A decade of ORACLE experience

This paper is a chronological story of the design, construction, and operation of the ORACLE over its ten year life cycle. The authors participated in all three stages of ORACLE's life cycle, and the material presented was extracted from personal files of the authors and annual reports of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This overview and description of the ORACLE reveals the nature of a first generation computer and identifies the major differences in engineering design and construction of the ORACLE over that of the other lAS (Institute for Advanced Study)-type computers. The important lessons learned and legacies listed should be of value to future generations from a historical viewpoint, and for those concerned with how the computer explosion of the past thirty-five years was effected by its origins. In conclusion, the authors make some philosophical remarks called pioneer reflections on our contemporary society.