James Herbert Pomerene

The harvest system

The Harvest System is a large-scale data processor designed for maximum performance in handling extremely large amounts of data in primarily non-arithmetic operations. It is being built by IBM under contract with the Government and incorporates both a new system organization and a stored program concept of macro-instructions which directly implement many useful data manipulating sub-routines. Design features include a very high processing rate and an on-line table lookup facility for effecting very general transformations.

Historical perspectives on computers: components

The technological base for computers was laid just prior to and during World War II. Military requirements led to a general upgrading of components. Television and radar pushed the development of high performance vacuum tubes, particularly the twin triode. Radar shifted the attention of engineers from frequency to time and timing. The microsecond became familiar.