The Philips Computer PASCAL
H. J. Heijn, J. C. Selman · IRE Transactions on Electronic Computers · 1961
PASCAL is a binary parallel computer with a word length of 42 bits, a clock-pulse repetition time of 1½ μsec, performing, on the average, 60,000 operations per second. Wired-in floating-point facilities are provided. Core storage is backed by a drum and by magnetic tape. There are modification versions for indexing as well as for stepping-up purposes. Special instructions include count and repeat instructions, jumps on the result of an earlier comparison, and two kinds of link instructions for facilitating the use of subroutines and interpretative programs. Transfer instructions enable a simultaneous bidirectional data flow between drum and cores or between tape and cores while computations are going on.