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This is a follow on to my first question in this site: Help identifying a very old computer: 1974, maybe an NCR This established that the first computer that I used was an ICL 4120. Now that I know what it was, I would like to refresh my memory of it, in particular the assembly language NEAT. I have tried internet searches without success. Does anyone know where I might be able to find some documentation?

John Dallman
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badjohn
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  • I did some COBOL programming around 1980 on my father's company's ICL computer. I don't remember the model number, now I'm wondering if this was the same one. Got any pictures? – Barmar Aug 10 '23 at 15:02
  • Oddly, I never saw it. I was in school and it was 20 miles away in a technical college. If you look at the links in the answers below, you will find some pictures. Also, look through my original question whose link is in my question. – badjohn Aug 11 '23 at 09:17

3 Answers3

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A bit of web searching indicates that the 4120 was part of a range with the 4130, and among their operating systems was one called NICE. That seems congruent with an assembler called NEAT.

Searching for ICL 4130 "NICE" led me to a page that explains that the ICL 4130 was originally built by NCR Elliott as part of their 4100 series, and mentions the NICE operating system and NEAT assembler.

NCR Elliott suggests Elliott Brothers, an early British computer company, and their Wikipedia page reveals that their 4100 series was a joint venture with NCR. We seem to be getting somewhere.

The Computer Conservation Society has a page with some technical information.

John Dallman
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    I was going to vote up just because you used "congruent" in a sentence, but it's a good answer besides. – Wayne Conrad Aug 09 '23 at 18:54
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    Some good stuff there but I'll leave the question open a bit longer in case someone finds some old manuals. That is what I am dreaming of. – badjohn Aug 09 '23 at 20:17
  • Hmm. We had an Elliot series. I'll have to look in my archives, but I don't remember anything detailed. I've already lost the EDSAC manual that should have been there! – Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩 Aug 10 '23 at 16:23
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Not a complete answer, but a couple of references scraped from the net:

NCR 4100 Software - mentions NEAT assembler and NEAT executive; little detail though. CPU and peripheral descriptions.

4100 Instruction Set - modern document from the CCS.

dave
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I don't have a lot, but see here: http://www.ancientgeek.org.uk/Elliott/4100/

Bob Eager
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  • Just a thought: It might be a good idea to put those files on Github. If your website/domain dies, then those files might be lost. The same could be said about Github, but it is less likely... – Greenonline Mar 22 '24 at 12:28