from which one can wire-wrap a board,
and TDS (“tiny development system”) ROMs, in addition to a 6-MHz
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chip set.
Hamilton/Avnet also has a 68020 kit (pricey at $329.50!), but it has
16.7-MHz parts (68020 CPU, 68851 MMU, 68881 FPC), 4x32K of 35-
nsec static memory, and two A/D converters (seems to be oriented
toward controller systems). Documentation comprises manuals for the
68xxx’s and a loose-leaf binder of reprints (mostly quality advertising).
There are no schematics or other guides for construction. If you buy the
kit, Hamilton/Avnet will provide separately a monitor in ROM for the
price of a 27256 (or you can supply the ROM and they’ll program it
free.) But they tell me no documentation is provided for the monitor.
Perhaps some previously published constructional articles on 68000
systems could provide information applicable to designing a 68020
board. Ed Scott’s uncompleted series on 68000 design, which appeared
in the late lamented Computersmyth and Peter Stark’s series in Radio-
Electronics should be helpful. Anyway, I’d be interested in seeing
material in the newsletter, or hearing from anyone working with, or
contemplating, a 68020 system. (The latter is the present extent of my
involvement.)
Norman F. Stanley
Rockland, Maine
It’s a wonder what you can find when you’re not looking. First, I
found some information on supercomputers and parallel processing in
some engineering magazines. A lot of it I understand, but some of it is
still Greek to me. Also I found a technical reference manual for my
CoCo III. There were actually some interesting things in there that, for
some reason, Radio Shack chose to hide. But I haven’t had much time
to work on my computer for a while because of school and work, so it’ll
be a while before I can do any computer work.
I mentioned in my last letter that some of my interests are scientific
in nature, so I’ve been trying to figure how the higher-number functions
work in machine language. But I haven’t figured out much beyond the
basic functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).
When I find the answers, I would like to pass on what I find.
Has anyone else written in with an interest in building their own
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computer? I have a very ambitious long range goal in building my own
system and would like to hear from others.
Another amateur computerist,
Steve Bouton
Cairo, GA
Please send me the first three issues of your Amateur Computerist
magazine. I have written many articles for Micro and Peek magazines
before they folded up. I have also published articles in the Australian
Computer newsletter KAOS. Last week I sent in an article to Computer
Shopper. So I am no stranger to authorship.
Since I purchased this IBM clone, my home brewing activities seem
to have ceased. The new computer already has all the features I was
trying to construct.
I am also interested in amateur radio, and can communicate with
other computers with a radio modem. This is known as “Packet Radio.”
Earl Morris
Midland, MI
After noticing a letter from your Amateur Computerist newsletter
in the September Radio-Electronics I thought that your group might be
able to help me. I am having trouble getting any help concerning a
MC68000 computer that I unfortunately purchased on Radio-Electronics
recommendation from Computer Express from Corvallis, OR. That
motherboard, unpopulated plus the manual cost me $500. After spending
over $500 for required parts and fighting incorrectly labeled and
incorrectly identified parts, most of what I need to complete the system
I have found. Some of the parts I need I have not managed to find
anyplace. I have not received any response from Computer Express or
Radio-Electronics concerning these problems. Listed are some of the
problems I still have not worked out. I am unable to find the below parts
anywhere.
(74LS172, 74ALS253, 74ALS648, 74ALS74, 2149-2(35-45ns) NEC,
9229-B, MC68000 or MC68010 {8 MHZ pin grid socket (no standoff)})
The motherboard is too large to fit into a full size AT case. The
suggested 200 watt power supply is unavailable thru any manufacturer
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or distributor so I had to use a AT 200 watt power supply.
As I cannot get any response from Computer Express, 1425 NW
Monroe ST. Corvallis, OR. 97330, (503)757-2984 or from Radio-
Electronics, I am unable to purchase ram board, speech-clock board,
V24 board or any software once I do manage to get the required parts.
Needless to say, I am totally disgusted with Radio-Electronics and
Computer Express. I purchased the motherboard after I read the first
article in Radio-Electronics about the MC68000 more than a year ago.
After one article which mentioned there would be additional articles on
the computer and Radio-Electronics would be associated with the
MC68000, I laid out the money. Immediately after the first article
Radio-Electronics stopped any reference to the MC68000 and later
started an entire series of articles on the PT68K, an entirely different
system. Neither Radio-Electronics nor Computer Express has responded
to any of my letters and I gave up hope until I read of your newsletter.
If you know of anyone who has managed to get this system operational
or even find required parts please let me know. I would appreciated any
help in this area and am interested in receiving your newsletter.
Respectfully
S. Sgt. Charley D. Campbell
(Editor’s Note: We do not know why Sgt. Campbell had the trouble he
did. We sometime have trouble with the U.S. mail. We suggest he write
to the author of the article in Radio-Electronics with the problem he has
had. We are publishing the letter here in hopes that some reader may be
able to help the sergeant find the solution to the trouble he is having.)
PROBLEM CORNER
I would like to know if there is a way to quit a game without rebooting.
There is a game that I would like to have someone write a batch file for that
will allow you to stop or break out of the game at any point.
Norman
Page 7
Boy was I glad when I saw your article in Radio-Electronics
magazine. I have been currently pulling my hair out, trying to design a
computerized quadraphonic sound system based on an INS8039 11Mhz
microprocessor. The sound chips are two AY-3-8910 programmable
sound generators with 64 K of RAM. I was also trying to use my
Commodore 64 computer as the main controller for the system. But, I
think I’ve gone over my ability in trying to construct this device. And do
I need the help.
Anyway, is it possible to get more information on the newsletter?
For instance, how do you present a problem like this one to your readers.
I would be most grateful for help.
Thank you very much,
John Gritzmacher Jr.
TRY THIS for IBM
10 KEY OFF:CLS
20 INPUT “Input a number from 20 to 150 :”,A
30 PI=4*ATN(1)
40 FOR R=1 TO 250
50 IF R<=24 THEN Y=R:GOTO 70
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60 Y=24
70 X=40+35*SIN(2*PI*R/A)
80 LOCATE Y,X :PRINT”*”
90 NEXT
100 CLS
110 GOTO 20
Response to October Editorial
(Editor’s Note: The following response was received from Jud
Kempson, an assistant editor of Agenda. A version of the editorial
“Upcoming Elections and Computers” by Ronda Hauben was printed in
the Agenda newspaper in their Nov. 1988 issue.)
I have problems with the economic theory underlying the article.
She talks a lot about economic “incentive” to invest in new technologies,
yet companies are withdrawing from their investment. If free market
forces are pushing companies to invest, then why do they fall back on
labor to increase their profits? Perhaps she needs to take it further and
comment on the shortsightedness of relying on free market forces and
profits for productive longevity. In the short run, labor-intensive
operations will manifest themselves in immediate profits while
investment of capital in technology lend itself to long term economic
vitality and health at the cost of profits. Also, I think she needs to
explore the role of unions more, especially the tension between union
laborer and union official. How, for example, did the Flint workers
prevail in their contract negotiations in 1948 when UAW International
Officials opposed them? Once again, how exactly do union contracts
provide companies with “incentive” to invest in technology. Why the
personal computer and the shop floor? How exactly will they tie
together? What is her vision of how a technologically state-of-the-art
factory would operate? How do workers fit in? Would they all be
programmers? What are the incentives for companies to re-train line
workers? What about those workers who are not technologically
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inclined?
(Jud Kempson is Assistant Editor of AGENDA, 202 E. Washington
#512, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.)
WELCOME TO
COMMODORE COUNTY USA
It was even better hearing back from you that you received my
letter. When I read your letter, I was most excited to hear that you were
accepting articles, cartoons, and other things. I know that my artwork is
not the best and you probably have standards, but I have come up with
a comic strip of my own. It’s called “Commodore County.” In the first
few strips I manage to introduce a few of my characters and relay some
common problems of Commodore users, and the experimenter in
general.
Starting off we have Ziff, a computer hacker that cannot understand
why the computer cannot find his files. And then we have my favorite,
Conrad “Chip” Fernow, a duck with an uncanny sense of experimenta-
tion, and Sandra Mcgee, Ziff’s little sister, who commonly is found
chewing on floppies and carrying around Ziff’s power supply by its
cord. I will be introducing other characters in time, but for now that’s all
I’ve come up with. I have several more I’ve been toying with but
haven’t put them to ink yet. I hope my drawings are up to your stan-
dards. I am not saying that they are good by any means, but I like to try
anything that’s possible once. So thanks for your consideration, and here
is my five bucks. Sign me up for the year and I will have a question or
two, or three, or four, coming up in future letters. So thanks again and
see you around in Commodore County!
From the Head Hacker in Commodore County USA.
John Gritzmacher Jr.
Page 10
COMPUTER HACKING, A CRIME?
By Michael Hauben
(Editor’s Note: On Nov. 9, 1988, the Detroit News published an editorial
“Hate Not the Hacker.” They were commenting on the press coverage
about people like Robert Tappon Morris, the 23-year old Cornell
University graduate student who found an important flaw in a U.S.
government computer system. The Detroit News joined the press chorus
demanding a criminal penalty for Robert Morris, asking that he be
Page 11
“prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” And they recommended
“penalties for computer tampering can be made more severe.”
Surprisingly, though, the Detroit News editorial ends by saying
“Most hackers stay within the law and many computer system operators
can help their own cause by improving security. It is in our own interest,
however, to see to it that minds like this are encouraged in their pursuit
of new knowledge.”
But Robert Morris did no harm and in fact he performed a service.
He showed some of the weaknesses of a government computer system
so they could be corrected. He should be rewarded, not condemned or
subjected to criminal prosecution. But there has been a long series of
efforts by the U.S. government to try to enact criminal penalties against
computer enthusiasts and to label all computer hackers as criminals. This
effort needs to be countered by computer lovers. It was good to see
Steve Wozniak, who created the Apple computer, defend computer
hackers on TV Channel 7's “Nightline” program. He refused to allow
them to be confused with white collar criminals. The following article
shows that this effort to label computer hackers as criminals is not new.)
Is computer hacking a crime? That is what all of the magazines
seem to say. On the other hand, hackers say that hacking is a challenge
and it’s interesting. First we need to know some definitions. BBS is an
acronym for Bulletin Board System. A BBS is generally what it says it
is, a place for posting messages, although the information is transmitted
electronically over the phone lines. A modem is a device that sends
computer data over the phone lines to another modem hooked up to
another computer.
The word “Hacker” can have several meanings. In a dictionary one
would find “cab driver” and in the book Out of the Inner Circle by Bill
Landreth (“The Cracker”) you would find for the 1980's the definition
of the word “hacker: A person who often attempts to gain unauthorized
access to large systems by using his personal computer equipment.” But
I think the word “hacker” has a wider range of meanings, going from
Bill Landreth’s definition to my definition, which is to find out about
undocumented features of your personal computer.
An article in Newsweek magazine shows how hackers were arrested
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for no reason. The article said that police in suburban New Jersey seized
7 teenagers’ computers, modems & other equipment. The prosecutor
charged the teenagers with the “usual” (conspiring to use stolen credit
card numbers and to make illegal long-distance phone calls and illegal
purchases.) Plus, they were charged with “changing the positions of
satellites up in the blue heavens,” and with obtaining secret phone
numbers of top Pentagon brass. On a local computer bulletin board “they
had also exchanged information,” the prosecutor said, on how to build
letter bombs and they had “threatened this nation’s defense” by
publishing a secret phone number for computer access to the defense
contractor TRW which included information on military tank parts. The
story became a lead news item, but was it a real-life security risk? “Our
satellites have not been moved,” insisted an AT&T communications
spokesman. “It’s close to impossible,” he added. The Pentagon also said
that there was no security breach there. TRW, who does not make any
tank or tank parts said there were no security breaches either. “Frankly,
[the police] don’t know what they’ve got,” said a TRW spokeswoman.
The assistant prosecutor said, “We got numbers that say they can do
things, but we don’t know if they did them.”
I leave it to you to draw your own conclusion but I think it is all a
big scare. Take, for example, this quote, from “Beware: Hackers at play”
in Newsweek: “It’s time to put the fear of God into people,” said by a
Pentagon deputy.
Bibliography
Out of the Inner Circle, by Bill Landreth, (Bellevue, WA., 1985)
“Was It Really War Games” by William D. Marbach, Newsweek, July 29, 1985, p. 23
“Beware: Hackers at Play” by William D. Marbach, Newsweek, September 5,1983, pp.
42-48.
Page 13
IBM KEY ASSIGNMENTS
USING The “PROMPT” COMMAND
A. Introduction
Dos can be used to assign a string or command to any key. After
which, a press of that key will send the string or command to the CPU.
This process requires ANSI.SYS to be in the CONFIG.SYS file, and that
these files be in the root directory of your system.
B. Assignment of Keys
An assignment file can be made with EDLIN, an ASCII word
processor or editor, or “copy con.” This article is based on the use of an
ASCII editor. This is noted because of the variation in the handling of
the “ESC” character (ASCII 27). Various editors use different characters
to represent ASCII 27 (ESC); for example, $e[, ^[, ^[[, etc.
1. Pre-assigned F-keys
For this discussion Keys F1 thru F6 are considered to be under the
control of DOS for use in editing and EDLIN.
2. Other keys than F-keys 1 to 6
Many other keys can be made to do what you wish. This presenta-
tion will use key F7 for a typical example.
3. Meta-string
Meta-string is the name for an assembly of characters that work in
harmony for a particular purpose. The DOS command PROMPT uses
“$e” for escape (ASCII 27), and when combined with certain ANSI code
(e.g. “[”) can be used to make new assignments “ala ANSI” to the
buttons on the keyboard.
C. Extended Character Codes
To assign a string or value to a key, it is necessary to know the
extended code for that key. There are two groups of code for keys: the
standard ASCII code keys (letters, numbers, and some controls); and the
other keys that are specific to IBM and its compatibles. The latter are the
F-keys separately and in combination with ALT, SHIFT, and CTRL, and
Page 14
some other keys and/or combinations. A partial table of some “Extended
Character Codes” for F-keys in combination is shown below:
KEY Normal Shift Ctrl Alt
F1 59 84 94 104
F2 60 85 95 105
F3 61 86 96 106
F4 62 87 97 107
F5 63 88 98 108
F6 64 89 99 109
F7 65 90 100 110
F8 66 91 101 111
F9 67 92 102 112
F10 68 93 10 113
For key definition, the above numeric’s are preceded by a zero (0)
and an “;” to complete the code; e.g. – code for F7 is “0;65", and for
ALT+F7 is “0;110."
D. ANSI assignments
1. ANSI control sequences used in key assignment are :
(a) ESC [ Pn ; “string” ;Pnp
(b) ESC [ Pn;Pnp (where the change is from the 1
st
Pn to the 2
nd
Pn)
where “$e” is used for ESC (ASCII 27), “[” is an ANSI control code,
“Pn” are numeric parameters (specified with ASCII digits), “string” can
be a file name, a command, a string, or a character, and “p” is an ANSI
control code. Spaces are used in this text for readability - DO NOT
space code when you write.
2. When combined with Prompt requirements, the ANSI control
sequence shown as (a) above becomes:
PROMPT $e[ Pn ; “string” ; Pnp
a) “PROMPT $e[“ begins the reassignment.
b) The first “Pn” in (a) is to be an extended character code referencing
the key desired to be changed. For example, F7 has an extended
character code value of 65. But since it is an extended character, its
value will be written as “0;65”. If it were a standard ASCII character,
Page 15
its ASCII value alone would be used. So the command becomes:
PROMPT $e[0;65;”string”;Pnp
c) The second “;” separates the F7 key (with extended character code
number of 0;65) from the “string”.
d) As an example DIR /W A: will be the desired output when the F7
key will be pushed, so that will be the “string” in the new key setup.
PROMPT $e[0;65;“DIR /W A:”;Pnp
NOTE: The string - DIR /W A: - is enclosed in quotes. This is necessary
!!!!
e) The third “;” separates all that precedes the final numeric parameter,
if any, and the control letter “p.” Since the new assignment will be
self executing, a carriage return (ASCII 13 - not an extended
character, so no “0;”) is necessary. If it were not to be self executing
the number 13 would be omitted. The completed line now reads:
PROMPT $e[0;65;“DIR /W A:”;13p
NOTE: The final “p” is required by ANSI for the revised key to do its
thing.
E. Removal of Assignment of Keys
To remove an assignment from a key, simply reverse the method
described above to produce a prompt as follows;
PROMPT $e[0;65;“”;13p - or - PROMPT $e[0;65;0;65p
NOTE: In the above case the quotes enclose a null (or nothing) !!! F7
normally has nothing assigned to it by System. The latter form is
preferred.
F. Restoring the system prompt
As with anything, nothing comes free. With all these “prompt”
changes, what will happen to the system’s original prompt? Well, it must
be re-instated. So, another prompt command must be added. A simple
DOS command would be:
PROMPT $p$g
Page 16
G. A KEYSON.BAT File
F7 to Execute DIR/W in the A Drive:
KEYSON.BAT
ECHO ON
PROMPT $e[0;65;“DIR/W A:”;13p
PROMPT $p$g
H. A KEYSOFF.BAT File
To Re-Instate the Original Condition:
KEYSOFF.BAT
ECHO ON
PROMPT $e[0;65;“”;13p -or- PROMPT $e[0;65;0;65p
PROMPT $p$g
NOTE: The above batch files will not work with “echo off.” More than
one key can be re-defined in a file. Limit commands to two to a line.
I. Limitations
Some programs will override the re-assignments you may make.
BEWARE!! The buffer that holds this information is about 190 bytes.
This may allow maybe 20 keys to be redefined. If the buffer is over-
loaded there is no warning and the system will crash.
J. More Extended Character Codes
KEY(S) CODE | KEY(s) CODE
NULL 3 | Shift-Tab 15
ALT+Q,W,E,R 16-19 | ALT+T,Y,U,I 20-23
ALT+O,P 24-25 | ALT+A,S,D,F 30-33
ALT+G,H,J,K 34-37 | ALT+L 38
ALT+Z,X,C,V 44-47 | ALT+B,N,M 48-50
HOME 71 | Cursor up 72
Page up 73 | Cursor left 74
Cursor right 77 | End 79
Page 17
Cursor down 80 | Page down 81
Ins 82 | Del 83
CTRL-PRTSCR 114 | CTRL+Curs.left
CTRL+Curs.right | (prev.word) 115
(next work) 116 | CTRL+End 117
CTRL+Page dn 118 | CTRL+Home 119
ALT+1,2,3 120-122 | ALT+4,5,6 123-125
ALT+7,8,9 126-128 | ALT+0,-,= 129-131
CTRL+Page up 132 |
CREDITS
Living with Dos: Using Your Ansi.sys Driver, by B. Simon, 1985
Using the ANSI Driver, by C. S. Giles
Microsoft Ms-Dos – Operating System, by Microsoft Corporation, 1986
PC-DOS and MS-DOS – A Guide for Beginning and Advanced Users,
by T. Sheldon, 1985
The Power of Running PC-dos, by C. Siechert and C. Wood, 1986
“Digging Deeper into Dos, Part 2,” PC Magazine, March 10, 1987, pp.
331-347
HISTORY of COMPUTERS
THE COMPUTER AS A LOGIC
MACHINE
By Ronda Hauben
INTRODUCTION
This article grew out of the experience the writer had over a period
of 2-1/2 years teaching computer programming in the UAW-Ford
Employee Development Center at the Dearborn Engine Plant of the Ford
Rouge Complex. People taking the classes were interested in the
computer as a machine and how it functioned. Consequently, they were
interested in learning how to program. The computer is in some way like
Page 18
other electronic machines, but here it’s as if the wiring is inside instead
of outside. And by typing in a program you change the content of the
addresses instead of physically resetting the wiring. By learning to do
some simple programming you can see what the computer can do and
how.
But, the computer programming classes were ended by Ford and the
UAW, despite the fact that UAW members protested by writing letters,
signing petitions, etc. The Amateur Computerist newsletter grew out of
the realization that we could not rely on companies to support the
dissemination of computer knowledge.
To support Ford’s opposition to the spreading of computer
programming knowledge, there is a stream of thought in the field of
education that maintains that it is a waste for most people to learn to
program a computer. According to this school of thought, using a
computer only requires that a person get used to the keyboard and learn
how to run software.
To get a better perspective on this debate, it proved helpful to
review the history of computers. That history sheds real light on the
controversy and so the Amateur Computerist has agreed to publish this
article in serial form.
PART I
The history is accompanied by a program as an illustration. Readers
who have computers are encouraged to type in the program and to run
the section of the program listed. (*Note: The IBM Compatible version
of the program accompanies the article. If any readers have suggestions
on how to improve the program, please send us your comments.)
10 PRINT “HISTORY OF THE COMPUTER”
30 PRINT
40 PRINT “THE COMPUTER AS A LOGIC MACHINE”
50 GOSUB 5000
80 PRINT “THE NEED FOR A MECHANICAL CALCULATOR”
90 PRINT
100 PRINT “1000 + 9999 =” ; 1000+9999
110 PRINT “10 * 1000 = “; 10*1000
120 PRINT “333222 - 29999 = “; 333222-29999
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130 PRINT “5321/3.1 =” ; 5321/3.1
135 GOSUB 5000
4999 END
5000 REM subroutine to stop program
5005 Locate 20,1
5010 LINE INPUT “Press Return to Go On”; A$
5030 CLS
5040 RETURN
The modern day computer owes its origin to hundreds of years of
effort by many people to create a machine to do mathematical calcula-
tions. From at least the 1600's on, scientists and mathematicians have
been trying to find a mechanical means to alleviate some of the drudgery
of calculations.
140 PRINT “SCHICKARD, BORN 1592"
150 PRINT “CALCULATING CLOCK 1623"
155 GOSUB 5000
By 1623, the first known mechanical calculator had been conceived
and put together by William Schickard, born in Germany in 1592.
Schickard was a friend of Johannes Kepler, the mathematician and
astronomer. Schickard came to see the need for a mechanical calculator
and on Sept. 20, 1623 he wrote Kepler:
“What you have done in a logistical way (i.e. by calculation) I have tried
to do by way of mechanics. I have constructed a machine consisting of
eleven complete and six incomplete...sprocket wheels which can
calculate. You would burst out laughing if you were present to see how
it carries by itself from one column of tens to the next or borrows from
them during subtraction.” (quoted in Bit by Bit by Stan Augarten, N.Y.,
1984, p. 18)
Schickard called his machine The Calculating Clock. But it fell
victim of a fire and was lost until the 20
th
century when a working model
was put together from drawings preserved with Kepler’s papers.
160 PRINT “PASCAL BORN 1623"
170 PRINT “PASCALINE 1642"
175 GOSUB 5000
Page 20
For a long time knowledge of the Calculating clock was lost to
mankind and instead the Pascaline invented by Blaise Pascal (b. 1623)
was credited with being the first working mechanical calculator. Pascal’s
father was reported to have been a tax collector who was burdened by
mounds of arithmetic calculations. The young Pascal wanted to find
some way to help his father, some way to relieve the tedium of numeri-
cal computation. In 1642, when Pascal was 19 years old he created a
mechanical calculator he named the Pascaline.
The machine worked well only with addition. But the machine
created a sensation among the elite of Rouen, Pascal’s hometown.
Visitors came trooping through the Pascal home to see the wondrous
machine. However, the Pascaline cost the equivalent of a wealthy
Frenchmen’s income for a year. And so not many were sold or actually
put into use. Yet the Pascaline did a lot to publicize the desirability of
finding a machine which could do numerical calculations.
180 PRINT “LIEBNIZ BORN 1646”
190 PRINT “STEPPED RECKONER 1672-74”
195 PRINT
200 PRINT “THE ESSAY TITLED”
210 PRINT “DE ARTE COMBINATORICA 1666”
215 GOSUB 5000
The third great mechanical calculator of the 17
th
century was
invented by Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716). It was called
the Stepped Reckoner. Most of the mechanical calculators built in the
next 150 years were modeled on this invention of Leibniz. Leibniz
understood the great need of astronomers for such a machine. He is
quoted as saying, “Also the astronomers surely will not have to continue
to exercise the patience which is required for computation. It is this that
deters them from computing or correcting tables... from working on
hypotheses and from discussions of observations with each other. For it
is unworthy of excellent men to lose sleep like slaves in the labor of
calculation which could safely be relegated to anyone else if machines
were used.” (quoted in The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann,
Herman Goldstine, New Jersey, 1972, p. 8)
In 1666 Leibniz made another contribution to the history of
Page 21
computers. He wrote an essay on probability called “De Arte
Combinatorica.” Later this essay would prove important for others like
George Boole who helped set the logical foundation for the modern
computer.
220 PRINT “THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION”
230 PRINT “BEGINS WITH MACHINES”
235 PRINT
240 PRINT “SPINNING MACHINE 1735”
250 PRINT “FLYING SHUTTLE 1770”
260 PRINT “SPINNING JENNY 1770”
270 PRINT “WATER FRAME 1771”
280 PRINT “POWER LOOM 1785”
285 GOSUB 5000
By the early 1800's, the industrial revolution was in full swing in
England. The development of a machine that could do the work of a
man, like the Spinning Machine invented by John Wyalt in 1735, was
the impetus setting off the technological explosion. Machine after
machine was invented that meant the old handicraft ways were being
challenged in sphere upon sphere. Kay’s Flying Shuttle and Hargreaves’
Spinning Jenny, in 1770. Arkwright’s Water Frame, in 1771, Cart-
wright’s Power Loom in 1785, etc.
300 PRINT “CHARLES BABBAGE BORN 1791”
310 PRINT “DIFFERENCE ENGINE 1823”
315 GOSUB 5000
By the early 1800's Charles Babbage (1791-1871) was studying at
Cambridge University. He and a friend had undertaken the obligation of
calculating some of the numerical tables needed by astronomers.
320 PRINT “THE NEED FOR TABLES”
325 PRINT
330 PRINT “NUMBER”, “SQUARED”, “CUBED”
340 FOR T = 1 TO 10
350 PRINT T, T*T, T*T*T
360 NEXT T
365 GOSUB 5000
Page 22
Scientists needed various arithmetic tables, but the numerical calcula-
tions required were often very tedious, and filled with errors. There was
a real need for some kind of mechanical means to simplify and make
more accurate the calculation of these arithmetic tables. (If you look at
the program in lines 320-360 it shows how the computer has indeed
simplified the ability to calculate such tables.) Babbage tells the
following story in his autobiography Passages. He writes:
“The earliest idea that I can trace in my own mind of calculating
arithmetic tables by machinery arose in this manner:
One evening I was sitting in the rooms of the Analytical Society,
my head leaning forward on the table in a kind of dreamy mood, with a
table of logarithms lying open before me. Another member, coming into
the room, and seeing me half asleep called out ‘Well Babbage, what are
you dreaming about?’ to which I replied, ‘I am thinking that all these
tables (pointing to the logarithms) might be calculated by machinery’.”
(IBID., p. 11)
Babbage realized the need for a mechanical means of doing these
calculations, so he set to work designing a model of such a machine. His
model used falling weights raised by a steam engine. He had a working
model by 1822. It was a six digit calculator made of toothed wheels run
by a hand crank. It was only a sample of what he wanted to do, but it
proved his idea was possible. He called his model the Difference Engine.
400 PRINT “POLYNOMIALS”
410 PRINT “THE METHOD OF DIFFERENCES”
415 PRINT: PRINT
420 PRINT “TABLE FOR X^2 + X + 41”
430 DIM B(20), C(20), D(20), E(20)
440 PRINT “X”, “X*X+X+41”; TAB(25) “DIFF”; TAB(30)
“DIFF”; TAB(35) “DIFF”
450 FOR I= 1 TO 15
460 PRINT I,: B(I)=I*I+I+41: PRINT B(I);
470 IF I > 1 THEN C(I) = B(I) - B(I-1): PRINT
TAB(25)C(I);: If I = 2 THEN PRINT
480 IF I > 2 THEN D(I) = C(I) - C(I-1): IF I > 2 THEN
PRINT TAB(30) D(I);: IF I = 3 THEN PRINT
490 IF I > 3 THEN E(I) = D(I) - D(I-1): PRINT TAB(35);
E(I)
Page 23
495 PRINT
500 NEXT I
505 GOSUB 5000
Babbage based his model on a property of polynomials to end up
with the same differences, after a number of steps, depending on the
degree of the polynomial. That’s why his machine was called the
Difference Engine. One of the polynomials Babbage was particularly
interested in was the equation x^2 + x + 41 because that would give
prime numbers for the first 40 numbers. He used this equation to set up
his Difference Engine.
The Difference Engine had been a specialized machine. It had only
one function it could carry out – that is calculating a table for up to a 6
degree polynomial, but the machine was not any faster than a person
would be doing the same calculations. However, a machine had been
created to do some work not before mechanically possible. Babbage
realized that a full scale machine, as opposed to the model he had
created, would be expensive, so he applied to the British government for
funding. His project to build a full fledged machine, which he called the
Difference Engine, began in the fall of 1823. He ran into lots of
technical difficulty. There was not yet adequate technology to machine
the gears and wheels, etc. to the tolerances he needed. Often he had to
design the machine tools he needed to do the work, as not even the tools
existed yet. (But his work helped advance the machine tool industry in
England.) He had trouble obtaining the necessary funding and eventually
the government cancelled even the inadequate funding they were giving
him.
510 PRINT “PEHR AND EDVARD SCHEUTZ”
520 PRINT “TABULATING MACHINE 1853”
525 GOSUB 5000
But due to the publicity he got, the Scheutzes’, a Swedish father and
son team, read about Babbage’s Difference Engine in the Scottish
Journal The Edinburgh Review in 1834. They set to work on the problem
and finished a working version of a similar machine in 1853. They
called their machine the Tabulating Machine.
Page 24
525 PRINT “CHARLES BABBAGE”
530 PRINT “THE ANALYTICAL ENGINE 1837”
540 PRINT “AN ALL PURPOSE COMPUTER”
545 PRINT
550 PRINT “BORROWED FROM JACQUARD-LOOM 1805”
560 PRINT “ADA LOVELACE EXPLAINS MACHINE”
565 GOSUB 5000
In the meantime, however, Babbage had realized the necessity for
a machine that could solve any mathematical problem, a machine that
would be a general-purpose computer.
Babbage called this new machine the Analytical Engine and began
working on it in 1837. He borrowed his conception for it from the
Jacquard attachment to the weaving loom. The Jacquard attachment
invented in 1805, made it possible to set a mechanical pattern or
program to guide the shuttle of a weaving loom. The Analytic Engine
was thus a machine that made great variation of use possible. Ada
Lovelace, who helped to explain Babbage’s ideas to a broader public,
explained that the Analytical Engine could weave patterns by its
programs, as the Jacquard-loom wove flowers and leaves in cloth.
Babbage continued to work on his Analytical Engine until his death
in 1871. Because technology wasn’t developed enough for him to be
able to execute his idea, and because he had lots of trouble securing
funding, he never succeeded in getting his Analytical Engine to work.
But he had developed the conception of what later became two essential
parts to the modern computer. He had understood the need for mem-
ory(CPU), which he called the mill, and he conceived of the need for an
arithmetic/logic device, which he called the store. When working
computers were finally built in the 1940's, they were constructed by
studying Babbage’s work and following the conceptual lines he had
worked out 100 years before.
(To be continued in the next issue.)
Page 25
EDITORIAL STAFF
Ronda Hauben
William Rohler
Norman O. Thompson
Technical Editor
Michael Hauben
EDITORIAL STAFF
Ronda Hauben
William Rohler
Norman O. Thompson
Michael Hauben (1973-2001)
Jay Hauben
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of author and source of article cited.
The opinions expressed in articles are those of their
authors and not necessarily the opinions of the
Amateur Computerist newsletter. We welcome sub-
missions from a spectrum of viewpoints.
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