The Xerox 500 series is a discontinued line of computers from Xerox Data Systems (XDS) introduced in the early 1970s as backward-compatible upgrades for the Sigma series machines.
Although orders for the Xerox 530 were deemed "encouraging" as of January 1974, [1] the systems had failed to gain traction by the time Xerox sold its Data Systems Division in 1975. The buyer, Honeywell, Inc., continued to support existing 500-series systems until 1984 but discontinued manufacturing.[2]
Binary integer arithmetic is standard on all models; floating-point is optional on the 530, and standard on the 550 and 560. The 560 also supports decimal arithmetic. The 550 and 560 include one or more "system control processors" (CPs) to handle interrupts, diagnostics, clocks, direct I/O, and operator communications. Systems are clusterable, with multiple "basic processors" (BPs), I/O processors (IOPs), and "system control processors" (CPs) sharing busses and memory.[3]
- ^ "Xerox 530 orders "encouraging"". Democrat and Chronicle. 22 January 1974. p. 32.
- ^ Calkins, Keith. "The COMPUTER That Will Not Die: The SDS SIGMA 7". Retrieved Sep 23, 2014.
- ^ Xerox Corporation (1974). The Xerox 550 Computer Reference Manual (PDF). Retrieved Sep 24, 2014.