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MIR-computers - Forerunners of Personal Computers Victor Glushkov - Founder of Information Technologies in Ukraine and former USSR

Development of Computer Science and Technologies in Ukraine. Brief History Ukrainian      Russian

Forerunners of Personal Computers In 1959 it occurred to Victor M.Glushkov to create a computer for engineering calculations. In 1963 Promin' computer developed at the Institute of Cybernetics together with the institute special design bureau was put into mass production It was manufactured by Severodonetsk computer making factory. "Promin" computer was, as a matter of fact, a new word in the world practice, it was provided with a lot of engineering innovations, in particular, memory on sputtered cards. But the most important is that it was the first, widely used computer with so-called step-type microprogrammed control (for which development Victor M.Glushkov was taken out a copyright certificate). Afterwards the step-type microprogrammed control was used in MIR-1 computer for engineering calculations, which was developed soon after Promin' computer (1965) . In 1967 at the London exhibition where MIR-1 was exhibited it was purchased by an American IBM firm, the largest in the USA supplier of almost 80 % of computer facilities for the whole capitalist world. It was the first (and, unfortunately, the last) Soviet-made computer purchased by an American company. Developers of MIR-1 computer were awarded with the USSR state premium (V.M.Glushkov, Y.V.Blagoveshchenskiy, A.A.Letichevsky, V.D.Losev, I.N.Molchanov, S.B.Pogrebinsky, A.A.Stogny). In 1969 a new and more perfect MIR-2 computer and then - MIR-2 computer were developed and manufactured. As to the speed of analytic transformations, these computers were beyond comparison. The MIR-2, for example, successfully competed with universal computers of usual structure, which many times surpassed it as to the nominal speed and memory size. With this computer there was used for the first time in domestic mathematical engineering industry the dialogue operating mode with the light gun display. Each of these computers was a step forward in smart computer building - a strategic direction in computer development offered by Victor M.Glushkov. At that time all over the world the standpoint was dominated, that computer language should be as simple as possible, and the rest would be made by computer programs. Such was the " Address language " for "Kiev" computers developed by V.S.Koroljuk and E.L.Yushchenko . While developing MIR-computers, Victor M.Glushkov put another task - to make computer language as close as possible, to human language (it means mathematical, not spoken language). And such language called as "Analytic" was developed (A.A.Letichevsky) and was supported by original computer system of its interpretation. MIR computers were used throughout the USSR, and some of them were also under operation abroad. Pitures: Computer for ingeneering calculations "MIR 1",1966 Computer for ingeneering calculations "MIR 2",1969 Computer for ingeneering calculations "MIR 3",1971 "MIR 2" Computer. Operator uses the light pen. 70-s

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