1 Introduction -- 2 Setting the stage -- 2.1 Computers until 1945 -- 2.2 Basics of vacuum tube circuits -- 2.3 Toward Whirlwind and beyond -- 3 Whirlwind -- 3.1 Basic architecture -- 3.1.1 Arithmetic element -- 3.1.2 Control -- 3.2 Storage -- 3.2.1 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Storage Tube -- 3.2.2 Magnetic core storage -- 3.3 Magnetic drums -- 3.4 Magnetic tapes -- 3.5 Paper tape readers, punches and typewriters -- 3.6 Data transmission -- 3.7 Oscilloscope displays and light guns -- 3.8 Time register -- 3.9 Reliability, power supplies and marginal checking -- 3.10 Programming -- 3.11 The end of Whirlwind -- 4 SAGE -- 4.1 The Cape Cod system -- 4.2 SAGE and AN/FSQ-7 -- 4.3 Control and direction centers -- 4.4 AN/FSQ-7 overview -- 5 Basic circuitry -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Cathode follower -- 5.3 Pulse amplifier -- 5.4 Register driver -- 5.5 Relay drivers -- 5.6 Level setter -- 5.7 Diode AND and OR circuits -- 5.8 Gate tube circuit -- 5.9 DC inverter -- 5.10 Flip-flops -- 5.11 Single-shots -- 5.12 Pulse generators -- 5.13 Delay lines and delay line drivers -- 5.14 Special circuits -- 5.15 Pluggable units -- 5.16 The FETRON -- 5.17 Troubleshooting -- 6 Central processor -- 6.1 Memory element -- 6.2 Instruction control element -- 6.3 Selection and IO control element -- 6.4 Program element -- 6.5 Arithmetic element -- 7 Drum system -- 7.1 Magnetic drums -- 7.2 Timing -- 7.3 Status concept and time stamps -- 7.4 Data flows -- 8 Input/output system -- 8.1 Input system -- 8.1.1 Long-Range Input (LRI) element -- 8.1.2 Gap-Filler Input (GFI) element -- 8.1.3 Crosstell (XTL) element -- 8.1.4 Test Pattern Generator (TPG) -- 8.2 Manual data input element -- 8.3 Output system -- 8.4 Alarms and warning lights -- 8.5 Tape drives and card machines -- 9 Display system -- 9.1 Situation display -- 9.2 Light gun.

9.3 Area discriminators -- 9.4 Digital display -- 9.5 Photographic recorder-reproducer element -- 10 Machine consoles -- 11 Power supply -- 11.1 The powerhouse -- 11.2 Regulated power supplies -- 11.3 Power distribution -- 11.4 Marginal checking system -- 12 Programming -- 12.1 Instruction format -- 12.2 Instruction set -- 12.2.1 Miscellaneous class -- 12.2.2 Add class -- 12.2.3 Multiply class -- 12.2.4 Store class -- 12.2.5 Shift class -- 12.2.6 Branch class -- 12.2.7 Input/output class -- 12.2.8 Reset class -- 12.3 Indexed addressing -- 12.4 Subroutines -- 12.5 Examples -- 12.5.1 Polynomial evaluation -- 12.5.2 Coordinate transformation -- 12.5.3 Finding the largest number -- 12.5.4 Adding ten numbers -- 12.5.5 Delaying -- 12.5.6 Printing -- 12.5.7 Trick programs -- 13 Software -- 13.1 Software development process -- 13.2 Operational software -- 14 Failure or Success? -- 14.1 A failure? -- 14.2 Success! -- 14.2.1 Hardware -- 14.2.2 Graphics -- 14.2.3 Software -- 14.2.4 Air Traffic Control (ATC) and SABRE -- 14.2.5 Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) in popular culture -- 15 Epilogue -- A Whirlwind instruction set -- B Programming cards -- Bibliography -- Acronyms -- Index.