In past years there have been several conferences on "Computer Archi-
tecture and Operating Systems", which were jointly sponsored by the
"Fachausschuss 3/4 der Gesellschaft fUr Informatik, Rechnerorganisa-
tion und Betriebssysteme", whose field of interest is covered by the
title of the conferences, and by the "Fachausschuss 6 (Technische In-
formatik) der Nachrichtentechnischen Gesellschaft im Verband Deutsche
Elektrotechniker". The level of attendance at these conferences showed
that they satisfied a genuine need. The "Fachausschuss 3/4" mentioned
above decided in the autumn of 1974 to hold a workshop on computer
architecture. This was motivated by the point of view that the
organisations mentioned above should provide an opportunity for
forward-looking computer architects who would like to discuss
contemporary computer structures and operating systems. In ac- cordanc
with this computer architecture was regarded as a basic ap- proach to
computer structures, which could not be regarded as a straight- forward
development of what has been up to now the main line of compu- ter
evolution. Computer architecture does not yet require a breach with the
line of development which has been followed since the days of the
Princeton group. However, it is not limited to the current range of
products of the computer manufacturer. The professional organisations
mentioned above and also the universities have accordingly a particular
responsi- bility to search for new paths forward, especially those which
are not simply extensions of paths already used.
