LEO (computer) facts for kids
Logo of LEO Computers Ltd 1954 until 1963
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| Also known as | Lyons Electronic Office I |
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| Manufacturer | J. Lyons and Co. |
| Generation | 1 |
| Release date | 1951 |
| CPU | @ 500 kHz |
| Memory | 2K (2048) 35-bit words (i.e., 83⁄4 kilobytes) (ultrasonic delay-line memory based on tanks of mercury) |
| Removable storage | paper tape readers and punches, fast punched card readers and punches, and a 100 line a minute tabulator |
| Predecessor | EDSAC |
| Successor | LEO II |
The LEO (which stands for Lyons Electronic Office) was a very early series of computer systems. These computers were created by a British company called J. Lyons and Co., famous for its tea shops and food. The very first computer in this series, the LEO I, was special because it was the first computer ever used for everyday business tasks.
The LEO I was based on another pioneering computer called the EDSAC, built at the University of Cambridge. People from J. Lyons and Co., like Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson, and David Caminer, helped make the LEO I. It started running its first business job in 1951. Later, in 1954, Lyons created a new company called LEO Computers Ltd. This company sold LEO computers, including the LEO I and its newer versions, LEO II and LEO III, to other businesses. Over time, LEO Computers became part of bigger companies like English Electric and then International Computers Limited (ICL), which is now part of Fujitsu. LEO computers were used for a long time, some even until 1981!
Contents
How LEO Computers Began
J. Lyons and Co. was a very large food and catering company in the UK. In 1947, two of their top managers, Oliver Standingford and Raymond Thompson, went to the United States. They wanted to learn about new business methods that had been developed during World War II. While there, they met Herman Goldstine, who helped create ENIAC, one of the first electronic computers.
Standingford and Thompson quickly saw how computers could help manage a big company like Lyons. They also learned that in the UK, Douglas Hartree and Maurice Wilkes were building their own computer, the EDSAC, at the University of Cambridge.
Visiting Cambridge University
When they returned to the UK, Standingford and Thompson visited Hartree and Wilkes in Cambridge. They were very impressed with the computer experts. Hartree and Wilkes said the EDSAC computer would be ready in about 12 to 18 months. They also mentioned that extra money could help finish it faster.
Standingford and Thompson wrote a report to the Lyons company board. They suggested that Lyons should get or build a computer for their business needs. The board agreed. As a first step, Lyons gave Hartree and Wilkes £2,500 for the EDSAC project. They also sent one of their own electrical engineers, Ernest Lenaerts, to help. The EDSAC was finished and ran its first program in May 1949.
Building the LEO I Computer
After the EDSAC was successfully completed, the Lyons board decided to build their own computer. They wanted to make it even better than the EDSAC design. The LEO computer room was very big, about 2,500 square feet, and was located at Cadby Hall in Hammersmith.
The Lyons machine was named the Lyons Electronic Office, or LEO. Maurice Wilkes suggested that Lyons hire John Pinkerton, a radar engineer, to lead the project. Ernest Lenaerts returned to Lyons to work on LEO. Wilkes also trained Derek Hemy, a Lyons engineer, who would be in charge of writing programs for LEO.
On February 15, 1951, the LEO computer ran a simple test program. Princess Elizabeth (who later became Queen) was there to see it! The very first business job LEO did was calculating the costs of ingredients for bread and cakes. This was called "Bakery Valuations." It worked successfully on September 5, 1951. By the end of November 1951, LEO was doing all the Bakery Valuations calculations.
In 1952, Mary Coombs was hired to work on LEO. She became the first female programmer to work on a commercial computer.
How LEO I Was Designed
The LEO I computer worked quite fast for its time. Its "clock speed" was 500 kHz. Most instructions took about 1.5 milliseconds to complete. For business use, the computer needed to handle many different types of information at the same time. This included information coming in and going out.
So, the main designer, John Pinkerton, made sure LEO I had many "buffers." These buffers helped the computer manage different data streams at once. At first, LEO I used fast paper tape readers and punches. It also used fast punched card readers and punches. There was also a machine that could print 100 lines per minute. Later, other devices like magnetic tape were added.
LEO I's memory was special. It used ultrasonic delay-line memory based on tanks filled with mercury. This memory could hold 2K (2048) "words" of information, which was about 8.75 kilobytes. This was four times more memory than the EDSAC computer had! David Caminer was in charge of figuring out how the whole system would work for business.
What LEO Computers Did
Lyons first used LEO I for calculating valuations, like the cost of bakery items. But soon, its job grew to include things like payroll (calculating employee wages) and keeping track of inventory (what was in stock).
One of LEO's early and important jobs was processing daily orders. Shops would call in their orders every afternoon. LEO would then calculate what needed to be produced overnight, how to assemble it, delivery times, invoices, costs, and reports for managers. This was one of the first times a computer helped manage a whole business system in such a complete way.
LEO also pioneered "outsourcing." This means one company does work for another. In 1956, Lyons started doing payroll calculations for Ford UK and other companies using their LEO I machine. This was very successful. Because of this, Lyons dedicated one of its LEO II computers just for these "bureau services." Later, LEO computers were also used for scientific calculations. For example, staff from the Met Office (the UK's weather service) used a LEO I before they bought their own computer.
New LEO Models and Features
In 1954, Lyons decided to build the LEO II. Other companies were also interested in buying LEO computers, so Lyons formed LEO Computers Ltd.
The first LEO III computer was finished in 1961. This was a more modern machine that used solid-state electronics (like transistors, not vacuum tubes). It had a special "Master program" operating system. This system allowed the computer to run up to 12 different programs at the same time!
People who used LEO computers wrote programs using two main languages. One was called Intercode, which was a basic language. The other was CLEO (which stood for Clear Language for Expressing Orders), similar to the COBOL language used today.
LEO III computers had some interesting features. One was a loudspeaker connected to the main part of the computer. Operators could listen to the sound it made. If the program was stuck in a loop, the sound would change, letting them know there was a problem! Another funny thing was that if the computer had a small problem, sometimes you could fix it by simply "strumming" the handles of the circuit cards.
Some LEO III machines were used by the General Post Office (GPO), which later became British Telecom. They used them to produce telephone bills until 1981! They kept these old computers running by using parts from other LEO machines that were no longer needed.
LEO's Legacy
In 1963, LEO Computers Ltd joined with the English Electric Company. This change meant the original team who created LEO computers broke up. However, the company continued to build the LEO III. They also built even faster models, the LEO 360 and LEO 326, which the LEO team had designed before the merger.
Over the years, the company went through more changes and mergers. Eventually, it became part of International Computers Limited (ICL) in 1968. Even in the 1980s, some ICL computers could still run old LEO programs using special software. ICL was later bought by Fujitsu in 1990.
It's not entirely clear if creating LEO computers helped J. Lyons and Co. make more money. Some people say that Lyons already had a very good system using human clerks, which gave them quick information about their business. Also, LEO Computers sometimes sold its machines for too low a price, which meant they lost money on some sales.
Today, the Centre for Computing History and the LEO Computers Society are working to preserve the history of LEO computers. They are collecting, saving, and digitizing old LEO items and documents. The museum has a special area dedicated to LEO. They are also working on a LEO virtual reality project. In November 2021, to celebrate 70 years since LEO I ran its first full program, they released a film about LEO's history. This film even won an award!
See also
In Spanish: Computadora LEO para niños
- List of vacuum-tube computers
Images for kids
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A circuit board from a LEO III computer
