[Simh] IBM's decimal computers [was Re: pdp11 and unix]

[Rich Alderson]

> From: Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net>
> Date: Mon, 29 Feb 2016 10:23:15 -0500

> I wasn't referring to packed decimal instructions for binary machines; those
> stayed around for a long time.  Even VAX had them, at least originally.  I
> was talking about decimal machines, with memories organized in decimal
> digits.  The last computer I can think of that fits that description is the
> IBM 1620, from the early 1960s.

The 1620 family were decimal, intended for scientific computing.  The original
1620 was introduced in 1959, the same year as the 1401.  The last member of the
family was introduced in 1963.

The 1400 family were decimal, intended for business computing.  The 1401, from
1959, was the first in the family.  The last member of the family, the 1450,
intended explicitly for the banking industry, was introduced in 1968.

So decimal computers were longer lived than you thought.

                                                                Rich