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The Calcutron-33 Decimal-Based Computer
An introduction to microprocessors and assembly programming for beginners
The Calcutron-33 computer is a thought experiment: What if we could build a computer that worked on decimal numbers rather than binary numbers? In our imagination anything is possible and through code we can simulate just about anything. In fact, I have created a simulator for the Calcutron-33 computer, which you can download. The simulator allows you to write programs for this imaginary computer and run them.
The purpose of the Calcutron-33 computer is to serve as a stepping-stone towards learning how to write RISC-V and Arm assembly code. Ultimately, that is what you want as there are actual computers built around the RISC-V and Arm microprocessor architectures, while no Calcutron-33 based computers exist in the real world.
In this story, I will cover the following:
- The architecture of a microprocessor — What functional units comprise a microprocessor, and how do they interact with each other?
- Program execution — How does a microprocessor run a computer program loaded into memory?
- Instruction-set — The operations a microprocessor can perform
- Assembly code — How to write and run programs
