Imagesource: IBM

Ken Shirriff should be a household name to just about any retrocomputing enthusiast. Ken usually takes apart anything that isn't nailed down or welded tightly into a steel shell somewhere. But even that would be no obstacle for him.

Today is all about his latest project, and this time Ken has built something. Namely, a simulator for an IBM360/50 mainframe. Boring? Not so fast young Padawan - anything but.

In addition to the simulator itself, Ken goes into the details of the challenge in his usual detailed, informed, and skillful manner. And in doing so, he knows what he's talking about. The idea of microcode, conceived in 1951 by Maurice Wilkes, is the basis of the 360. And why and how the implementation was done for the machine, is the most interesting reading piece of the past week.

Processor design and architecture are your thing? Then don't miss this article.