Programme Design for the C.S.I.R.O. Mark I Computer. I. Computer Conventions

Abstract

The organization of the C.S.I.R.O. Mark I computer is described. The code system is of a two-address type in which each operation called by an "order" or "command" is thought of as a quality of a transfer of the content of one "register" to another. Each command indicates a source and a destination. A special notation of mnemonic type is adopted for written programmes as an aid in the various stages of programme design. The written programme may be translated, by aid of a special encoding key-punch, from the written sheet onto paper tape, the medium through which the machine accepts data.