IBM 1401 Symbolic Programming System: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:51, 13 December 2007

Revision as of 02:58, 13 December 2007

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The IBM Symbolic Programming System (SPS) [[assembly language#Assembler|assembler]] was developed by IBM field engineers as an alternative to the use of [[machine code]] for the [[IBM 1401]] computer, the first of the [[IBM 1400 series]]. One source indicates that "This programming system was announced by IBM with the machine." [http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/1401.html 1401 History]. A similar assembler having the same name was also used for the [[IBM 1620]], the inexpensive scientific computer released in the same period as the 1401. As the 1400 series matured it [http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/ibm-1401.html aquired additonal memory] (first to 4000, then to 16000 characters from the initial 1400 characters) and SPS [http://web.archive.org/web/20031215144652/os390-mvs.hypermart.net/mvs360.htm evolved into] the "[[Autocoder]]" language supported by the later 1401's.

Both Autocoder and SPS were [[assembly language]]s using [[mnemonic]]s as a substitute for programming directly in [[machine code|machine language]]. As such they were among the earliest non machine language programming tools. An [http://1401.org/op-codes/ example] of the 1401 mnemonic operation codes is preserved at [http://1401.org/ 1401.org].

A different assembler having the same name was used for the [[IBM 1620]], the inexpensive scientific computer released in the same period as the 1401.

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