View source for History of computer hardware in Yugoslavia

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{{Rough translation|sr|date=April 2025}} 
{{multiple image | perrow = 2 | total_width = 300
| image1 = Cer10.jpg
| image2 = Cer20.jpg
| image3 = CER200.jpg
| image4 = CER-22, ERC BB.jpg
| image5 = CER-12, CPU.jpg
| footer = [[CER Computer]]s throughout the decades (top to bottom, left to right): [[CER-10]] from 1960; [[CER-20]] from 1964; [[CER-200]] from 1966; [[CER-22]] from 1967; [[CER-12]] from 1971
}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Rac1.jpg|right|thumb|120px|1983: [[Galaksija (computer)|Galaksija]]]] -->
{{History of computing}}

Strict technology import rules and regulations and the apparent need to be [[economic independence|independent]] of foreign suppliers for [[spare part]]s shaped and fueled domestic [[computer development]] in the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], a [[socialist state|socialist]] and [[Non-Aligned Movement|non-aligned country]] that existed in the second half of the 20th century.

==Development==

===Early computers===
In former Yugoslavia, at the end of 1962 there were 30 installed electronic computers, in 1966, there were 56, and in 1968 there were 95.<ref>Mesarić, Milan. [https://books.google.com/books?lr=&id=SOlXAAAAIAAJ ''Suvremena znanstveno tehnička revolucija''], Ekonomski institut, Zagreb, 1971, p. 58.</ref>
Having received training in the European computer centres (Paris 1954 and 1955, Darmstadt 1959, Wien 1960, Cambridge 1961 and London 1964), engineers from the BK.Institute-Vinča and the [[Mihailo Pupin Institute]]-  [[Belgrade]], led by Prof. dr [[Tihomir Aleksić]], started a project of designing the first "domestic" digital computer at the end of the 1950s. This was to become a line of [[CER Computers|CER]] ({{lang-sh-Latn-Cyrl|separator=" / "|'''C'''ifarski '''E'''lektronski '''R'''ačunar|'''ЦЕР''' - '''Ц'''ифарски '''Е'''лектронски '''Р'''ачунар|Digital Electronic Computer}}), starting with the model [[CER-10]] in 1960, a primarily [[vacuum tube]] and electronic relays-based computer.

By 1964, [[CER-20]] computer was designed and completed as "electronic bookkeeping machine", as the manufacturer recognized increasing need in accounting market. This special-purpose trend continued with the release of [[CER-22]] in 1967, which was intended for on-line "banking" applications.

There were more CER models, such as [[CER-11]], [[CER-12]], and [[CER-200]], but there is currently little information here available on them.

In the late 1970s, "Ei-Niš Računarski Centar" from [[Niš]], [[Serbia]], started assembling Mainframe computers [[Honeywell 6000 series|H6000]] under Honeywell license, mainly for banking businesses. Computer initially had a great success that later led into local limited parts production. In addition, the company produced models such as H6 and H66 and was alive as late as early 2000s under name "Bull HN". Models H6 were installed in enterprises (e.g., telecom) for business applications and ran the [[General Comprehensive Operating System|GCOS]] operating system. Also, they were used in education. E.g., one of the built Honeywell H6 was installed in local electronics engineering and trade school "Nikola Tesla" in Niš and was used for training and educational purposes until late 80s and dawn of personal computers.

===Imports===
Eventually, the socialist government of SFRY allowed foreign computers to be imported under strict conditions. This led to the increasing dominance of foreign [[Mainframe computer|mainframes]] and a continuous reduction of relative market share for domestic products.

Despite this, since the interest in computer technology grew overall, systems built by the [[Mihailo Pupin Institute]] (first [[CER Computers|CER]], then [[TIM Microcomputers|TIM]] lines) and [[Iskra Delta]] (e.g. [[Iskra Delta 800|model 800]], derivative of [[PDP-11]]/[[PDP-11/34|34]]) continued to evolve through the 1970s and even the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=54&st=1|title=Iskra Delta|publisher=Old-computers.com|access-date=2006-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426235249/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=54|archive-date=2006-04-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Early 1980s: Home computer era===
Many companies attempted to produce [[microcomputer]]s similar to 1980s [[home computer]]s, such as [[Ivo Lola Ribar Institute]]'s [[Lola 8]], M.Pupin Institute's [[TIM-001]], [[Elektronska Industrija|EI]]'s [[Pecom 32]] and [[Pecom 64|64]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=332&st=1|title=Elektronska Industrija Niš|publisher=Old-computers.com|access-date=2006-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121035038/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=332|archive-date=2010-11-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[PEL Varaždin]]'s [[Galeb (computer)]] and [[Orao (computer)|Orao]], [[Ivel Ultra]] and [[Ivel Z3]], etc. [[Jožef Stefan Institute]] in [[Ljubljana]] made first 16-bit microcomputer PMP-11 under the leadership of Marijan Miletić, former technical director of Iskra-Delta in 1984.  It had 8&nbsp;MHz DEC T-11 CPU, maximum of 64 kB RAM, 10 MB hard disk, 8" diskette and two RS-232 ports for VT-100 video terminal and COM.  Branko Jevtić modified RT-11 operating system so plenty of DEC-11 applications were available.  Some 50 machines were made before IBM AT became widely available.  Many factors caused them to fail or not even attempt to enter the home computer market:

* they were prohibitively expensive for individuals (especially when compared to popular foreign [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Commodore 64]], etc.);
* lack of entertainment and other [[software]] meant they were not appealing to majority of contemporary computer enthusiasts;
* they were not available in stores.

The end result was that domestic computers were predominantly used in government institutions that were prohibited from purchasing imported equipment. Those computers that could have been connected to existing mainframes and used as terminals were more successful in business environments, while others were used as educational tools in schools. Given that all medium and large enterprises in the country were government-owned, this was still a significant part of the domestic market which explains both the unnatural, relative success of domestic business computers, as well as why IBM PC/AT and compatibles had a low influx in the local business market.

However, while the government tried to proliferate domestic home computers by introducing the cost and memory size limitations for imports, many people imported them nevertheless either illegally or by dividing a single computer into pieces that separately fit within prescribed restrictions. Lack of proper legislation and such [[grey market]] activity only helped the demise of domestic home computer production. By the middle of the decade home computer market was, much like in the rest of the Europe, dominated by [[Commodore 64]] and [[ZX Spectrum]] as a runner up.

One domestic microcomputer model managed to stand out - [[Galaksija (computer)|Galaksija]]. Created by [[Voja Antonić]], the entire do-it-yourself diagrams and instructions were published in the special issue of popular science magazine "Galaksija" called [[Računari u vašoj kući]] (Computers in your home) in January 1984. Although initially unavailable for purchase in assembled form, more than 1,000 enthusiasts built the microcomputer for games. Many were later produced for use in some schools.

Home computers were widely popular in SFRY - so much so that software (otherwise recorded on [[Compact Cassette (data)|Compact Cassette]]) was broadcast by [[radio station]]s (e.g. [[Ventilator 202]], Radio Študent Ljubljana etc.). Due to lack of regulation, [[copyright infringement of software]] was common and unlicensed copies for sale were freely advertised in popular computer magazines of the time, such as [[Računari]], [[Svet kompjutera]], [[Moj Mikro]] and [[Revija za mikroračunala]]. This distribution led to essentially every home computer owner having access to hundreds, if not thousands of commercial software titles. This would later cause benefits and drawbacks for the economy. Several student developers became computer experts since cheap and unauthorized development tools were common. However, they found themselves still competing with these [[warez]] domestically after trying to find a market for their skills.

===Late 1980s: PC era===
The second half of the 1980s saw the rise of popularity of [[IBM AT compatible]] among business users, and a slow movement towards 16-bits like [[Amiga]] and [[Atari ST]] computers in the enthusiast market, while mainstream home computing was still largely dominated by the ubiquitous C-64. Domestic computer hardware manufacturers produced a number of different IBM AT compatibles, such as TIM-microcomputers and Lira, and the first domestic Unix workstation (in one of the configurations, Iskra Delta's [[Triglav (computer)|Triglav]] was shipped with Microsoft's [[Xenix]]) but their success was again limited to government-controlled companies that were required to purchase only domestic or legally imported technology.

==Timeline==
;1959
* [[Branko Souček]] leads a team from 1955 to 1959 to create the '256 channel analyzer' digital computer at the [[Ruđer Bošković Institute]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irb.hr/eng/Research/Divisions-and-Centers/Centre-for-Informatics-and-Computing/A-memorial-service-for-professor-Branko-Soucek/Life-and-work|title=Life and work|publisher=Ruđer Bošković Institute}}</ref>
;1960
*  [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases first digital computer in SFRY - [[CER-10]].

;1964
*  [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases [[CER-20]] - "electronic bookkeeping machine" model.

;1966
*  [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases a serie of minicomputers [[CER-200]].

;1967
*  [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases [[CER-22]] - "digital computer for on-line banking applications".

;1971
*  [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases [[hybrid computer]] systems [[HRS-100]] for AN.USSR, Moscow.
*  [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases [[CER-12]] computer system for business data processing in ERCs.
*  [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases [[CER-203]].

;1979
* [[Iskradata]] releases [[Iskradata 1680]]

;1980
* [[Ivo Lola Ribar Institute]] releases industrial [[programmable logic controller]] [[PA512]]

;1983
* [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases "computer system for real-time generation of images" and a model [[TIM-001]]
* [[Iskra Delta]] releases [[Iskra Delta Partner]] [[Z80A]]-based computer
* Complete build-it-yourself new instructions for [[Galaksija (computer)|Galaksija]] ([[English language|en.]] ''Galaxy'') computer are published in ''{{ill|Računari u vašoj kući|hr}}'' magazine.

;1984
* [[Iskra Delta]] releases [[Iskra Delta 800]] computer derived from Digital [[PDP-11]]/[[PDP-11/34|34]]
* Institute Jozef Stefan releases PMP-11 16-bit microcomputer compatible with DEC RT-11 OS
* [[PEL Varaždin]] releases [[Galeb (computer)|Galeb]] ([[English language|en.]] ''seagull'') computer later to be replaced by [[Orao (computer)|Orao]]

;1985
* [[Iskra Delta]] releases [[Triglav (computer)]] computer using three different processing units ([[DEC J-11|DEC J11]], [[Intel 80286]] and [[Motorola 68010]]). 
* [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases "Microprocessor post-office computers" serie [[TIM-100]].
* [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases an application development microcomputer model [[TIM-001]].
* [[PEL Varaždin]] releases [[Orao (computer)|Orao]] ([[English language|en.]] ''eagle'') computer for use in schools
* [[Galaksija Plus]] (enhanced version of Galaksija) is released.
* [[Elektronska Industrija Niš]] releases [[Pecom 32]] and [[Pecom 64]] also for use in some schools.
* [[Ivo Lola Ribar Institute]] announced official release of [[Lola 8]] for an exhibition in 1985.

;1986
* [[Ivo Lola Ribar Institute]] releases industrial [[programmable logic controller]] [[LPA512]].
* [[Energoinvest]] IRIS ({{langx|sh|Institut za računarske i informacione sisteme}}) releases IRIS PC-16.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.klix.ba/scitech/tehnologija/proizvodnja-racunara-u-bih-ovo-je-prica-o-energoinvestovom-iris-u-pc-16/200903077 |title=Proizvodnja računara u BiH: Ovo je priča o Energoinvestovom IRIS-u PC 16 |date=3 September 2020 |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=[[Klix.ba]]}}</ref>

;1988
* [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases 32-[[bit]] microcomputer systems  [[TIM-600]].
* [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] releases [[HD64180]]-based [[TIM-011]] microcomputer integrated with green monochrome monitor, for use in many Serbian secondary schools.

==See also==
* [[List of computer systems from Yugoslavia]]
* [[History of computer hardware in Eastern Bloc countries]]

==Notes and references==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Computer Hardware In Yugoslavia}}
[[Category:History of computing hardware|Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:Computer companies of Yugoslavia]]