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[SOVIET PROGRAMMERS: THE 1978 IBM/360 GUIDE] Programmirovaniye na IBM/360 / Per. s angl. pod red. V.S. Shtarkmana [i.e. Programming the IBM 360 / Translated from English under the Editing of V. S. Shtarkman]

Germain, K.

Item #2436

Moscow: Mir, 1973. 870 pp.: ills. 21,8x14,5 cm. In original publisher’s cloth binding. Fine condition. Previous owner’s ink inscription on the fore title.

Scarce. Second edition. First edition published in 1971. Text in Russian. Original English edition issued in 1967. Translated from English under the editorship of B. Shtarkman.

The second edition of the first Russian translation of Clarence B. Germain’s famous textbook Programming the IBM 360 published in the USSR in 1978. Aimed primarily at
researchers, instructors, graduate students, and students across various disciplines, the book sought to equip Soviet readers with the foundational knowledge necessary to understand IBM 360-compatible systems and navigate related programming materials.

Although the IBM/360 itself was never officially imported or used in the Soviet Union due to Cold War restrictions, it had a profound influence on Soviet computer engineering. In the late 1960s, the USSR launched its own line of mainframe computers— ЕС ЭВМ (Unified System of Electronic Computers)—which was heavily inspired by IBM/360 in both hardware architecture and software concepts. As a result, understanding the IBM/360 became essential for Soviet programmers, engineers, and students working on compatible or parallel systems. Translating Germain’s textbook into Russian made a wealth of technical knowledge accessible to the Soviet computing community and aligned with the broader effort to educate a new generation of computer specialists.

The book begins with a thorough explanation of the hardware, including CPU architecture, instruction formats, data structures, I/O channel logic, and the interrupt system. Peripheral devices, such as the IBM 029 keypunch, are also covered. The text then transitions to an overview of both machine- and problem oriented programming languages—PL/I, FORTRAN, COBOL, and Assembly—each treated independently in dedicated chapters. Particular attention is paid to the structure and functionality of operating systems associated with the IBM/360, including DOS, OS, TOS, BOS, and BPS. While certain specialized models and systems—such as the time-sharing capabilities of Model 67 or the programming system of Model 44—are only briefly mentioned or excluded, the main content is applicable to models 25, 30, 40, 50, 65, 75, and 85.

Overall, a must-have Soviet edition for the enthusiasts of computer science history.

Price: $450.00