Singer System Ten facts for kids
The Singer System Ten was a special kind of computer made for small businesses by the Singer Corporation. It came out in 1970. This computer had an early way of dividing its power, like creating separate work areas inside one machine. The System Ten processed information using 6-bit BCD characters and did math using decimal numbers.
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Why Singer Made a Computer
In the early 1960s, the Singer Sewing Machine Company was very successful. They sold many sewing machines around the world. By 1962, their stores sold not just machines, but also fabrics, sewing supplies, and patterns. They had 175 stores in the U.S. and many more in Europe.
Managing all the products in these stores was hard. Singer needed to track what was sold and what was in stock. This helped them manage their money and make profits. So, Singer's CEO, Donald P Kircher, asked computer companies to design a system. This system would connect to the cash registers in each store. It would collect real-time information about sales and stock.
Big computer companies like IBM and NCR said no. But one company, Friden, accepted the challenge. Friden was an American company that made calculators and accounting machines.
How the System Ten Started
In 1965, Singer bought Friden and renamed it Singer Business Machines. They then designed a new computer. It was first called the Business Data Processor (BDP). Soon, it was renamed the System Ten.
In 1969, Singer Business Machines created a special division in each Western European country. Their job was to launch and sell the Singer System Ten. Managers and directors were trained. The Singer System Ten was officially launched across Europe on April 2, 1970.
How the System Ten Worked
The design of the System Ten was quite new for its time. This was because it was made for what we now call "point of sale" systems. These are the systems used when you buy something in a store.
The machine did not have a regular operating system like modern computers. Instead, it had up to 20 separate sections, called 'partitions'. Each partition had its own dedicated memory of up to 10 kilobytes. There was also a shared area that all partitions could use. This shared area started at 10K and later grew to 100K.
The computer was called System Ten because it did all its math in decimal numbers. Most other computers at the time used binary.
Partitions and Devices
Each partition could handle up to 10 different input/output (I/O) devices. These devices included terminals, printers, card readers, and punches. A special part called a Multi-Terminal IOC helped connect these devices. It could send data at about 20 kilobits per second.
The computer's main processor would quickly switch between these partitions. It would work on one partition, then move to the next. This made it seem like the computer was doing many things at once.
For store cash registers, a different type of partition was used. This was called an MD (multi-data IOC). It could control up to 10 cash registers. These devices sent a whole transaction at once, at 1200 bits per second.
Communication Options
The System Ten also had ways to connect to other computers. There were controllers for different types of communication. One could act like an IBM 2780 terminal, but it used ASCII code instead of EBCDIC. These connections were limited to 2400 bits per second. Another controller, the Asynchronous Terminal Adapter (ATA), allowed simpler terminals to connect at 300 bits per second.
Programming the System Ten
The System Ten's memory used 6-bit characters. So, 10 kilobytes actually meant 10,000 characters. Since one instruction took 10 characters, each partition could hold about 1,000 instructions.
The computer had a very small and simple set of instructions. The first model, the 20, had only 13 instructions. Its next version, the model 21, had 16 instructions. Most programs were written in assembly language. This language was simple to use. It also had a powerful built-in macro language.
In North America, other programming tools appeared. These included a "table processor" which was easy to learn. Later, an RPG/RPGII compiler was added. This allowed programmers to combine different parts of a program into one executable file.
Later Life of the System Ten
The Singer Business Machines division was bought by ICL in 1976. At that time, ICL thought there were 8,000 System Tens being used worldwide. ICL kept selling it as the ICL System Ten. They also tried to get customers to switch to their newer 2900 series computers.
When that didn't work, ICL worked with a Singer division that made smart terminals. They redesigned the system to be smaller and use less power. This led to the creation of the ICL System 25. This was the last version of the machine.
In the UK, Singer's plan was for customers to write their own programs. This was a mistake. Some European Singer Business Machines companies ignored this. They set up small teams to write programs for customers. Within two years, some of these teams became independent companies. They focused on helping System Ten customers in their countries.
Business Uses
Singer also created software for stores. One of the biggest users was the Wanamaker's department store in Philadelphia. New stores could get the system quickly. This was because they only needed to make small changes to the existing code.
In England, the Welwyn Department Store was the first to use the System Ten as planned. This store is now a branch of John Lewis & Partners. It became a very important example of how the system worked.
Even though it was mainly used in stores, the System Ten was also a general business computer. It could connect to common devices like video terminals, punched cards, and printers. Later, it could also use disk and magnetic tape storage. These were used for sales, stock, and accounting. The System Ten eventually became less popular as the minicomputer era ended. The PC became the more common computer for businesses.
