Abstract :
This is an important time in the history of modular computer systems. The first generation has been developed and its products are in daily use; now the developers of modular computer systems are taking the first steps toward the second generation. The first generation systems started with the fixed-plus-variable computer system proposed by Estrin in 19601, progressed through the developments of macromodules and Register Transfer Modules, and have reached a point of proliferation with the development of systems at MIT, the University of Delaware, and the University of Washington. (A brief description of these systems, with references, is contained in the paper by Fuller and Siewiorek.) It seems that the second generation systems will be characterized by an attempt to incorporate the developments of large scale integrated circuits and the “computer-on-a-chip” into modular systems.
