computer science

Imperial College Computing Engine

Imperial College Computing Engine is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Imperial College Computing Engine rather than just read about it. In short: ICCE I and ICCE II were digital computers built at the Imperial College Department of Mathematics in the post-war period. Computing engines ICCE I The first Imperial College Computing Engine, ICCE I, was constructed by Sidney Michaelson, Tony Brooker and Keith Tocher in the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Key takeaways

Imperial College Computing Engine belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Imperial College Computing Engine to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Imperial College Computing Engine from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ICCE I and ICCE II were digital computers built at the Imperial College Department of Mathematics in the post-war period.

Computing engines

ICCE I The first Imperial College Computing Engine, ICCE I, was constructed by Sidney Michaelson, Tony Brooker and Keith Tocher in the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was a relay based machine which gave relatively slow but highly reliable service. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

ICCE II ICCE II was constructed by Sidney Michaelson, Keith Tocher and Manny Lehman in the early 1950s. This valve based machine was never completed. ICCE II was taken by Keith Tocher to British Steel. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

Influence on other machines ICCE I and II influenced the design of SABRAC, the computer constructed in Israel by The Israeli MoD Scientific Department.

Project termination In 1956/7, the project was forcibly terminated. Staff dispersed. In 1951 Tony Brooker had left to join the Computing Machine Laboratory at the University of Manchester. Keith Tocher took ICCE II and went to work at British Steel, Sidney Michaelson went to the University of Edinburgh and founded the Computer Unit which subsequently became the Department of Computer Science, now the school of informatics. Manny Lehman ultimately joined the Israeli MoD Scientific Department which subsequently became Rafael.

See also Wilks MV and Stringer LJB, Micro-Programming and the Design of the Control Circuits in an Electronic Computer, Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc., vol 49, no. 2, 1953 Tocher KD, Classification and Design of Operation Codes for Automatic Computers, Proc. IEE, 103B, Supplement 1, Apr. 1956 Tocher KD and Lehman MM, A Fast Parallel Arithmetic Unit, Proc. IEE 103B, Supplement 3, Apr. 1956, pp. 520–527 Lehman MM, Parallel Arithmetic Units and Their Control, PhD Thesis, University of London, Feb. 1957, 160pps.+ Lehman MM, Short-Cut Multiplication and Division in Automatic Binary Digital Computers with Special Reference to a New Multiplication Process, Proc. IEE, vol 105, Part B, No 23, Sept 1958, pps. 496–504 Tocher KD, Techniques of Multiplication and Division for Automatic Binary Computers, Quart. J. of Mechanics and Appl. Maths., v. 11, p. 3, 1958, pps. 364–384 http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~greg/icce/

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Imperial College Computing Engine

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Imperial College Computing Engine claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Imperial College Computing Engine before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Imperial College Computing Engine ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Imperial College Computing Engine

In research: Imperial College Computing Engine appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Imperial College Computing Engine in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Imperial College Computing Engine is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computers designed in the United Kingdom, Early computers, Electro-mechanical computers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Imperial College Computing Engine outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Imperial College Computing Engine in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Imperial College Computing Engine means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Imperial College Computing Engine out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Imperial College Computing Engine in simple terms?

ICCE I and ICCE II were digital computers built at the Imperial College Department of Mathematics in the post-war period. Computing engines ICCE I The first Imperial College Computing Engine, ICCE I, was constructed by Sidney Michaelson, Tony Brooker and Keith Tocher in the Department of Mathematic…

Why does Imperial College Computing Engine matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Imperial College Computing Engine?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Imperial College Computing Engine.