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> I'm always amazed how fewer and fewer "computer science" graduates every year have ever wire-wrapped a simple 68000 computer from scratch perhaps this might

> I'm always amazed how fewer and fewer "computer science" graduates every year have ever wire-wrapped a simple 68000 computer from scratch perhaps this might explain why it is no longer popular: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wrap#/media/File:Computerplatine_Wire-wrap_backplane_detail_Z80_Doppel-Europa-Format_1977.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wrap#/media/File:Computer... and that's for an 8-bit cpu. i can't imagine wire-wrapping a 68000. also, this would be computer engineering, not computer science.

hungryforcodes 4y ago
Relevant link: https://www.yikes.com/~bear/wirewrapping.htm https://www.yikes.com/~bear/wirewrapping.htm
galangalalgol 4y ago
There are plenty of computer science, not engineering, programs that still have required classes that involve wire wrapping a uc and building something. It is less common as the voracious appetite of the web and web related industry for cs grads caused curriculum to become increasingly geared towards meeting that need. I still find it astounding how much software is required to keep all rhe websites I use running. It doesn't make sense to me, but I know very little about how that sort of software works, so I will simply trust that some of the largest companies in the world wouldn't be paying for it if there was an easier way.
derriz 4y ago
In college, we had to wire wrap an 8-bit (6809) CPU with an EPROM and UART to connect a terminal. It looked nothing like your image. A 16 bit address bus, 8 bit data and only RAM/ROM/UART sharing the "bus" meant that the wiring was actually quite neat and it was transparent what wires were doing what. Inevitably, part of the work involved diagnosing poor wraps which would clearly be impossible with that pile of spaghetti in your image. It was one of the most fun projects we had in the 4 years. I thought it very valuable as it brought software (writing a simple monitor using a cross-compiler) and hardware together.
boomlinde 4y ago
> I'm always amazed how fewer and fewer "computer science" graduates every year have ever wire-wrapped a simple 68000 computer from scratch I understand this as assembling a computer from its basic components using wire wrapping, not the CPU. 68000 is also the transistor count of the 68000 so I agree that it's infeasible for a student project.

hungryforcodes 4y ago

Relevant link: https://www.yikes.com/~bear/wirewrapping.htm https://www.yikes.com/~bear/wirewrapping.htm

galangalalgol 4y ago

There are plenty of computer science, not engineering, programs that still have required classes that involve wire wrapping a uc and building something. It is less common as the voracious appetite of the web and web related industry for cs grads caused curriculum to become increasingly geared towards meeting that need. I still find it astounding how much software is required to keep all rhe websites I use running. It doesn't make sense to me, but I know very little about how that sort of software works, so I will simply trust that some of the largest companies in the world wouldn't be paying for it if there was an easier way.

derriz 4y ago

In college, we had to wire wrap an 8-bit (6809) CPU with an EPROM and UART to connect a terminal. It looked nothing like your image. A 16 bit address bus, 8 bit data and only RAM/ROM/UART sharing the "bus" meant that the wiring was actually quite neat and it was transparent what wires were doing what. Inevitably, part of the work involved diagnosing poor wraps which would clearly be impossible with that pile of spaghetti in your image. It was one of the most fun projects we had in the 4 years. I thought it very valuable as it brought software (writing a simple monitor using a cross-compiler) and hardware together.

boomlinde 4y ago

> I'm always amazed how fewer and fewer "computer science" graduates every year have ever wire-wrapped a simple 68000 computer from scratch I understand this as assembling a computer from its basic components using wire wrapping, not the CPU. 68000 is also the transistor count of the 68000 so I agree that it's infeasible for a student project.