3 ms·
The IBM 1401 mainframe (1959) optionally supported pounds/shillings/pence (£sd) arithmetic in hardware. In those days, there were 12 pence in a shilling and 20
by kens 2y ago
The IBM 1401 mainframe (1959) optionally supported pounds/shillings/pence (£sd) arithmetic in hardware. In those days, there were 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound, so arithmetic with UK money was non-trivial. (This wasn't even microcode; this was literally boards full of transistors to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and format currency values.)
- eriksencosta 2y agoI love to learn more about the history of computing. Thanks.