A cellular general purpose computer

摘要

A 2-dimensional cellular general-purpose computer is specified. This particular cellular computer is distinguished from previously proposed, locally-controlled cellular computers in that the cellular structure is "hidden" from the user. At the ISP level, the machine is similar to a small-scale computer of the von Neumann type. However, the architecture of the computer does not feature physically isolated functional units to implement memory, processor, or control. As a result, we present a machine which may be programmed in the conventional manner, but which has the hardware advantages associated with the cellular structure. Additionally, the machine is controlled by a software microprogram, which lends itself to dynamic micro-programming and to such related applications as machine simulation.