On 12/13/2017 09:09 AM, Wols Lists wrote:
And what about core ram? The earliest ram was magnetic core, such that you could switch a computer off WHILE IT WAS RUNNING A PROGRAM, and when you switched it back on, the computer would carry on - "suspend-resume" 1950s-style ... :-)
Actually, Williams tube storage predates core memory by a few years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_tube. Prior to that, relays could provide a small amount of storage and there were even attempts at what we call DRAM, by placing capacitors on a rotating drum. Another early "storage" device was made with neon lamps. They could be turned on or off with an appropriate pulse and retain the state until the next pulse changed it. Also, I have worked with core memory. While it's true it retained the data, restarting did not resume from where it was. It started the program as it would when first loaded. To resume, you'd have to retain the state of the various registers which, in most systems, were not stored in memory. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org