IBM 610 Manual Of Operation

Also see for 610: Technical overview and introduction

IBM 610 AUTO-POINT COMPUTERTHIS MANUAL is intended as a reference for pro-grammers of the IBM 610. All information about agiven topic is assembled in one place with the refer-ence purpose in mind. However, the organization issuch that a beginner can gain complete knowledgeof the machine through careful study of this manual.The IBM 610 is a mobile, general -purpose computerspecifically developed for a wide range of industrialand engineering organizations, from the small devel-opment laboratory where it can function as a fastand automatic primary calculator, to the giant re-search facility where it will be a useful helper to large-scale computers. It has many of the arithmetic andlogical facilities usually associated with modern large-scale automatic computers; yet it is as easy to use asa desk calculator.The machine consists of three physical units: thekeyboard, the typewriter, and the computer itself.The computer unit contains paper-tape punchingand reading units and a pluggable control panel, aswell as all of the arithmetic and control circuitry.Numbers up to fifteen digits in length may beentered into the 610 either manually from the key-board or automatically under computer control frompunched paper tape. Data are internally stored ineighty-four registers on the magnetic drum. Eachdigit is identified by a recognizable pattern of mag-netic spots. Any information recorded on the drumwill remain there permanently, or until it is erasedby recording other information in the same location.The machine may be turned off completely withoutany danger of loss of data.Control of the machine may be exercised in threeways:1. manually from the keyboard,2. automatically from a punched paper tape pro-gram,}. automatically by control panel wiring.Transfer between control devices is automatic.Final or intermediate answers may be obtained onthe typewriter, on punched paper tape, or both simul-taneously.SPECIAL FEATURESSome outstanding and unusual features have been in-corporated into the IBM 610.Auto-PointA truly unique feature of the machine is the abilityto automatically handle a decimal point. When oper-ating in the auto-point mode, data entered are auto-matically positioned within storage locations so thatthe point is centered using one-half of the register forintegers and the remainder for fractions. Every com-putation causes an accurate automatic re-alignmentof the point. In comparison to widely used floating-point systems, this feature needs no lengthy pro-gramming routines or separate storage locations toremember where the point is. The machine carries anactual decimal-point notation, and within machinecapacities, the programmer is completely freed fromscaling input numbers and remembering decimal posi-tion during computation.Program PreparationWhile a problem is being solved manually, the com-puter is able to create a program tape at the same time.A subsequent problem of the same type will requireonly the input of new data; control of the machinecan then be transferred to the program tape for com-pletion of the calculations and the printing of an-swers.Decimal-OctalIt is possible to perform either decimal or octalarithmetic. This means that test programs for large-scale binary computers can be developed in decimalform and then executed in octal arithmetic for directcomparison to the binary machine results.While operating in the octal mode, the machinewill perform all the functions as in the decimal modeincluding auto-point octal.