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Setun
Setun (Russian: Сетунь) was a computer developed in 1958 at Moscow State University. It was built under the leadership of Sergei Sobolev and Nikolay Brusentsov. It was the first modern ternary computer, using the balanced ternary numeral system and three-valued ternary logic instead of the two-valued binary logic prevalent in other computers.
The computer was built to fulfill the needs of Moscow State University. It was manufactured at the Kazan Mathematical plant. Fifty computers were built from 1959 until 1965, when production was halted. The characteristic operating memory consisted of 81 words of memory, each word composed of 18 trits (ternary digits) with additional 1944 words on magnetic drum (total of about 7 KB). Between 1965 and 1970, a regular binary computer was used at Moscow State University to replace it. Although this replacement binary computer performed equally well, it was 2.5 times the cost of the Setun.
In 1970, a new ternary computer architecture, the Setun-70, was developed. Edsger W. Dijkstra's ideas of structured programming were implemented in the hardware of this computer. The short instructions set was developed and implemented by Nikolay Brusentsov independently from RISC architecture principles.
The Setun-70 hardware architecture was transformed into the Dialogue System of Structured Programming (DSSP). DSSP emulates the "Setun 70" architecture on binary computers, thus it fulfills the advantages of structured programming. DSSP programming language has similar syntax to the Forth programming language but has a different sequence of base instructions, especially conditional jump instructions. DSSP was developed by Nikolay Brusentsov and doctoral students in the 1980s at Moscow State University. A 32-bit version was implemented in 1989.
The Setun project was initiated by Sergei Sobolev, in order to develop a small computer for use at the Moscow State University, after the planned transfer of the M-2 computer to the university got canceled in 1953. In 1956, he organized a series of seminars analyzing the disadvantages of existing computers and various plans for technical implementation. These meetings included participants from the Moscow State University, the Institute of Atomic Energy, and other institutes of the Academy of Sciences. Notable attendees include Shura-Bura, Konstantin Adolfovich Semendaev, and Zhogolev. On one of these seminars on April 23, 1956, Nikolay Petrovich Brusentsov was appointed as the executive designer and supervisor of the project.
At the time, Brusentsov was a graduate (equivalent to a master degree, see Education in Russia, traditional model) at Moscow State University, who was graduated from the Moscow Energy Institute. Before appointing Brusentsov as the executive designer of Setun computer, Sobolev transferred Brusentsov to the Mechanics-Mathematics department and sent him to Gutenmakher's laboratory at the Institute for Precision Mechanics to gain relevant experience. To Brusentsov, this was an invaluable experience. In the lab, he had access to the lab's computers and their supporting documentation, which Brusentsov found being "technically weak". Brusentsov then decided to use a ternary number system.
Sobolev continued to support the project both by finding assistants and participating in the discussions. In 1956, Brusentsov started the design with four engineers and five technicians plus himself. The whole team worked in a 60-square-meter room with laboratory tables, where they designed and assembled the machine by hand. Zhogolev worked as the main programmer, and together with him, Brusentsov developed the computer architecture of Setun. In 1958, the team grew to 20 people, and the first model of the Setun computer was assembled. The name Setun comes from a river near the University.
After the first model of Setun was built, the Kazan Mathematical Machines Factory was decreed by the Soviet Cabinet of Ministers to mass-produce the Setun computers. However, the leadership at the Kazan plant was not interested in large-scale computer production. The second model built in the factory was sent back because the plant managers and officials maintained that the computer was not yet reliable. The team was forced to manually adjust the second model. On November 30, 1961, the director of the Kazan factory was forced to sign an act which ended the attempts to cease the production of the Setun computer. The computers were then produced at the rate of 15-20 machines annually until 1965, when the plant refused to continue the production as the sale price of the computer was too low.
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Setun
Setun (Russian: Сетунь) was a computer developed in 1958 at Moscow State University. It was built under the leadership of Sergei Sobolev and Nikolay Brusentsov. It was the first modern ternary computer, using the balanced ternary numeral system and three-valued ternary logic instead of the two-valued binary logic prevalent in other computers.
The computer was built to fulfill the needs of Moscow State University. It was manufactured at the Kazan Mathematical plant. Fifty computers were built from 1959 until 1965, when production was halted. The characteristic operating memory consisted of 81 words of memory, each word composed of 18 trits (ternary digits) with additional 1944 words on magnetic drum (total of about 7 KB). Between 1965 and 1970, a regular binary computer was used at Moscow State University to replace it. Although this replacement binary computer performed equally well, it was 2.5 times the cost of the Setun.
In 1970, a new ternary computer architecture, the Setun-70, was developed. Edsger W. Dijkstra's ideas of structured programming were implemented in the hardware of this computer. The short instructions set was developed and implemented by Nikolay Brusentsov independently from RISC architecture principles.
The Setun-70 hardware architecture was transformed into the Dialogue System of Structured Programming (DSSP). DSSP emulates the "Setun 70" architecture on binary computers, thus it fulfills the advantages of structured programming. DSSP programming language has similar syntax to the Forth programming language but has a different sequence of base instructions, especially conditional jump instructions. DSSP was developed by Nikolay Brusentsov and doctoral students in the 1980s at Moscow State University. A 32-bit version was implemented in 1989.
The Setun project was initiated by Sergei Sobolev, in order to develop a small computer for use at the Moscow State University, after the planned transfer of the M-2 computer to the university got canceled in 1953. In 1956, he organized a series of seminars analyzing the disadvantages of existing computers and various plans for technical implementation. These meetings included participants from the Moscow State University, the Institute of Atomic Energy, and other institutes of the Academy of Sciences. Notable attendees include Shura-Bura, Konstantin Adolfovich Semendaev, and Zhogolev. On one of these seminars on April 23, 1956, Nikolay Petrovich Brusentsov was appointed as the executive designer and supervisor of the project.
At the time, Brusentsov was a graduate (equivalent to a master degree, see Education in Russia, traditional model) at Moscow State University, who was graduated from the Moscow Energy Institute. Before appointing Brusentsov as the executive designer of Setun computer, Sobolev transferred Brusentsov to the Mechanics-Mathematics department and sent him to Gutenmakher's laboratory at the Institute for Precision Mechanics to gain relevant experience. To Brusentsov, this was an invaluable experience. In the lab, he had access to the lab's computers and their supporting documentation, which Brusentsov found being "technically weak". Brusentsov then decided to use a ternary number system.
Sobolev continued to support the project both by finding assistants and participating in the discussions. In 1956, Brusentsov started the design with four engineers and five technicians plus himself. The whole team worked in a 60-square-meter room with laboratory tables, where they designed and assembled the machine by hand. Zhogolev worked as the main programmer, and together with him, Brusentsov developed the computer architecture of Setun. In 1958, the team grew to 20 people, and the first model of the Setun computer was assembled. The name Setun comes from a river near the University.
After the first model of Setun was built, the Kazan Mathematical Machines Factory was decreed by the Soviet Cabinet of Ministers to mass-produce the Setun computers. However, the leadership at the Kazan plant was not interested in large-scale computer production. The second model built in the factory was sent back because the plant managers and officials maintained that the computer was not yet reliable. The team was forced to manually adjust the second model. On November 30, 1961, the director of the Kazan factory was forced to sign an act which ended the attempts to cease the production of the Setun computer. The computers were then produced at the rate of 15-20 machines annually until 1965, when the plant refused to continue the production as the sale price of the computer was too low.