6 ms·

CPU of the Day: Fairchild F9445: The MicroFlame Flames Out

62 points by protomyth 9y ago

csours 9y ago
The article and one of the comments mentions that the Hawk Emulator is still in use. Does anyone know how these would be used now, and why?
- protomyth 9y ago
  A lot of old computers were used as front-ends to manufacturing or test systems. I know one place that had a PDP-8 well into the 2000's running their barge offloading. It was pretty expensive to change since for some reason they couldn't run an emulator (direct hardware?) and the guy babysitting it had to have a lot of spare parts on hand. Some of this old equipment is really costly to replace just because the computer is old. Plus, you have to figure out what the old software is doing.
  - mschuster91 9y ago
    > Plus, you have to figure out what the old software is doing. That is most often the real problem with legacy custom systems - they're not adequately documented, and if they're documented, the documentation is likely to be out of date.
  - korethr 9y ago
    And that last bit, figuring out what the old software is doing, can be a bitch and a half. You don't have to just replicate the spec or documentation (if it is accurate or even exists at all), you have to replicate the classic behavior perfectly, down the the last bug. 'Cause if you don't, you risk finding out just how much more expensive the manufacturing system is than than the computer controlling it.
    - protomyth 9y ago
      The fun part I found was "do you actually have the source code". Even if you do, the variety of language variants from the early years of computing is mind boggling.
      - duncan_bayne 9y ago
        Huh. I didn't realise they had JavaScript frameworks that long ago.
        protomyth 9y ago
        No JavaScript framework is on the same level of confusion that DEC by itself with it multiple weird languages and semantics inflicted upon programmers. Never mind the other vendors. JavaScript actually has a standards document.
tux1968 9y ago
If you haven't read The Soul of a New Machine, which chronicles the creation of one new Data General machine, it's well worth picking up a copy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine

62 points by protomyth 9y ago

The article and one of the comments mentions that the Hawk Emulator is still in use. Does anyone know how these would be used now, and why?

protomyth 9y ago
A lot of old computers were used as front-ends to manufacturing or test systems. I know one place that had a PDP-8 well into the 2000's running their barge offloading. It was pretty expensive to change since for some reason they couldn't run an emulator (direct hardware?) and the guy babysitting it had to have a lot of spare parts on hand. Some of this old equipment is really costly to replace just because the computer is old. Plus, you have to figure out what the old software is doing.
- mschuster91 9y ago
  > Plus, you have to figure out what the old software is doing. That is most often the real problem with legacy custom systems - they're not adequately documented, and if they're documented, the documentation is likely to be out of date.
- korethr 9y ago
  And that last bit, figuring out what the old software is doing, can be a bitch and a half. You don't have to just replicate the spec or documentation (if it is accurate or even exists at all), you have to replicate the classic behavior perfectly, down the the last bug. 'Cause if you don't, you risk finding out just how much more expensive the manufacturing system is than than the computer controlling it.
  - protomyth 9y ago
    The fun part I found was "do you actually have the source code". Even if you do, the variety of language variants from the early years of computing is mind boggling.
    - duncan_bayne 9y ago
      Huh. I didn't realise they had JavaScript frameworks that long ago.
      - protomyth 9y ago
        No JavaScript framework is on the same level of confusion that DEC by itself with it multiple weird languages and semantics inflicted upon programmers. Never mind the other vendors. JavaScript actually has a standards document.

tux1968 9y ago

If you haven't read The Soul of a New Machine, which chronicles the creation of one new Data General machine, it's well worth picking up a copy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine