IBM 1401 Symbolic Programming System: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:46, 18 May 2011

Revision as of 01:47, 18 May 2011

Line 1:

The '''IBM 1401 Symbolic Programming System''' (SPS) was an [[assembly language#Assembler|assembler]] that was developed by the Applied Programming Department of IBM 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.".<ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/1401.html 1401 History]</ref> As the 1400 series matured it [http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/ibm-1401.html acquired additional memory options] (from the initial 4000, increasing to 16000 characters) and SPS was replaced by the "[[Autocoder]]" language in most installations.

Both Autocoder and SPS were [[assembly language]]s using [[mnemonic]]s as a substitute for programming directly in [[machine code|machine language]]. A copy of the IBM 1401 Autocoder specifications including mnemonic operation codes is preserved at bitsavers.org.<ref>[http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/140x/J24-1434-2_autocoderSpec_61.pdf IBM 1401 DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM BULLETIN – AUTOCODER SPECIFICATIONS], 1961</ref>