The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 116: Inestimable Value

Holding the passbook, Li Mu walked out of the Foreign Trade Committee.

More than 9 yuan may not sound like much, but in this era, it is already a huge sum of money.

Without much hesitation, he went straight to the post office.

9000 yuan will be remitted directly to the school.

He only had 323 yuan left.

Then he went home, took out half of the money and gave it to his family.

Seeing so much money, Grandma Li was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling and kept praising her eldest grandson for his ability.

……

After talking to Grandma Li for a while, Li Mu returned to the room.

The Rubik's Cube thing can only be said to be done casually, and his focus now should still be on study and research.

Especially with programmable digital switches, there has been no progress at the Semiconductor Research Institute so far, so he must find a way to speed up the progress.

Thinking of this, Li Mu opened the chat page and prepared to contact Ask.

At this moment, a "ding~" message alert sound rang in his mind.

Ask: "Lee, the tricks you taught me are so useful!"

"Victory!jpg."

"The enemy was furious. I defeated the 'peasants' but they still resisted. I already had a battlecruiser, but they only managed to build up a barracks."

Looking at the picture in his mind of several battlecruisers showing off their might over the bare base, Li Mu couldn't help but smile.

Especially the row of F**Ks that Ask's opponent typed in the dialog box in the lower left corner, which makes people laugh.

The reason why some people use dog tricks is not only because they can win, but also because they can make others angry and frustrated.

Especially when you meet those who refuse to admit defeat, you can still play some tricks on them.

Bullying is always fun.

"Your rank is too low now. Once you reach gold, this trick will basically be useless." Li Mu replied.

Ask laughed and said, "Don't worry, Li, I am also practicing the urbanization method you mentioned."

"By the way, I see this game seems to support multiplayer mode, do you want to come and play with me?"

"I'm a little busy now, maybe next time." Li Mu refused without even thinking about it, and then asked a question to divert Ask's attention:

"By the way, do you have time to help me find some easy-to-understand C language learning materials?"

“It’s best to have zero foundation.”

As expected, Ask was attracted and asked curiously, "Li, why are you suddenly interested in programming again?"

"Programming is such a boring thing, doesn't it seem like you would like it?"

"It's not that I like it, but my friend recently learned about semiconductors and wanted to make a programmable digital switch by himself, without the help of modern machinery and equipment." Li Mu said.

Integrated circuit computers are not something that can be achieved overnight and cannot be made in a short period of time.

But to develop a program-controlled digital switch requires advances in computers, so we have to find another way.

This news made Ask's eyes widen in shock.

He exclaimed: "This is so cool!"

"Li, if you need my help, just ask!"

"But when it's done, I hope you can send me a photo so I can see it, okay?"

"I don't know if it will work yet. I will definitely show you if it does." Li Mu replied quickly.

Of course, even if it succeeds, I definitely won’t be able to show it to Ask.

Although the chat page and photo taking function seem to still be there in my mind.

But without certainty, he did not dare to try it easily.

……

After finishing the chat with Ask, Li Mu received the C language basics sent back by Ask.

"1972, so a little earlier should be no problem." Li Mu looked at the information and first confirmed the time when the C language appeared.

If the timing is not right, it may be a problem if the programming language is too advanced.

Looking at the materials, Li Mu fell into a state of learning.

……

More than ten days passed in a flash.

The news that Li Mu was involved in the cypermethrin experiment gradually subsided.

After all, it's just word of mouth, there's no real evidence.

Moreover, another big event happened in the school. The news that an alumnus donated 9000 yuan was talked about by people.

Many people speculated that this alumnus who refused to reveal his name might be a big shot working in some confidential unit.

Li Mu just smiled and didn't take it seriously. They wouldn't be able to guess that it was donated by him anyway.

……

Next, Li Mu's study focus will still be on C language, while also taking into account the study of integrated circuit computers, programmable digital switches, and agricultural knowledge.

Inside the library.

A thunderous "gurgling" sound came from Li Mu's stomach.

"I'm so hungry!" He touched his stomach and looked at his watch. Unconsciously, he realized it was time for lunch.

The intensive brain study every day consumes more and more of his energy.

Normally at this time of year, although I’m hungry, I’m not so hungry that I feel dizzy.

"No, I have to go eat." Li Mu stood up, but everything in front of him went dark.

Just when his body was swaying and becoming a little unstable, a pair of hands suddenly supported him.

Along with it came a fragrant steamed bun.

Wang Ya said softly, "You were so engrossed in your studies that you even forgot the time. Eat a bun first. This is what I didn't finish this morning."

"Thank you." Li Mu didn't hesitate to take the bun and put it into his mouth.

But this little bit was not enough to fill her teeth.

After eating, he said, "Thanks to you for this bun, otherwise I would have starved to death!"

"It's not that exaggerated." Wang Ya smiled, "But your appetite does seem to be increasing. Is that really okay?"

Li Mu's appetite has become quite amazing these days.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm in good health." Li Mu smiled and stood up. "Let's go to the canteen to eat. I'll buy you another bun."

……

When he arrived at the cafeteria, Li Mu ordered enough food for six or seven people and inhaled it all in one gulp.

As his stomach gradually filled up, he felt his hunger subside a lot.

Seeing Wang Ya still staring at her blankly without moving the food in her hand, he smiled and said, "Why, you can't eat, do you want me to help you?"

"You, if you are not full, then eat." Upon hearing this, Wang Ya pushed the meal she had just taken a bite of over without any hesitation.

Li Mu couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'm just kidding. Eat quickly. I'm full."

Wang Ya blushed and lowered her head to eat in silence.

……

After dinner, Li Mu returned to the dormitory.

After saying hello to General Zhao who was studying, he sat down at the table and sorted out his current research plan.

These days, he is quite familiar with C language. He is not good at writing complex programs, but he can understand the terminology. His level is a bit low, but it is barely enough.

"Everything is ready. We can start preparing to develop the program-controlled digital switch." Li Mu turned to the last page of the manuscript paper, which was the design drawing of the program-controlled digital switch.

Of course, this is the complete version. He had previously drawn more than 200 designs for cover-up, all of which were placed in his dormitory.

……

The next day.

After exercising as usual, Li Mu went to the Semiconductor Research Institute.

Since he proposed the concept of programmable digital switching system, Wang Shoujue has also organized a large number of people to carry out research.

At this time in the conference room, a heated discussion was going on:

"The existing general-purpose machine language can't actually meet the needs of programmable digital switches. The only way is to increase the number and improve efficiency."

“Simply increasing the number can solve the current problem, but the problem of programming language is still not solved.”

"Yes, we have moved past this problem. Even if we can avoid it now, it will be unavoidable in the future when developing integrated circuit computers."

"Emperor M created ALGOL 60 in 60, so why can't we create one? Machine languages ​​will be eliminated sooner or later, so we should take precautions."

……

Listening to the discussion inside, Li Mu paused and the thought came to his mind: "As expected."

The chip integration level required for programmable digital switches is actually quite high. Given their research progress, there is no way to solve this problem in a short period of time.

It is for this reason that he thought of using C language instead.

Just as Li Mu was lost in thought, Wang Shoujue, who was presiding over the meeting, saw him standing at the door. A look of joy instantly appeared on his face. He strode over and pulled him in:
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment and let us listen to what Li Mu has to say."

After hearing his words, the meeting room suddenly became quiet.

In the next room, dozens of eyes were cast towards Li Mu standing on the stage.

Li Mu was forcibly pulled onto the stage. He smiled helplessly and then said, "Actually, I agree with the opinion of a professor just now. We can research a new programming language."

"So we have to learn from Emperor M and study ALGOL60?" a researcher immediately asked.

"No, no, no, there is no need to follow others and learn." Li Mu smiled, "Besides, ALGOL60 was also developed based on electronic computers, and it will definitely be eliminated in the future."

"We need to research, of course, more advanced programming languages."

Someone below said: "But it is very difficult to study a programming language."

"And if we want to do research, I'm afraid we'll have to look for talents from the Institute of Computing Technology."

The universal machine language is a ready-made thing that can be used right away.

But if you want to write a new programming language, it is definitely not possible with only people from the Semiconductor Research Institute.

"There's no need to look for the Institute of Computing Technology." Li Mu shook his head, and then said, "I have a programming language that can compile and process low-level memory in a simple way."

"It only generates a small amount of machine language and does not require any runtime support to run."

"The key is that it has a cross-platform feature and can work on both embedded processors and supercomputers."

After hearing his words, the conference room fell silent.

Many people can't help but wonder: Is there such a programming language? Why don't they know about it?
"Did you create a programming language?" Wang Shoujue, who was standing nearby, suddenly exclaimed.

After he finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but burst into an uproar.

But if you think about it carefully, it seems very reasonable.

Facing Wang Shoujue's inquiring gaze, Li Mu nodded slightly, then picked up a piece of chalk from the stage:
Basic elements:

Keywords: int, if, for, while...

Identifiers: name, age, sum(), ...

Data types: int, float, char, etc.

……

Li Mu finished writing the components of C language after filling up the entire blackboard.

He continued:

"This language has only 9 control statements and 32 keywords. The programming is not strict and it is as concise as possible."

"It includes traditional data types such as character, integer, floating-point, and array types, as well as data types that other programming languages ​​do not have, such as the pointer type."

"The most important thing is that it allows direct reading and writing of hardware memory addresses, and enables direct operation of hardware. With it, the problem of programmable digital switches can definitely be solved."

After saying this, Li Mu felt a little nervous.

This was the first time that he took the initiative to talk about an achievement without any concealment.

It’s not that I don’t want to, but I can’t do it.

"Well, Li Mu, you really surprised me!" Wang Shoujue suddenly clapped his hands.

As he began, warm applause broke out in the conference room:

"This programming language is much simpler than the general mechanical language!"

"It is also easy to understand. When you use it to write programs, not only you can understand it, but others can understand it too!"

"Using it to replace the original universal mechanical language, the efficiency of vacuum tube computers can be greatly improved. Its value is immeasurable!"

……

Listening to the applause and discussions below, Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that he was overly suspicious. With the aura of genius, he would not arouse suspicion.

After the applause died down, Wang Shoujue looked at the programming languages ​​on the blackboard, and suddenly thought about something, and said:
"I think this programming language is much more valuable than that!"

"In the future, semiconductors will surely become the backbone of social development!"

"It not only facilitates our program development, but also provides a basis for communication between different systems!"

His views received another round of warm applause from the audience.

"Director Wang, this hasn't been successful yet. It still needs to be verified." Li Mu said, feeling helpless and amused.

Although he has confidence in C language, he is not so blindly confident.

It is still difficult to say whether it can be used on program-controlled digital switches and what the effect will be.

Wang Shoujue laughed and said, "Haha, whether it works or not doesn't count even if you tell me. It needs to be professionally tested. I'll go to the Institute of Computing Technology later and let them take a good look."

After saying that, Wang Shoujue hurriedly announced the adjournment of the meeting, then personally copied down everything on the blackboard and sent it to the Institute of Computing Technology.

……

The distance between the two institutes is not far.

It took Wang Shoujue half an hour to arrive at the entrance of the Institute of Computing Technology.

I greeted the old man guarding the door, and not long after, an old man in his fifties or sixties came out.

"Hello, Mr. Yan." Wang Shoujue said respectfully.

"Don't waste time. If you have something to say, just say it. I still have to get back to my research." The old man called Mr. Yan said directly.

Wang Shoujue knew his character and was not vague. He immediately said, "This is what I mean. Our semiconductor research institute has developed a programming language and we would like to ask for your guidance."

He didn't mention Li Mu's name. After all, a student writing a programming language sounded like a joke.

"You have developed a programming language. Isn't this not doing your job properly?" Old Yan frowned deeply.

Wang Shoujue was not angry either. He took out a notebook from the official documents, opened his mouth and took the initiative to hand it over, saying:

"Take a look first. If it doesn't work, I'll turn around and leave."

Hearing this, Old Yan snorted coldly and turned his gaze to the notebook.

It wouldn't matter if he didn't look at it, but after he looked at it, his eyes were fixed firmly on himself.

(End of this chapter)