Computer System Organization: B5700-B6700 Series

Computer System Organization: The B5700/B6700 Series focuses on the organization of the B5700/B6700 Series developed by Burroughs Corp. More specifically, it examines how computer systems can (or should) be organized to support, and hence make more efficient, the running of computer programs that evolve with characteristically similar information structures. Comprised of nine chapters, this book begins with a background on the development of the B5700/B6700 operating systems, paying particular attention to their hardware/software architecture. The discussion then turns to the block-structured processes involved in the B6700 job, which consists of a time-invariant algorithm and a time-varying data structure which is the record of execution of that algorithm. Subsequent chapters deal with the basic data structures for B6700 algorithms; task attributes and the creation and coordination of tasks; stack structure and stack ownership; and software interrupts. Storage control strategies as well as the pros and cons of B6700 are also considered, along with some hardware details of procedure entry and return and tasking. This monograph is intended for computer center directors, other computer professionals, and serious students in computer science who have an interest in the subject of computer organization.