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Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:09 pm
by Ruptor
I have always thought the Transputer method of lots of small CPUs linked together was the way to go since its inception mainly because of the concept of if you want more power add another card of processors. Probably most of you have seen this but I thought it was amazing and I wonder if the RPi boys are trying to sneak the Transputer idea in through the back door under the radar of the big CPU manufacturers.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/06/ ... eading-btm
http://trochilidae.blogspot.com/2021/07 ... dware.html
As the guy says the Pico could run native code instead of emulating a Transputer and give a Pico based modern version of the Transputer idea. At £4 each giving two Cortex M0 processors at 100+ MHz a pop and much higher speed links it makes me wonder what £100 could give you in processing power compared to one PC chip costing £200+.
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 5:10 pm
by NormanDunbar
I always wanted a Transputer, Even if I had to learn Occam to program it.
Cheers,
Norm.
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 11:39 am
by RalfR
Didn't Leon Heller have a plan a long time ago to make a transputer with the QL?
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 12:44 pm
by dilwyn
RalfR wrote:Didn't Leon Heller have a plan a long time ago to make a transputer with the QL?
He used to mention Transputers a lot during his time as Quanta magazine editor back in the mid 1980s (for anyone who didn't know, Leon was one of the founders of Quanta). Looking at the Quanta magazine index, quite a few mentions - the numbers are magazine volume, issue number and page:
TRANSPUTER Beyond 16 digits 5 1 28
TRANSPUTER Hard disk interface for the QL 6 1 26
TRANSPUTER Hard disk interface plan for QL 6 2 28
TRANSPUTER Hard disk interface for the QL 6 2 27
TRANSPUTER Interface for the QL 4 10 8
TRANSPUTER Module 4 1 8
TRANSPUTER Parallel processing 5 1 28
TRANSPUTER Transputer chip - Inmos T414 3 10 4
TRANSPUTER Update 4 10 6
TRANSPUTER Update 4 11 4
TRANSPUTER Update 4 3 6
TRANSPUTER Update 4 4 6
TRANSPUTER Update 4 5 6
TRANSPUTER Update 4 6 6
TRANSPUTER Update 4 7 5
TRANSPUTER Update 4 8 10
TRANSPUTER Update 4 9 6
TRANSPUTER Update 5 1 5
TRANSPUTER Update 5 2 5
TRANSPUTER Update from Leon Heller 6 3 30
TRANSPUTER by Leon Heller 3 11 15
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 4:01 pm
by NormanDunbar
Well, that was a great Rabbit Hole to fall down. Thanks Ruptor.
Cheers,
Norm.
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 4:11 pm
by RalfR
dilwyn wrote:RalfR wrote:Didn't Leon Heller have a plan a long time ago to make a transputer with the QL?
He used to mention Transputers a lot during his time as Quanta magazine editor back in the mid 1980s (for anyone who didn't know, Leon was one of the founders of Quanta). Looking at the Quanta magazine index, quite a few mentions - the numbers are magazine volume, issue number and page:
TRANSPUTER Beyond 16 digits 5 1 28
TRANSPUTER Hard disk interface for the QL 6 1 26
....
TRANSPUTER by Leon Heller 3 11 15
Ok, but I thing nothing has materialized. Even no harddisk.
BTW: Does anyone know, who has built the first real hardisk I/F für the QL (not the ill-fated Firefly...), which was connected via expansion port with software?
I just know the I/F from Dirk Steinkopf.
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 4:45 pm
by dilwyn
RalfR wrote:
BTW: Does anyone know, who has built the first real hardisk I/F für the QL (not the ill-fated Firefly...), which was connected via expansion port with software?
I just know the I/F from Dirk Steinkopf.
The first commercially advertised hard disk for QL was the Medic one according to QL Wiki, although the CST Winchester was also reviewed in the October 1985 issue of QL World -
https://qlwiki.theqlforum.com/doku.php?i ... d&s[]=disk
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 6:52 pm
by Ruptor
NormanDunbar wrote:Well, that was a great Rabbit Hole to fall down. Thanks Ruptor.
Has it taken you 3 days to climb out or did you implement it?
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2022 10:25 am
by NormanDunbar
I'm no good at climbing, gravity sucks!
I'm working through the videos on You Tube, got a couple to go still. But I do hap[en to have 4 Picos (2 Pico and 2 PiCow) so I could ....
Cheers,
Norm.
Re: Transputer I'll be back
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 11:45 am
by Ruptor
NormanDunbar wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 10:25 amI'm working through the videos on You Tube, got a couple to go still. But I do hap[en to have 4 Picos (2 Pico and 2 PiCow) so I could ....
I don't suppose you came across the 3L Pascal compiler that is free now according to here with dead links?
http://transputer.classiccmp.org/languages.htm
Some more information here
http://www.chiltoncomputing.org.uk/inf/ ... s/p012.htm