Patrick Stakem

The Hardware and Software Architecture of the Transputer Patrick Stakem

The Transputer was a microprocessor too far ahead of its time. Update the clock speeds, and the architecture would be impressive today. It was a actually a microcomputer, having a cpu, memory, and I/O on one chip. External logic required was minimal. Large arrays of Transputers were easily implemented. However, like many advanced technological artifacts, it was hard to understand. It took a while to get used to the software approach. The tools were difficult to use. In fact, the software approach, the conceptual model, was what made the Transputer powerful. The implementation in silicon came later. You had to understand and buy into the conceptual model and then the software to maximize your return from the Transputer. A steep learning curve was involved. In the end, the Transputer was overtaken by simpler, better-funded, mainstream approaches. This book gives an overview of the Transputer history and architecture. Two real-world project case studys and over 300 references are included.