Perkin-Elmer turned out to offer the first "desktop" (benchtop) multi-user multi-tasking (threaded) data system, designed in the 1970's and finally released in 1979:
No microprocessor in the CPU, just a PCB a foot square covered in discrete logic chips.
Memory PCB the same size, connected by short ribbon cables to the CPU, this bypassed the backplane. Fully upgraded it was 16K of 32-bit memory.
Each user could run more than one Basic program at a time, and also the same Basic code in memory could be run by more than one user, or even more than one time simultaneously by the same user. Simultaneous with the collection of live data from more than one chemical analyzer, which the firmware could handle most of the mainstream chemical needs without the Basic option. User-programming was for the exotic stuff that actually requires custom code.
But that made it completely programmable using only the documentation supplied, it was straightforward to accomplish things which PC software that eventually came along never has been able to do without settling for additional commercial offerings which are much more user-friendly (mouse!) but not as appropriate as my own code was.
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I would estimate it was fine-grained.
No microprocessor in the CPU, just a PCB a foot square covered in discrete logic chips.
Memory PCB the same size, connected by short ribbon cables to the CPU, this bypassed the backplane. Fully upgraded it was 16K of 32-bit memory.
Each user could run more than one Basic program at a time, and also the same Basic code in memory could be run by more than one user, or even more than one time simultaneously by the same user. Simultaneous with the collection of live data from more than one chemical analyzer, which the firmware could handle most of the mainstream chemical needs without the Basic option. User-programming was for the exotic stuff that actually requires custom code.
But that made it completely programmable using only the documentation supplied, it was straightforward to accomplish things which PC software that eventually came along never has been able to do without settling for additional commercial offerings which are much more user-friendly (mouse!) but not as appropriate as my own code was.